Italian Beginners A1 (Wednesday Nights)
Course Overview
This beginner Italian course is designed for learners who are starting to build basic communication skills for travel and everyday situations in Italy.
The course focuses on simple and practical language use, helping students interact in basic social contexts such as cafés, restaurants, shops, hotels and travel settings. Students will practise listening and speaking through guided interactive activities to gain confidence in using Italian in real-life communication.
Prerequisites
Students should have completed an initial introduction to Italian or approximately 16 hours of beginner study.
Learners are expected to be able to:
• Use the present tense of common regular verbs
• Recognize the main parts of speech
• Use definite and indefinite articles
• Understand basic everyday Italian expressions
• Apply simple gender and number agreement
Course Breakdown
Week 1 - Hello Italy! Social Life at the Café
Learn simple polite expressions to greet people and order a drink in Italian.
Focus on everyday social interaction in cafés and public places.
Week 2 – Eating Out Made Easy
Practice basic restaurant communication, including ordering food and drinks using simple polite
forms.
Week 3 – Can I Ask Something?
Learn how to ask for objects or information using basic Italian question words.
Week 4 – Paying and Service Basics
Learn expressions for asking for the bill and completing simple service interactions in shops or
restaurants.
week 5 – Booking and Telephone Basics
Practice spelling, simple phone communication and making basic reservations.
Week 6 – Let’s Talk About Actions: Present Tense Verbs
Learn common regular and irregular verbs and use them in simple sentences.
Week 7 – What Do You Like? Expressing Preferences
Use volere and preferire to talk about simple choices in food and daily life.
Week 8 – Describe What You See: Articles and Plurals
Review definite and indefinite articles, plural forms, and simple description using buono and bene.
Week 9 – Ask for Information: Time, Quantity and Travel Needs
Learn how to ask simple questions about time, numbers and basic travel situations.
Week 10 – Your First Italian Experience
Simulate simple real-life situations such as ordering, booking or asking for information in Italian.
Term Dates
Term 1 runs from Wednesday 4 February to Wednesday 25 March
Term 2 runs from Wednesday 22 April to Wednesday 24 June (this is a 10 week course)
Term 3 runs from Wednesday 22 July to Wednesday 9 September
Term 4 runs from Wednesday 14 October to Wednesday 2 December
Course Outcomes
- Consolidate basic Italian grammar and vocabulary.
- Recognise and correctly use articles, nouns, and adjectives in simple sentences.
- Apply gender, number, and degrees of adjectives.
- Expand vocabulary on everyday and cultural Italian topics (food, cities, family, work, music, fashion).
- Understand short texts and describe people, objects, and places in Italian. Develop cultural awareness of Italy through readings and practical activities.
Material List
- A pen and paper to make notes
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Recommended book “Nuovo Espresso 1" or "Nuovo Espresso 1 Plus" (Alma Edizioni) textbook/workbook (abbeys.com.au or amazon.com).
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Sophia Emmanuello
Born in the Eternal City, Sophia is a Montessori teacher with a degree in Oriental Languages and Cultures.
During her study and research travels in Asia, she developed an educational outlook enriched by diverse cultural perspectives.
Over the past several years, she has taught Italian both as a first and second language, to children and adults in Italy and abroad.
These experiences have shaped a flexible and respectful teaching approach, informed by Montessori principles and grounded in a deep curiosity for global educational philosophies.
She applies the Montessori method to teaching Italian, fostering autonomy, curiosity, and active engagement in every learner.
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