Alessandro Zannirato is Associate Teaching Professor and Director of the Italian Language Program at the Johns Hopkins University; he received his PhD from the School of Languages and Literatures of the University of Cape Town, South Africa. An applied linguist and conference interpreter by training, his research interests include foreign language pedagogy, program evaluation, interpreting, and L2 teacher training. Before coming to Hopkins, he taught foreign languages to music and voice students at Alla Scala Academy in Milan, Italy, and at the South African College of Music in Cape Town.