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The Foreign Language Center
Italian
Why should I learn Italian?
If you are taking a vacation to Italy, Switzerland, Croatia and other Eastern European
locations, you will be able to communicate with the locals.
Communicate with a family member.
Widen your career options. Their are Italian-American organizations that you could
get a job in, or eventually become a translator.
Those interested in art should study italian since many of the artistic terms derive
from Italian, especially regarding the Renaissance.
Italian is an excellent gateway language to other languages,especially Latin because it is the romance languagee that derives the most from Latin.
Having the knowledge of Italian will aid in your comprehension of other Romance Languages, especially French, since it has some words and phrases from the language.
How long will it take for me to learn the language?
The timeline to learn languages is different for each person. It depends on:
If you know other languages.
How much do you really want to learn the language?
How much effort you put into it.
However, on average someone can reach level of proficiency (the level of feeling comfortable having a conversation with a native speaker, without having a loss for words) between 2 to 3 years.
Who speaks Italian?
Italian is the official language of the following countries:
Italy
San Marino
Italian is also spoken in significant numbers in:
Croatia
Eritrea
France
Libya
Malta
Monacco
Slovania
Somalia
Switzerland
How many people speak Italian?
About 85 million people speak Italian in the world.
Approximately just over a million people in the United States speak Italian, and it is the 4th most taught foreign language in High Schools.
Italian is the 24th most spoken language in the world out of thousands of languages.
Italian is the 7th most spoken European language in the world.
You already know a great deal of Italian words than you expected. Italian contributed a multitude of words to the English language, for example some are: alto, bravo, cello, finale, trio, etc.
*** The above figures come from Wikipedia.
Our Course Offerings for Adults & Children
Italian for Children I
This class was developed for students with no previous background or minimum background in reading, writing and speaking. The class will begin with the alphabet for pronunciation and will progress to include the following:
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Greetings
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Numbers(0-30)
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Colors
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Adjectives
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Time
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Family
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Verbs
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Culture about the Italian culture
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Some culture about Italy
By the end of the course each student should be able to introduce themselves and others in Italy as well as create a basic sentence describing a person or an object.
The class activities are puzzles, short videos, music clips, index card games, etc., as a form of learning grammar and vocabulary.
Italian for Children II
The course is for students with a general background of the language. The students should possess previous knowledge of basic introductions, greetings, and the alphabet. The class begins with a general review of Level I topics listed above. The class will then continue with the following topics:
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Classroom vocabulary
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Numbers(above 30 to 100)
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Creating schedules
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Some irregular verbs
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Adjectives
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Sentences become more complex
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Some culture about Italian speaking countries
By the end of the course each student should be able to discuss their daily schedule. Also, their sentences structure will have become more complex than "I am American" for instance.
The class activities are puzzles, short videos, music clips, index card games, etc., as a form of learning grammar and vocabulary.
More classes will be offered as demand for Italian classes rises.
BUILD YOUR OWN CLASS !
We are always looking for ideas for new classes. Contact us with any ideas you might have.
If you do not see the class you want, then build your own class. Tell us what your specific needs are and we will create a class around them. You will have one-on- one tutoring from our staff !!!
Contact us for further details !
Although teens and adults
are grouped together in the following description, there are separate classes for the groups. The difference between the classes is the pacing of the class, and some of the class activities are altered for the specific age group and interests.
Italian for Teens and Adults I
This course was created for students with no previous knowledge of Italian.
Reading, writing, and speaking will be practiced as a class, with partners and individually. The class will begin with the pronunciation and will progress from that to multiple topics, some of which can be chosen by the student, including:
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Greetings
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Basic expressions
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Verbs
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Numbers 0-30
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Time
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Creating basic sentences
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Some culture of the language, and the countries that speak the language
By the end of the course each student should be able to introduce themselves and others, as well as create a basic sentence describing a person or an object.
This class includes conversations and short written assignments, music clips, videos, poems, short newspaper articles, and images.
Italian for Teens & Adults II
The students should have a general background in Italian. The class will begin with a general review of the above topics listed under Level I and then continue from that point to include topics such as:
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Classroom vocabulary
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Numbers(above 30 to 100)
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More adjectives
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Days of the week
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Months
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Weather
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Verbs
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Shapes
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Colors
By the end of the course each student should be able to discuss their daily schedule in detail in Italian. And should be able to label and describe the physical look of an object in Italian.
This class will include conversations and short written assignments, music clips, videos, poems, short newspaper articles, and images.
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