CILS B1 CITTADINANZA – OCTOBER 17th – REGISTRATION will close on September 6

Created by the University of Siena in Italy, the CILS certification attests one’s linguistic-communicative competence in Italian as a second language.

The CILS certification is the first Italian language certification to have applied six levels of linguistic-communicative competence from the Common European Framework of Reference and to have offered specific certifications for foreign workers in Italy.

Please note that examinations will only be activated if a minimum number of 6 participants is reached. If the minimum number is not reached, the school administration may cancel the exam anytime due to low enrollment. Upon cancellation, registrants can receive a full refund or use the amount already paid as a credit for the next exam session.

Exam Fee

The cost for CILS B1 Citizenship is $290 + GST for Early Bird purchases. This price is available until March 3rd and includes the enrollment fee that is paid directly to the University for Foreigners of Siena. Please get in touch with us for enrollment instructions. The regular fee is $340 + GST.

Schedule

On Thursday, October 17th
8:00 am – 2:00 pm PST

Tickets

$290 (+ GST)  – Early Bird Fee – up to August 2, 2024
$340 (+ GST) – Regular Fee – from August 30, 2024

Conversation 2 in-person – Saturday afternoon

Conversation 2 is for intermediate learners of Italian and is intended to improve your Italian speaking skills in everyday situations through conversational practice. 

Teachers will bring new topics to discuss every week and will prompt the conversation in different ways such as questions, requests for opinions, and brief exercises. Spoken accuracy and fluency are the focus of this course, but the teacher will signal and correct the main grammar mistakes too and will be at the student’s disposal in case there is a need to clarify some concepts in order to improve learners’ accuracy and confidence while speaking.

 

What you will learn 

  • Students will strengthen and refine oral fluency through guided conversations and presentations in Italian. 
  • Students will enrich their vocabulary and verbal expressiveness in a way that will benefit both general conversation and discussion of specific topics 
  • students will enhance familiarity with various current issues relating to Italy through different sources (short readings, websites, videos, music, etc.)

Completion of the Intermediate 3 Course is recommended.

 

Syllabus

Benvenute e Benvenuti!

Students will be provided with handouts and class materials.

No textbook is required 

Saturday morning, APRIL 15 to JUNE 24, 2023
1:00 -3:00 pm PST
11 weeks – Classes meet once a week in our downtown school

 

Course Fee

Early Bird Rate 279$ (+ GST) Early Bird Rate available until March 30th

310$ (+ GST) after March 30th

 

Course Cancellations

Please note that the school administration may cancel courses due to low enrolment. Upon cancellation, registrants will receive a full refund.

For any further info about our cancellation policy please visit Cancellation & Refund policy

 

Beginner 3 (In-person) – Tuesday evenings

Beginner 3 is a continuation of foundational elements of the Italian language. Development of listening, reading, speaking, and writing skills in the context of everyday situations in the present and past tenses.

This course is being delivered virtually with live instruction and interaction.

What you will learn

  • How to communicate in a variety of social situations, such as practicing talking about your daily life, past events, holidays, and your family. For instance, you will talk about your purchases, simulating the situation of a grocery shop.
  • Basic grammar structures such as past tenses of regular and irregular verbs, reflexive verbs, pronouns, superlative assoluto, and adverbs of frequency. Increase grammar skills to build more conversation
  • Italian culture.

Syllabus

Benvenute e Benvenuti!
Textbook: Nuovo Espresso – The course consists of Chapters 8, 9, 10

Schedule

Tuesday evening, APRIL 11 to JUNE 20, 2023
6:00 pm-8:00 pm PST
Classes meet once a week in our downtown school

Courses Fee

Early Bird Rate 279$ (+5%GST) – available until March 30th

310$ (+ GST) after March 30th

Course Cancellations

Please note that the school administration may cancel courses at any time due to low enrolment. Upon cancellation, registrants will receive a full refund.
For any further info about our cancellation policy please visit Cancellation & Refund Policy.

Beginner 1 (In-Person) – Thursday evenings

Beginner 1 is an introductory course that teaches the four basic skills (speaking, listening, reading and writing) in the context of major themes in Italian culture. It is designed for those with little or no previous knowledge of the Italian language.
This course is being delivered virtually with live instruction and interaction.
If you already have a basic understanding of the language, consider Italian for Beginners II.

What you will learn

  • How to communicate in a variety of social situations, such as introducing yourself, talking about daily activities, describing what you do for work, writing and reading simple texts, such as an e-mail, talking about the things you like dislike, ordering a meal, and telling time
  • Basic grammar structures such as articles and nouns, adjectives, and present tenses of regular and irregular verbs
  • Italian culture, including daily life, film, cuisine, and vacationing

Syllabus

Benvenute e Benvenuti!
Textbook: Nuovo Espresso – The course consists of Chapters 1, 2, 3, 4

Schedule

Thursday evening, APRIL 13TH TO JUNE 22ND, 2023
6:00 am – 8:00 pm PST
11 weeks – Classes meet once a week in our downtown school 

Courses Fee

279$ (+ GST) Early Bird Rate available until March 30th

310 (+ GST) after March 30th

Course Cancellations

Please note that the school administration may cancel courses at any time due to low enrolment. Upon cancellation, registrants will receive a full refund.
For any further info about our cancellation policy please visit Cancellation & Refund Policy.

Conversation 2 online – Wednesday evenings

Conversation 2 is for intermediate learners of Italian and is intended to improve your Italian speaking skills in everyday situations through conversational practice. 

Teachers will bring new topics to discuss every week and will prompt the conversation in different ways such as questions, requests for opinions, and brief exercises. Spoken accuracy and fluency are the focus of this course, but the teacher will signal and correct the main grammar mistakes too, and will be at the student’s disposal in case there is a need to clarify some concepts in order to improve learners’ accuracy and confidence while speaking.

 

What you will learn 

  • Students will strengthen and refine oral fluency through guided conversations and presentations in Italian. 
  • Students will enrich their vocabulary and verbal expressiveness in a way that will benefit both general conversation and discussion of specific topics 
  • students will enhance familiarity with various current issues relating to Italy through different sources (short readings, websites, videos, music, etc.)

Completion of the Intermediate 3 Course is recommended.

 

Syllabus

Benvenute e Benvenuti!

Students will be provided with handouts and class materials.

No textbook is required 

Wednesday evening, JANUARY 11 to MARCH 22, 2023
10:00 am-12:00 pm PST
11 weeks – Classes meet once a week on Zoom

 

Course Fee

Early Bird Rate 240$ (+5%GST) – available until December 17th

 

Course Cancellations

Please note that the school administration may cancel courses due to low enrolment. Upon cancellation, registrants will receive a full refund.

For any further info about our cancellation policy please visit Cancellation & Refund policy

Conversation 2 online – Saturday mornings

Conversation 2 is for intermediate learners of Italian and is intended to improve your Italian speaking skills in everyday situations through conversational practice. 

Teachers will bring new topics to discuss every week and will prompt the conversation in different ways such as questions, requests for opinions, and brief exercises. Spoken accuracy and fluency are the focus of this course, but the teacher will signal and correct the main grammar mistakes too, and will be at the student’s disposal in case there is a need to clarify some concepts in order to improve learners’ accuracy and confidence while speaking.

 

What you will learn 

  • Students will strengthen and refine oral fluency through guided conversations and presentations in Italian. 
  • Students will enrich their vocabulary and verbal expressiveness in a way that will benefit both general conversation and discussion of specific topics 
  • students will enhance familiarity with various current issues relating to Italy through different sources (short readings, websites, videos, music, etc.)

Completion of the Intermediate 3 Course is recommended.

 

Syllabus

Benvenute e Benvenuti!

Students will be provided with handouts and class materials.

No textbook is required 

Saturday morning, JANUARY 14 to MARCH 25, 2023
10:00 am-12:00 pm PST
11 weeks – Classes meet once a week on Zoom

 

Course Fee

Early Bird Rate 240$ (+5%GST) – available until December 17th

 

Course Cancellations

Please note that the school administration may cancel courses due to low enrolment. Upon cancellation, registrants will receive a full refund.

For any further info about our cancellation policy please visit Cancellation & Refund policy

Intermediate 1 (Online) -Tuesday evenings

Our Intermediate 1 course is great to build knowledge and strengthen your skills. Whether you’re buying a holiday home in Italy or taking a road trip along the Amalfi Coast, this course will equip you with helpful vocabulary for everyday conversation. You will continue to build on previously acquired competencies in A1 and you will be introduced to more complex language structures used to communicate in a variety of situations by using different tenses and modes. Aligned with CEFR level A2 objectives.

Completion of Beginner 3 and Conversation 1 Courses is recommended. Or if you can have simple intermediate-level conversations on familiar topics, this level is ideal.

What you will learn

  • Students will understand and ask for information about how to shop for clothes, describe someone’s physical appearance or personality, express wishes, and desires, and talk about childhood memories. Furthermore, you will make comparisons, you will argue in favor or against something, and you will be able to provide advice
  • You will focus on the imperfetto tense, so you can talk about the past and how this differs from passato prossimo, which we will also revise.
  • Italian culture from newspaper articles extracts from novels, films, and audio clips are also used to add authenticity and context to your learning.

Syllabus

Benvenute e Benvenuti!
Textbook: Nuovo Espresso 2 – The course consists of Chapters 1,2,3,4

Schedule

Tuesday evening, APRIL 11 to JUNE 20, 2023
6:00 pm-8:00 pm PST
11 weeks – Classes meet once a week on Zoom

Courses Fee

Early Bird Rate 240$ (+5%GST) – available until March 30th

260$ (+ GST) after March 30th

Course Cancellations

Please note that the school administration may cancel courses at any time due to low enrolment. Upon cancellation, registrants will receive a full refund.
For any further info about our cancellation policy please visit Cancellation & Refund policy.

Advanced 3 (Online) – Thursday evenings

Advanced 3 will help you to gain more fluency and confidence and to perfect your skills in Italian (speaking, listening, reading, and writing. In addition, the course will focus on developing a deeper understanding of Italian culture and society using authentic material (i.e. TV news, newspapers, films).

Once completing Advanced 1, 2, and 3 you’ll be able to converse with native speakers, follow debates and discuss current issues using more complex and linguistically accurate structures and a greater range of vocabulary.

This course is for students who have completed Advanced 2 or those who have an advanced experience with the Italian language and are comfortable having conversations in different verb tenses.

What you will learn

  • You will be able to discuss future events and make assumptions, and models of speculations, give advice, express probability
  • You will improve your command of topic-related vocabulary
  • You will learn critical grammatical structures, such as gerund – present and past, third conditional, subjunctive in various tenses, particular verbs, and adverbs

Syllabus

Benvenute e Benvenuti!
Textbook: Nuovo Espresso 3 is required. The course consists of chapters 8,9 and 10 that will be covered.

Schedule

Thursday evening, JANUARY 12 to MARCH 23, 2023
6:00 pm-8:00 pm PST
11 weeks – Classes meet once a week on Zoom.

Course fee

Early Bird Rate 240$ (+5%GST) – available until December 17th

Course Cancellations

Please note that the school administration may cancel courses at any time due to low enrolment. Upon cancellation, registrants will receive a full refund.
For any further info about our cancellation policy please visit Cancellation & Refund Policy.

Chiacchiere & Caffé (Online) – Wednesdays

Join our Virtual gathering to practice your Italian conversation skills with Sara, and a group of fellow learners. This is not a course, this is a coffee meeting, a small friendly group in a relaxed environment where to talk about different topics and what you are interested in. The main emphasis will be on conversation and group discussions with the extensive use of authentic materials. The sessions will be customized to the needs and interests of the learners with immediate feedback, documentation, and suggestions for continued practice.

This course is designed for high intermediate and advanced speakers who want to improve their fluency.

What you will learn

  • You will expand your vocabulary.
  • It will improve your ability to communicate effectively in Italian.
  • You will improve your fluency and your language skills by talking about the latest news from Italy: events, music, film, exhibition, and art.

Syllabus

Benvenute e Benvenuti!
Students will be provided with handouts and class materials.
No textbook is required.

Schedule

Wednesday evening JULY 12TH to SEPTEMBER 13TH, 2023
5:00 pm-6:00 pm PST
10 weeks – Classes meet ONCE a week ONLINE on Zoom.

Tickets

120$ (+5%GST) Early Bird Rate available until June 30th

140$ (+ 5%GST) after June 30th

Course Cancellations

Please note that the school administration may cancel courses at any time due to low enrolment. Upon cancellation, registrants will receive a full refund.
For any further info about our cancellation policy please visit Cancellation & Refund Policy.

Advanced Plus (Online) – Thursday evenings

Advanced PLUS will help you to further improve your vocabulary (whether it is technical terminology, colloquial expressions, or different styles of Italian) and grammar (complex sentences). You will work on extracts from TV shows, commercials, and films in standard Italian. We will analyze literary texts by contemporary authors.

This course is for students who have completed Advanced 2 or 3 course, or for those who have advanced experience with the Italian language and are comfortable having conversations in different verb tenses, are able to converse with native speakers, follow debates and discuss current issues using more complex structures.

What you will learn

  • You will acquire the ability to understand speeches of various lengths and follow even complex arguments and to achieve a degree of fluency and spontaneity to interact with native speakers
  • You will acquire the ability to produce clear, detailed descriptions of a wide range of cultural topics and current events of interest to them.
  • You will learn and assimilate figurative, metaphorical, and idiomatic expressions of the Italian language, words with double meaning, the use of the subjunctive through conversation, the use of complex prepositions, and grammar structure

Syllabus

Benvenute e Benvenuti!
Students will be provided with handouts and class materials.
No textbook is required.

Schedule

Thursday evening, APRIL 13TH TO JUNE 22ND, 2023
6:00 pm-8:00 pm PST
11 weeks – Classes meet once a week on Zoom.

Course Fee

Early Bird Rate 240$ (+5%GST) – available until March 30th

260$ (+ GST) after March 30th

 

Course Cancellations

Please note that the school administration may cancel courses at any time due to low enrolment. Upon cancellation, registrants will receive a full refund.
For any further info about our cancellation policy please visit Cancellation & Refund Policy.