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Cyber school language teacher visits from Italy
When PA Cyber students taking conversational Italian or German put on their headsets, the teacher on the other end of the Internet connection is half a world away in the southern Italian town of Cosenza.
Language instructor Antonio Mauro paid a visit to PA Cyber’s administrative headquarters in Midland, Pa., recently during one of his frequent swings through the U.S. Not only did he get to see his friend Robert Babish, executive director of the online school, but the timing allowed him to attend and be introduced at a PA Cyber board meeting.
Mauro told board members he teaches six classes of conversational Italian, units 1-4, for students as young as 6 and as old as 18. (He has since begun teaching German as well for PA Cyber.) Mauro said he prefers to teach from the written and spoken word instead of textbook grammar lessons. Because a child of 6 cannot yet read, Mauro utilizes a feature of Interwise voice software which allows him to speak individually to a student and verbally guide him or her through a written lesson.
Because it is a virtual or real-time classroom, classes are during daytime for students here in America but between 9 p.m. and 2 a.m. for their instructor in Italy.
Babish told the board Mauro has been an asset to the school, winning the affection of his students as well as enjoying success in teaching them a world language.
It was a chance meeting with Babish and his wife on June 16, 2005, as they were traveling by train through the Italian countryside, that led Mauro to accept a teaching post with PA Cyber. He saw Babish struggling to open a stuck window at their train seat and stepped forward to help. The outgoing Mauro volunteered to show his new American friends the “real Italy” beyond the standard tourist destinations.
Mauro’s mastery of languages began with his parents moving frequently among European countries. He served as an interpreter for NATO and has taught English, German, and Italian language from elementary school through university level. Since 1986 he has been a freelance translator and interpreter with special knowledge in the military and technical fields. He travels frequently to Mexico to provide contract language services, and teaches technical English and German to business and government leaders throughout the world.