I was born in Puglia, Italy, where my family of origin and relatives still live, and where I completed my education in Scienze Turistiche e Alberghiere.

After getting married, I relocated to Virginia and have lived here ever since. I am fortunate to have been able to visit my family in Italy every year for at least one month. I have two young adult children, Gabriella and Alex, who were both homeschooled. Although homeschooling was difficult, I loved teaching and learning alongside my children.

My career in teaching Italian as a Second Language began in 2001 by chance! 

While working in Corporate America, specifically in the hospitality industry, I began teaching at Casa Italiana Language School in Washington, D.C., where my husband was taking Italian classes to become more fluent and better able to converse with my family in Italy.

Because of my love for children and the school’s need for a native-language instructor for its Sunday Children’s Program, I was asked to teach. Initially, I was very reluctant, but after a few months of training and teaching, I realized that I absolutely loved sharing the culture and language I cherished with children. This experience helped me feel less homesick. Within a year, I was asked to manage and coordinate the children’s language program, and within a few years, I was teaching all levels of adult classes as well. What a blessing!

I am very grateful to Mrs. Olga Mancuso, the director of the school at the time, for recognizing my potential and providing me with this career opportunity. This experience allowed me to teach students of many ages (3 to 80+) and receive training as an Italian as a Second Language teacher from local and international universities, including Georgetown University, the University of Maryland, George Mason University, Università Ca’ Foscari in Venice, and Università per Stranieri di Perugia in Umbria.

In 2010, under the auspices of Mr. Lucio D’Andrea and the Italian Heritage Society of St. Mary of Sorrows in Fairfax, I was offered the opportunity to start a language program closer to where I lived. Since then, I have worked as an independent tutor in the Fairfax area, conducting six to eight successful adult classes at different levels, from beginner to advanced (A0 to C2), as well as teaching high school Italian to local homeschool communities in Fairfax.

Teaching Italian is my passion, and I hope to have the opportunity and pleasure of guiding you on your Italian journey, wherever you may be.

Elisabetta Lazarte