Intermediate Italian: Part 3 (B1)
Continue your Italian journey with this rich and culturally immersive 10-week course. You'll explore Units 9 and 10 of Nuovo Espresso 3 — from discovering Italy's regions and travelling by train, to reflecting on the Italian language itself and how it's spoken today. The course has a strong focus on reading and discussion, and you'll also read from Piazzetta Italiana, an Italian culture magazine by Serena Capilli.
Grammar reaches an impressive level of sophistication, with indirect speech, the passive form with andare, the third type conditional, the gerundio passato, and the infinito passato — giving you the tools to express yourself with real fluency and precision.
Suitable for students who have completed Intermediate Italian Part 2, or those at an equivalent B1 level comfortable with the past conditional, the second type conditional, the gerund, and sequence of tenses.
On completion, you can progress to Upper-Intermediate Italian Part 1 (B2).
Course Outline
Course start date: Tuesday 22 September
Course end date: Tuesday 24 November
Time: 18:00 to 19:30
Location: Castlehaven Community Association
Price: £265
Topics
Revision of Part 2 content
Discovering Italy's regions and landmarks
Travelling by train in Italy
Asking for and providing information about places
Reporting what someone else has said
Expressing disappointment
The Italian language — errors, ironies and regional varieties
Reflecting on how Italian is spoken today
Language learning strategies
Reading: Italiani famosi by Valeria Savi
Supplementary reading: selected articles from e-magazine Piazzetta Italiana by Serena Capilli
Grammar
Revision of Part 2 grammar
Indirect questions
Indirect speech with a main clause in the past
Prima che — prima di
The passive form with andare
The congiuntivo trapassato
The third type conditional (periodo ipotetico nel passato)
Some adverbial expressions
The gerundio passato
The infinito passato
Dopo + infinito passato
Learning outcomes (what you will be able to do by the end of the course):
Ask questions and request information indirectly
Ask for further explanations and confirmation
Report what someone else has said
Signal and express disappointment
Talk about Italy's regions and how to get around
Discuss your own language learning experience
Reflect on linguistic errors and regional variation
Express hypotheses about the past with confidence
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
Serena Capilli, Piazzetta italiana (e-magazine)
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.
