Methods and Levels

Method 
 
During our courses we emphasize the use of the Communicative language teaching. Courses are held in Italian by instructors specialized in the teaching of Italian as a second language. Course material is based on real life situations, hypothetical situations a student would surely encounter on a trip to Italy or during a conversation with an Italian speaker.

Levels

Beginner I
This course is an introduction to the basic elements of the language. Emphasis is placed on oral communication, pronunciation and vocabulary acquisition. Students will study the present tense of regular and of most common irregular verbs; definite and indefinite articles; subject pronouns; simple and compound prepositions.

Beginner II
As in Beginner I, emphasis is placed on basic communicative strategies as well as fundamental grammar & vocabulary. Topics include: present perfect and future tenses; demonstrative and possessive adjectives and pronouns; reflexive verbs; prepositions.

Intermediate I
This course enriches the students’ knowledge of current expressions and vocabulary and introduces the following grammatical structures: imperfect tense; present and past conditional; direct & indirect personal pronouns.

Intermediate II
Students will have the opportunity to enhance their basic communication skills while learning additional vocabulary and more complex grammatical structures such as: reflexive verbs, indirect personal pronouns, imperative, present and past conditional.
 
Intermediate Plus
This course explores more advanced structures of Italian grammar such as: present and past subjunctive; the gerund; the active and passive voice.

Advanced I & II
The Advanced I & II courses provide students with the opportunity to explore and further develop advanced grammatical and communicative structures. Special emphasis is placed on effective written communication in Italian as well as agreement of tenses and idiomatic expressions.

Italian Grammar & Stylistics
This course is ideal for students who wish to gain a better understanding of Italian syntax and stylistics while improving written communication. Various written samples (novels, newspaper articles) will be analyzed. Completion of Advanced II or equivalent is required.

Conversation I & II
Through simple literary readings and analysis of newspaper and magazine articles, the instructor will guide conversation and discussions on current events. Students will have the opportunity to put in practice the grammatical structures learned in the Beginner & Intermediate courses and acquire additional relevant vocabulary.

Review I & II
These courses are designed for those who need a general review of the grammatical structures learned in Beginner I & II (Review I) and Intermediate I & II (Review II) before advancing to the next level.

Italian for Business
Designed for those who are professionally involved in the business and international trade, the course focuses on both oral and written expressions and provides students with specific related vocabulary. 

Introductory Italian Transaltion
This course, aimed at Intermediate level students, is an introduction to translating basic structures and idiomatic expressions from English to Italian. Special focus will be on the use of the article, the past tenses and on vocabulary building.

Italian in Music
Through the analysis of values and traditions of the Italian culture, as well as the lyrics of some famous Italian songwriters and songs, the aim of this course is to provide a deep and comprehensive analysis of the Italian culture. Besides the linguistic analysis, students will actively participate in a debate at the end of the lesson.

Historical Italy
The course focuses on the Italian Renaissance. Students will be introduced to the historical, literary and artistic aspects of the period through the reading and the discussion of related literature.


Placement test

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(Updated on March 10, 2010)

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