Continue your Italian journey with this rich and culturally immersive 10-week course. You'll explore two thematic units from Nuovo Espresso 3 — from the art of making plans, giving advice and telling stories, to travelling through Italian history via the lives of remarkable Italians. The course has a strong focus on reading and discussion, and includes selected readings from Italiani famosi by Valeria Savi to bring history and culture to life.
Grammar deepens further, with the past conditional, the second type conditional (periodo ipotetico), the gerund, and more — giving you the tools to express yourself with nuance and confidence.
Suitable for students who have completed Intermediate Italian Part 1, or those at an equivalent B1 level comfortable with the subjunctive, passive form, passato remoto, and sequence of tenses.
On completion, you can progress to Intermediate Italian Part 3 (B1).
Course Outline
Course start date: Tuesday 14 April
Course end date: Tuesday 16 June
Time: 18:00 to 19:30
Location: Camden Collective
Price: £250
Topics
Revision of Part 1 content (as requested by students)
Festivals, celebrations and making plans
Expressing preferences, giving advice, and making hypotheses
Recounting past promises and anecdotes
Making and responding to ironic remarks
Italians in history: famous figures and their stories
Recounting historical events and biographical narratives
Expressing incredulity and interrupting politely
Travel and journeys
Supplementary reading: selected chapters from 'Italiani famosi' by Valeria Savi
Grammar
The adverb mica
The past conditional (condizionale passato) as a future in the past
The second conditional (periodo ipotetico del II tipo — possibility)
The gerund: modal and temporal uses
Adjectives ending in -bile
Third person plural as impersonal construction
Position of pronouns with the gerund
Learning outcomes (what you will be able to do by the end of the course):
Discuss festivals, traditions and gift-giving in Italian culture
Express preferences and make recommendations
Recount a past promise, a funny story or an embarrassing moment
Make and respond to ironic remarks with appropriate register
Make hypotheses and discuss possibilities
Recount the life and achievements of a historical figure
Narrate a journey or travel experience
Express incredulity and interrupt a conversation naturally
Use the gerund to express time, manner and cause
More generally, you will:
Expand your vocabulary across history, culture and everyday life
Sharpen your reading comprehension through engaging authentic texts
Become more confident and fluent in spoken Italian
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, handouts, and audio-visual material. After each session, you will be assigned homework, which is highly recommended to consolidate your learning.
About the textbook
Textbooks:
Balì M & Ziglio L (2015) Nuovo espresso 3: Libro dello studente e esercizi Florence: Alma Edizioni
Savi Valeria, Italiani famosi, Letture Graduate ELI
Books you may find useful:
Ziglio L (2005) Espresso 3: 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.
