Study Abroad Programs in Florence & Bologna, Italy

Centro Koinè:
Koinè, named after a Greek word meaning “common language”, is a special kind of school set up in 1980 as an association of teachers, all with personal and professional experience in the area of teaching Italian as a foreign language. These teachers decided to create a new type of organization which would differ from other private schools in its style of working and teaching methods. Today Koinè offers its own didactic methods, its own text books, cassettes and videos, teachers specifically trained in these methods, lessons which are not limited purely to the teaching of the language, but completed by a series of introductory courses and guided visits to show our country’s hallmarks.

Our school gained official recognition from the Italian Ministry of Education in March 2002 and belongs to ASILS association of Italian schools for foreigners.

The Koinè Center is headquartered in the historic center of Florence, between Piazza Duomo and Piazza Santa Croce (bus 14 or 23 from the main train station or 10 minutes on foot). The address is Via de' Pandolfini, 27. It's just a few hundred meters from the Sant'Ambrogio market and the flea market. Many popular bars and restaurants are found in this area, and the University of Florence and the largest public libraries in the city are within walking distance. The classes of the Koinè Centre are held in Palazzo Borghese, a Renaissance palace completely rebuilt in the 19th century in the neoclassical style by Prince Borghese.

Accommodation:
Single and double rooms rented from families or in hotels or convents. We offer a free of charge accommodation booking service for the duration of the language course.

- Italian Language and Culture: The group course is our most common activity. The classes concentrate on the spoken language that you will encounter in daily life in Italy. The Koinè method involves active participation in conversations, dialogues, games, and class readings.

- Combined Intensive Italian Course: In addition to the four hours of group tuition in the morning, it is possible to attend a one-to-one afternoon lesson of two hours with a teacher, in which you will have the chance to sort out any particular learning problem and deal with your specific interests.

- Individual intensive Italian lessons for those with a personal or professional interest in the Italian language and with time restrictions. You may select a specific focus, such as Italian for economics, business, medicine, banking, history, art, or architecture.

- A Tutor Course (Homestay), a super-intensive course at the teacher's home, offers the chance to work intensively in a full-immersion setting, at the same time allowing the participant to live together and share their experience closely with the teacher.

- CILS Examination Course: The official Italian Language Examination CILS is held twice a year in June and December at several Universities in Italy and at other institutions abroad. The certificate is recognized by most Italian universities as a requirement for admission.

- Courses for teachers of Italian: Durante la prima settimana, il corso prevede lezioni di teoria che si alternano ad attività pratiche. Durante la seconda settimana il tirocinio verrà svolto in una classe di italiano, dalle 9 alle 13, affiancando un insegnante del Centro Koinè.

- Bread, wine and language: a two-weeks program combining morning language instruction with afternoon culinary and cultural activities and excursions. During the morning you can learn the Italian language in a group lesson and during the afternoon you can discover the secrets of Tuscan wines and cookery. The program is also open to Italian language beginners.

- Painting and drawing courses in Florence: different techniques are offered for a 2, 3 or 4 weeks period for beginners and advanced. At the end of a 4 weeks course each participant will have completed a personal portfolio with his works.

- Photography Workshop focussing on black-and-white photography. The aim is to combine the craftsperson's "technique" with the creativity of the individual participants. Class size is limited to 4 students. At the end of the course, each student will have a personal photographic diary of Florence.

- Language, Art & Archaeology: The 2 week course integrates visits to artistic sites and monuments, historical centers, and archaeological sites with language instruction. Students learn to express cultural contents, aesthetic forms, social functions, and symbolic representation found in art in the most appropriate language. Learn Italian while enjoying the Italian way of life, perfectly integrating culture, tradition, and natural environment.

- Language, Nature & Sports: Students can choose from canoeing, rowing, and sailing in the lagoon; surfing, sailing, scuba diving (beginners and professional), snorkelling, and sea watching around the islands of the Tuscan archipelago and the coast of Argentario and the Natural Park of Maremma; horseback riding, trekking, and cycling through the green paths coastal Maremma and in the islands of Tuscany.

- Learn Italian while Sailing to the islands of the Tuscan Archipelago (Giglio, Giannutri and Elba Island - depending on weather conditions). You will learn Italian in 3 hour lessons each morning. Your afternoons will be free for swimming, visiting the islands, and learning to sail. You can choose to spend a week in Florence prior to sailing, attending a group course of daily 4 hour Italian lessons.

- Gold Silver and Language: 1, 2 or 3 month's Goldsmithery workshop in via Romana, focussing on practical experience, design, wax, embossing, engraving. The course is open to both beginners and to those with goldsmithery experience. The programme is based on practical experience and on manual skills and can be followed with or without language lessons.

- Ancient books restoration and Italian language: 1, 2 or 3 month's bottega program in a workshop in via del Pavone focussing on the history and restoration of paper, techniques and book restoration, leather and parchment restoration techniques. Individual assistance. The program is based on practical experience and on manual skills and can be followed with or without language lessons.