LINGUA - Italian Language School: courses in Italian language and culture in Castagneto Carducci, Tuscany

Italian language schools to study Italian in Italy: courses in Italian language and culture in Castagneto Carducci

www.lingua.it

The School LINGUA offers to you the opportunity to learn and improve your Italian and to get to know Italy and its extraordinary cultural heritage

LINGUA is a school of Italian language and culture established with the sponsorship of the Municipality of Castagneto Carducci, in Alta Maremma, Tuscany. We offer courses in Italian language and culture all year round at all levels.

Our teachers have a degree in Humanities from an Italian university with a specific qualification in the teaching of Italian to foreigners.

Our teaching method takes into account the needs in the relationships of everyday life: the aim is to give our students the means to communicate from the beginning and to acquire knowledge of the structure of Italian linked with the effective use of the language

Learning a new language means getting in contact with a new culture and a new social reality, a consideration which matches Italian especially, being traditionally a language of culture. When we organise our programs here at the school LINGUA we have always in mind this crucial aspect which is constantly present in our courses.

According to our teaching experience we know that living in a small village and in a region with an extraordinary cultural heritage is a unique opportunity for our students to improve their knowledge of Italian language as a tool to get to know Italy and its culture.

Thanks to the friendly informal atmosphere of the village when studying here at the school LINGUA in Castagneto Carducci you may really practice Italian with the inhabitants avoiding the risk to meet only foreign students as it often happens when attending Italian language schools in major cities. On the other hand Castagneto Carducci is near to the main artistic centres in Tuscany, Rome and the island of Elba which can be visited in one day tours.

The aim of our courses and programs in Italian language and culture is to give our students the linguistic and cultural knowledge to experience in a personal, autonomous way, not merely as a tourist, the history, nature, economic and social life, art and traditions of Alta Maremma, Tuscany and Italy.

A specific programme of cultural activities in the afternoon has been scheduled for this purpose.

Whether you are a student from a College or University, or a professional who requires business Italian, or a tourist wishing to enrich your vacation in Italy by investing in your education, or simply you love Italy, Italian language and culture, you may choose among our courses and programmes the ones which meet your expectations and needs

Where

Castagneto Carducci is a comune in Alta Maremma in Tuscany. The region is the birthplace of the Italian language and the Renaissance. The territory of the comune looks out onto the stretch of the Tyrrhenian Sea known as the Costa degli Etruschi for the numerous relics of ancient and mysterious etruscan civilization found nearby.

The Comune is made up of the villages of Castagneto Carducci, Donoratico, Bolgheri and Marina di Castagneto.

Castagneto Carducci, the comune's capital, is a small village perched on a hill. The urban centre has developed following a pattern of concentric rings around the castle of the counts Della Gherardesca and probably dates back to the year 1000 A.D. The village got its name in 1907 in honour of the poet Giosuè Carducci, Nobel prizewinner for literature, who lived there as a child.
	Bolgheri with its red brick castle, can be arrived at by way of the famous "Viale dei cipressi". At a few kilometres from Bolgheri, going towards the sea, you will find the Bolgheri marshes (a WWF park) where, from November to May, thousands of water birds can be seen.

Donoratico is a new village that got its name from an ancient tower once part of a castle destroyed in the 15th century.
Marina di Castagneto Carducci has developed on the edge of a thick coastal pine forest around a fort of the seventeenth century. Today, Marina di Castagneto is one of the best known and most visited centres of the "Riviera degli Etruschi" with many seaside resorts and long free beaches.
The seat of the school LINGUA is in Marina di Castagneto Carducci.

How to get there

Castagneto Carducci is connected by one of the most important national railways and by motorways with Rome (250 km), Florence (120 km) and Pisa (70 km). The nearest airport is in Pisa, about 1 hour by train (see links for information on low cost flights and special offers to Pisa airport). The most important artistic towns of Tuscany, the island of Elba and the other islands of the Tuscan Archipelago are at easy reach for one day tours. The villages in the area of the Municipality are at a distance of a few kilometres one from the other and are well connected by public buses.

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The courses are held by qualified teachers and represent a communicative programme which, starting from the realities of everyday life, helps the foreign student to experience the main social and cultural aspects of Italy in an individual, personal way and not merely through the eyes of a tourist.

The programme is realized through a method which takes into account different didactic methods, but is based principally on activities requiring the use of creativity and induction. These kinds of activities are aimed at developing the autonomy of the student who is required to participate actively in classes. In this way, the students become the protagonists and the teacher becomes a discussion leader. The goal is to conquer concrete abilities: first, listening and speaking and then reading and writing, to avoid learning being blocked by the inability to communicate effectively.
On the first day, all the participants must take a language test to determine their level and to enable us to create homogeneous classes.

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There are six levels divided into two cycles. Each level takes a month to complete; therefore, it is possible to complete the entire cycle in six months. Every level is divided into two periods of two weeks each.

Base cycle
The attainment by passing three proficiency levels, of the "threshold level"; that is , the level of communicative ability recognized by the foreign language programme of the Council of Europe as permitting participation in an Italian language environment.

Beginner Level - Elementary level -Intermediate Level - Advanced Level

Specialization Cycle
At two teaching levels: the rationalization through the systematic procedures of knowledge of the language, of correctness of expression of the richer aspects of the spoken and written language.
Upper Level I: Morphology and syntax 1st part. Analysis and in-depth study of various forms in the spoken language.
Upper Level II: Morphology and syntax, 2nd part. Analysis and in- depth study of the various forms in written language. Introduction to dialects , to the Italian spoken in the different regions and to the most important aspects in the evolution of contemporary Italian.

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Learning a new language means getting in contact with a new culture and a new social reality. This formative aspect is constantly present throughout the course. Furthermore an intense programme of cultural activities in the afternoon ( two hours a day, two days a week) is included in the cost of the courses. The cultural programme is composed of:

Lessons at school on history, politics and music.

Meetings and interviews in their work environment with professionals in various fields of the local economy.

Meetings with local administrators.

Visits, along the so called "Wine Route", to some vineyards of the comune which produce some of the most famous wines in the world.

Guided visit to the Bolgheri marshes (only from November to April ).

Visit to the museum of Populonia and the remains of the etruscan graves on the Etruscan Coast.

Visit to the historical sites in the comune.

The cost of the course does not include: the fares for transport and the admission fee to the museums. Sometimes it may be possible to go on one day tours of the most important artistic centres in Tuscany and to the islands of the Tuscan Archipelago. The cost of these visits is not included in the price of the courses.
LINGUA is a school which promotes intercultural relations. students are encouraged to get in contact with other Italian students as well as with local cultural and recreational associations.
The teachers are available to offer information to the students on sailing or windsurf courses, horse trekking, the rental of bicycles and on musical, cultural and folklore events organised in the region.

The classes

	The lessons are held in the morning from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. with a short break of 20 minutes five days a week, Monday to Friday, for a total of 20 hours a week. There are two kinds of group courses ( with a maximum of 12 students per class): 2 week courses, for a total of 40 hours of lessons and 8 hours of cultural activities in the afternoon, and monthly courses, for a total of 80 hours of lessons and 16 hours of cultural activities in the afternoon.
It is possible also to attend individual courses for periods of 1 week, 2 weeks and 1 month, with the opportunity of taking part in the cultural activities of the group courses in the afternoon. Individual courses are designed to meet the needs of professionals who want to make the most of efficiency in learning Italian in a specific area of interest: art, architecture, business and trading.
	*LINGUA* offers also combined courses: group courses + individual lessons. These courses are designed for students who want to study one subject in detail or to improve a specific skill in order to enter an Italian university or an Italian department in a foreign University; for students involved in the Socrates/Erasmus projects or wishing to take the CILS examination at the University for foreigners in Siena.

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Dates of the monthly courses divided into two courses of two weeks (the dates are written in the order day-month):

The classes will run from Monday through Friday except during the following official Italian holidays:

The classes will run from Monday through Friday except during the following official Italian holidays:

2010: 5. 4. ; 2. 6. ; 1. 11. ; 8. 12.

It is possible to attend each monthly course for 1, 2, or 3 weeks.

Group courses:

1 week (20 + 4 hours):	Euro 240
2 week (40 + 8 hours):	Euro 380
3week (60 + 12 hours):	Euro 480
Monthly (80 + 16 hours):	Euro 580

Group Courses - Semester program (Base Cycle + Specialisation Cycle: 6 monthly courses): Euro 2.680

Individual courses:

1week(20 hours):	Euro 680
2week (40 hours):	Euro 1.360
Monthly (80 hours):	Euro 2.480

A - Combined course: monthly group course (80 hours) + 20 monthly individual lessons 1 hour a day, Monday to Friday
B - Combined course: monthly group course (80 hours) + 40 monthly individual lessons 2 hours a day, Monday to Friday

A - Combined course	Euro 1.060
B - Combined course	Euro 1.520

The prices include: didactic materials, attendance certificate, IVA. A 10 % discount will be given for enrolments of 2 months or more.

Through the length of the course a reservation accommodation service is offered by way of local agencies. If you have requested accommodation you will receive confirmation of your reservation with all relevant information at least two weeks before the beginning of the course.
According to availability you can choose among:
a) single or double room in an apartment with the use of the kitchen with other students of the courses. Double room is guaranteed only for two students enrolled together.
b) accommodation in independent apartments with one bedroom or two bedrooms in Marina di Castagneto, Castagneto Carducci or in the country. Prices vary according to the chosen period. Please contact us for further information.
c) it is also possible to arrange accommodation in hotels, camping sites and, in a limited number of cases, in host families. Please contact us for further information.

The week of accommodation runs from 4:00 pm Saturday to 10:00 am the next Saturday. The prices do not include: bedsheets and the cost of gas, electricity and heating.

send the enrolment form by mail, fax, E-mail (or phone us) with a deposit of Euro 100. When we receive the deposit, a written confirmation will be sent to you. The remaining sum is to be paid on the first day of the course before the placement test.

PAYMENT: please make payment of the deposit to the School LINGUA via:
a) postal order addressed to: Scuola LINGUA, Via della Marina, 8 – 57024 Marina di Castagneto Carducci (LI) – Italia;
b) international bank check, addressed as above;
c) bank transfer, to our bank account:

Banca di Credito Cooperativo di Castagneto Carducci, Via G. Toniolo 4, 57024 Donoratico (Italia).

Please present yourself on the first day of the course at 9:00 am for the placement test and the introduction of the course.

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Last name:....................................................
First name: ...................................................
Address:.......................................................
....................................................................
....................................................................
Nationality: ....................................................
[ ] Male                                        [ ] Female
Birthdate: ....................................................
Profession:...................................................
Tel..............................................................
Fax.............................................................
E-mail ........................................................
I would like to attend the following course:
[ ] group course:
[ ] 1week       [ ] 2week     [ ] monthly
[ ] individual course :
[ ] 1 week      [ ]   2 weeks      [ ]   4 weeks
Combined course: [ ] A             [ ] B
From (day-month): .....................................
To (day-month): .........................................
Accommodation?
[ ] No        [ ] Yes :
a): [ ] Single bedroom    [ ] Double bedroom
b: [ ]

Knowledge of Italian language:
[ ] none [ ] some [ ] average [ ] good
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HOME	About us	Where	How to get there
The method	The courses	The cultural activities	The classes
The dates and the prices	Accommodation	How to enroll	Semester program

HOME	About us	Where	How to get there
The method	The courses	The cultural activities	The classes
The dates and the prices	Accommodation	How to enroll	Semester program

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