10 Intensive Italian Courses for Fast Studies Both Abroad and at Home
Need to learn Italian fast? Like, yesterday?
If that’s the case, you definitely need an intensive Italian course.
The method isn’t for everyone but if you’re determined to learn Italian quickly, an intensive course will get you to that finish line.
Let’s check some out!
Contents
Download: This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that you can take anywhere. Click here to get a copy. (Download)
What Is an Intensive Italian Language Course?
Intensive courses are designed for fast learning. They provide tons of information using a no-nonsense approach that encourages learners to move from beginner to advanced in record time.
As the name suggests, these courses are intense! They include many daily lessons, sometimes for hours at a time. It’s essentially Italian—all day, every day.
But that’s what learners who embark on the intensive program route are looking for!
Heading to The Boot to learn Italian via an intensive course is an excellent idea. Many intensive programs on-location in Italy include cultural insights and excursions, keeping the language learning going even outside the classroom.
Studying in Italy provides the first-hand immersive experience that we’d all love to have.
If traveling to Italy isn’t possible, don’t fret! There are several intensive course options that can be accessed from elsewhere in the world. They create a language cocoon for learners that ordinary, non-intensive coursework rarely provides.
Online of off, many intensive Italian courses focus on conversational skills. Intensive courses are the fast-track to speaking and understanding Italian!
10 Intensive Italian Courses
Intensive Courses in Italy
If studying in Italy is part of the plan, there are many excellent intensive Italian courses to choose from.
When you’re deciding on which course to register for, there are a few things to consider. Most of us take the actual expense of coursework and lodging into account but we should think about another issue, as well:
The biggest factor to consider—aside from cost—is location!
If sight-seeing is part of your plan (and it should be—Italy has so many historic, cultural and interesting points to explore!), consider the location of the school itself.
You’ll want to be near public transportation, like a bus line, to facilitate travel within the country.
Considering exploring the rest of Europe on weekends? Choose a school near the railway or an airport.
Let’s see a few of Italy’s intensive course options!
Scuola Leonardo da Vinci
This school provides intensive Italian courses in Florence, Milan, Rome or Siena.
Their intensive course begins every Monday for learners with a basic knowledge of Italian. Every two weeks they begin the course for complete beginners.
The course is limited to 14 students so there’s plenty of room for individualized attention. Four lessons each day, five days each week—that’s a lot of Italian!
Learners can sign on for a minimum of one week and can remain in the course for as long as is necessary to achieve the level of fluency desired. The longer a student is with the school, the less the course costs. Discounted coursework begins with the second week.
The school also provides a program of cultural events for students. Cultural immersion and learning continue on the weekends, with many activities on tap!
Madrelingua Italian Language School
Madrelingua is situated in Bologna and they describe their course as “maximum progress in the minimum time.”
The course is 30 hours per week, with a minimum commitment of one week. Classes start every Monday.
There are no more than 10 students per class. Six hours each day are devoted to coursework and there’s the option of an additional 10 hours of homework weekly for students who request it.
Social events are scheduled for students so they utilize their Italian skills in entertaining settings outside the classroom.
Ente Lombardo Lingua e Cultura Italiana (ELLCI)
ELLCI’s standard intensive Italian course is a 20-hours-per-week commitment for two weeks—though you can study longer if you so desire. There’s also an option to add additional hours of individualized instruction.
They accommodate four levels of learners: beginner, elementary, intermediate and advanced. The program is customized for each learner depending on their specific needs and goals.
Located in Milan, the school is near many cultural points of interest. When classes aren’t in session there are lots of options for immersive experiences. Milan is the second-most populated city in Italy so there’s something for everyone to enjoy there!
The Umbra Institute
The Umbra Institute’s intensive Italian summer course is offered in conjunction with Connecticut College in New London, Connecticut. The six-week course provides Italian learning equivalent to two semesters of coursework.
You’ll take a total of 120 course hours, with additional opportunities for cultural activities outside the classroom. Social options include day trips, workshops, museum visits, cinema nights and dinner socials.
Classes take place in enchanting Umbra, where students are encouraged to lodge with local families for a fully immersive experience!
Istituto Venezia
This school is located in the enchanting Venice. Talk about a beautiful spot to study in!
Their intensive Italian course begins every month and is a four-week course—although it’s possible to enroll for less than the full month, if desired. Classes are held four hours each day for a total of 20 hours per week.
The course is open to all levels of learners but absolute beginner enrollment is only open during the first week of each month. Those with some Italian skills can begin during any week of the month.
There’s a maximum of 12 students per course, so you’ll be getting all the attention and instruction you need to excel.
A weekend cooking course is offered for those who wish to gain some first-hand Italian cooking skills!
Istituto Linguistico Mediterraneo
This intensive Italian language course is held in both Pisa and Viareggio. Courses in Pisa are offered year-round while Viareggio provides lessons during the summer months, only.
Courses consist of 30 lessons per week, and the length of stay is at the discretion of the student.
The school offers many options for cultural immersion during the hours learners aren’t in class.
There are lots of free activities that students are encouraged to participate in, including trips to Florence, Rome and other points of interest, social events and even biking adventures to discover the city outside the school walls!
Intensive Courses Online
Many of simply cannot fly off to Italy to take an intensive Italian course. We’d love to, but families, jobs and finances prohibit that experience.
If that’s the case for you, no worries! There are some super online options for intensive courses—and you don’t even have to find your passport to participate!
Let’s scope out the possibilities for online learning.
Preply
Preply is a platform that allows learners to choose a tutor for online language learning. There are many tutors here who offer intensive Italian lessons.
Choosing an online tutor is no different from choosing a local tutor. Each tutor has a profile, which you can browse to see that teacher’s qualifications. Then, simply choose the tutor that best suits your needs.
Most lessons are done via Skype, so choose a tutor who offers lessons compatible with your schedule.
Finding intensive Italian language tutors is simple. On the home page, use the drop-down menu that says “Tutor Teaches” and click on “Italian.” Beneath that menu, there’s a menu titled “Specialty”—use that to find intensive language tutors.
Or, just click on the Preply link at the head of this entry to be taken straight there!
Prices per session vary according to the tutor. Lessons can be scheduled using a calendar that shows time in the learner’s time zone so there’s no uncertainty regarding calculating time differences!
FluentU
FluentU’s program is self-paced, so it’s as intensive as you make it. This means you can study what you actually care about and learn Italian relevant to you and your reasons for studying.
The program is based around authentic videos: Italian-language videos that native Italian speakers actually watch. These include movie trailers and clips, news segments, commercials, music videos, vlogs and other native content.
These videos might be meant for native speakers, but they’re optimized for learners. The program gives you interactive subtitles with pop-up definition cards, multimedia flashcards and vocab lists and personalized quizzes that evolve as you learn.
Videos can be organized by difficulty level, topic and format so you can choose videos that are interesting and relevant to you. FluentU also has a learning streak to encourage regular study.
ABC School Firenze
ABC School Firenze offers personalized lessons to learners who are unable to head to Florence for their intensive program.
Lessons take place via Skype and are 55 minutes long. Scheduling and the number of lessons per week is based on individual needs.
Educational materials are emailed to students prior to each lesson.
Centro Culturale Conero
This school offers intensive Italian online lessons via Skype via their Learn Italian Online website to learners who can’t study at their amazing location in Italy.
In short—if you can’t go to them, they bring the language to you!
Scheduling lessons, length of study and any other details are taken care of during enrollment. Programs are personalized depending on a learner’s needs.
So if you need to bring your Italian language skills to the fast lane and you’re willing to devote the time and effort an intensive Italian course requires, these resources have got you covered.
Whether you relocate to Italy for a few weeks or just log into Skype round the clock, it’ll all be worth the work in the end!
Intensive courses aren’t easy but they do make it possible to fast-track your Italian learning.
Good luck!
Download: This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that you can take anywhere. Click here to get a copy. (Download)
