Surely the best way to improve one’s understanding of a foreign language is… to speak that language with the native people in the country where it is usually spoken. For this reason, many people go to England on holiday or in study groups every year. However, many people often feel as if they were living in a separate reality from the one visited, hardly ever making contact with the people living there, observing them as if they were outside a shop window.
The purpose of this study-experience is to take the students as much as possible to the other side of the window, into the ‘shop’; provide them with enough linguistic tools and creating opportunities in which it will be necessary to use them.
The activities outside the classroom are chosen keeping into account individual interests, as well as linguistic and logistic needs. There will be outings to places of interest (from a linguistic perspective) and guided activities. The course consists of daily lessons (usually 3 hours) and various activities that involve spoken interactions with native speakers in order to put immediately into practice what is learnt in lessons. Even though the students usually have a lot of fun, the emphasis is on learning a lot of Italian in a short time; therefore, this is a very intense, fast-paced course and the students must be committed, attend lessons, study and take part in the activities set daily by the teacher (these can involve cooking, acting, going shopping etc.). The main objective is to improve the communicative abilities of each participant.
As these are very short courses (lasting from one to two weeks) the outcomes cannot be compared to those that one may achieve only after years of study; however it is possible to improve greatly, especially because the students work in small groupsa and they are often surprised with the improvement achievable in such a short time.
Even if working all together, the students will each have their own exclusive learning journey. A diagnostic test is done using the information provided when registering on the course and during the activities carried out during the first day of the study-experience.
In order to plan this type of course effectively, students will have to provide accurate information, also about any learning difficulties (i.e. dyslexia), any medical condition (including allergies, intolerance etc.), or any stressful situations that may have happened recently (in order to avoid sensitive topics during the lessons).
These courses are tailored to the learning needs of the group; therefore, programmes and costs will depend on various factors, such as: the number of students taking part in the course, their ages, linguistic needs, but also on the time of year and the type of accommodation available at the time of booking.
- Minimum: 6 participants
- Maximum: 10 participants
- Age: from 16 years old +
