I was born in La Spezia (Italy) to an Italian father and a Canadian mother.
I believe this aspect more than any other qualifies my claim to native fluency in both Italian and English. No amount of schooling can match the privilege of learning a language by hearing it spoken to you from day 1. The plasticity of an infant’s brain is simply remarkable and unique. It’s like a blank cache ready for any new input.
But I didn’t just grow up speaking Italian and English with my dad, mom, and siblings at home. I also studied both languages in school and used them in conversation with friends.
My formative years (from kindergarten to 2nd grade) were spent in Saudi Arabia, where I lived in a gated residential complex and where the other tenants were largely foreigners who worked in the oil industry. Here I attended an American school where classes were all taught in English.
My family then returned to Italy, where I attended 3rd through 5th grade at the American School of Milan, and then 6th through 10th grade at ISF in Florence.
These schools offered a mixed course curriculum, with some subjects in Italian and some in English. However, grammar and Italian and English literature were always a core part of the academic program.
I then moved to Prague, where a college counsellor suggested that I apply to Simon’s Rock in the United States. I did and got accepted and over the span of 2 years, I enrolled in classes towards a bachelor’s degree, totalling some 40 university credits.
That pretty much sums up my history with academia. As for the professional experience that helped form my knowledge of terminology in specific domain areas, you can have a look at my CV.