My latest insights and discussions
Welcome to the SB Tutoring blog, where I share valuable content from my lessons, recommended reads, and interesting traditions. Dive into my articles to discover what makes learning engaging and effective with me.
Traditions and Educational insights
Beyond textbooks, we often explore fascinating traditions and cultural contexts that enrich your lessons. This section of my blog shares insights into these discussions, highlighting how a broader understanding of a country's culture enhances learning. Stay connected with SB Tutoring for new posts and ideas.
L'Anniversario della Liberazione o Festa della Liberazione si celebra ogni anno il 25 aprile, per ricordare la liberazione d'Italia dal governo fascista e dall'occupazione nazista del paese.
27 aprile 2026
Why do Italians celebrate the 25th April? What is the purpose of this National Bank holiday? Do you know which dates other countries celebrate the end of the war?
Below is a great text to use with B1/ B2 learners and it includes an audio transcript so it could also be used as a listening comprehension.
Perché il 25 aprile si festeggia la Liberazione https://www.ilpost.it/2026/04/25/liberazione-25-aprile/?utm_medium=social&utm_source=email&utm_campaign=share
Key moments of this year's celebration.
On April 25, 1945, Italy was officially liberated from the fascist regime and Nazi occupation. The Festa della Liberazione is one of the country’s most important national holidays. In Rome, an official wreath-laying ceremony is held in the morning by the Italian President at the Altare della Patria. This state ceremony is the central official event of the day and is accompanied by military honours and security measures.
Saint George's Day- 23rd April
24th April 2026
Fun facts! Did you know that Saint George was not actually English and that it is likely that he never even visited England?
We actually share him as a patron saint with Venice, Genoa, Portugal, Ethiopia and Catalonia among others and many of these places have their own celebrations and ceremonies in his honour.
The St George’s Flag has been associated with England since the Middle Ages. It was originally used by English soldiers during the Crusades and later became part of the Union Jack, along with Scotland and Northern Ireland’s flags.
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Did you celebrate National Tea Day this week?
22nd April 2026
April 21st was picked for National Tea Day to honour Queen Elizabeth II’s birthday — a fitting tribute, considering Britain’s deep-rooted love of tea.
Tea time, with its scones, clotted cream, and delicate china cups, is deeply embedded in British culture. The infamous afternoon tea originated in the early 1840s by Anna, the Duchess of Bedford, as a way to curb her hunger between lunch and dinner, and it quickly became a fashionable social event. These days, it’s an occasional treat featuring tea, sandwiches, scones with jam and cream, and other delicious food.
Debate rages over whether it should be clotted cream and then jam on your scone or the jam first and then the clotted cream! How do you take your scone?
Which is your favourite tea? Mine's Earl grey, although some might consider me sinful for adding milk to this tea!
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Una delle differenze principali tra il sistema scolastico italiano e quello inglese è la bocciatura. Il sistema educativo italiano considera la bocciatura uno strumento formativo, ma il dibattito attuale mostra che può anche risultare inefficace e penalizzante per gli studenti più fragili.
12 April 2026
We looked at the Italian school system and the differences between the Italian and English school systems, discussing the Italian practice of "failing the year" in depth. This gave me the chance to bring in some clips from one of my all time favourite films- Il Nuovo Cinema Paradiso. Toto is a bright boy but some of his classmates are children who have been held back. Some elderly people in the village are yet to pass the Junior school exams and this gives Toto the chance he is looking for to help out in the cinema. I'd definitely recommend watching this film.
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Le differenze di atteggiamento tra Nord e Sud Italia riguardano soprattutto il ritmo di vita, la comunicazione, il lavoro e la socialità. In generale, il Nord è percepito come più formale ed efficiente, mentre il Sud come più caloroso e rilassato.
10 aprile 2026
In a lesson, we explored some of the perceptions and stereotypes that are prevalent in Italy with regards to the different cultures of northern and southern Italy. A humorous way to explore these stereotypes was through Italian cinema and the film "Benvenuti al Sud". It's a lovely film to watch in Italian, but you can also watch it in English- it's called "Welcome to the South".
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La Colomba Pasquale-an Italian Easter cake made in the shape of a dove
3 aprile 2026
Part of learning about Italy should always include trying the culinary delicacies- I recommend to my students to try the traditional foods!
The religious side of Easter- Easter in the Vatican
https://youtu.be/OSPqMsT-kAM?si=oPG-oYsoGE_B-_Ud
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Colpo clamoroso a Parma: spariti tre quadri di Renoir, Cézanne e Matisse. L’Italia dell’arte incassa un’altra ferita.
29 marzo 2026
The theft of the 3 paintings from Parma was a great springboard for a conversation about theft in general and an opportunity to offer opinions and practise the use of the subjunctive.
Italy, not for the first time, fell victim to a high-profile art heist with still no trace of the missing paintings stolen from Parma in March 2026.
https://tg24.sky.it/cronaca/2026/03/29/quadro-renoir-rubato-parma-fondazione-magnani-rocca
For some added fun, we watched some clips from an old Italian film- Scuola dei Ladri.(School of thieves). I remember seeing the film at the open air cinema at the seaside in Italy in the late '80s. It's a silly film, very dated but made the lesson entertaining! Full film in the link below
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Festival di Sanremo-Sal Da Vinci vince Sanremo 2026 con "Per sempre si"
28 febbraio 2026
Did you hear the winning song from San Remo 2026?
With one student over a number of weeks, we watched clips in the run up to the San Remo festival 2026. This included seeing some of the pop-up concerts and flash-mobs in various cities around Italy, we read some background about the festival, as well as hearing artists talking about the pieces they were bringing to the festival. Lastly, we enjoyed the winning song, there's a YouTube link below for you to enjoy it too!
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The Winter Olympics 2026 in Milano Cortina put Italy in the world's spotlight.
22 febbraio 2026
Listening to different Italian speakers allows a student to get used to different Italian accents and the natural pace of a native speaker who isn't your teacher. We did a video listening comprehension on Lindsey Vonn's tragic fall!
Durante la gara di discesa libera femminile alle Olimpiadi Invernali di Milano‑Cortina 2026, Vonn è caduta pochi secondi dopo la partenza, dopo aver agganciato un paletto con il bastoncino, perdendo l’equilibrio e finendo violentemente a terra.
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Il Carnevale in Italia- cos’è il Carnevale e perché si festeggia? È una festa antichissima che precede la Quaresima: un periodo di gioia, eccessi e libertà prima del digiuno.
17 febbraio 2026
Did you know that different regions of Italy prepare their own Carnevale specialities? They are often fried and sweet with people indulging before the fasting for Lent begins!
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Book recommendation
15th February 2026
I'm reading this book with one of my Italian students and really enjoying it. I love the way that this Indian author captures so beautifully so many of the Italian idiosyncrasies. Laila Wadia combines irony and humour as she writes of her arrival in Italy and her slow integration into Italian society. I'd recommend it to both Italian enthusiasts and native Italians, who perhaps don't stop to think about some of their own customs and the experience of a foreigner in Italy.
Have you heard about UNESCO's Creative Cities Network?
10th February 2026
In an advanced TEFL lesson, we discussed this article about food tourism and gastronomy:
57 cities across the world hold the title of UNESCO city of Gastronomy. This prompted us to take a closer look at other types of UNESCO Creative cities, including my home city of Bristol.
Bristol was designated as a UNESCO City of Film in 2017, recognizing its rich film heritage, vibrant film industry, and commitment to cultural diversity and innovation.
This lead on to a research task around Creative Cities and the chance to think about a city of the student's choice as a UNESCO Creative city.
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Did you know that learning a new language reaps benefits for your brain?
It also gives you a very good excuse to travel abroad!
7th February 2026
Why is learning a language better for our brains than something like Sudoku? Dr Thomas Bak compares it to going to a gym: Sudoku is like going to the gym and using one machine to repeat one movement. Learning a language, on the other hand, is like using 20 different machines which require lots of different movements. That’s because language learning engages a number of different parts of the brain and boosts the connectivity between these different areas. In turn, this improved connectivity improves your higher mental function.
Wider benefits
Every 3 minutes in the UK, someone is diagnosed with dementia or has a stroke. Studies have suggested that learning a second language could delay the risk of dementia by up to 5 years, and that it can also improve the rate at which you recover from stroke.
Related Links
Study on language learning and the brain (www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov)Studies on bilingualism and dementia (www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov)
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