Italiano A1 parte 1, Intensivo Principianti Assoluti, SA 2026 Mendrisio

Learning outcomes

• basic oral communication in everyday university life (first three units of the book);
• get to learn the social and cultural environment of the Italian-speaking part of Switzerland;
• the communication language will be English in the first part of the course and it will be changed gradually to Italian afterwards.

Course content
Numeri, articoli determinativi e indeterminativi singolari e plurali, plurale dei nomi, pronomi personali e riflessivi, ausiliari, verbi regolari e irregolari al presente, verbi riflessivi, concordanza degli aggettivi, aggettivi e pronomi possessivi, interrogativi, preposizioni.

Culture
Culture is a major and inseparable component of language learning. To complement the language courses, the programme includes a guided city tour, a guided museum visit and a screening of an Italian film.

Study material
The course materials are provided through the platform iCorsi3. Students should bring their laptop to every lesson.

Handbook
The course textbook is not provided by the University and must be purchased by students before the start of the course. Title: Marco Mezzadri, “Italiano Plus A1-A2”, Volume 1, Bonacci editore, 2015, ISBN 9788820108816

The free of charge intensive pre-semester absolute beginner course (CEFR A1 part 1) is intended for students with no previous knowledge of the Italian language. The course encourages to get fully involved in the language for two weeks. The morning class focus on grammar and writing whereas the afternoon class focus on improving listening and speaking skills, expanding vocabulary and developing confidence. By the end of the course students will be able to employ simple sentences and expressions when dealing with various situations in daily life.

Semester-time course
USI students and professionals of the Accademia willing to continue studying Italian free of charge after the Intensive Preparative course can apply for the Beginners 1 extensive course (CEFR A1-A2 level) held throughout the Semester on Mendrisio Campus.

In presenza

Mode
The learning programme is in person and held on campus. The course takes place over two weeks and comprises 30 hours of instruction per week, from Monday to Friday, for a total of 60 hours.

Attendance
Regular and active attendance of at least 75% of the course duration is required. 

Final test
Different assessment procedures are conducted during the course, including an end-of-course test. This is a three hours test, and includes a short listening and reading comprehension, grammar exercises, one brief essay and a speaking part. The final test takes place the last Thursday of the course.

Certificate of attendance
Regular and active attendance is required throughout the course. Students who attend at least 75% of the classes and successfully pass the final examination will receive a Certificate of Attendance.

ECTS

• Regular USI students: Faculty of Biomedical Sciences students of the Master in Cognitive psychology in health communication will receive 3 ECTS credit points for the successful completion of the course.
• Incoming mobility students: SEMP (ex Erasmus), Swiss Mobility and International Exchange students will be awarded 3 ECTS credit points after successful completion of the course.