Beginners Italian:
Part 2 (Level: A1)
Already taken your first steps in Italian?
Now it's time to go further. In this 10-week course, you'll build on the foundations from Part 1, covering Units 3, 4 and 5 of Nuovo Espresso 1. You'll develop the confidence to handle real-life situations — from ordering in a restaurant to navigating a new city and checking into a hotel. The emphasis remains on speaking, with grammar woven in to support your communication.
Suitable for students who have completed Beginners Italian Part 1, or anyone who already has a basic familiarity with the language — including greetings, introductions, numbers, and a little of the present tense.
The course will broaden your vocabulary and grammar so you can express preferences, get around town, and talk about everyday life with increasing fluency, culminating in a fun end-of-term project: una vacanza in Italia.
Course Outline
Course start date: Tuesday 21 April 2026
Course end date: Tuesday 23 June 2026
Time: 12:00 to 13:00 GMT
Location: Zoom
Price: £165
Topics
Revision of Part 1 content
Ordering in a bar and restaurant; making a table reservation
Free time and leisure activities
Likes and dislikes
Times and timetables
Days of the week, months and dates
At the hotel
Town and public places
Public transport
Directions
End-of-term project: una vacanza in Italia
Grammar
Revision of Part 1 grammar
Regular verbs in -ere; verbs volere and preferire
Plural of nouns; definite articles; bene / buono
Interrogatives: che cosa, quali, quante
Present tense of irregular verbs (e.g. andare, sapere, dare)
Present tense of modal verbs (dovere, potere, volere)
The verb piacere
Prepositions and combined prepositions
Adverbs
C'è / ci sono
Adjectives and possessive adjectives
Molto
Learning outcomes (what you will be able to do by the end of the course):
Order food and drinks at a bar or restaurant
Make a phone reservation
Ask for something politely and request the bill
Talk about your free time and leisure activities
Express preferences and likes/dislikes using piacere
Ask and say what the time and date is
Book a hotel room and make simple requests
Ask for and give directions
Ask for travel information at a train station or bus stop
Build short, confident sentences using the present tense
More generally, you will:
Expand your vocabulary
Become more confident communicating orally and in writing
Discover some surprising and wonderful things about Italian culture
There may be slight content variations at the discretion of the tutor. Additional content may be included when general progress is good, or topics may vary according to students' interests.
Info about the course and resources
This course is focused on spoken interaction and communication. Typical activities include pair work, group work, role plays and games. Your teacher will provide a range of activities to support your learning including presentations, hand-outs, and audio-visual material. After each session, you will be assigned homework which is highly recommended to consolidate learning.
About the textbook
Textbook:
Ziglio L & Rizzo G (2014) Nuovo espresso 1: Libro dello studente e esercizi Florence: Alma Edizioni (Italian version)
Books you may find useful:
Ziglio L (2015) Nuovo espresso 1: Esercizi supplementari Florence: Alma Edizioni
Adorni S – Primorac K (2011) English grammar for students of Italian: The study guide for those learning Italian Ann Arbor, MI: Olivia and Hill Press
Fall in Love with Italian – One Word at a Time
Join a course, drop into a club, or come for the conversation and culture. However you show up, you’ll be welcomed, supported, and inspired to keep learning.
