which language school in Italy?
 

Ciao ragazzi!

Having had my plans to go to Germany for 10 days or so in May blown out of the water by my DH, [who has decided he'd rather go skiing in April with his rambling group] I have decided to use the time to spend a week in Italy trying to improve my italian, which after some initial success [GCSE 2 years ago, AS level last year] has rather hit the buffers.

Taking advantage of some nice low fares, for £50 each way, I fly into Pisa on Sunday 8th May, and out again on Wed 18th, the plan being to spend the last 4 days in/around Florence practising my new language skills.

so now all I have to do it to find a language school!

having taken on board Franco's comments, all those i have enquired about are in or around Florence, where the best italian is spoken. they range from a traditional school in the centre of Florence to a week with a teacher in his home on a one to one basis.

these are the ones which have replied:

http://www.scuolaleonardo.com/
This is the traditional language school in the centre of Florence. it offers 4 hours of group tuition in the mornings and 1-2 hours of private lessons/cultural and social activities in the afternoons. I suspect that it is aimed mainly at "younger" people; they have a 2 week course specifically for the over 50s, but i don't have two weeks. i could stay with a family on a half-pension basis to increase the language experiences. this is the "safe" option.

http://www.linguaterramare.com/
this one is based in Orbettelo on the coast between Pisa and Rome, and i could combine language study in the morning with wine/cuisine in the afternoons. the town looks lovely and the classes are small - a max of 6 - who are likely to be "older" like me. I could also stay with a family. Would i get the same chance to learn Italian though?

http://www.welcometuscany.com/en/index.php
this is the most expensive option, but I would be staying in Chianti on a full-board basis with lessons in the morning and activities in the afternoons, all in Italian. [total immersion in fact] there would only be one or two other people involved, so hopefully i would learn a lot. again, the other students would likely be more my age.
As i am unlikely to get this chance again, if it delivered what it promises, it might be worth it.

http://www.mondolinguapisa.org/
i wasn't too impressed with this the first time, but on a 2nd reading, it grew on me. it looks more personal than the school in florence, and it's certainly convenient. Again, I could stay with a family, and they offer .

http://www.tuscanhomestay.com/
this attracted me at first, but I'm a bit dubious as a solo female traveller staying alone with an unknown bloke. I am absolutely not suggesting that he's anything other than he says, but apart from anything else, if we didn't get on, it could be a miserable week. I suspect that he would better suit a small group or a couple.

so that's it. I'm assuming that they are all qualified teachers and that they are all capable of delivering what they promise.

anyone got any experience of picking a language school or any other comments?

any/all help gratefully received.

Much as I would love to do this, I haven't yet. A friend has been several times to the Scuola Leonardo in Siena and likes it very much.

I forgot to say, she's about 70 and didn't feel out of place.

I highly recommend Saena Iulia in Siena. class groups are limited to 6 students a d the teachers are very good.

tarquin - do you know it is that your friend particularly likes about it?

cruiseluv - i just looked at it, thanks. I think it must be connected on some way with the one at Orbotello as they do joint courses there in the summer. i agree it looks good and the class sizes are small - only 2-6.

have you been yourself?

Annhig, yes I spent one week there in July 2009(unfortunately too little time!) Would love to go back. they're very good at placing you at your right level.

thanks, cruiseluv .

i've sent them an e-mail.

meanwhile may I ask you a few questions?

did you do just the group lessons or did you do some private lessons too? how did that work out with the other activities?

did you stay in a hotel or with a family?

thanks for any help you can give me!

i love siena so it would be no hardship to spend a week there.

I was in Siena with my husband and stayed at a B&B called Villa Elda located just outside the walls ?It took around 10mims to walk to the school which is located right in the center of town. I didn't take private lessons . they offered an optional day trip during the week, we went to Massa Maritima. your email will probably be answered by Giorgia. she 's great at giving all sorts of details and useful information. If you're considering staying at an apt or with a family she would be the one to help you with that. she can also provide you with name and emails of students that have used different housing options So you can get their opinion.

The teachers were very warm and competent. Our group had a main teacher and another one that taught one period. Mid morning we would have a coffee break at a cafe next door and the teachers would come with us and we would keep talking in Italian.





If I ever return by myself I would probably look into a B&B I saw in town called Antica Residenza Cicogna.

Any q's just ask!

thanks, cruiseluv.

what was it that you liked about the antica residenza?

i have been thinking that it would be better to stay with a family so as to be able to continue the learning outside the schools, though i probably wouldn't do that if i weren't going to be by myself.

Oh, giant sigh. annhig, I am so happy for you and mighty jealous at the same time.

Please report back about your experience. Sigh.

I had considered staying there, so while in Siena I walked by it and liked it's location and the looks of it. it gets good reviews in TA.
I agree that staying with a family could add to the experience, but it's also a risk. Some of the people that I met at the school were staying with families and were very happy with their arrangements.

There have been several reports on Fodor's about Il Sasso in Montepulciano, but it's a bit further from Pisa airport.

http://www.ilsasso.com/eng/

Apart from the fact that her Italian improved each time, not sure what she liked especially. She stayed in a B&B - I would too, a not good family stay could be excruciating and I'm past the age of sharing a bathroom with strangers.

Tarquin, I agree. The bathroom sharing issue would be a deal breaker for me!

ciao again,

thanks for your interest and replies. yes, i am lucky aren't I?

I'm now inundated with replies from various language schools, and am having trouble sorting the wheat from the chaff.

one or two are pushing me towards entirely private lessons, which even if combined with cultural activities with other students, sounds a bit lonely. others just offer what I hope I will be forgiven for describing as "bog standard" group lessons which i suspect are mainly aimed at the younger end of the market, not withstanding Tarquin's friends experiences.

the ones i like the best at the moment are the one in Orbetello and the one in Chianti, as both offer what look like a nice mixture of language study in fairly small groups, and cookery, wine, culture, and quite a lot in the evening as well, which would be nice for me as a solo traveller. there is however one big difference - the Orbetello one is about €600 for the week, the one in Chianti is €1,500!!

i hadn't thought about bathroom sharing - thanks for mentioning it.

as I'm not going to be having dinner with any family I stay with as that is mainly covered by the course, it's not so vital, so i might opt for B&B.

back to the drawing board!!

annhig, do you mind if I interrupt with some questions for cruiseluv?

(Okay, I'll take that as a yes.)

cruiseluv, at what level Italian were you and your husband when you took this course? And what was the average age of the other students?

Best of luck, Ann. Sounds like this will be a great experience.

Leely, I would say I was at a high intermediate level(my husband didn't take classes). our group of 4 students was the most advanced at that particular time. The other two ladies in my group were young women , in their 20's. There was a German man a who appeared to be like me , in his 50's. other students I came in contact with a seemed to be in their 20's or 30's. I attended the school in the summer, and from what I understand, at that time of the year they get mostly young people.

leely - of course I don't mind, especially when you ask a question that I should have asked!

from the on-line tests I have taken, i think that I am at what they would class as a higher elementary/lower intermediate level.

I can see that in May, it is unlikely that there would be too many students there are they wil presumably all still be at college.

I am still leaning towards Orbetello though, as it provides virtually everything that I was aiming at doing.

they don't use any B&Bs there, but they do use this hotel with B&B at €60 per night:

http://www.hotelsoleorbetello.it/hotel.htm

that compares with about €30per night for a family stay.


i think I will e-mail them ref bathrooms and staying with a family!

annhig - I've been back to Siena 3 times to Saena Iulia. I really liked it, but cannot compare it to anything else.

Many people did the 4 hour morning group sessions (max 6 people) and then did one or two hours one to one tuition in the afternoons.

I have always stayed in apartments organised by the school (about €250 per week, but may have gone up in the last couple of years) , and they have been good.

Thanks for that, willit.

can i ask how long you stayed each time and how much you felt you improved?

that's two votes for Saena Iulia then.

i have gone back to my first choice to ask if the homestay families offer private bathrooms.