Mi presento! Espressioni di base
The free of charge Intensive absolute beginner Course is intended for students with no previous knowledge of the Italian language. The course encourage to get fully involved in the language for two weeks. The morning class focus on grammar and writing whereas the afternoon class focus on improving listening and speaking skills, expanding vocabulary and developing confidence. By the end of the course students will be able to employ simple sentences and expressions when dealing with various situations in daily life.
Course details:
Level: A1.1 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR).
Where: Lugano Campus, Università della Svizzera italiana, Via Buffi 13, 6900 Lugano.
When: from Monday September 4 until Thursday September 14 (2023).
Schedule: 60 hours during two weeks, 6 hours a day from 08:30 until 14:30.
| Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | |
| 08:30 – 10:00 | class | class | class | class | class |
| 10:00 – 10:30 | break | break | break | break | break |
| 10:30 – 12:00 | class | class | class | class | class |
| 12:00 – 13:00 | break | break | break | break | break |
| 13:00 – 14:30 | class | class | class | class | class |
Course objectives:
- basic oral communication in everyday university life (first three units of the book);
- get to learn the social and cultural environment of the Italian-speaking part of Switzerland;
- the communication language will be English in the first part of the course and it will be changed gradually to Italian afterwards.
Course content, first three units of the book: numeri, articoli determinativi e indeterminativi singolari e plurali, plurale dei nomi, pronomi personali e riflessivi, ausiliari, verbi regolari e irregolari al presente, verbi riflessivi, concordanza degli aggettivi, aggettivi e pronomi possessivi, interrogativi, preposizioni.
Culture: culture is a major and inseparable component of knowing a language, therefore a guided city tour, a guided visit of a museum and an Italian film viewing in the USI Auditorio are organised.
Final test: different assessment procedures are conducted during the course, including an end of term test. This is a two hours test, and includes a short listening and reading comprehension, grammar exercises, one brief essay and a speaking part. The final test takes place the last Thursday of the course.
Handouts: the general objective of Università della Svizzera italiana is to achieve environmental responsibility, the grammar folder is therefore available in PDF format in iCorsi3: https://www.icorsi.ch/login/index.php. Remember to bring your own laptop to class every day.
Handbook: the book is not covered by the University and must be purchased by the student before the start of the course. Title: Marco Mezzadri, “Italiano Plus A1-A2”, Volume 1, Bonacci editore, 2015, ISBN 9788820108816
Certificate of attendance: a regular and active attendance is compulsory once admitted. Students who meet the 75% attendance requirement and pass the final exam will receive a certificate of attendance.
ECTS points: no ECTS points are given, except for SEMP (ex Erasmus), Swiss Mobility and International Exchange students who will be awarded 2 ECTS Credit Points after successful completion of the course.
Semestral course: USI students and professionals willing to continue studying Italian free of charge after the Intensive Preparative course can apply for the Beginners 1 extensive course (CEFR A1-A2 level) held throughout the Semester.
Registration: The online application enrolls participants automatically. A detailed informative email confirming the enrolment will however be sent few days before the beginning of each course.
Online application: https://www.italiancourse.usi.ch/communication-economics-informatics/application-form-for-italian-classes-intensive-course-campus-lugano-sa/