Joe Alvaro

Joe’s parents were born in Italy and migrated to Australia in the 1960s. He is fluent in standard Italian and also speaks Calabrese – the vibrant dialect of the southern Italian region of Calabria.

Joe studied Italian formally at school and later at The University of Sydney, where he completed a Bachelor of Education in the Department of Italian. He has also undertaken the Refresher Course for Teachers of Italian Abroad at the Università per Stranieri in Perugia, Italy.

This is Joe’s 30th year as a professional educator, giving him a wealth of experience to share with his students. He began teaching Italian to adults at Sydney Community College in 1997 and has also taught accredited Certificate courses in Italian at TAFE NSW. Joe loves sharing the intellectual, social, and personal rewards of learning a language that is close to his heart. With family still living in Italy and many trips there over the years, he brings both professional and personal insight to his teaching. A highlight of his career was serving as a Language Specialist – Interpreter (Italian) at the Sydney Olympic Games in 2000.

Joe takes a communicative approach to teaching – moving beyond drills and exercises to encourage the use of Italian in realistic, everyday situations. He employs a range of strategies to suit different learning styles and sees mistakes as a natural and valuable part of the learning process. Above all, he inspires students to enjoy their language-learning journey and to celebrate every step forward. He believes that learning some Italian before travelling makes any trip to Italy far more rewarding and memorable.