Bologna Italian language class
Jul 14th, 2022 | 07:26 AM
#2
Joined: Jan 2017
Posts: 33
Likes: 0
Hi Paqngo. I attended Academya Lingue in Bologna for one week in the fall of 2018. Overall, I was very happy with it. The instructors were excellent, the classes were fun and used a variety of teaching techniques to keep everyone engaged, such as playing little games and using cartoonish diagrams for the lessons. They weren’t childish, they were just ways for the students to connect and learn.
The online placement test put me into a class level that was too advanced for me, but during the first break I asked to be moved one level lower, which they did. It was a much better fit for me. The number of students in my class fluctuated daily between five and ten (one day only), aged 17 to mid-60s. They were attending anywhere from one week to one year, with a 17 year old from the Netherlands spending her gap year learning Italian. Most students were there for three months or longer. An American woman attended the previous week and liked it so well she returned for a couple extra days before leaving Bologna.
The teaching moved pretty quickly. For example, they introduced a concept such as a language tense, dived in and then moved on, incorporating it into future lessons. At times it was a lot to grasp and slightly stressful, but I learned a lot in a short period of time. I believe we had a little homework two or three days that week.
Lessons began at 9:00 and concluded at 13:00. I believe there were supposed to be four 55-minute lessons with a 20-minute coffee break in the middle with the expectation that students practice speaking Italian while on break. It might have just been the class I happened to join, but they turned the break into at least an hour and everyone spoke English outside the classroom. This was frustrating for me since it cut my learning time from 20 hours to 15.
The afternoon activities consisted of a walking tour of the “old” Bologna, visiting an underground excavation site and one I don’t recall. They were conducted, of course, in Italian. Although they were sometimes beyond my level of language comprehension, I understood enough to make them worthwhile. Spouses were welcome.
I arrived Monday morning about 20 minutes before class, and the atmosphere was hectic, with dozens of students rushing here and there. Once I found the office, they gave me my class materials and directed me to my classroom, which was completely calm.
Would I do it again? Yes, and I will. I’ll be spending September in a school in Modena.
Are there any specific questions I can answer for you?
The online placement test put me into a class level that was too advanced for me, but during the first break I asked to be moved one level lower, which they did. It was a much better fit for me. The number of students in my class fluctuated daily between five and ten (one day only), aged 17 to mid-60s. They were attending anywhere from one week to one year, with a 17 year old from the Netherlands spending her gap year learning Italian. Most students were there for three months or longer. An American woman attended the previous week and liked it so well she returned for a couple extra days before leaving Bologna.
The teaching moved pretty quickly. For example, they introduced a concept such as a language tense, dived in and then moved on, incorporating it into future lessons. At times it was a lot to grasp and slightly stressful, but I learned a lot in a short period of time. I believe we had a little homework two or three days that week.
Lessons began at 9:00 and concluded at 13:00. I believe there were supposed to be four 55-minute lessons with a 20-minute coffee break in the middle with the expectation that students practice speaking Italian while on break. It might have just been the class I happened to join, but they turned the break into at least an hour and everyone spoke English outside the classroom. This was frustrating for me since it cut my learning time from 20 hours to 15.
The afternoon activities consisted of a walking tour of the “old” Bologna, visiting an underground excavation site and one I don’t recall. They were conducted, of course, in Italian. Although they were sometimes beyond my level of language comprehension, I understood enough to make them worthwhile. Spouses were welcome.
I arrived Monday morning about 20 minutes before class, and the atmosphere was hectic, with dozens of students rushing here and there. Once I found the office, they gave me my class materials and directed me to my classroom, which was completely calm.
Would I do it again? Yes, and I will. I’ll be spending September in a school in Modena.
Are there any specific questions I can answer for you?
Last edited by HappyTrails2; Jul 14th, 2022 at 07:29 AM.
Jul 14th, 2022 | 08:14 AM
#3
Original Poster
Joined: Jan 2014
Posts: 4,870
Likes: 0
HappyTrails2- Thank you for taking the time to tell me about your experience. It’s good to know that you enjoyed the school. I am in Bologna for three weeks and will do a class for two of the weeks. I will sign up today.
September sounds like a wonderful time to spend time in Modena. Have a great time.
Grazie mille
September sounds like a wonderful time to spend time in Modena. Have a great time.
Grazie mille
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