The teachers of the Italian Cultural Institute in Prague are native speakers, with university education and specialization in teaching Italian.
Teachers regularly take part in training and refresher courses in teaching Italian as a foreign language.
The didactic coordinator is available for questions regarding the course and related activities.
Methodology
In our school we use the communicative method, which aims at the continuous improvement of students’ communication skills. From the outset, we encourage spontaneous and creative use of the language and priority is given to meaning over form. The fundamental aspect is that communication keeps going. In our courses we strongly believe that making mistakes is a natural part of learning a language. Students, who do their best to communicate, have every right to make mistakes. According to our teaching approach, it is not good to correct continuously and it is essential never to correct students in the stage of production. Naturally, this does not mean that correcting an error is not important. However, we reserve separate class time for addressing this discreetly. The aim is to take note of those students´ mistakes that are possible to eliminate in the stage of the learning process, to help them to figure out for themselves the correct way to communicate. The correction never affects only the individual, but happens as a general analysis on the class level and must be beneficial to everyone.
For us, the class is the ideal environment for linguistic growth: from the beginning, we work on the cohesion of the students who make up the class and lead them towards cooperation. In the class one helps another, information is exchanged, we work in pairs or in groups, we talk. As part of an interactive and dynamic methodology, the use of real communicative situations, allowing students to re-use the language of everyday communication frequently, contributes to the learning process in a fun way. In addition, we perform purely teaching play activities, allowing the student to learn while enjoying themselves.
The communicative approach gives priority to listening as well. Direct contact with the language is essential. It is not just about listening to your teacher, but about practising the language and listening to others, about having personal contact with the language, about practising sounds, improvising and creating sentences, making mistakes and learning from them.
In short, the most effective way to learn is to be totally immersed in the language you want to learn. That is why we teach from the initial level only in Italian (while providing students with useful tools for communication and understanding).
Finally, although the communicative approach considers listening and speaking priority, our lessons are structured so that the student can also develop other language skills and slowly learns to read and write.
Division of the courses
Courses are divided according to CEFR learning levels and teaching is based on a syllabus drawn up specifically for our school and the needs of our students.
Currently, our courses are as follows:
| A1: A1a, A1b, A1c | approx. 90 hours | with the Chiaro A1 textbook |
| A2: A2a, A2b, A2c | approx. 90 hours | with the Chiaro A2 textbook |
| B1: B1a, B1b, B1c, B1d, B1e | approx. 150 hours | with the textbooks Chiaro B1 and Espresso B1 |
| B2 „basics“: B2a, B2b, B2c | approx. 90 hours | with the textbook Espresso B2 |
At the end of the level ‘B2 basics’ (with reference textbook Espresso 4) our courses are adapted to the real needs of our students. We know that for many students the aim is to consolidate what they have already learnt.
That is why in the levels we call:
| C1: C1a, C1b, C1c | approx. 90 hours | with the textbook Espresso C1 |
| C2: C2a , C2b, C2c | approx. 90 hours | with the textbook Espresso C2 |
these courses are, in fact, adapted to ‘B2 progress’ / C1 level learning
In these last 6 courses (with the name C1 and C2) the overview of the structures of the Italian language is completed, in-depth lexical aspects such as sectoral vocabulary are mentioned, but at the same time the teacher tries to reinforce the vocabulary and structures already learnt up to level B2, with the related listening, oral and written production skills.
From level B2 onwards, the individual student’s ability to really push themselves towards C1 and C2 CEFR levels depends very much on the individual’s commitment outside the lesson. The teacher prompts the student with advice on reading, listening, writing activities, which the individual student is invited to do in private.
Also from a speaking point of view, in order to reach a B2 level and beyond, the student is invited to practise Italian outside the course. For those who do not have the possibility to practise spoken Italian outside the language class, the advice for progressing in the spoken word is to do individual conversation lessons (max. 2-3 people) or tandem lessons.
Interested students may ask the course teacher to do a private conversation ‘addition’ after the end of the standard lesson.
Classroom practice alone, no matter how assiduous, cannot guarantee a high level of communicative ability.
Detailed explanation of levels (according to CEFR)
A1
According to the CEFR, level A1 is the elementary level of contact. At this level, the student is able to understand and use everyday expressions and simple sentences aimed at satisfying the needs of a concrete type. He can introduce himself and others and he can ask or answer questions about his personal environment. He is capable of interacting in a simple way, provided the other person speaks slowly and clearly.
In our courses, level A1 has a duration of 90 hours and is divided into sub-levels A1a, A1b, A1c.
A2
According to the CEFR, level A2 is the elementary level of survival. In this level the student is able to understand and communicate simple information on everyday and common topics. He can describe in an elementary way details of his life or the environment around him; he can express immediate needs.
Nei nostri corsi il livello A2 ha una durata di 90 ore ed è diviso nei sottolivelli A2a, A2b, A2c.
B1
According to the CEFR, level B1 is the Intermediate Threshold level. At this level, the student is able to understand (in a clear and standard spoken language) and communicate aspects of familiar topics concerning school, work, leisure, etc. He knows how to express his opinion simply and consistently on familiar or inherent matters of his own interests. He can describe an experience or an event, briefly explain a project or an idea and talk in a concise way about expectations, dreams or goals.
Nei nostri corsi il livello B1 ha una durata di 150 ore ed è diviso nei sottolivelli B1a, B1b, B1c, B1d, B1e.
B2
According to the CEFR, level B2 is the Intermediate Progress level. In this level, the student is able to understand the main ideas of complex texts on both concrete and abstract topics, as well as specialist discussions related to his / her field of specialization. He can interact with fluency and spontaneity to allow normal interaction with native Italian speakers. He can express himself clearly and in detail on a wide range of topics and manages to explain his point of view on a topic by providing the pros and cons.
C1
According to the CEFR, C1 level is the advanced level of Competence. At this level, the student is able to understand a wide range of complex and long texts and can recognize their implicit meaning. They express themselves naturally and smoothly. They use the language flexibly and effectively for social, professional and academic purposes. They can produce clear, well-constructed and articulated texts on complex topics, controlling the structures of speech and the mechanisms of cohesion of the language.
In our courses, the ‘B2 basic’ level is divided into B2a, B2b, B2c, for a total of 90 hours.
The ‘B2 progress /C1’ level is divided into 6 courses (called C1a, C1b, C1c and C2a, C2b, C2c) with a total of 180 hours.
In order to move towards CEFR level C2, special courses can be established together, adapted to individual students or small groups with similar abilities and needs (e.g. related to a specific sector language that one wishes to study in depth).
Placement test
For the insertion of new students into non-beginner classes, a placement test is required, which allows us to correctly assign them to the classes based on their level.