Ciao! I’m Ermy!
Thank you for stopping by! It’s SO nice meet you !
I’m dedicated to help you, Italy lover, take your first steps towards a “more Italian life” by helping you speak Italian and connect to that Italian world you love.
I believe that learning a new language can lead you to amazing experiences that can potentially change your life (definitely true for me!).
As an artist at heart, who spent the first 25 years of her life among colours, drawings cartoons and graphic novels, I learned a new language not just for the sake of it, but because I wanted to share my art with the world, connect with new people and travel!
My hunch is that you too want to learn Italian because you’ve got some compelling reason behind it. A goal. A vision. A dream that doesn’t leave you alone (you know which one!).
Or maybe you’re just a lifelong learner, like me. In fact, while learning English and working as an artist, I soon got the language bug. So, I decided to keep learning other languages and went to university to do a language degree where I also learned Spanish.
Well, kinda learned it.
I struggled with speaking. A lot. I remember stuttering my way through my first Spanish conversation (and it was in an exam!). And I also remember I used to always bring a dictionary with me the first times I went shopping on my own abroad, because God forbids I didn’t know a word!!
I was terrified of making mistakes and I wondered how on earth I could be so scared and unable to communicate in a language after having spent months learning it (and after having learned all the possible exceptions of regular and irregular verbs, nouns, adjectives, adverbs, and whatever-comes-next!!).
Finally, the realisation hit me.
What I actually had being doing was learning about the language rather than learning to speak the language. I knew everything about English, but at the same time I didn’t know how to use it. Reason: I didn’t actually practise it. Same for Spanish: I had never tried to communicate with it, so, how could I possibly manage to speak it?
This thought stayed with me for a long time. And, with time, I’ve come to understand that the key to learning a language was actually using it (as I have shared my personal experience with this in this free audiobook right here)!
This brings me to you, my friend.
I understand your struggle in learning a new language.
I know what it’s like to get sweaty armpits when you are about to speak in the language you’re learning. I know what it’s like to get frustrated when you can’t think of the right word. I know the feeling of embarrassment you get when you’ve just mispronounced a word you thought you knew. I also know how overwhelmed you can feel when you think “I’m so behind! I never have time to actually learn this!”.
I’ve been through this all. And I’m here to help.
I created The Language Rose to help you overcome your learning obstacles and provide you with a compass that will point you in the right direction every time you feel discouraged, frustrated or clueless about where to go next on your Italian learning path.
The Language Rose, just like the mariners’ wind rose, symbolises all the languages I can speak (Italian, English, French, Spanish) and the different directions and worlds I have explored in my life by learning these languages.
I believe that language learning is by default interdisciplinary. In order to learn a language you have to speak it, and in order to speak it, you have to have something to say or do with that language . So, start by learning to talk about what you love.
In my programmes and classes, my aim is to connect you with the Italian world through creativity, art (in all its form, especially music and dance) and play to help you have e a fun, creative and fulfilling learning process that brings you joy and leaves you encouraged and motivated every step of the way.
I focus mainly on developing your Italian speaking skills and I want to help you overcome your fear of speaking Italian so that you can speak it with confidence on your next trip to Italy.
QUALIFIED TO GIVE YOU THE BEST LEARNING EXPERIENCE
Beneath the goofy personality and the funny foreign accent, I’ve got some wicked qualifications and accomplishments under my belt that make me the perfect teacher to help you to learn the language you love.
I graduated from the Italian university “l’Orientale” (in my hometown Naples in Italy) with a first class honours degree in Modern Languages, specialising in Spanish and English. In 2011, I completed the Master in Translation, Writing and Cultural Difference at the University of Warwick in Coventry. In 2013, I got my Postgraduate Certificate in Education, PGCE (M), from the University of East Anglia. While studying for the admission to my teaching qualification, I also learned French, spent a few weeks travelling in France and stayed for two weeks in the cute city of Rouen.
After having taught languages in a variety of schools and organisations and feeling unsatisfied with their teaching approach, I decided that it was time to take my personal take on teaching languages by bringing in my multitude of passions that include art, (who do you think designed every single graphic element on this website?) music, dance and especially coaching.
In 2017, while looking for ways to help my students to learn more effectively, I became a certified Neurolanguage® coach (certified by Efficient Language Coaching and accredited by International Coaching Federation), which means I am able to help you unleash your truest learning potential, embrace your mistakes and turn them into experiments that will let you unravel your path of fluency -and you next foreign country!
However, the truth is that what qualifies me the most to teach you is that I’ve been where you are right now in your learning journey and got past it. So, take my hand and let’s go together!
My learning philosophy (and yours too!)
You don’t need to have any special gift to learn a language. You are not too old nor too young. Too introvert or too shy.
There is only one prerequisite you need to learn Italian and that is your love for the Italian world, culture and life and you can start learning it right now.
The many “ingredients”to succeed in language learning are the following: the right amount of motivation, self-awareness (aka: how do you learn best?), consistency, and resilience with a pinch of cheekiness that will get you through your first conversations without being afraid of making mistakes!
I’m going to be your best language learning cheerleader (or coach, if you want the “official” term) who is going to give you the skills -not only the knowledge, to speak fluently Italian. How? Mostly by trying. Because I learned on my own skin that the more mistakes you make, the more you learn (especially in language learning).
Although this is a business (yes, I sell stuff, believe it or not!), I also create free content to help language learners like you. And I’d love to know more about you. The best way to stay connected is to become a member of the Language Rose Learning Club – just enter your name and email right here (it’s free!).
Every week, I like sharing with my learners free resources (like this series of Italian classes for beginners) and creative + fun strategies to learn to speak Italian. Plus, I love sharing personal insights that I only talk about with my subscribers. Normally, you’ll only hear from me once a week; more if something is time-sensitive or important.
Plus, you’ll one of these two gifts:
If you are a beginner you can get a fun workbook (more of a playbook) with a series of lessons to get you started with your Italian for travel, It’ll walk you through the very basic of the Italian language and help you have your first mini-conversation in Italian. You can get this playbook delivered straight to your inbox by entering your email right here.
If you already know some Italian or are past the beginner level, you can get access to my free workshop Learn Italian Through Songs which will give you some creative strategies to improve your speaking by using Italian songs. Click here to get access to this workshop.
Thank you so much for taking the time to visit and for reading so far. I hope we can stay connected and learn together from now on!
17 FUN FACTS ABOUT ME
Let’s see if we have some weird things in common!
- Before becoming a language coach I was a freelance artist and I used to draw cartoons all day long!
- Dessert is my favourite part of a meal – and I never skip it!
- I’m Italian but I dislike coffee and wine… (yes, you’ve read it right!)
- …and I love having beer with my favourite pizza (margherita con mozzarella di bufala)! And, by the way… Italians never put pineapple on pizza – just sayin’!
- I meditate every day and — and I love Dr Joe Dispenza’s work.
- I L-O-V-E sparkling things (probably I was a magpie in a previous life)
- I like bullet journaling and I use one to keep myself organised!
- My family is a very traditional Southern Italian family, where names are passed down through generation. In fact, when I was born my dad wanted to name me after my grandma, however my mum and my grandma have the same name. So finally, it was decided to name me after my auntie, in order to avoid confusion (really?!) ! This is also why almost all my cousins are called Carmine -they are named after my granddad and my sister is called Carmela (which is the masculine name for Carmine and the name of my other grandmother!)! As you can see, we’re very creative in terms on naming relatives! 😛
- I love people who don’t fit inside the box and whose integrity is far greater than any rule book.
- I have a very loud laugh (just like the Italian show girl Raffaella Carrá) and people say that it’s contagious -don’t hang out with me if you don’t love laughing!
- In my teenage years and in my early twenties I was an avid reader of mangas (sometimes still now!)! And I also started to learn Japanese!
- My favourite Disney princess is Ariel — because she wants to be part of THAT world and I also love the sea!
- I read a lot of non-fiction books because I love learning new things every day!
- I have massive solo-dancing (and singing!) parties every time something cool happens to me. Sometimes it’s just a kind email, sometimes it’s just because I am in a good mood…and it’s SALSA TIME!
- Yes, I love latin dance and Spanish latin songs are one of the ways how I learned to speak Spanish!
- I wish I could sprinkle confetti on everyone everywhere. Birhday are my best excuse to do that — I always put confetti in people’s birthday cards!
- I just want to bring people joy and put a smile on their face — especially if they are having one of those days!
WHAT MY STUDENTS SAY ABOUT ME
“If you enjoy doing something, then you are more motivated to achieve your expectations and goals. I have achieved my learning goals and had fun thanks to Ermy. Two months ago I knew very little Italian, but now I am ready for my first visit to Italy. I am sure that my travel experience will be enhanced considerably by being able to converse in the native language.The confidence and knowledge I have gained in such a short time is down to the tutoring skills and organised approach of Ermy.” – GRAHAM COTTS
“Thanks so much for a great four weeks of learning, I was pleased with my progress and felt happy that I was confident enough to try out my language skills when away! I tried to use my Italian wherever I could. I was pleased with myself for using it as much as I did, and I enjoyed saying ‘Piacere’ to the people I met.” – REBECCA ALCOCK
“Ermy’s classes are always fun and engaging, especially the role play which built my confidence. Her classes are always well prepared and using a good mix of exercises and approaches to learning.” – KATRINA
“Thanks to Ermy I have a much better understanding and my confidence has sky rocketed. Ermy’s way of explaining the verb endings and the reasons why you would use different tenses really made an impact on me. I now have so much more confidence and fluidity when speaking and have a much greater understanding of it all. Her calm and fun approach made me enjoy the lessons and learn so much. Thank you Ermy.” – ALAN BAXTER
Looking for my professional bio? Here it is!
Erminia Pedata, aka “Ermy”, is a language coach (certified by Efficient Language Coaching and accredited by the International Coaching Federation) who helps enthusiastic lifelong learners with a free spirit to make their Italian dreams come through by learning to speak Italian in a creative and playful way.
Born in the Italian city of Naples, Ermy speaks English, Spanish and French, in addition to her two native tongues: Italian and Neapolitan. She has been teaching Italian since 2012 and she has blended her studies, talents, learning and life experiences into a creative teaching methodology that aims to instruct and inspire everyone who, at heart, feels…a bit Italian!
Born in the Italian city of Naples, Ermy speaks English, Spanish and French in addition to her native tongue, Italian. From training to becoming a cartoonist at the Scuola Internazionale di Comics in Rome, to receiving a full honours language degree from the University l’Orientale in Naples (Italy) and a Masters degree in Translation, Writing an Cultural Difference from the University of Warwick (UK), she then gained her teaching qualification (PGCE) from the University of East Anglia in 2014.
Finally, in 2017, while looking for a way to help her learners make more efficient and faster progress, Ermy studied Neurolanguage coaching® with Rachel Paling. By having a holistic approach to teaching, which joins languages, creativity, neuroscience and coaching principles, Ermy has created classes and programmes that helped dozens of learners to speak Italian with confidence, embrace language learning as a tool for self development, and have fun on their way to fluency.
Ermy has been featured on a variety of language learning websites and podcast including: Parrot Time, Huggins International, The Joy of Languages, LanguageLovers.AU and, the world’s most popular language learning blog, Fluent in 3 Months. Ermy has also been a speaker at a variety of international conferences and events including The Edinburgh Language Event (2020), The Polyglot Conference (2020) and Britain’s no.1 event for language learners, language teachers and everyone who loves languages: The Language Show.
Currently Ermy lives in the pretty city of Chester in the UK and, she often travels back to Italy to visit her family when she’s not busy travelling somewhere else or dancing salsa! (By the way, this is Ermy writing in third person. I sound so important, right?)
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So, that’s enough about me! I can’t wait to hear from you! What’s the biggest obstacle you are facing in your language learning? Why are you learning Italian?
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The Language Rose with Ermy Pedata 