Learn Italian with the Centro Internazionale in Siena

Societa Dante Alighieri - Comitato di Siena - 2006

SIENA

It is the other face of Tuscany, feminine counterpart of her neighboring towns. Siena, with its gothic facades, is a city proud of its ancient traditions and suspicious of outside influences which may alter its cultural physiognomy. This characteristic has not hindered an endless passage of visitors to this fairy-tale city beginning from the early Middle Ages to the dawn of the 20th century. "Oasis of the Spirit", a town far removed from the frenzied pace of Italy's larger cities, Siena has preserved its own urbanist dimension, guarding her art treasures and continuing, undisturbed, to celebrate her most precious festivity, the Palio, in an atmosphere typical of the Renaissance. It was noble Siena, a city within whose medieval walls study and reflection are made easy, that inspired the Societa Dante Alighieri - Committee of Siena - and the Centro Internazionale Lingua, Arte e Cultura Italiana to provide those wishing to enrich their minds the opportunity to experience both theoretically and practically the most precious gift of all amongst the glorious Siennese traditions: the Italian language and the Siennese art.

THE SCHOOL

The school is walking distance from the Piazza del Campo, the centre of the city. Classes are held in a spacious and wonderfully atmospheric 13th century palazzo in "Castelvecchio", the heart of the oldest part of Siena. There are 20 classrooms in the school as well as a large and attractively decorated self-study centre and library, where students may choose to do their exercises, read supplementary material, watch videos or listen to cassettes. In their free time students can use the cozy but roomy recreation room to chat, play games or simply relax. On the ground floor of the palazzo there is a beautiful court-yard as well as a cafeteria/cafe serving hot and cold dishes at lunch and coffee and other beverages all day. On the upper floors there are two outdoor terraces. Students may also take advantage of in-house computers wit internet service. While the school is rather grand in size, occupying two floors, the atmosphere is friendly and quite informal and classes are kept to a small number - maximum 12 students - allowing for more interaction.

THE STAFF

Many years of experience have enabled our center to develop its own didactic method, employed by our teacher under the guidance of the Director of Studies. Our teacher are all highly qualified university graduates and are all specialized in the teaching of the Italian language for foreigners. They are all very aware of the difficulties faced in learning a foreign language, difficulties which are resolved in the friendly and relaxed atmosphere created during the lessons. All stuff participate actively within the school, working together to meet the needs of our students and therefore assuring a most enjoyable stay in Siena.

THE STUDENTS

Motivated by many different reasons to learn Italian, be it personal, professional or academic, our students come from all over the world and are of all different ages, thus creating a diverse and multi-cultural microcosm in each class (composed of a maximum of 10/12 students). Dialogue and discussion is therefore greatly stimulated which provides and excellent opportunity to improve communication skills. We know that many of our students come to Italy to enrich their knowledge of the culture and society in every aspect. Your commitment and the enthusiasm of our teacher enables you to appreciate and experience everything that noble Siena and its artistic heritage offers.

COURSES - GENERAL INFO

THE "G" COURSES We offer a variety of courses which allow students to study more or less intensively. The minimum course duration depends on the course (from one to two weeks, up to a max. of 18 months) and has been established according to didactic and organizational criteria. Each lesson lasts a full 60 minutes rather than an "academic hour", allowing you to make the most of your time with us.

LEVEL OF KNOWLEDGE Each of the 9 levels in our syllabus lasts eight weeks. Under the guidance of our Didactic Director our teachers have drawn up a weekly program for each level, which means that students can be placed in a class that is exactly the right level for them and it is clear which communication objectives and items of grammar will be taught in each week. The lessons help students to gradually acquire a knowledge of Italian grammatical structures and to use these structures in a variety of contexts, especially in conversation. The textbooks used by the Centre are recent publications that have been tried and tested by our teachers; we also use authentic materials such as newspaper and magazine articles, literature, videos, etc., which help enrich students' vocabulary, enabling them to cope with many different communicative situations. On the first day of school, STARTING AT 8 AM, you will be given a written and oral test by our teachers in order to ascertain your Italian language level so that you may be placed in the correct class.

CHOOSE YOUR COURSE

All lessons are taught in Italian and classes are of a maximum of 12 students if not otherwise specified. We offer courses for different numbers of hours per week and with different contents, so that there is a course that meets every student's needs.

STANDARD COURSE - G8 20 hours of group lessons per week minimum duration: 2 weeks Classes are held at 4 levels (elementary, intermediate, advanced and superior) This course permits students to study from 9am to 1.30pm in the morning and leaves afternoons free for you to take part in the school's social activity program, to study independently, etc. The last hour of each morning is dedicated to workshops in which students study two of the four basic language skills in greater depth - either speaking and listening or reading and writing.

No. of Weeks Price in Euro 2 375 3 525 4 640 extra week 145

COMBINED COURSE - C5 or C10 20 hours of group lessons per week 5 or 10 hours per week of individual lessons minimum duration: 1 week This course is suited to those who wish to study intensively and on specific topics but have little time available. In the individual lessons students can choose to specialize in a particular area of the language - e.g. business Italian, Italian for journalism or politics, literature, conversation, history of art, etc.

No. of Weeks Price in Euro for course C05 Price in Euro for course C10 1 400 540 2 755 1,030 3 1,115 1,500 4 1,375 1,865 extra week 310 460

SUPER INTENSIVE COURSE - G8D 20 hours of group lessons per week 5 hours of "mini-group" lessons (1-3 students) minimum duration: 2 weeks This course is designed for students who wish to make the most of their stay by extending and deepening the knowledge gained in morning group classes during small group sessions in the afternoon.

INTENSIVE COURSE - G1 20 hours of group lessons per week 4 hours of lessons per week on a cultural theme minimum duration: 2 weeks Ideal for those who wish to combine their studies of the language with Italian culture classes. Availability of the various cultural classes depends on the student's level and on there being of minimum of 5 students per class.

No. of Weeks Price in Euro 2 420 3 615 4 745 extra week 160

BASIC COURSE - G6 15 hours of lessons per week 5 hours of lessons per week on a cultural theme minimum duration: 4 weeks This is the minimum number of hours we offer on a group course, for those who wish to have as much free time as possible.

No. of Weeks Price in Euro 4 535 extra week 130

CLASS DATE CALENDAR 2006

JANUARY - 9, 13 FEBRUARY - 6, 20 MARCH - 6, 20 APRIL - 3, 24 MAY - 8, 15, 22 JUNE - 5, 12, 19, 26 JULY - 3, 10, 17, 24, 31 AUGUST - 7, 21, 28 SEPTEMBER - 4, 11, 18, 25 OCTOBER - 2, 16, 23 NOVEMBER - 6, 20 DECEMBER - 4 These starting dates are compulsory for beginners, others may start any Monday.

SCHOOL WILL BE CLOSED from December 16th 2006 - January 7th 2007

PUBLIC HOLIDAYS 2006 April 17th, 25th May 1st June 2nd August 15th November 1st December 8th

CULTURE PROGRAMS

Students may attend cultural courses two afternoons a week from 3pm to 5.30pm. These lessons are already included in the G1 course but students enrolled on other course (G8, G6, etc.) may take the culture courses too, on payment of a supplement. Each month various cultural subjects are offered and the courses take place if there is a minimum of 5 students for each subject. The choice of course available to each student also depends on his or her linguistic level. The main cultural subjects covered at the Centre are the following. Please note the linguistic level required to be able to participate in each course.

Phonetics and Practical Italian Students gradually widen their vocabulary and encounter idiomatic expressions and various constructions of increasing difficulty. (Booking a room in a hotel, going shopping, asking for information, etc.).

Applied Language Section (from beginners to level 3) Monographic study of the most important authors in Italian literary history together completed by a look at the history of the periods in question. The course may deal with both classical authors (Dante, Petrarca, Boccaccio, Manzoni etc.) and contemporary authors (Moravia, Calvino, Pasolini etc.). Different literary styles from journalism to advertising are also studies in this course.

Literary Section (from level 3 upwards) Analysis and study of the Italian artistic patrimony, in particular that of Siena, in various artistic periods. This course includes lectures in class and visits to places of artistic interest, in order to put students in direct contact with works of art.

Art Section (from level 2) Complete view of the Italian performing arts looking at the most significant cinema directors and playwrights, the history and development of opera and Italian song.

Performing Arts Section

Evening Cookery Course These group demonstration sessions can be taken for 3 evenings over 2 weeks or 6 evenings over 4 weeks, from 18.15 until about 22.00. Under the expert guidance of our friendly chef, students learn to prepare traditional Italian dishes, which vary according to the fresh ingredients available each season. At the end of each session all participants eat what they have prepared together - food and wine are included in the price. This course is designed for people who wish to learn the secrets of Italian gastronomy as a complement to their Italian language studies.     The Centre also offers a variety of intensive "Arte e Cucina" cookery courses for both amateurs and professionals, on a variety of themes. These courses run for two or four weeks; "tailor made" courses for individuals or groups can also be arranged on request. Details on request.

EXTRA-CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES

Recognizing the importance of free time for our students, in close collaboration with the Societa Dante Alighieri - Committee of Siena, we devise a program abundant with cultural and recreational activities every month: cocktail parties, films, guided visits to museums and cultural institutions, "Pizza in pizza" and excursions, as well as meetings, dinners, parties, lectures and trips in the Siennese countryside. Most activities are completely free (except for the dinners and the transport costs) and provide our students with an excellent opportunity for both practicing their Italian in a friendly and relaxing atmosphere and for becoming familiar with the main aspects of the Italian culture.

HOUSING & ACCOMODATIONS - 2006

We are completely at your disposal in booking the accommodation that you would prefer, be it with a family, in an apartment, mini-apartment, "agriturismo", hotels and pensions. Not all accommodation is located in the center of town, but all is easily reached by public transport. Monthly bus passes are available to our students at a discount prices. For those students with cars, accommodation can be found in country cottages outside of Siena.

FAMILY Private or Shared Room, Breakfast & Dinner

No. of Weeks and Nights Price in Euro for Private Room Price in Euro for Shared Room 1 & 6 215 185 2 & 13 420 360 3 & 20 610 520 4 & 27 730 660 Extra Night 30 25 Extra Week 185 160

SHARED APARTMENTS with 2-4 students, shared kitchen, bath and living room

No. of Weeks and Nights Price in Euro for Private Room Price in Euro for Shared Room 1 & 6 180 125 p.person 2 & 13 280 200 p. person 3 & 20 390 300 p. person 4 & 27 500 380 p. person Extra Night 25 22 p. person Extra Week 125 100 p. person

RESIDENCE HOTEL small studio with kitchenette - Rates on Request

TRANSPORTATION

Siena is situated 60km from Florence and from the coast. We advise students coming from Florence by train or plane to take the express coach to Siena. Florence's bus-station is located at the Piazza della Stazione S. Maria Novella on the right hand side. Ask for an express ("Rapida") or direct ("Diretta") ticket. Other nearby airports are at Pisa or Rome, both easily reached by train or coach. The school, on request, organizes a paying pick - up service. Airport Pick-up Services: Available from Pisa, Florence and Rome. Rates on Request.

ENROLLMENT

The registration fee of US $100 ensures a place in the class. This fee is non-refundable but is flexible for use on future dates should your plans change for any reason. Checks are to be made payable to LANGUAGE STUDY ABROAD. The full tuition as quoted above, is due 30 days prior to class date. Accommodation payments are due upon arrival at the school. Major Credit Cards are accepted. You may register from our web page by completing our SECURE ONLINE REGISTRATION FORM and pay the registration fee by check/mail or telephone/credit card details to complete the enrollment. Final confirmation documents will be sent to you upon completion of these arrangements. The final US $ prices are guaranteed and do not fluctuate.

REGISTRATION

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