Italian Language course - Dublin
- Thread starter jdork
- Start date
Ciao Jdork!
A few years ago I studied with the Italian Cultural Institute. They were based in Fitzwilliam square though not Sandford, but it's probably the same company.
I found them excellent. That was mainly down to having an excellent teacher, and you could have a different experience, but after a year I was able to chat in Italian. I found the course books they used very clear and well laid out; the classes went at a good pace (not too fast or slow); the admin staff/teachers/director were very pleasant; class size was fine (about 15); amount of homework given was very do-able.
I recommend go for it! Think how good you'll feel this summer if you go to Italy and can order a bottle of Chianti in fluent-ish Italian!
Ragazza (which means 'girl' in Italian!).
A few years ago I studied with the Italian Cultural Institute. They were based in Fitzwilliam square though not Sandford, but it's probably the same company.
I found them excellent. That was mainly down to having an excellent teacher, and you could have a different experience, but after a year I was able to chat in Italian. I found the course books they used very clear and well laid out; the classes went at a good pace (not too fast or slow); the admin staff/teachers/director were very pleasant; class size was fine (about 15); amount of homework given was very do-able.
I recommend go for it! Think how good you'll feel this summer if you go to Italy and can order a bottle of Chianti in fluent-ish Italian!
Ragazza (which means 'girl' in Italian!).
sandrabing
Registered User
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Get you hands on the Michel Thomas italian language cds. You will have conversational italian after them without the use of pen and paper. I found them useful as a back up to my italian classes (where the teacher was useless) and would not have passed my exams without them.
DrMoriarty
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A bit rusty, I'm afraid — but grazie comunque..!ClubMan said:
The [broken link removed] in Fitzwilliam Square isn’t a company or school as such, it’s a kind of linguistic/cultural extension of the Embassy, funded by the Italian govt. But their [broken link removed] are certainly highly regarded, and they’re enrolling next week for the Feb-June session. It’s quite difficult to find tuition in Italian, simply because it’s offered at so few secondary schools and still remains a ‘minority' language at third level – ridiculously so, when you consider the volume of trade and other contacts we have with them. You could try ringing the [broken link removed] — they might have details of private tutors. Not too sure about the Limerick/Cork area, but again try ringing the [broken link removed] and its counterpart in UCC.
While most people will benefit 'motivationally' from the social interaction that goes with attending a course, there is quite a lot you can do on a DIY basis — I'd strongly recommend a mix of the two. When I was teaching Italian, back in the late 20th century, one of the problems was the lack of good books/AV materials, compared to what was available for French/German/Spanish. But since then the good old Beeb have worked wonders — check out their resources page (even back in the 80s and 90s their old Buongiorno Italia! series was streets ahead of the rest, IMHO).
One of the great joys of learning la lingua più bella del mondo is that when you try it out on native speakers — whether there or here — they usually seem genuinely flattered/delighted at the effort and will do everything they can to meet you half-way. Most unlike the French in that regard...!
P.S. for ragazza — Cameriere, mi porta per favore una buona bottiglia di Chianti...
I have been studying Italian in Dublin for a few years. The Italian Cultural Institute in Fitzwilliam Square is good, but a lot depends on the teacher. I experienced a few years of good teachers there but dropped out when two classes were amalgamated and the teacher was unable to cope. You can study Italian at a beginners level in UCD as either an add-on to a B.A degree or as part of a Modular B.A. (night-time classes, twice weekly, 6.30 - 9.30). I tried this for a year and managed to pass the exam but, be advised, it is very biased towards Italian culture and literature and not great on basic day-to-day Italian. I dropped out at the end of first year and decided to try get my language skills up before resuming. Unfortunately, studying Italian in Ireland is a lot harder than either French, Spanish or German, where the various Institutes have a far greater range of classes geared to all levels.
DrMoriarty said:One of the great joys of learning la lingua più bella del mondo is that when you try it out on native speakers — whether there or here — they usually seem genuinely flattered/delighted at the effort and will do everything they can to meet you half-way. Most unlike the French in that regard...!
Well if I was French and you spoke Italian to me I'd give you the spalla fredda (?) too!
My problem with my few words and tourist phrases was with Italians who then assumed I could speak the language properly... But I agree, it's always nice (and I think polite) to at least give the local language a go wherever you travel.