Programs

National Registration Center for Study Abroad

To speak with a NRCSA staff member, please call (888) 678-6211
Or, email us at study@nrcsa.com

Program & Admission Information - Siena, Italy

The Programs

Italian language courses can be taken all year round. Groups courses have a maximum of 12 students per class, and each class hour is a full 60 minutes. Classes are held Monday through Friday, with Saturdays kept free for visits and outings. On the first day, there will be an orientation tour around the city in the afternoon. One of school's teachers will show students the main sights, useful places (post office, banks, etc.) and the two school premises.

Classroom are equipped with modern tables, comfortable chairs, slide projectors, audio recorders, and video recorders. The atmosphere is friendly and quite informal. Students have a chance to really get to know their teachers. Classes are kept small, allowing more teacher-student interaction, which is of the utmost importance when learning a language.

Standard Course Group 20 hours per week. This course permits students to study general Italian language from 9.00 to 13.30 in the morning and leave afternoons free to take part in the school's social activity program, to study independently, etc. The last hour of each morning is dedicated to workshops in which students study two of the four basic language skills in greater depth - either speaking and listening or reading and writing. These classes are held at 4 levels: elementary, intermediate, advanced and superior.

Combined Course 30 hours per week-20 Group + 10 Tutor. This course is suited to those who wish to study intensively and on specific topics but have little time available. The morning group language lessons concentrate on general grammar and conversation, while in the afternoon individual lessons students can choose to specialize in a particular area of the language - e.g. business Italian, Italian for journalism or politics, literature, conversation, history of art, etc.

Language & Cooking Course Group 20 hours per week + 3 or 6 evenings of cooking lessons. Post Beginner level required. The course combines the Standard Course of 4 hours daily with 3 evenings of cooking classes over 2 weeks, or 6 evenings of classes over 4 weeks. The cooking lessons are intended for nonprofessionals who love Italian food and want to learn to prepare traditional dishes (appetizers, pasta, meat, fish, vegetables, pizza, desserts, etc.). Each lesson will prepare a complete meal. The course calls for a minimum of 3 participants and a maximum of 6.

Examples of topics include:

Vegetarian and fish dishes
Traditional Mediterranean flavors
Cold dishes and ice cream
Traditional Italian flavors and Christmas sweets and cakes

Admissions & Academic Credit

Students age 17 years and older are welcome regardless of educational background, occupation or nationality. No previous knowledge of Italian is required except where otherwise indicated.

Students desiring credit for their study should contact their home school or request the NRCSA Credit Fact Sheet. Generally, U.S. universities consider 15 hours of study to be equal to 1 semester credit.

For general information on academic credit, please click here.

Certificates & Exams

The Progetto Lingua exam and the CILS (Certificato in Italiano come Lingua Seconda) exam are both internationally recognized and accredited and as such can be used by students from all over the world as a qualification for work or study.

The NRCSA Center is an examination centre for the Progetto Lingua exam, which can be taken twice a year, in May and November. Students can be enrolled in the Progetto Lingua and the CILS exams (in June and December) and take preparation courses for both two weeks prior to the exam dates. The CILS exam can be taken at the Universit� per Stranieri in Siena.

No particular qualifications are required in order to take the exams and there is no age limit. There are 4 levels of competence for each exam: from Level 1 / A for basic knowledge up to Level 4 / D, which is professional level. Level 4 is also the basic level of competence that a non native speaker of Italian must possess in order to teach Italian as a foreign language.

The Siena Committee also offers exams every month at two levels:

• Certificato di Conoscenza at level 3

• Diploma di Conoscenza at level 6

There is a fee for all preparation courses and exams which must be paid locally.

Program Overview (PDF)

Standard Course

Combined Course

Language & Cooking Course

Admissions & Academic Credit

Certificates & Exams

Cultural, Social & Excursion

"Very good. Meeting other students and the total language learning experience."

"My entire trip was great! The fish was fantastic and the locals didn't mind us foreigners. The accomodations where quite nice also."

"The experience was great!"

National Registration Center for Study Abroad
P.O. Box 1393 Milwaukee, WI 53201 USA
Tel: (414) 278-0631 Fax: (414) 271-8884 E-Mail: study@nrcsa.com
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