You can speak Italian with some confidence. You can understand the main ideas of complex texts on both concrete and abstract topics. You can have a conversation with native speakers with ease, fluency and spontaneity.

Program Structure

Register to a beginner sub-levels:
Pre-avanzato 1
PICK A DATE AND REGISTER

COMMUNICATIVE CONTENT

  • Telling an event
  • Talking about habits related to school memories
  • Description of a teacher, a classmate, a course, a school
  • Expressing agreement/disagreement
  • Expressing regret
  • Showing amazement and disbelief
  • Admitting something
  • Criticizing an opinion or a statement

 

  • Talking about food
  • Talking about taste
  • Expressing a preference
  • Description of a dish
  • Describing a procedure in detail

 

  • Reporting information
  • Expressing percentages/statistics and commenting on them
  • Framing a fact in a past century
  • Reporting an event or a historical fact
  • Expressing and discussing your point of view in informal contexts

GRAMMAR

  • Use of the auxiliary verbs ESSERE or AVERE in the Passato Prossimo
  • Verbs with double auxiliary in the Passato Prossimo
  • Cavarsela and Entrarci
  • Review of past tenses : passato prossimo, imperfetto, passato remoto
  • Relative pronouns Chi, Ciò che

 

  • Indefinite words
  • Future perfect (Futuro anteriore)
  • Subjunctive with indefinites
  • Dislocation to the left (?) Dislocazione a sinistra
  • Passive voice

 

  • Verbs + prepositions
  • Time indicators Allora, Un giorno
  • Indirect speech introduced by di
  • Use of conditional to express uncertain information
  • Non perchè + subjunctive
  • Indirect interrogative sentences
AVAILABLE CLASSES
Unfortunately we don't have available classes for this program. If you need more information, please contact us.
CONTACT US
TEXTBOOK
Book 1 (mandatory)
Nuovo Espresso 4 Chapters 1-2-3
Book 2 Grammar (optional)
Nuova Grammatica Pratica della Lingua Italiana
Pre-avanzato 2
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COMMUNICATIVE CONTENT

  • Talking about work
  • Making a request and respond formally
  • Talking clearly and politely in a formal situation
  • Communicating a desire or an intention
  • Exchanging complex information and advice about work

 

  • Expression of emotions in formal and informal situations
  • Talking about oneself
  • Description of people
  • Complaining
  • Interviewing someone

 

  • Film genres
  • Expressing taste and preferences
  • Telling the plot of a movie
  • Review a movie
  • Expressing criticism

GRAMMAR

  • Use of subjunctive with relative sentences
  • Use of subjunctive with relative superlative
  • Difference between Finalmente and Alla fine
  • Gerund with causal and hypothetical function
  • Tense correlation: conditional with subjunctive
  • Professions (feminine and masculine)

 

  • Adjectives formed from nouns
  • Use of the postponed possessive adjectives
  • Uscirsene
  • Use of possessive Proprio
  • The formation of the opposite of nouns and adjectives
  • Different ways to express SE in the hypothetical sentence
  • Hypotheticals (irrealtà)
  • Come se – Senza che + subjunctive

 

  • Position of adjectives
  • Subjuncive with the negative main clause
  • Subjuntive with Purché
  • Fare + infinitive
AVAILABLE CLASSES
Unfortunately we don't have available classes for this program. If you need more information, please contact us.
CONTACT US
TEXTBOOK
Book 1 (mandatory)
Nuovo Espresso 4 Chapters 4-5-6
Book 2 Grammar (optional)
Nuova Grammatica Pratica della Lingua Italiana
Pre-Avanzato 3
PICK A DATE AND REGISTER

COMMUNICATIVE CONTENT

  • Visiting a museum
  • Starting and ending a presentation
  • Telling by specifying details
  • Focusing on a specific part of the speech
  • Description of an image
  • Expressing agreement/disagreement

 

  • Sustainable Italy
  • Expressing an opinion and an evaluation
  • Taking about environmental problems
  • Making proposals
  • Expressing wishes

 

  • Curiosities about Italy
  • Expressing doubts
  • Explaining something
  • Congratulate
  • Asking and giving advice

GRAMMAR

  • Prepositions In and A
  • Subjunctive tenses correlation
  • Infinitive used as a noun
  • Relative pronouns
  • Relative pronoun Il cui
  • Relative pronoun Il che

 

  • Position of pronouns with gerund, past participle, infinitive and imperative
  • More about the position of the adjective
  • Future (Different uses)
  • Position of the adverbs

 

  • Definite articles with geographic nouns
  • Gerund present and past
  • Some expressions with pronominal verbs : A dirla tutta, Sbrigarsela da soli, Arrampicarsi sugli specchi
  • Homonyms
  • Words with two plurals
AVAILABLE CLASSES
Unfortunately we don't have available classes for this program. If you need more information, please contact us.
CONTACT US
TEXTBOOK
Book 1 (mandatory)
Nuovo Espresso 4 Chapters 7-8-9
Book 2 Grammar (optional)
Nuova Grammatica Pratica della Lingua Italiana
Pre-Avanzato 4
PICK A DATE AND REGISTER

COMMUNICATIVE CONTENT

  • Conducting an interview
  • Contradicting a common opinion
  • Discussing a topic

 

  • General Review

GRAMMAR

  • Subjuntive with comparative sentences
  • Subjunctive with : In modo che, Far sì che
  • Plural of compound words
  • Use of Mica
  • Some idiomatic expressions : Prendersela, Darci giù…
  • Comparative of equality Tanto quanto
AVAILABLE CLASSES
Unfortunately we don't have available classes for this program. If you need more information, please contact us.
CONTACT US
TEXTBOOK
Book 1 (mandatory)
Nuovo Espresso 4 Chapter 10 + General review
Book 2 Grammar (optional)
Nuova Grammatica Pratica della Lingua Italiana
PRICE
$480/term
+ 10$ nonrefundable registration fee
Books are not included
DURATION
Intensive Classes
5 week course, 2 hour classes twice a week
Term 1
First session
January 8th to February 8th
Second session
February 12th to March 16th
Term 2
First session
April 1st to May 3rd
Second session
May 6th to June 8th
Term 3
First session
July 29th to August 31st
Second session
September 2nd to October 5th
Term 4
First session
October 9th to November 11th
Second session
November 13th to December 16th

Let our students speak for us!

IL MIO POSTO FELICE!!!!
Leslie Hughes
“What I like most about participating in a literature class with the Istituto is having classmates with whom to discuss our books. I like hearing their opinions and responding to them. Reading is a great pleasure of mine, but sharing a book makes reading an adventure. With a teacher guiding us we improve our language skills and become more self-confident expressing ourselves. I’m grateful for the opportunity!”
IL MIO POSTO FELICE!!!!
Dennis Abbe
“I have been taking classes at the SFIIS for years because, short of a long stay in Italy, it is the best way to maintain and improve my language skills. But more than that, I enjoy being with the other students and my instructor(s), many of whom are now good friends. In my class we read classic and contemporary Italian literature, and our instructor keeps us up to date on Italian culture and even politics. The experience on Zoom is almost as good as the in-person classes; Barbara is amazing in her use of the tools to run a lively, efficient, and fun class.”
IL MIO POSTO FELICE!!!!
Dede Heitman
“The SFIIS school offers the best, well rounded Italian languages classes in the Bay Area. With native speakers as teachers, the classes provide a comprehensive, natural and fun way of learning. Everyone feels welcome, no matter the level. The teachers are encouraging, entertaining and enthusiastic about their language and culture. As a bonus, I've made life-long friends through SFIIS classes. Please join our Italian language learning community!”
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