Italian Language Courses in Palermo, Sicily

Culturforum:
Our friendly school Culturforum is based in Cefalu, the beautiful coastal town in northern Sicily.

Our language courses in small groups (maximum 8 students per class, but 4/5 on average) are learner centred and built around the students and around their previously acquired knowledge and linguistic competence. Our primary focus is to improve language for communication so that, once out of classes, students can be able to cope with the most different day-to-day communicative situations.

Our main aim when planning the courses is our students' satisfaction and the maximum progress. This is the reason why we prefer a flexible class design which enables us to meet more effectively the needs of the diverse groups and of the individual in a group.

The organization of the courses is based on the development of the four basic skills: reading, writing, listening, and speaking, as suggested by the Council of Europe in the Common European Framework of Reference which describes the levels of teaching and learning a foreign language in the EU countries.Particular emphasis is placed on improving listening and speaking skills, developing vocabulary and functional language.

Class sizes range from four to eight students on average. This allows the teacher to monitor participants with particular care, and guarantees each student an active participation in the learning process.

The first day of the course at Culturforum students are first welcomed by the director and soon afterwards take a preliminary test (a written grammar test and an interview) to identify their general level and the specific area of language they need to improve and determine the appropriate level.

Standard course:
The standard course is suitable for students who wish to improve their overall level of Italian, practising the four basic skills: speaking, listening, reading and writing as well as widen their vocabulary and their understanding of grammar rules.

Combined/intensive course:
The combined and intensive Italian language course, with 1 or 2 hours respectively of extra one-to-one tuition per day combined with the standard course, allows our student to have his/her individual teacher who can respond to particular needs and interests.
You can choose to deepen your understanding of the rules of grammar as well as work further on vocabulary, select some topics for discussion or simply chat about various things with your teacher so as to become even more familiar with everyday spoken Italian.

Italian for special purposes:
This course is intended for professionals who already have a basic knowledge of the Italian language and want to improve both their social Italian and the language they need for their professional life and in the interaction with professional partners in Italy.
The course is tailor-made to respond to the students' professional needs.
This course comprises attendence of the standand course plus two extra hours of specialist teaching.

Italian for business:
This course aims to familiarise the student with the specific teminology used most frequently in Italy in the business world. d This course is tailored to those working in the tourist and hotel industries and focuses on the language needed to deal with real work situations.

Italian for tourism:
This course is tailored to those working in the tourist and hotel industries and focuses on the language needed to deal with real work situations.