Private Lessons

COURSE TYPE
Private lessons (grammar and vocabulary, expression and communication)

COURSE DESCRIPTION
Individual tuition intensifies rapid learning because teachers can devote themselves to the specific learning needs of the student.
According to the student’s interests, the teacher can choose specific subjects to discuss (art, literature, music, cinema, poetry, history, Italian cultural and social life, business, etc.), always with the view of helping the student to learn Italian and to get to know the Italian culture better.

NUMBER OF HOURS PER WEEK
To be determined jointly by the student and the school. The
student can choose the starting date and the duration of the
course.

NUMBER OF STUDENTS PER GROUP
One person

SCHEDULE
Classes: between 9 a.m. and 7:00 p.m.
Plus regular homework between classes

PARTICIPATION TO THE EXTRACURRICULAR ACTIVITIES YES

COST
See Price Calculator on the Home page

DIDACTIC METHOD
Cultura Italiana Arezzo is a school where teaching and training go hand in hand. The training activity includes research and updates and it materializes in two fundamental moments: the preparation of trainees for the prestigious DITALS certification (didactics of Italian as a foreign language) and the continuous meetings and debates of the internal teachers over the most recent teaching approaches, methods and techniques. All this makes teaching free from traditional rigid conventions and schemes and more functional to communication.

GLOBAL APPROACH
Communication is interpreted in all its linguistic, textual, lexical, conversational, pragmatic and sociocultural complexity. The morphosyntactic aspect still plays an important role but “ grammar rules” are no longer presented and imposed by the teacher who, on the contrary, encourages students to continuously reflect on the language and discover its structural regularities and irregularities. Students are invited to work on different kinds of texts such as stories, interviews, blogs, comics, TV and radio programmes in order to come into contact, even from inside a class, with the “linguistic” world awaiting them outside and also to facilitate different learning styles. Therefore, the teacher becomes the facilitator of this process and his/her most ambitious objective is to make students become independent learners.
This didactic method, which we like to call “global”, has led our teachers to rely on textbook such as NUOVO ESPRESSO (Alma Edizioni). These textbook helps students immerse themselves in an active and vital dimension full of engaging input, challenging tasks, authentic situations, plausible and not pretentious contexts which can be easily found outside the School
reality.

ITALIAN LANGUAGE TEST AND ORIENTATION INTERVIEW
In order to fit students’ needs and put them in the study group most appropriate to their level of language proficiency, an Italian language test has been developed in compliance with the levels described in the Common European Framework for languages whose philosophy is that language learning cannot be fractionated but rather considered in its continuum. This means that from a language level (A1-Breakthrough, A2- Survival, B1- Threshold, B2- Vantage, C1- Advanced, C2- Proficiency) other sublevels can form depending on the context (large class, small group, individual lesson), students’ prior knowledge and especially their needs and objectives. The orientation interview before the beginning of the lessons is necessary to make decisions about the course contents according to one’s motivation and needs.

Monitoring

The school monitors the progression of students and analyzes the learning processes at a weekly teachers’ meeting. Teaching strategies are evaluated and discussed based on the classroom experience and the various groups present.

*Detailed description of the six CEFR levels:

A1 (Breakthrough)
Can understand and use familiar everyday expressions and very basic phrases aimed at the satisfaction of needs of a concrete type. Can introduce him/herself and others and can ask and answer questions about personal details such as where he/she lives, people he/she knows and things he/she has. Can interact in a simple way provided the other person talks slowly and clearly and is prepared to help.

A2 (Waystage)
Can understand sentences and frequently used expressions related to areas of most immediate relevance (e.g. very basic personal and family information, shopping, local geography, employment).
Can communicate in simple and routine tasks requiring a simple and direct exchange of information on familiar and routine matters. Can describe in simple terms aspects of his/her background, immediate environment and matters in areas of immediate need.

B1 (Threshold)
Can understand the main points of clear standard input on familiar matters regularly encountered in work, school, leisure, etc. Can deal with most situations likely to arise whilst travelling in an area where the language is spoken. Can produce simple connected text on topics which are familiar or of personal interest. Can describe experiences and events, dreams, hopes and ambitions and briefly give reasons and explanations for opinions and plans.

B2 (Vantage)
Can understand the main ideas of complex text on both concrete and abstract topics, including technical discussions in his/her field of specialisation. Can interact with a degree of fluency and spontaneity that makes regular interaction with native speakers quite possible without strain for either party. Can produce clear, detailed text on a wide range of subjects and explain a viewpoint on a topical issue giving the advantages and disadvantages of various options.

C1 (Effective Operational Proficiency)
Can understand a wide range of demanding, longer texts, and recognise implicit meaning. Can express him/herself fluently and spontaneously without much obvious searching for expressions. Can use language flexibly and effectively for social, academic and professional purposes. Can produce clear, well-structured, detailed text on complex subjects, showing controlled use of organisational patterns, connectors and cohesive devices.

C2 (Mastery)
Can understand with ease virtually everything heard or read. Can summarise information from different spoken and written sources, reconstructing arguments and accounts in a coherent presentation. Can express him/herself spontaneously, very fluently and precisely, differentiating finer shades of meaning even in the most complex situations.