Italian: Beginners - Part 2



Overview

Join this interactive 10-week course to further develop your basic Italian language skills and enjoy exploring the culture.

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 class activities such as conversations and role-plays.

The course is pitched at level A1 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR), and completion of the course will help you meet the level requirements. 

Is this the right level course for you?

This course is for beginners as well as those who have learnt some expressions and phrases through travel or socialising.

New students, who have not completed 'Italian: Beginners - Part 1', whose proficiency in the language is appropriate for the course level are very welcome.

Programme details

Course starts Wednesday 21 January 2026

This is an in-person course which requires your attendance at the weekly meetings in Oxford on Mondays, 2-4pm.

The weekly schedule below is intended to give an indication of the main topic(s) 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: Vorrei prenotare una stanza. At the hotel: booking a room; time expressions

Week 2: Ho un problema con la camera. Complaining and asking for information about accommodation; prepositions

Week 3: Che cosa hai fatto in vacanza? Discussing holiday activities; time expressions with the past tense

Week 4: Sono andato al lago. Describing a weekend and past events; weather conditions

Week 5: Vorrei qualche informazione. Means of transport, prices and times; simple directions

Week 6: Mi alzo alle 7! Daily routine and activities; writing a postcard

Week 7: Mio fratello si chiama Paolo. Talking about family and relationships

Week 8: Sapori d’Italia. Italian food and recipes; writing a shopping list

Week 9: Facciamo acquisti! Shopping for clothes: sizes, prices, and items of clothing

Week 10: Che tipo sei? Describing people: physical appearance

Key grammar points

  • Present Perfect 
  • Reflexive and reciprocal verbs
  • Possessive adjectives
  • Direct and indirect pronouns

Key functions

  • Discussing a vacation and describing accommodation; complaining
  • Describing one's work habits and working hours
  • Narrating past events
  • Using numbers to state quantities, sizes, times and prices
  • Writing short texts, e.g. a postcard, a shopping list, etc.

Textbooks

To participate in the course fully, you will need access to the following textbook:

  • Gruppo Italiaidea- Alma Edizione; New Italian Espresso-Beginner and Pre-Intermediate-Italian course for English speakers- textbook, February 2020, ISBN 978-88-6182-354-9

Certification

Digital badge

Upon successful completion of this course, you will be issued with an official digital badge from the Department for Continuing Education, University of Oxford. In order to be issued with your badge, you will need to have attended at least 80% of the course.

After the course, you will receive an email with a link and instructions on how to download your digital badge. You will be able to add this badge to your email signature and share it on social media if you choose to do so.

Fees

Description Costs
Course Fee £300.00

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. See details of our concessionary fees for short courses.

 

Tutor

Mrs Stefania Nini 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 30 years in Italy and in the UK: her teaching experience spans all age and level ranges. She joined OUDCE's Italian language team in September 2017.

Course aims

To enable you to communicate at a basic level with speakers of the target language in a limited range of practical, real-life settings.

Course objectives

  • To help learners' to develop the skills of listening, speaking, reading and writing for basic everyday communication in the target language.
  • To help learners' to consolidate their listening comprehension skills to understand the gist of very short, basic written texts and audio excerpts.
  • To enable learners' to use high frequency vocabulary and grammar structures for basic routine communication.
  • To equip learners' with an 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 improve your speaking and listening skills and to develop a basic level of intercultural awareness in the context of social communication. You will also learn and practise new grammatical structures and will be encouraged to develop your reading and writing skills in your own time.

Learning outcomes

By the end of your course, learners will be better prepared to:

  • interact in a simple way using a basic range of language in routine everyday contexts;
  • understand and respond to basic spoken or recorded language relating to very familiar everyday situations;
  • demonstrate comprehension of very short, simple texts containing high frequency vocabulary and basic grammar structures; 
  • write very short texts to provide basic personal information or simple descriptions.    

Assessment methods

You will be set optional assignments to consolidate your learning and to allow you to progress at your own pace.

Application

Please use the 'Book now' button on this page. Alternatively, please complete an enrolment form.

Level and demands

This course is for beginners as well as those who have learnt some expressions and phrases through travel or socialising.

New students, who have not completed 'Italian: Beginners - Part 1' whose proficiency in the language is appropriate for the course level are very welcome.

Pitched at level A1 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR).

Find out more about our language levels.

 

Terms & conditions for applicants and students

Information on financial support