Benvenuto! Welcome to our Italian programme! 
The popularity of the Italian language has many reasons: Italy is the cradle of European civilization; it is one of the most important centres of fine arts in the world. Italy’s music, history, architecture, romantic cities and beautiful landscapes have inspired generations of artists, philosophers and scientists from all over the world. It is famous for a sophisticated lifestyle (“la dolce vita”), wonderful cuisine and modern design.
Of all Romance languages (including Spanish and French) Italian has maintained the closest relationship to Latin. With the beautiful clarity of its pronunciation Italian is a very melodic language.
Our courses provide an interactive and fun-filled learning environment for the study of the Italian language and Italy’s rich culture. There is no previous knowledge of Italian required to join our courses.
| Code | Course Title | Unit |
|---|---|---|
| ITAL1000 | Italian I | 3 |
| ITAL1100 | Society and Culture in Contemporary Italy | 3 |
| ITAL2000 | Italian II | 3 |
| ITAL2001 | Italian III | 3 |
| ITAL2050 | Italian I & II | 6 |
| ITAL3000 | Italian IV | 3 |
| ITAL3001 | Italian V | 3 |
| ITAL3002 | Italian VI | 3 |
| ITAL3050 | Italian III & IV | 6 |
| ITAL3051 | Italian V & VI | 6 |
ITAL1000 Italian I (Course Outline)
This course provides a basic knowledge of the spoken and written language, oral practice for various everyday situation and essential grammatical structure, including articles, nouns, pronouns, verbs, prepositions and ways of saying. The linguistic syllabus includes also lessons on phonetics’ spelling and morphology. The learning process will be enhanced by group work and audio-visual aids and videos.
Note: For students who have learnt Italian before, please contact the teachers of the language programme for placement test.
ITAL1100 Society and Culture in Contemporary Italy
This course offers information about Italian geography, modern history, political institutions, education, economics, and social and cultural life with special emphasis on Italian culture and artistic heritage. No knowledge of Italian is required.
ITAL2000 Italian II (Course Outline)
This course provides a further knowledge of the spoken and written language, it is a continuation of the previous one and is based on studying the language used in everyday situations, and the linguistic syllabus includes lessons on past tense, direct and indirect object pronouns, some more irregular verbs in the present tense, a further overview on articled prepositions, adjectives in the superlative form, modal verbs and some common adverbs. The learning process will be enhanced by group work and audio-visual aids.oral practice for various everyday situation and essential grammatical structure, including articles, nouns, pronouns, verbs, prepositions and ways of saying.
Pre-requisite: ITAL1000
ITAL2001 Italian III
This course aims to further enhance students’ communication skills in the four language domains listening, speaking, reading and writing. Students are expected to communicate confidently in a wider range of social interactions including more formal situations and simple professional contexts as well as reporting past events and sharing experience. At the end of this course, students will have completed a proficiency level comparable to level A1 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR).
Pre-requisite: ITAL2000 or 2050
ITAL2050 Italian I & II
This is a summer intensive Italian language course for beginners, covering the full syllabus of ITAL1000 and ITAL2000.
Note: For students who have learnt Italian before, please contact the teachers of the language programme for placement test.
ITAL3000 Italian IV
This course aims at increasing students’ communicative fluency in oral and written Italian. Using a variety of classroom activities and multimedia, students will build up their competence in the four language domains listening, speaking, reading and writing. Through intensive practice they will be able to communicate in a wide range of social situations with the appropriate awareness of the pragmatic rules involved. Students receive guidance in the process of composing longer texts displaying a range of registers and styles relating to past, present and future events.
Pre-requisite: ITAL2001
ITAL3001 Italian V
This course focuses on the further development of communication skills in Italian with emphasis on the expression of personal views and the training of argumentative strategies. The course will also engage students in critical reflections on various aspects of life in Italian-speaking countries and their own social environment. Students will be guided to analyze various types of data to support their views. They will learn how to express their wishes and aspirations using the appropriate registers.
Pre-requisite: ITAL3000 or 3050
ITAL3002 Italian VI
This course builds on the knowledge acquired through previous Italian language courses. It aims at leading students to a proficiency level comparable to the threshold from A2 to B1 of the Common European Framework for Languages (CEFR), becoming “independent users” of Italian. To achieve this goal, students will be encouraged to work project-based through independent or collaborative work with their peers. At the end of this course students will have mastered the most important grammar features of Italian and be able to communicate effectively in a wide range of everyday situations and a number of professional contexts. They will be able to use their oral and written language skills to relate to, reflect on and analyze past and current issues involving the Italian-speaking societies.
Prerequisite: ITAL3001
ITAL3050 Italian III & IV
This is a summer intensive Italian language course for beginners, covering the full syllabus of ITAL2001 and 3000 (2002).
Pre-requisite: ITAL2000 or 2050
ITAL3051 Summer Intensive Italian: Advanced Level
(Please read the Study Scheme Note.) This is a summer intensive Italian language course, covering the full syllabus of ITAL3001 and 3002.
Pre-requisite: ITAL3000 or 3050
Italian language and culture:
Online dictionary
http://dictionary.reverso.net/english-italian/
Italian language learning
http://italian.about.com/
http://www.bbc.co.uk/languages/italian/
Tourism
http://www.italiantourism.com/
Official websites
Government if Italy
http://www.governo.it/
Consulate of Italy in Hong Kong
http://www.conshongkong.esteri.it/Consolato_HongKong
Italian Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong and Macao
http://www.icc.org.hk/home.php
