My wife and I arranged to have lessons with Carlos during a February trip to visit our son in Austin. We met in the charming confines of Caffè Medici in West Austin (excellent espresso though the staff did not seem to speak a word of Italian!). Carlos quickly ascertained our level of competency in the language and how our time could best be used. He then structured four 90-minute sessions that combined conversation with fortifying of key grammatical concepts. He is clearly a gifted teacher and his enthusiasm for the language was palpable. He went above and beyond in providing videos of Italian movies and other materials he thought we would enjoy after our sessions together ended. If Carlos were Philadelphia-based, we could surely have a continuing learning relationship with him. In short I recommend Carlos to others without qualification.
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The thought of learning another language was a scary proposition for me. Add to those worries the fact that these lessons were going to be absolutely critical for a project I had begun for my place of business and that is the scene for the very first day of class with Professor Capra. Within 30 minutes of the first lesson those fears and worries started to disappear, not because I mustered up some form of courage but it was all due to the personalized approach of Carlos. I was in a class of 4-6 people, all with different motivations for being there and all with different levels of how quickly or slowly they grasped the content. Professore had the unique ability to determine each individuals learning style and developed content that not only appealed to the entire group but he found ways to tie the lesson and overall content of that day directly to your style of learning. Being in an environment like that, one that made you feel comfortable being uncomfortable and one that allowed you to see success on a daily basis was something that I had never experienced in school or from any other learning environment I had been in before. His approach and his commitment to you as an individual is something that I would recommend for anyone looking to learn another language. He makes it fun, he makes you challenge yourself and more importantly he is just as invested in your development as you are yourself. He’s become a friend and I would recommend his work to anyone or any corporation.
PS: His work with me has provided me the opportunity to communicate effectively with very high level business men and women in Italy which has resulted into multi-year contracted business.
I have been fortunate to have some great teachers in my life, school teachers, yoga teachers, teachers in meditation or skiing or music. Carlos Capra ranks among the best of them, in that his instruction of the Italian language goes beyond the technicalities, or grammar, but his presence inspires you to want to learn. His is patient, methodical but intuitive in his approach; he clearly has a lot of experience in that he can adjust his instruction to the level and background of the student.
I highly recommend him, you will learn Italian quickly and efficiently and have fun in the process.
What makes a great language teacher? Profound knowledge, complete proficiency, great patience? All these are necessary, true. However, I believe the most important factor is a fondness for what you do. Carlos is both a maestro and amante of Italian. His love of Italian is contagious. You can’t help but catch it with every lesson.
I must confess that I’m a bit of a language aficionado myself. I speak Italian, French, and Spanish, as well as English. In total, I’ve studied with nearly a dozen instructors over more than a decade. Carlos has been the best, in any language. When we started several years ago, I’d never studied Italian before. Yet Carlos actually had me conversing within a week. If you are planning a trip to Italy and want to blend in with the locals, pay a visit to Carlos. He’ll have you chatting nearly from the get go. If you’ve studied Italian before, but lost your linguistic mojo, he can help make you fluent again. His private lessons are a really good value, considering the advantages. The one-on-one attention will enable you to progress much more quickly than in the typical group setting. Lo raccomando senza esitazione! Non ve ne pentirete mai!
What can I say about Carlos? He’s an amazing teacher. I’m currently studying abroad in Perugia, and to prepare, I worked with him for three months this summer. His lesson plans were personalized to my needs, and he taught me in a way that was very efficient and clear for a beginner. Not only were our lessons informative, but also they were fun. Carlos himself really helped me feel prepared for my trip, teaching me about the food, customs, and fashion. Now that I’m here, I feel confident enough to use my Italian when interacting with the locals. My Italian teacher in Italy even gave me compliments for coming so far in only three months. All credit goes to Carlos for being such a great teacher. Carlos really takes the time to help you understand and use this beautiful language. I highly recommend him! Thank you again!!
We started working with Carlos to prepare for a return trip to Italy and couldn’t be more pleased with the result. Working once per week can be challenging for anyone, but he was always generous in giving us plenty of materials to study at home between lessons. He also gave us additional resources we could use to help our understanding. During our trip, our Italian friends were impressed by how much we had learned in such a short amount of time. A couple even commented on our use of proper grammar! I think this is one of the greatest compliments. Sure you can learn a language, but to speak it properly is a beautiful thing. We are grateful, Carlos!
I worked with Carlos for just three months and my communications skills improved dramatically. Carlos is both a great teacher and a fun person to learn a language with. I recommend him with great confidence to anyone looking to learn a new language.
I’ve been working with Carlos for six months now, and I look forward to my lessons everyday. What really stands out to me about Carlos is that he aways goes the extra mile to help me learn Italian. He always is well-prepared and organized for each lesson, and even between our lessons he does a lot of planning to keep me progressing. He gives me new ideas and resources to learn Italian. Some lessons we will focus on grammar, whereas others we focus on Italian film and culture. It’s fantastic to have a teacher that loves what he teaches. He is passionate and keeps a well-rounded teaching method. Moreover, he is a very friendly and likable teacher. Every lesson is a true pleasure.
We were heading to Tuscany with Lauren’s family for an extended stay and really wanted to be able to learn some simple phrases and social niceties. Carlos developed a custom curriculum that was tailored to the activities we were planning to spend our vacation on: ordering food at restaurants, shopping at the grocery store and open air markets, shopping for clothes and gifts, asking for directions and, of course, buying lots and lots of wine! Very soon after arriving we were the unofficial translators for our group and realized that the basics Carlos taught us were the perfect base to build on during our trip. Near the end we felt almost like locals as we shopped and ate our way through Tuscany. Thanks Carlos!!
I thoroughly enjoyed my Italian tutoring sessions with Carlos. He is an excellent teacher, tailoring his sessions to your learning speed and style. I was able to become fairly proficient with the present and the “passato prossimo” tense as well as enough vocabulary to feel comfortable going to Italy for 2 weeks in the span of 8 sessions. Carlos is also a wonderful person, and always a pleasure to be around. I definitely recommend him if you are planning a trip to Italy or want to pick up a beautiful new language. Molte grazie, Carlos.
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Dr. Carlos Capra
Dr. Carlos Capra is on the faculty at the University of Texas at Austin’s Butler School of Music where he is responsible for the Italian diction and translation classes. He served on the faculty at the Dept. of French & Italian at The University of Texas at Austin where he taught Italian language and culture since 1996 to 2012. He has extensive experience teaching language privately (Italian, Spanish and English as second language). He is a member of the American Council for the Teaching of Foreign Languages and of the American Association of Teachers of Italian.