Learn a Language with Founder & Director Nancy A. Scarselletta

Education

Nancy A. Scarselletta – Founder & DirectorA native of Colonie, NY, Nancy Scarselletta is a New York State certified teacher, specializing in French, with a passion for sharing her love of language. A teacher for over 30 years, Nancy has taught in both public and private school systems, working with children from pre-school age up through adult level classes. Besides her teacher’s certification, her training includes a year’s study abroad in Paris. During this intensive study, she participated in a comprehensive French language immersion program that combined art, history, culture, literature, linguistics, grammar, and phonetics, allowing her to fully experience “French” outside of just academia.

During her Masters in French studies, Nancy was afforded the opportunity to take education courses taught by innovative leaders in the field of French language education, which planted the seeds for her own teaching style today. Not stopping there, she continuously extends her education and studies, expanding not only her knowledge of languages, but also of computer and technology education. This has allowed her to continue developing different means of delivering her courses, using current 21st Century skills to enhance her classes in new ways.

Grants

Nancy ScarsellettaLearn French and Travel to Paris, FranceNancy has received three grants to pursue some of these studies: a scholarship to study the use of computers in the study of foreign language; a travel-study scholarship from the State Education Department and the Cultural Services of the French Embassy; and most notably, a grant for the development of her innovative and original curriculum for upper French language studies – The Use of the Bayeux Tapestry to Teach Language, Culture, and History.

Unique, Original Method

Nancy developed her personal methodology by combining her educational background with her own experiences in becoming bi-lingual. This methodology takes into consideration the natural language center in the brain and helps students to overcome the typical obstacles in learning a new language. Students practice real life speech, with an emphasis on speaking and listening comprehension. Reading and writing are used for enforcement.

Nancy’s method makes learning FUN for all ages, regardless of whether a young student is enrolled to fulfill a school requirement, an adult is trying to keep his/her brain active, planning a trip abroad, or just to learn something new!

Continuing Education

Nancy is always continuing her studies, both in business and language, knowing how important learning a language is to a person’s well-being. “There are so many benefits to learning another language, from keeping the brain active and healthy to being able to connect with people of other cultures. In studying and using another language, one is constantly active. I never tire of watching my students come into their own when they learn another language. Their self-esteem is challenged to rise, as does their ability to put sentences together in a standard and comprehensible language – and they have fun doing all of this too!” she says.

Besides having the opportunity to constantly be creative and meet new people, Nancy’s passion also offers her the chance to see the instant effect on her students. Children start noticing the world around them more, while her adult students not only have the skill to specialize in a new language, they also reap the benefits of the excitement of learning something different and opening their view of the world with new information.

Out of The Box

Nancy ballroom dancingOutside of the classroom, Nancy enjoys competitive ballroom dance, gardening, photography, fine dining, and clean cooking. Nancy’s hobbies have found their way into her classes as well. She has taught crochet, embroidery, and cooking as they apply to her original curricula. The Spanish summer camp can expect to see a little dance as well!

Community Resource

Nancy’s direction, the Language Learning Institute has become the “go to” place in the Capital District for learning or enhancing languages, offering opportunities for students interested in remediation, enrichment, health, and fun! She also now provides a business English program titled, Effective Communication and Email Writing, for those that want to improve their business communication skills.

Nancy presenting to a group

Education

  • Middlebury College – Middlebury, Vermont
    Center for Educational Technology
  • Université de Paris – Paris, France
    Mission Interuniversitaire de Coordination des Echanges Franco-Américaines
    Six week travel-study scholarship
    Concentration: Study of current events. Educational and Interactive Excursions
  • Middlebury College – Middlebury, Vermont
    Master of Arts Degree in French
  • College of Saint Rose – Albany, New York
    Concentration: Education courses leading to certification in Nursery-6th grade. Effective Teaching.
  • Siena College – Loudonville, New York
    Bachelor of Arts Degree: French and Secondary Education
    Academic Honors: Cum Laude
    Academic Honor Societies: Alpha Mu Gamma, Delta Epsilon Sigma
  • Hamilton College – Junior Year in France
    Academic year in Biarritz and Paris
    Six week orientation in Biarritz
    Academic year in Paris
    Studied: Art Appreciation, Literature, Grammar, Culture
  • La Sorbonne Nouvelle
  • Institut de la Linguistique et Phonétique
    Linguistics and Phonetics

In-Service Training

  • NYSUT: The Twelve R’s of Substitute Teaching,
  • Greater Capital Region Teacher Center: Computer Courses,
  • Model Schools Program: Computer Course,
  • Shenendehowa Central Schools: Computer and Effective Substituting

What Our Students Are Saying

“The Language Learning Institute is the only venue which teaches more than just conversational Italian, other than enrolling in a college course. I had tried a few Italian language classes from other continuing education places but it was always the same: the class was dominated by those planning a trip to Italy and wanting to have travel vocabulary and phrases under their belts.

The Language Learning Institute teaches Italian as a true language-you learn by listening to Italian, speaking it, reading it and writing it. We have a text book and a workbook, and are tackling all the basics of a language-alphabet, grammar, idioms, the way the Italians think. The price is reasonable, the pace is great for working people, and the staff is extremely knowledgeable.”

— Katherine Better (Loudonville, NY)

Contact Us