Italian Intermediate (full syllabus)

Our Italian intermediate course will give you the skills to move beyond everyday conversation to communicate and connect with Italian speakers on a deeper level. We’ll teach you the grammar and vocabulary to share anecdotes about yourself and your family, as well as discuss future activities.

When you learn intermediate Italian at City you’ll continue to develop skills using the past tense, acquiring more detail and sophistication in your sentence structures.

You’ll learn about contemporary Italian culture using literary texts, newspaper articles, music and film to gain an insight into current affairs.

On completion of the year, you’ll have reached CEFR B1 level of learning.

Who is it for?

Ideal if you have completed our lower intermediate syllabus or have studied formally elsewhere for 120 hours. You may have a good or recent GCSE or be confident speaking at CEFR A2 level. The eligibility section contains more information.

Timetable

The course includes 60 hours of learning and is taught across three terms, starting in October and finishing in July.

October – December (part 1)

One evening per week (two-hour lessons) for ten consecutive weeks.

Christmas Break

January – March (part 2)

One evening per week (two-hour lessons) for ten consecutive weeks.

Easter Break

April/May – July (part 3)

One evening per week (two-hour lessons) for ten consecutive weeks.

Benefits

• By signing up to the full syllabus you will benefit from our lowest fee
• Form a supportive study group with your fellow learners
• Explore aspects of Italian life, society and culture
• Smaller group sizes create an engaging learning environment with more time for interaction and participation

By the end of this course, you will be able to

• describe facts and people in the past
• plan and make suggestions for holidays and outings
• discuss cultural aspects of Italy
• talk about your personal history, recall an event in the past
• going out: invite people, accept and refuse an invitation
• express joy or regret
• express a desire and give advice
• request, make suggestions and proposals
• talk about your future holiday plans, future events.

Grammatical structures

• consolidation of passato prossimo with avere and essere
• consolidation of reflexive verbs in the past tense
• further use of and practicing the imperfetto tense, and focus on the difference between imperfetto and passato prossimo
• use direct and indirect object pronouns
• learn and practice the use of gerundio
• consolidation of the conditional tense
• learn and practice the use of the future tense.

You will be awarded an official City, University of London certificate on completion of the course if you attend over 70 per cent of the classes. The course is not formally accredited.

Assessment

Your progress will be monitored throughout, and your tutor will give regular feedback and advice, to keep you progressing towards Common European Framework of Reference for Languages B1 level. Homework will help consolidate your learning.

Teaching

Our courses are a mix of tutor-led teaching with activities you complete in pairs or small groups. You’ll focus on your conversational skills to improve your speaking, listening and comprehension level. Class discussions and role-play give you plenty of time to practice your learning.

Throughout the course you’ll have access to our e-learning platform, Moodle. This hosts lesson content and other materials, so you can carry on learning independently.

It is the right level if one of the following applies:

• you can communicate at A2 level, according to the Common European Framework Reference for Languages
• you have completed our full Italian lower intermediate syllabus, or equivalent course elsewhere
• you have studied formally for 120 hours
• you have a good or recent GCSE.

You should already be able to:

• express your wishes and desires
• make polite requests
• give advice
• use the conditional tense
• use the imperfetto and passato prossimo tenses on a simple level.

Not the level you were looking for? See what other Italian courses we run.

English requirements

You will need a good level of spoken and written English to enrol on this course.