porthaul

Ciao a tutti!

Have any of you studied at an Italian language school in Bologna?

If so, which one? Was it a good experience for you?

Will be staying in an apartment in the center of Bologna for 4 weeks.

Grazie!

annhig

Hi porthaul,

is this your first foray into the wonderful world of language schools? I've been to two of them, neither in Bologna, and had a great time.

I would advise spending at least 2 weeks at a school, more if you've time and can afford it. I only did one week at a time and IMO you don't really get the benefit that you get from staying longer ie 2 weeks together is as good as 3 separate weeks.

I can't remember the name of the school in Bologna that I looked at when I was doing my researches; if you post links to the ones you are looking at, I may be able to remember it.

porthaul

annhig, thanks! Your advice is excellent.

Do you think that 4 straight weeks in school would be too much?

I'll send you links to the ones I've looked at.

I went once to the Scuola Leonardo Da Vinci in Florence. The class I took was superb. It was only for 1 week. I agree that 1 week isn't enough. Just as your getting into a rhythm, the week is over.

Funny, there are comments here on Bologna cooking schools, but hardly anything on language schools in this city.

greg

I have been to Cultura Italiana classes. http://www.culturaitaliana.eu/
While I saw a lot of high school and college students in other classes, my class was about 10 professional people ages 20-40 mostly and were from other European countries. The instruction was 90 min grammar, a break, and another 90 min conversational. The grammar instructor was the author of a published Italian text book and the class was much better than the credit Italian classes I have taken in the US.

annhig

Do you think that 4 straight weeks in school would be too much?>>

personally no, but then i like that sort of thing. having done a week in a class, you probably know if that applies to you too, or not.

i would want it to be at a school where there were other things to do in the afternoons/evenings, and where there was the chance to move classes if you found that you were getting on quicker [or more slowly] than your fellow students.

porthaul

Greg, thank you!

I'll definitely check Cultura italiana.

Per chance, do you remember the name of the teacher/grammar book author? If not, do you remember the title of his book?

porthaul

annhig, I live for "that sort of thing"!

I agree with your point that it would be ideal if the school has the ability to allow one to transfer to a class that's that's more suitable skills-wise.

I do prefer, though, to have the afternoons and evenings free, so I can have some time at home to do my homework and review material, as well as spend some time with my husband, who won't be taking any classes while in Bologna.

Below are the the links to some of the ones I've been looking at. By the way, regarding accommodations, I can find my own apartment, or try to arrange it through the school.

http://www.culturaitaliana.eu

http://madrelinguaitalian.com

http://www.arca-bologna.com

http://www.languagesinaction.com/lea...italy/bologna/

http://www.koinecenter.com/en

http://www.applelanguages.com/en/lea...ly/bologna.php

Thanks again, annhig!!!

annhig

Porthaul - I haven't got time to look at them all now, but I like the look of the first one!

it looks as if they have plenty of classes going on, so you could swap if you wanted to [I swapped classes in Rome, even though I was only there for a week and if I'd been there longer, I think that I would have swapped again!]

i've heard of the 2nd one, because i think that they are well known in Siena, where I looked at them. [i think someone on this board has been there and liked it a lot - you could do a search!]

i'll come back to you on the rest.

porthaul

annhig, thank you.

annhig

OK, I'm back!

Arca - [your third one] I like the way that they show you the teachers and tell you bit about them. OTOH they talk about the possibility of your being the only one in the class which would worry me slightly.

if course i don't know what your level is - i suspect that the nearer to being a beginner you are, the less likely it is that you'll be the only one, but that's just a guess.

Koine - they don't seem to offer a standard 4 hour language course, though their "language and culture" class may really be a language course with a fancy name. if what you want is lots of grammar and structure, this may not be the one for you. OTOH they may have more students increasing the chance that there will be a class at your level. [and it's not just the class of course, it's the speed at which the other participants work!]

apple - they are an international organisation, so may attract a lot of students, but may not specialise in Italian enough.

Has that helped?

porthaul

Wow, annhig, this is great!

I'm at an A2 or B1 level, based on the Arca's level descriptors. I'm sure a test will define more precisely where I should be.

At this point, I've narrowed things down to Cultura italiana and Arca.

What do you think about Madrelingua? They give you a book to use that you can buy, if you choose to do so.

The Leonardo da Vinci School in Florence that I attended for Level 1B had developed a grammar exercise book for each of its levels. It was used by the grammar teacher. in class and we did exercises from it for homework. The conversation teacher used her own materials. Both teachers were skilled and used the most current techniques for language teaching.

I must confess that the more I looked at the various Bologna school's websites, the more confused I became. Your comments have made things clearer for me. Thank you!!!

annhig

I must confess that the more I looked at the various Bologna school's websites, the more confused I became. Your comments have made things clearer for me. Thank you!!!>>

i know exactly what you mean. Of course I bring my own prejudices to what I've said - take them with a government health warning!

ref Madrelingua, i had another look and there is indeed a reference to their school in Siena, which I'm pretty sure someone else here has been to and highly recommends. THat said, I didn't find their website particularly informative about the courses themselves though it seemed good about everything else!

The Leonardo school you went to in Florence sounds good. the second [and last] language school I went to was in Rome this last february and was part of a trip organised by the college where I attend italian conversation classes. Next Feb [2014] our teacher is hoping to do the same in Florence and she is already looking for suitable schools.

do you have a link for the Leonardo? I think that we're probably about the same level so it's good to know that you felt that they did a good job.

porthaul

annhig,

Here's a link to the Leonardo da Vinci's School in Florence:

http://www.scuolaleonardo.com/index.html

The only thing I found about Madrelingua was specifically about the Bologna "campus", and it was posted in 2007. I couldn't find anything about the Siena "campus". Anyway, here's the link to the courses:

http://www.languageinternational.com...a-63032/detail

And here's the link to the 2007 comment:
http://www.tripadvisor.com.au/ShowTo...a_Romagna.html

tedgale

In Bologna, I was troubled - well, maybe that term is too strong: intrigued - by their strange accent.

They seem to pronounce "z" almost as "th" - grathie instead of grazie.

I learned Italian in Florence and have never had reason to repent of that choice.

Sure, some rustics pronounce "c" as "h" - eg hontadino for contadino.

But those people are few in Florence itself. Overall, the city has the clearest, least inflected Italian I have found. A treat after Rome ...and Venice (almost another language!!!)

porthaul

tegdale,

I actually enjoy dialectical differences, even if challenging at times. But I imagine that the more I master a language, the easier it is for me to communicate face-to-face with native born speakers from the various regions of the country.

Next week I'm going to Scotland for three weeks. A relative of mine was there for a year. He claims that, at the beginning, he could hardly understand most people. Wish me luck!

tedgale

Good luck, indeed!

annhig

But those people are few in Florence itself. Overall, the city has the clearest, least inflected Italian I have found. A treat after Rome ...and Venice (almost another language!!!)>>

tedgale, perhaps we were just lucky but the teachers at our rome language school were extremely clear and had no discernible accent. in fact, i found them clearer than the ones at the school i went to in southern tuscany.

porthaul - thanks for the link to the leonardo da vinci school.

do let us know what you decide to do and how you get on!

ps - buona fortuna in la scozia. There are stories told about when James Watt came to cornwall to help with the mine engines he could barely understand the cornish and vice versa. 200+ years later when we moved to Cornwall from Kent, i certainly had the same problem; it took me about 5 years to understand my next-door neighbour!

porthaul

annhig,

Will absolutely report on the school I choose. Also, will report on the course once I return home.

Adesso, mi sto preparando per il viaggio alla Scozia.

Bet you got along famously with your Cornwall neighbors, at least for 5 years.

annhig

We have been exceptionally lucky in all our neighbours, wherever we've lived, porthaul.

When we moved to Cornwall we half expected that we'd have to live here for 30 years before they spoke to us, but it was nothing like that.

buon viaggio!