Brief Description

Have you ever wanted to learn Italian? Then this Italian beginners course is for you! The course is for beginners and is designed to give you a basic knowledge of the Italian language. This is the third term – so you should have studied two terms before.

By the end of the course you will be familiar with the basic structure of the Italian language and have a sufficient vocabulary that will allow you to communicate with native speakers in most everyday situations. The language will be taught in the context of the social, cultural and historical aspects of Italy.

A variety of activities will be used, including dialogue development, listening practice, grammar exercises and focus work on cultural aspects of Italy. The course will be based on communicative methods and active participation will be strongly encouraged. There will be regular homework to consolidate what has been learnt in class and to assess your progress.
The course is priced for 10 weeks (one term); to complete the full course and cover all the learning outcomes listed below you will need to attend all 3 terms (there is no obligation to attend more than one term).

Previous Experience and Knowledge Needed?

This is the third term of the beginners course. You will need some basic knowledge; approximately 20 hours previous learning.

Learning Outcomes:

Throughout the year, the course will cover the following topics:

• travelling
• activities people do on holiday
• the weather
• shopping for food
• shopping role plays
• Italian cooking
• recipes
• daily living and daily routines
• special holidays in Italy
• The past tense (passato prossimo)
• Regular and irregular past participles
• Expressions in the past (last year, three months ago etc)
• The superlative
• Double negatives
• Direct and indirect pronouns
• Partitives (some apples, some bread etc)
• Impersonal constructions
• Reflexive verbs
• Expressions of time
•  Adverbs
• Special uses of the verb FARE (=to do)

Extra costs on the course for example text book, materials or equipment

Learners may be advised to purchase the textbook NUOVO ESPRESSO 1 (Libro dello studente e esercizi) which will be followed throughout the course – but this will be discussed in the first week of class

For the first session you will need to bring:

You will probably want to make your own notes, so have a pen and paper to hand.

On completion of this course, what might your next steps be?

Learners will be able to proceed to the Italian Improvers course after three terms of beginners.
Adult Learn and Train offer courses through-out the year.
Try similar courses or maybe look at learning something completely new.
You will find provision on some Saturday and Sundays, you will also find courses available in the day and evening at different venues in Cambridge. Courses vary in length from one-off sessions to 10 weeks or more.