A1.1 (25 hours)
Course Description
Topics – Unit 1: “Primi contatti”; Unit 2: “Io e gli altri”
Grammar and Vocabulary Aspects – The Italian alphabet, personal pronouns, the verbs essere (to be), avere (to have), and chiamarsi (to be called), definite and indefinite articles, adjectives related to nationalities, singular and plural forms of nouns, adjectives, and articles, demonstrative and interrogative pronouns, cardinal numbers from 0 to 100, regular verbs ending in -are, the simple prepositions in and a.
Course Objectives
By the end of this course, the student will be able to:
- Spell names and nouns, introduce themselves and others, ask about someone’s origins and language knowledge, and request personal information.
- Communicate their address and phone number, talk about their likes and preferences, ask and state age.
This course is intended for those with no prior knowledge of the Italian language or for those who may benefit from a review starting at this level.
Textbook and materials
Luciana Ziglio – Giovanna Rizzo, Nuovo espresso 1 PLUS. Libro dello studente e esercizi. Corso di italiano A1. (book & interactive e-book) (Firenze: Alma, 2025). Units 1-3.
A1.2 (25 hours)
Course Description
Topics – Unit 3: “Buon Appetito!”; Unit 4: “Tempo libero”; Unit 5: “In Hotel”
Grammar and Vocabulary Aspects – Review of previous content; the verbs volere (to want), andare (to go), giocare (to play), leggere (to read), uscire (to go out), venire (to come); adverbs of frequency; interrogatives; mi piace/mi piacciono (I like); cardinal numbers starting from 100; agreement between nouns and adjectives; c’è/ci sono (there is/there are).
Course Objectives
By the end of this course, the student will be able to:
- Order at a restaurant or bar, read texts, listen to and understand audiovisual sources related to leisure activities, book a hotel room, and give directions on how to reach a place.
- Talk about leisure time, personal tastes and preferences, describe an apartment, express agreement or disagreement, ask and tell the time.
This course is intended for those who already have a basic knowledge of Italian sufficient to access this level, or for those who may benefit from a review starting here
Textbook and materials
Luciana Ziglio – Giovanna Rizzo, Nuovo espresso 1 PLUS. Libro dello studente e esercizi. Corso di italiano A1 (book & interactive e-book) (Firenze: Alma, 2025). Units 3-4-5.
A1.3 (25 hours)
Course Description
Topics – Unit 6: “Best Wishes!”; Unit 7: “Around the City”; Unit 8: “Discovering Italy”
Grammar Aspects – Review of previous content; the passato prossimo (present perfect); regular and irregular past participles; the absolute superlative; the verbs potere (can), dovere (must), and volere (to want); double negation; expressions of quantity; the partitive.
Course Objectives
By the end of this course, the student will be able to:
- Talk about working hours, a typical day, habits, indicate the frequency of an action, express possession, and define the days and times of one or more events.
- Describe a place or a route, apologize, refer someone to other people, and talk about opening and closing times.
- Narrate past events, talk about holidays, and discuss the weather.
This course is intended for those who already have a knowledge of Italian sufficient to access this level, or for those who may benefit from a review starting here.
Textbook and Materials
Luciana Ziglio – Giovanna Rizzo, Nuovo Espresso 1 PLUS. Student’s Book and Exercises. Italian Course A1 (book and interactive e-book) (Florence: Alma, 2025). Units 6–7–8.
A1.4 (25 hours)
Course Description
Topics – Unit 9: “Flavours of Italy”; Unit 10: “The Family”
Grammar Aspects – Review of previous content; reflexive verbs; the impersonal construction with si + verb in the third person; possessive adjectives and articles with possessive adjectives; the relative superlative; the passato prossimo of reflexive verbs; direct pronouns lo, la, li, le and ne.
Course Objectives
By the end of this course, the student will be able to:
- Talk about shopping and personal habits related to it, shop in a grocery store or specialty shop, describe a shop, ask for and understand a recipe.
- Communicate about everyday life events, talk about marriage, describe and talk about their family, describe photographs.
This course is intended for those who already have a knowledge of Italian sufficient to access this level, or for those who may benefit from a review starting here.
Textbook and Materials
Luciana Ziglio – Giovanna Rizzo, Nuovo Espresso 1 PLUS. Student’s Book and Exercises. Italian Course A1 (book and interactive e-book) (Florence: Alma, 2025). Units 9–10.
A1.4 (25 hours)
Course contents
Topics – unit 9: daily life; unit 10: family
Grammar – revision of previous contents, reflexive verbs, some adverbs of frequency, ways of saying introduced by the verb fare, possessive adjectives and the use of articles with possessive adjectives, relative superlative, present perfect of reflexive verbs.
Course outcomes
By the end of this course, learners will be able to:
1. read texts, listen and comprehend audio-visual sources about someone’s habits, daily life, Italian festivities.
2. talk about daily life and daily events, describe festivities and celebrations, talk about and describe their family, describe pictures.
This course is for those who have a knowledge of Italian language which enables them to access this course’s contents or for those who need to revise language contents from this level.
Textbook and materials
Maria Balì and Irene Dei, Nuovo espresso 4. Libro dello studente e esercizi. Corso di italiano A4. Con CD-Audio: A4 (Firenze: Alma, 2014 & after).