This 10-week course is for complete beginners in the language and those who have acquired some expressions informally through travel or socialising. It is pitched at level A1 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR), and completion of the course will help you meet some of the level requirements. To help develop your fluency in the language, the course will focus primarily on speaking and listening skills, but will also include practice in reading and writing. You will have plenty of opportunities to practise the target language through hands-on collaborative class activities such as conversations and role-plays.
Italian: Beginners - Part 1
This is an In-person course which requires your attendance to the weekly meetings which take place in Oxford.
Overview
Programme details
Course starts: 27 Sept 2023
Our public programme is open access, and most adult language classes are mixed ability. The weekly course schedule below is intended to give an overview of the main topics likely to be covered in each session. Please note that these may sometimes change according to the tutor’s discretion to reflect the interests of course participants.
Week 1: Come ti chiami? Introducing oneself and finding out about other people
Week 2: Di dove sei? Asking for and providing information about one's place of origin; countries and nationalities
Week 3: Vorrei un caffé! Ordering in a café and a restaurant
Week 4: Che lavoro fai? Work and professions
Week 5: Ti presento il mio amico… Giving and asking for personal details
Week 6: Che cosa fai nel tempo libero? Discussing free time and leisure activities
Week 7: Mi piace! Expressing likes and dislikes
Week 8: Cosa c’è nella tua cittá? Travelling in Italy
Week 9: Che ore sono? Asking for and giving directions; asking and telling the time
Week 10: Buone feste! Traditions and festivities
Key grammar points:
* The basic sentence structure and word order
*Present tense of the regular and irregular verbs
*Verb piacere
*Adverbs of frequency
*Simple and compound prepositions
Key functions:
*Introducing oneself in social situations and asking about other people
*Giving basic information about the self and others
*Expressing likes and dislikes
*Asking for and giving basic directions
* Telling the time
Recommended reading
All weekly class students may become borrowing members of the Rewley House Continuing Education Library for the duration of their course. Prospective students whose courses have not yet started are welcome to use the Library for reference. More information can be found on the Library website.
There is a Guide for Weekly Class students which will give you further information.
Availability of titles on the reading list (below) can be checked on SOLO, the library catalogue.
Preparatory reading
- New Italian Espresso- textbook Beginners and pre-Intermediate / Gruppo Italiaidea
Certification
Students who attend a minimum of 70% of classes will receive a Certificate of Attendance.
Fees
| Description | Costs |
|---|---|
| Course Fee | £251.00 |
Funding
If you are in receipt of a UK state benefit, you are a full-time student in the UK or a student on a low income, you may be eligible for a reduction of 50% of tuition fees. Please see the below link for full details:
Tutor
Mrs Stefania Nini
Stefania holds a Bachelor Degree in Educational Sciences from the Catholic University of Milan and a PGCE in Philosophy, Psychology and Sociology. She has been teaching Italian language and culture for almost 30 years in Italy and at OUDCE, and her teaching experience spans all age and level ranges.
Course aims
To enable participants to communicate at a very basic level with speakers of the target language in a limited range of practical, real-life settings.
Course objectives:
- To help students develop the language skills of listening, speaking, reading and writing for very basic routine communication in the target language.
- To enable students to use a range of high frequency vocabulary and grammar structures for very basic routine interaction in the target language.
- To equip students with an initial appreciation of the culture and civilisation of the country (or countries) in which the target language is spoken.
Teaching methods
You will learn through a communicative teaching approach with the emphasis on actively engaging in classroom activities in the target language. These are likely to include role-plays, pair- and small group-work, and conversational practice conducted in a supportive, friendly and informal learning environment.
The course has been structured to help you primarily to develop your speaking and listening skills and to gradually gain an insight into the culture and daily life of your target language. You will also learn and practise new grammatical structures in a communicative context and will be encouraged to develop your reading and writing skills in your own time.
Learning outcomes
By the end of the course, participants will be able to:
- use very simple phrases and utterances to provide basic personal information, such as name, address, family members and nationality;
- interact in a very simple way provided the other person talks slowly and clearly;
- understand the gist of very short, simple written texts and audio/video excerpts containing the highest frequency vocabulary items and basic grammar structures;
- produce simple phrases and very short texts using basic structures and vocabulary items.
Assessment methods
You will be set short, optional assignments to consolidate your learning and to allow you to progress at your own pace.
Application
Please use the 'Book' or 'Apply' button on this page. Alternatively, please complete an enrolment form (Word) or enrolment form (Pdf).