Original chinese text -🗣 original voice🔈
Translation:
Hello everyone,
my name is Sun Yixin, and I am a student at the Academy of Fine Arts of Bologna. Here I would like to write a letter to my Italian language teacher, Brandon.
The first time I heard about Brandon was in a WeChat group. The teacher let me listen to a lesson, and I was immediately struck by his teaching method, to the point that I decided to start attending his lessons.
I met my teacher at a time when I felt very desperate about studying the language. He is a kind, bright, and warm person. Through the correction of my pronunciation, and by having me listen to Italian music, watch Italian films, and Italian cartoons, he helped me get to know Italian culture and feel that Italian was becoming easier. The way he presents the Italian language is very vivid and concrete. He is different from other teachers: through simple methods he guides you to observe step by step, and through observation he helps you understand how Italians speak and how they pronounce words. For me, he is very different from traditional professors. The relationship between him and me is that of good friends: with enthusiasm, he shares his experience of love for life and his way of facing difficulties.
The teacher has created original PDFs that help to better understand Italian. Moreover, thanks to his unique point of view, when in life you feel lost or in difficulty, he guides you with patience. He is a very valuable person. With him, I discussed the cultural differences between various regions, while at the same time looking for common points.
The teacher often encourages me, talks to me about life, and explains how to study and how to learn. Sometimes he is truly happy when he sees my progress. He is also studying English and German and, as a foreigner who comes into contact with a new language, he shares his experiences: for example, preparing a small notebook, watching more, listening more, memorizing more; practice makes experts. He shares his way of learning and knows how to grasp the essence of things and their development from another perspective. He told me that one must consider studying as a personal experience: this is the real way to learn.
For example, when we were children and learned our mother tongue, in reality we did not have books, nor complex mechanisms or elaborate systems of thought. There was the education given by our parents, the environment in which we grew up, and our own experiences, which explained to us what words and concepts meant. It was a system of values and observation of the world that shaped our vision of language. Often these are deep connections of the soul, very important, because they do not come from books but from experience, and they help to explore the external world and self-knowledge. At the beginning, the teacher had me listen to very simple songs, to allow the language to enter my mind. He understands well how difficult it is for a foreigner to learn a language. His learning method is like playing a video game: through simple modes, he helps you overcome the deep fear that the brain experiences during study. Sometimes difficulties must be overcome. For me, the teacher is an excellent friend: he has a unique vision of life, is kind and good, loves being with Chinese people, and does his best to help you emerge from confusion.
Everyone in life has their own themes and challenges. The teacher shares methods to help you face them. We talked a lot: about the shadows of childhood, the perception of life, vital force, and the experience of pain. Pain leads to progress and growth. For me, the most important thing he taught me is this: he told me to stay more in contact with nature, he told me some of his personal experiences, and he told me that, in any case, one must believe in oneself. He told me that language is emotion. Through all this, he made me understand that studying with him means above all finding a way to know myself, building a bond with the world, and completing my authentic emotions. He taught me to achieve inner balance, to form my own way of thinking and a unique system of values to welcome the world, and to observe and understand the world and myself from different perspectives.
The teacher often simplifies complex goals to help you build confidence in learning a foreign language. With his methods, he helps you understand yourself and create a personal way of emotional connection with the external world, because language belongs to emotion. Through simple steps, he helps you gradually build a basic linguistic structure, and on this basis to understand yourself, improve, and grow. The most important thing he taught me is that if you want to change yourself, you must first accept yourself. Change is a painful and long process: you will feel stuck, confused, unable to move forward or to let go, full of doubts, but you must believe in yourself. Through his way of being, he conveys his emotional approach, helps you build an emotional connection with the outside world, and form an inner core that belongs to you. For each student, he creates a personalized study method.
The teacher is very available and patient. He chats with you on WhatsApp and shares what you do not understand. He is also learning Chinese and often uses Chinese to explain how to apply Italian. He is truly very patient. If you have the opportunity, I recommend that you attend at least one Italian lesson with him. He is truly a kind, determined, and bright person. With his methods, he helps you overcome the difficulties of life and transmits a way of looking at the world, of accepting yourself, and of believing in yourself. He teaches you how to face pain: pain makes you grow, and you must learn to accept it. He teaches you to accept yourself, to break inner chains, to know yourself, your courage, and your dreams. If you want to learn Italian, I can say that Brandon is truly a unique teacher.
The teacher also has great vital force. He is kind and patient, transmits knowledge, teaches, and resolves doubts. Studying with him is, for me, a very important process. For me, he is a friend: he helps me without reservation, understands me, supports me, and encourages me. With his unique method, he helps you build a linguistic structure and also teaches you how to be with yourself and with the environment. He taught me how to know myself: the more a person comes into contact with the world, the more they understand it. Drawing closer to nature, opening horizons, exploring oneself. Looking at the rules of the development of things from different perspectives. For me, the growth of a tree is a process that requires a great deal of patience: its height depends on its roots. The path of study with the teacher is just like putting down roots, to know the world and to know oneself.
“Piano piano” is a phrase that the teacher often repeats to me. He taught me to consider study as a process of exploring myself. He too faces his own difficulties and challenges in life, but he shares without reservation his experiences in overcoming them.
His kindness, his patience, and his experiences in facing the difficulties of life have deeply moved me. I truly wish to recommend this excellent teacher to all of you.
I conclude by wishing my teacher:
“Whoever drinks the water should remember its source;
when a goal is reached, one should think of the teacher.”
“Between heaven and earth there is a benevolent intention,
and among mountains and rivers, people always meet.”
10/1/2025, Beijing
Sun Yixin
