Italian Class Descriptions
2023-2024
Italian 1-In Person
Instructor: Emily Wilhite
Fridays 10:35-12:00, Room-basement
Class Description: Italian I is an introductory course designed for students who have never before studied Italian or for those who may have previously studied some Italian but not used it for many years. We will start from the very beginning assuming no previous knowledge of the language. Through active participation in class and at-home review and assignments this class provides students with the foundations of the Italian language.
Grammatical Concepts:
§ Alphabet and pronunciation
§ Use of genders and singular/plural
§ Definite and indefinite articles (the/a)
§ Basic sentence and question formation
§ Adjectives: agreement and placement
§ Present tense verbs:regular and irregular
§ The expressions c’è and ci sono (there is/there are)
§ Possessive adjectives (my, your, his, her etc)
§ Demonstrative adjectives (this, that, these, those)
§ Direct object pronouns
Vocabulary themes will include:
§ Greetings and salutations
§ Numbers
§ Basic conversational phrases
§ Food and beverages
§ Day, date, seasons
§ Places
§ Asking for and giving directions
§ Descriptive adjectives/colors
§ Family
§ Weather
§ Time
§ Pastimes/hobbies
Number of students: 10-20
Tuition: $390
Prerequisites: None
Books/Materials: ***NOTE*** We are using new books this year.
Complete Italian Workbook for Adult Beginners. ISBN: 9798355328467 (on Amazon for $14.97)
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0BGSZGPKY?notRedirectToSDP=1&ref_=dbs_mng_calw_0&storeType=ebooks
Italian Phrasebook for Adult Beginners. ISBN: 9798840411216 (available on Amazon for $12.97)
Italian 2-In Person
Instructor: Nina Young
Fridays 9:00-10:25, Room-library
Class Description: Italian II is the second Italian class and will pick up where Italian 1 left off. We will spend the first several weeks of class reviewing.
Grammatical Concepts:
§ Past tenses: passato prossimo, imperfetto and trapassato
§ Articulated prepositions (preposition + article contractions)
§ Indirect Object Pronouns
§ Agreement with direct object pronouns and the passato prossimo
§ The verb piacere
§ Reflexive and reciprocal verbs
§ ‘Have been verbing’ time expression
§ Adverbs
Vocabulary themes will include:
§ Pastimes/hobbies
§ Food/Restaurant
§ Clothing
§ Larger numbers
§ Mass media
Number of students: 10-20
Tuition: $390
Prerequisites: Italian 1 or equivalent
Students should be familiar with: basic pronunciation, gender and plural formation, agreement including articles and adjectives, present tense verbs both regular and irregular, basic sentence and question formation. You should be able to hold a basic conversation in the present tense.
Books/Materials: ***NOTE*** We are using new books this year.
Complete Italian Workbook for Adult Beginners. ISBN: 9798355328467 (on Amazon for $14.97)
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0BGSZGPKY?notRedirectToSDP=1&ref_=dbs_mng_calw_0&storeType=ebooks
Italian Phrasebook for Adult Beginners. ISBN: 9798840411216 (available on Amazon for $12.97)
Learn Italian with Short Stories for Adult Beginners. ISBN: 9798370453410 (available on Amazon for $12.97)
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0BQGW65P2?ref_=dbs_m_mng_rwt_calw_tkin_2&storeType=ebook
Italian 3 -In Person
Instructor: Emily Wilhite
Fridays 9:00-10:25, Room-basement
Class Description: Italian 3 will help the student to develop more sophisticated expression in the language while building a more confident use of the basics learned in the previous two courses.
Main Grammatical Points:
§ Future and conditional verb tenses.
§ Commands (the imperative mood).
§ Comparative and superlative adjectives
§ Indefinite adjectives
§ "Ne" and "ci"
§ Indefinite pronouns
§ The impersonal "si"
Vocabulary themes:
§ Body parts
§ Vacation
§ Shopping
§ The House and Accommodation
The typical Italian 3 student has completed Italian 1 and 2, has a working vocabulary of hundreds of words, can form simple sentences in the present, past and imperfect tenses, and can answer questions in a controlled setting, using memorized expressions.
Number of Students: 10-20
Tuition: $390.00
Prerequisite: Italian 1 and 2 at La Causerie or equivalent
Book/Materials: The Ultimate Italian Review and Practice by David Stillman. (Available on Amazon)
Italian 4 -In Person
Instructor: Nina Young
Fridays 10:35-12:00, Room-library
Class Description: Main Points of Grammar
§ Past Conditional Tense
§ The Subjunctive Mood
§ "Volerci" and "Metterci"
Main Vocabulary Themes
§ The environment
§ The performing arts
§ Social Issues
§ The Workplace
These subjects are tentative and may change to be useful for students who may be repeating the class.
Number of students: 10-20
Tuition: $390
Prerequisite: Completion of Italian 3 at La Causerie or equivalent
The typical Italian 4 student has completed Italian 3, is able to participate in simple dialogue, and can generate questions in Italian language recognizable by a native speaker.
Book/Materials: The Ultimate Italian Review and Practice by David Stillman. (Available on Amazon)
Italian 5: Conversation-Online
Instructor: Monica Jelinek
Thursdays 4:00-5:25
Class Description: This is a conversation class in which students and the instructor decide on a weekly basis the topics to be discussed. Students will be expected to cultivate the art of conversation in the language.
Number of students: 9-12
Tuition: $390
Prerequisites: This class is for students, that have already completed Italian 1-4.
Books/Materials: There is no pre-assigned text for this class.