rome italy
 

i am going to italy next month and would like to take an immersion course .has anyone done this? also i have been to rome but would love to find out about things off the beaten tourist track that are fun to do, including day trips by train also , i am looking for a hotel that is in a safe location, private bath and not too expensive thanks for your help

No doubt you're looking for personal experience from someone who has attended such a course - - but there are quite a few hits on a Yahoo! search for "rome italian language immersion course" - - including at least one homestay program. That would make it more affordable; otherwise, to me, it would be more appealing to stay in a less expensive area (non-"big city") for language immersion, and then enjoy Rome for a mini-vacation with your newly acquired ability!

Best wishes,

Rex

<also i have been to rome but would love to find out about things off the beaten tourist track that are fun to do>

One of my favorite little "off the beaten path" spots in Rome is an orange garden at the top of one of the hills. Regrettably, I don't remember which hill anymore, but maybe another Fodorite will recognize the description and be able to tell you. The garden offers excellent views of the city, and there is a big green door nearby that has a wonderful view of St. Peter's through its keyhole. Also, there is a crypt decorated with thousands of bones near Piazza Barberini- creepy, but interesting!

liz

The green gate with the keyhole view of St. Peter's is the gate to the garden of the Cavalieri di Malta on the Piazza Cavalieri di Malta at the top of the Aventine hill. The garden itself is not normally open to the public.

I don't recall the nearby garden with the orange trees, but that doesn't mean it isn't there.

My husband and I spent a month in Castelraimondo, at the Dante Alighieri school. They teach six levels, (you are tested upon arrival to determine placement) and we had a complete blast. The best thing was, in a month of over 100 students, there were only 4 americans. We met people from all over the world, and we had an apartment in the school (like a dorm). It was very inexpensive. They teach the didactic method, just to let you know. I specifically chose Castelraimondo because it is in the Marche and is a small village, because I didn't want my husband to fall back on English - I knew if I chose the village he would be forced to use his italian as he learned to speak the language. It was great fun. The web page for the school is http://www.scuoladantealighieri.org/

If you're talking about an American immersion course of the Italian language - I took a course from Berlitz in San Francisco and was sorely disappointed.

I don't know if it was the course or me or the teacher. It would have been nice to have started out with the alphabet and counting to ten instead of jumping right in.

I signed up for the small group class (four of us all together). But because the basics weren't covered so well, everyone seemed to be pronouncing things differently. And because it was a small group - although the teacher only spoke in Italian - others would help each other out in English - which kind of defeats the purpose of immersion.

I signed on for two levels, but after the first six week first level class, everyone else dropped out. Still waiting for enough people to sign up for a second level class.