Italian Courses

General  information about our Italian courses

• Our school offers courses on 6 levels that correspond to the 6 levels of the CEFR. 
• On day 1 of the course students who have already studied Italian will sit an oral and written test to identify their level of proficiency
• Lessons are 50 minutes long.
• We recommend that courses for absolute beginners should be a minimum of two weeks.
• Classes will have a minimum of 4 to a maximum of 12 students per class, but we can also organise one-to-one classes.

Objectives:

The main purpose of learning a second language is communication. Grammatical accuracy is a necessary part of linguistic competence, but it must be integrated with communicative competence and the ability to use language effectively, in different situations and circumstances. Our main objective, must therefore necessarily be to enable students to interact in the new language, where interaction includes listening, comprehension and oral expression.

Communication in a different language has practical advantages, but we feel that language study can also broaden cultural horizons: the language we use, and the way we express ourselves reflect our social, historic and cultural environment/context as well as our education, upbringing and personal experiences. Teachers of a second language cannot avoid transmitting a part of the culture that language represents.   Learners must be brought to view the study of a second language as a means to an end, as a way to understand and appreciate a different lifestyle, a new way of thinking and acting, maybe also of eating and drinking, working, relaxing.  The knowledge of a second language opens up a whole new cultural horizon made up of Literature, Art, Music, Architecture, Philosophy, the Performing Arts, and enhances our understanding of those we are already familiar with.   The comparisons and contrasts born of the encounter with new ideas cannot but enrich our own personality and culture.

Teaching strategies:

Our aim is to develop communicative competence in our learners in real life situations: because real life is so varied, we base our teaching on a variety of approaches and strategies.  These include pair work and group work,  research projects, journal writing, discussion groups, analytical viewing of movies, games,  lectures,  and multiple intelligence techniques. We try to diversify our teaching methods as much as we can, in order to reach students at every level and to adapt our approach to the individual personalities. Our approach is always centered on the student’s needs and expectations.

Our language courses include a number of activities which may be considered “full immersion” in the linguistic and social context in which they are living.    The students play an active part in the life of the city by  assisting in a community service program, which not only allows them to come into direct contact with the social background but also to listen to and use  the language they are learning in different circumstances.

If you want to combine Italian lessons with other activities, we are happy to arrange classes in art and history, photography or cooking lessons, or organise excursions to local places of interest. 

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Standard Italian  (group)

Course hours: 15 a week from Monday to Friday, morning lessons

Grammar and conversation

Intensive Italian  (group)

Course hours: 20 a week from Monday to Friday, lessons mornings and afternoons

Grammar and conversation

One-to-one Italian

Made to measure, for the specific needs of the individual student