Personally vetted instructors
Italian tutors in Los Angeles
Ciao! Hi and bye in one word. With someone you've just met, buongiorno is the safer choice.
One-on-one Italian tutoring with tutors we've personally met, all based in and around LA. They'll come to you, you can go to them, or you can meet on video.
Your instructors
Italian tutors for private lessons & classes
Strommen has been in Los Angeles since 2006, and these Italian tutors live here too, from Fairfax out to Burbank and Sierra Madre. Garrett personally meets every tutor before they teach for us.
If a card has a "Book free trial" button, that tutor offers a free 30-minute meet & greet. Rather have us pick? Tell us why you're learning Italian.
Open a card for the tutor's bio, open times, and full rate list. The price on each card is a starting rate, usually from an online package.
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Every tutor, personally met. — founder-vetted since 2006, in Los Angeles and online worldwide.
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BA
Discover Italian Charm with Elisa: Lake Como Born, TV Writer Turned Passionate Italian Tutor & Dialogue Coach!
Personally vetted · Strommen’s note
A former TV writer, Elisa now coaches Italian dialogue with the same instinct for what actually lands on screen.
Specialties
BA
Discover Italian Charm with Elisa: Lake Como Born, TV Writer Turned Passionate Italian Tutor & Dialogue Coach!
Specialties
Personally vetted · Strommen’s note
A former TV writer, Elisa now coaches Italian dialogue with the same instinct for what actually lands on screen.
Masters of Fine Art, Bachelor in Foreign Language and Literature. · Over 2,000 hours of one‑on‑one teaching experience. Published literary translator, with work reviewed in Kirkus Reviews, Times Literary Supplement, Art Book D.A.P., and multiple international journals.
Master English, French & Italian with a Published Literary Translator
Personally vetted · Strommen’s note
A published literary translator, Colombina teaches English, French, and Italian, plus SAT prep, college essay coaching, and learning-disability support.
Specialties
Masters of Fine Art, Bachelor in Foreign Language and Literature. · Over 2,000 hours of one‑on‑one teaching experience. Published literary translator, with work reviewed in Kirkus Reviews, Times Literary Supplement, Art Book D.A.P., and multiple international journals.
Master English, French & Italian with a Published Literary Translator
Specialties
Personally vetted · Strommen’s note
A published literary translator, Colombina teaches English, French, and Italian, plus SAT prep, college essay coaching, and learning-disability support.
UCLA Bachelor degree
Roman Native Italian Tutor with 20 years Experience, lets speak Italian!
Personally vetted · Strommen’s note
A Rome native who has taught Italian for twenty years, Garrett still takes on a handful of students personally when his schedule allows.
Specialties
Also speaks: French, Japanese, Spanish
UCLA Bachelor degree
Roman Native Italian Tutor with 20 years Experience, lets speak Italian!
Specialties
I also speak: French, Japanese, Spanish
Personally vetted · Strommen’s note
A Rome native who has taught Italian for twenty years, Garrett still takes on a handful of students personally when his schedule allows.
University
Master Italian with a Milan Native: 13+ Years Teaching Experience, Customized Lessons for All Levels & Needs
Personally vetted · Strommen’s note
Milan-trained and sixteen years into teaching Italian, Sara keeps formal grammar sounding like conversation instead of a lecture.
Specialties
University
Master Italian with a Milan Native: 13+ Years Teaching Experience, Customized Lessons for All Levels & Needs
Specialties
Personally vetted · Strommen’s note
Milan-trained and sixteen years into teaching Italian, Sara keeps formal grammar sounding like conversation instead of a lecture.
Bachelor
Marco's Artistic Insights from Florence, Your Gateway to Language Mastery!
Personally vetted · Strommen’s note
Marco pairs Italian and Latin in the same lesson, working out of Florence with equal footing in grammar, pronunciation, and regional dialects for both.
Specialties
Bachelor
Marco's Artistic Insights from Florence, Your Gateway to Language Mastery!
Specialties
Personally vetted · Strommen’s note
Marco pairs Italian and Latin in the same lesson, working out of Florence with equal footing in grammar, pronunciation, and regional dialects for both.
Italian Teacher from Milan with experience wortking with Singers
Personally vetted · Strommen’s note
Valentina spent six years as a diction coach for opera singers at the Music Academy of the West, and she brings that same precision to everyday Italian.
Specialties
Italian Teacher from Milan with experience wortking with Singers
Specialties
Personally vetted · Strommen’s note
Valentina spent six years as a diction coach for opera singers at the Music Academy of the West, and she brings that same precision to everyday Italian.
Bachelor in Drama · TEFL 120 hours ESL Teacher Training
Whether you're learning Italian from scratch or polishing your accent for an audition, I can help!
Personally vetted · Strommen’s note
Whether it's Italian from scratch or accent polish for an audition, Giovanni leans on a background in film, music, and theatre to keep lessons current.
Specialties
Bachelor in Drama · TEFL 120 hours ESL Teacher Training
Whether you're learning Italian from scratch or polishing your accent for an audition, I can help!
Specialties
Personally vetted · Strommen’s note
Whether it's Italian from scratch or accent polish for an audition, Giovanni leans on a background in film, music, and theatre to keep lessons current.
I am a passionate Italian language teacher and tutor with a strong academic background that combines both science and humanities. Although I hold a degree in Biomedical Science, I also completed extensive humanities studies in Italy, where I studied It... · I am member of ATI ( American Association of Italian Teachers) and I partecipate to continuing education event and seminars.
Discover Italian Language and Italian Culture- Italian lessons customized to meet your individual needs, goals, and abilities
Personally vetted · Strommen’s note
Twenty-two years teaching Italian have given Francesca a track for nearly every reason to learn it, from opera-singer diction to CILS B1 citizenship prep.
Specialties
Also speaks: French, Japanese, Spanish
I am a passionate Italian language teacher and tutor with a strong academic background that combines both science and humanities. Although I hold a degree in Biomedical Science, I also completed extensive humanities studies in Italy, where I studied It... · I am member of ATI ( American Association of Italian Teachers) and I partecipate to continuing education event and seminars.
Discover Italian Language and Italian Culture- Italian lessons customized to meet your individual needs, goals, and abilities
Specialties
I also speak: French, Japanese, Spanish
Personally vetted · Strommen’s note
Twenty-two years teaching Italian have given Francesca a track for nearly every reason to learn it, from opera-singer diction to CILS B1 citizenship prep.
Law · Latin American Spanish Dubbing and VO
Learn Italian & Spanish fast and fun!
Personally vetted · Strommen’s note
Italian and Spanish translation both fall under Ruth's teaching, grammar explained through color-coded tables and games.
Specialties
Law · Latin American Spanish Dubbing and VO
Learn Italian & Spanish fast and fun!
Specialties
Personally vetted · Strommen’s note
Italian and Spanish translation both fall under Ruth's teaching, grammar explained through color-coded tables and games.
M.A. and Ph.D.
Former UCLA Italian Instructor with 16+ Years of Experience!
Personally vetted · Strommen’s note
A former UCLA Italian instructor with us since 2009, Marianna moves easily between Italian instruction and legal translation.
Specialties
M.A. and Ph.D.
Former UCLA Italian Instructor with 16+ Years of Experience!
Specialties
Personally vetted · Strommen’s note
A former UCLA Italian instructor with us since 2009, Marianna moves easily between Italian instruction and legal translation.
L'italiano di tutti i giorni · everyday speech
5 small Italian words that do a lot of work
Everyday Italian leans on a handful of short words, and a few of them barely translate. You'll hear all five in any bar or kitchen in Italy.
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01
Magari
"If only!" or "maybe." Say it when someone suggests something you'd love to do but doubt will happen. It can also just mean "perhaps."
e.g. Andiamo in Sicilia quest'estate? Magari!
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02
Dai
"Come on!" It can push someone along, beg a favor, or mean "no way, really?" The tone tells you which one you're getting.
e.g. Dai, ancora cinque minuti!
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03
Allora
"So," "well then," or just a pause while you think. Plenty of Italian sentences start with it, and it buys you a second when you're searching for a word.
e.g. Allora, cosa prendiamo?
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04
In bocca al lupo
Literally "into the wolf's mouth," and it means good luck, a lot like "break a leg." The traditional reply is crepi ("may it die!"), not grazie.
e.g. Domani hai l'audizione? In bocca al lupo!
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05
Figurati
"Don't mention it" or "of course, no problem." It's the warm reply to a thank-you or an apology between friends. With someone you'd call Lei, it becomes si figuri.
e.g. Grazie mille per l'aiuto! Figurati.
About Italian
Where Italian lives in LA
LA's Italian community goes back a long way. San Pedro had Italian fishing families for generations, and the old Italian Hall by Olvera Street is now the Italian American Museum of Los Angeles. Over in Westwood, the Italian Cultural Institute puts on films and talks, which make good listening practice once you can follow along.
Most of the tutors above grew up in Italy, in Milan, Turin, Florence and Rome, on Lake Como, and in the Po Valley between Bologna and Ferrara. This being LA, a lot of them came to teaching by way of the stage and the screen. One trained as an actor at Milan's Piccolo Teatro and has taught Italian diction to opera singers and actors since moving here in 1997. Another coaches actors for Italian-speaking roles on film sets. A third taught Italian at UCLA while she earned her PhD there.
So it makes sense that our Italian students are a mixed crowd. Some have an audition or a role in Italian. Some grew up hearing a grandparent's dialect and want to answer back. Others have a long trip planned, or a citizenship application that needs a B1 certificate. Tell your tutor which one you are in the first lesson.
Italian is kind to beginners because words sound the way they're spelled. The catch is double consonants. Sete means thirst and sette means seven, and you only hear the difference if you hold the consonant. Ask your tutor to drill it early. The tongue twisters help too.
Our Italian classes in Los Angeles are the group option, with classes at several levels on the schedule.
What you'll cover
Lessons & classes tailored to Italian
In person, at home or at work
The tutors who teach in person are based around Hollywood, Los Feliz, Silver Lake and Fairfax, and out in Burbank and Sierra Madre. Most will come to your home or office, or you can go to them for less. Every profile lists separate rates for going to the tutor, for having them come to you, and for online, so you can compare before you book.
Actors, singers & dialect work
Several of these tutors have worked in theater, film or opera. They can take you through a script or a libretto line by line, fix the vowels that give English speakers away, and get you sounding like you're from a particular part of Italy. Our Italian dialect coaches for actors and Italian tutors for opera singers have the full lists.
Family Italian & regional dialects
If your family spoke Sicilian or Neapolitan at home, you can learn the dialect, standard Italian, or both. Lessons often start with whatever you remember and fill in from there. Our Sicilian and Neapolitan tutor pages list who teaches each one. Those tutors live in Italy and elsewhere, so the lessons are online.
Travel, citizenship & exams
For a trip, lessons can focus on the Italian you'll actually use: ordering, directions, small talk with the people you're staying with. If you're applying for citizenship through marriage or residence, Italy asks for B1 Italian, and our CILS B1 citizenship tutors coach that exam.
FAQ
About Italian lessons & classes
Can I take Italian lessons in person in LA?
Yes. Several of these tutors teach in person, at your place or theirs. A few of the tutors on this page teach online only, so check the profile before you book.
Can an Italian tutor come to my home or office?
Yes. Most of the tutors here who teach in person will also travel to you. That costs more than going to them, and each card's "see all rates" link shows both prices. Not sure who's closest? Tell us your neighborhood and we'll suggest someone.
How do I find an Italian tutor near me?
The list above covers our Italian tutors within about 25 miles of downtown LA, and each card shows where the tutor is based. For a map of all our tutors, try tutors near me.
How much do Italian lessons in LA cost?
Each tutor sets their own rates. The "see all rates" link on a card lists single lessons, 10- and 20-hour packages, and in-person prices. Lessons in person usually cost more than online ones, and the most when the tutor comes to you. A paid 30-minute trial costs half the tutor's one-hour online rate.
Are your tutors native Italian speakers?
Most of them grew up in Italy, in cities from Turin and Milan down to Rome. Each profile says where the tutor is from. Native speaker or not, every tutor goes through the same vetting before teaching for us.
I have an audition or a role in Italian. Can a tutor help?
Yes. Send your tutor the sides or the script ahead of time and the lessons can go line by line, with pronunciation, rhythm and what each line actually means. Some of these tutors have done the same work on film sets. See also our dialect coaches for actors.
Do I need an Italian exam for citizenship?
If you're applying through marriage or residence, yes. Italy asks for Italian at B1 level, shown with a certificate such as the CILS. Our CILS B1 citizenship tutors know the exam format, so tell your tutor your test date and they'll plan back from it.
Should I take private lessons or join an Italian class?
Private lessons follow your goal and your calendar, so they're the faster route to something specific like an audition or an exam. A group class costs less per hour and gives you other people to talk to. Our Italian group classes page shows what's running now, and you can add private lessons on the side.
How do I get started?
Pick a tutor and book from their card. If they offer a free 30-minute meet & greet, the button says "Book free trial." Otherwise it says "Check availability," and you can book a paid 30-minute trial or a 1-hour lesson. You can also send us a note about your goals and schedule, and we'll suggest a tutor.
Ready for Italian lessons or classes?
Pick a tutor and book your first lesson, or look for "Book free trial" on a card for a free 30-minute meet & greet.