During a recent business Italian lesson with one of my executive clients, we found ourselves going down a delightful rabbit hole on the topic of Baci Perugina, Italy’s most romantic chocolates.
These dark chocolate ‘kisses’ are wrapped in foil, each one hiding a little paper slip with a love note or inspirational quote inside.
I mentioned to my client that Perugina recently announced they’re experimenting with replacing the written messages with QR codes. The idea, apparently, is to modernise the experience. Personally, I find the idea a bit tragic, there’s something magical about unwrapping a chocolate and discovering a tiny message tucked inside, like a miniature Valentine’s card.
My client thinks it’s just a publicity stunt – I hope he’s right!
I always try to come up with interesting topics to discuss in our monthly conversation sessions so that we can go beyond textbook Italian and explore culture and current affairs.
Language learning should be more than grammar drills (although a colleague does cover that in separate classes). By making the conversation stimulating, my students learn to speak naturally and confidently about all sorts of topics – and they have fun while doing so.
If you’re a business leader looking to improve your Italian, get in touch to find out more about my executive language coaching service, tailored to fit your busy schedule.