This spring, students in upper-level Italian classes took part in a special tandem language exchange, which is a required part of their course: their partners were Italians enrolled in university courses as part of their ‘third act’.
Italians use the expression terza età (“third age”) to refer to people 65+, and there are many options for those who want to make higher learning part of their golden age. There is even an association for Italian terza età universities (Associazione Nazionale delle Università della Terza Età). In their mission statement here, they explain that volunteer instructors make it all possible, donating their teaching time in the spirit of the medieval universitas and the belief that learning is a gift.
The terza età learners who came to converse with our students were enrolled in a L2-level English class at the Università della terza età in the coastal Tuscan town of Livorno.
This is what some of our students had to say about the experience:
During the class, Hollen and I spoke with five elderly women who attend a third-generation university. They explained their school to us and the courses they find intriguing. … One of the ladies mentioned it was her dream to visit New York.
We all share a love for music and movies—we were especially connected through our enjoyment of the movie A Star Is Born, featuring Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper. We agreed that the soundtrack is incredible and that Bradley Cooper is very handsome. The experience was very heart-warming for us because it bridged a gap between language and age. Seeing these elderly women driven to acquire new knowledge and be involved in a community that fosters connection was incredible.
Hollen Spain, Kelly Troop, Bridget Gardella (ITA325)
I really enjoyed the conversation I had with the two women. They’re from Livorno and we talked about their experiences living there, as well as doing a comparison between life in Livorno and life in New York City, which is where I am from. Afterwards, we spoke about the differences between Italian food and American food. One of them is vegetarian and we spoke about life without eating meat. She told me that there are many elderly Italians that don’t eat meat. I said that I can’t live without eating meat.
Afterwards we spoke about Giorgia Meloni and Donald Trump. I learned a lot about Italian politics. They told me that they don’t support Meloni and I told them that I’m not a fan of Trump either. Then we talked about American politics. They told me that they’re worried about a scenario in which Trump wins and they hope that he doesn’t.
We then spoke about why they chose to learn English. They told me that they did it to stay busy in old age. They then asked why I chose to study Italian. I told them that I took an introduction to Italian when I was a freshman in college out of interest, and I really enjoyed it. I decided to continue my studies in Italian. This was a great experience for me and I would like to do it again sometime soon.
Oliver Polsky (ITA325)
Last week, my Italian class talked to women who go to a free-age university. This experience was very interesting because we don’t have these universities in the United States. My friend and I talked to two women who were learning English! We talked about their courses and the university in general. They were from Pisa, where their university is. During this conversation, one woman told us that she was a nurse which interested us because my friend and I want to become doctors! So, we talked about the differences between medicine in the United States and in Italy. It was a great conversation and their English skills completely surprised me! I am so happy that I had this opportunity to speak with these women!
Kay Di Salvo (ITA325)
During this event, we had the opportunity to have conversations with people of the third age who attend the University of the Free Age and practice our Italian language, and for them to practice their English. We talked about many aspects of our lives such as what plans we have for our future careers and what career they did when they were young. One of them when she was young was a nurse who studied in the city of Pisa, Italy. Before that she studied at the University of Bologna Psychology. The other older woman was a teacher for students in the intermediate school, she was an Archeologist teacher. Still, when she has time she gives lessons to students through Zoom and online. Their English was very good, they said that they had been studying English for 2-5 years and also explained to us that the reason for them studying a language and taking courses such as Art History in English was because it was better learning something new than being at home and doing nothing. For them doing this was a “hobby” that they always looked forward to doing during the week. They were nice people to have conversations with and were very patient with us when it came to talking in Italian. I think that was a nice idea to have this event and I hope this event remains in our university for future students from this course.
Jorge Parada (ITA325)