Sorrento Cooking School italian laguage school

Italian for Foreigners The Italian Language School for Foreigners program is designed to enable students, professionals, and those interested in simply learning for pleasure to develop an integrated mastery of the language focused on four main skills: speaking, listening, reading, and writing. Courses are practical, stimulating and interactive, with teaching materials not only from textbooks but also taken from everyday life (i.e., articles from newspapers and magazines, videos and tapes) to build a contemporary and relevant understanding of the language. The overall objective is to enable students to communicate effectively in Italian, to confront the most important daily situations confidently, and to be able to interact with Italians and express one’s ideas.

In addition to classroom instruction, the school community offers students the opportunity to practice their language skills. Because the school also teaches foreign languages to Italians, students are exposed to Italian native speakers on a daily basis. Whether it’s a casual encounter in the hallway or a school-organized event, students are in an environment which encourages conversation and interaction. This is not only the perfect way to learn the language, but also to develop life-long friendships with Italians. We believe this is one of the biggest advantages of the Sorrento Lingue experience.

The school offers group, individual, and other custom-tailored programs for students with more specific needs (i.e., Italian university preparation, business Italian). The following is a summary of our courses:

The school's Italian language courses are divided into six levels consistent with Other Languages: English, German, French, and Spanish the criteria of the Council of Europe: Beginner (I), Elementary (II), Pre-Intermediate (III), Intermediate (IV), Upper Intermediate (V), and Advanced (VI). If a student has previous Italian language experience, a test will be administered in the beginning of the course to determine placement. Each level lasts fours weeks. At the end of each level, students will have the opportunity to take an examination accreditated by The European Language Certificates (TELC) for an additional fee. Levels will provide students with the following language abilities:

ITALIAN COURSES FOR FOREIGNERS - LEVELS OFFERED

Level	Communication Objectives
I. Beginner	Greetings and introductions Time Simple biographical information (i.e., family, job, house, traditions, holidays) Descriptions of people and places Living abroad essentials (i.e., ordering in a restaurant, daily situations such as phone calls, health matters, taxi, post office)
II. Elementary	Travel experiences Current events Customs Descriptions of people and places Art and cultural topics Comparing situations and opinions Body language
III. Pre-Intermediate	Giving instructions and making suggestions Simple reading comprehension Expressing needs, obligation, possibility Making invitations Expressing preferences and desires
IV. Intermediate	Understanding context Communicating in different situations (i.e., formal vs. informal) Compare and analyze alternative viewpoints Ability to express perspectives
V. Upper Intermediate	Idiomatic expressions and phraseology Shades of meaning Regional aspects of Italian Persuasion and argumentation Making judgments and evaluation Expressing emotion Conversation on literary or poetic passages
VI. Advanced	Demonstrated ability to integrate levels I-V; to speak in a clear, yet nuanced mode stylistically adapted to the situation. Abilty to present oneself logically, contribute to and facilitate conversation Ability to hear, recall and identify the most important points of a conversation

A TYPICAL DAY AT THE ITALIAN LANGUAGE SCHOOL

Time	Learning Agenda
9:00-11:00	Conversation practice, vocabulary and grammar
11:00-11:15	Break
11:15-12:15	Vocabulary expansion and conversation practice
12:15-13:15	Conversation practice and development of speaking and pronunciation abilities
15:00-17:15	Thematic lectures and discussion based on a class' particular interests (i.e., Italian history, literature, current events)