Italian Language Courses in Siena, Italy

Scuola Leonardo da Vinci Siena:
The SCUOLA LEONARDO DA VINCI was founded in 1977 and is located in the historical centers of Florence, Milan, Rome and Siena.

Standard Course
The Standard Course is held throughout the year on 6 (monthly) levels of ability. Duration: min. 2 weeks. The 4 lessons are held daily from Monday to Friday, usually beginning at 9am. If there are many participants the Standard Course may also be held in the afternoon at 2pm. There is a maximum of 12 students in each class.

Middle Length Standard Course
This is our new Standard Course with a 6-week minimum duration to deepen students basic knowledge of the Italian language... at a very special price!

Long-Term Standard Course
Students wishing to study Italian for longer periods are especially welcome at our schools and receive special care and attention from our staff, as well as benefiting from our long-term discounted prices. With this course, students profit from all the advantages of learning a language in the country where it is spoken. Through our experience in teaching the Italian language, we know that the ideal minimum stay for a course is 12 weeks. Not only you will have more confidence in your language skills, but instead of feeling like you are on holiday, you will be completely immersed in the Italian culture and way of life. Many of our long-term students are preparing to enter university or rounding off their Italian Long-Term Standard Course with the recognised AIL "Firenze" examination.

Long-Term Semester Course
Would you like to enjoy 6 months in Italy and travel to different cities, too? We have the right program for you! The Long-Term Semester Course is an extended version of the Long-Term Standard Course. The general structure is similar, but the objectives are targeted on a long-term basis. If you would like to live in Italy for several months, the Leonardo da Vinci schools offer you the possibility of an attractive package. You may start learning Italian in Florence, and after a few months you can move to Rome, Siena or Milan. The curricula in the semester course are the same; thus you can change the course location any time you want and you will make the most of your stay in Italy.

An excellent opportunity to attain a more in-depth and continuous study of the Italian language. You can combine learning the language and enjoying your free time. This course is also an excellent preparation for Master Courses in Art, Italian Design, Italian Fashion or Restoration.

Last abut not least, the Long-Term Semester Course has a particularly attractive price!

Academic School Year
The “academic year” is a 32 week language and culture course for students who wish to experience living and studying in Italy. The course combines not only language courses with Italian culture classes at the Scuola Leonardo da Vinci but the syllabus also incorporates the fundamental elements of level C2 of the European Language Portfolio.

All in all, the course offers students the opportunity to see at first hand the various aspects of Italy’s rich history and culture. The course is composed of a linguistic element and an academic element.

For students, starting the Academic Year in September 2009 the duration of the whole stay is 34 weeks, including two weeks of Christmas Holidays where no courses are held.

This course is also an excellent preparation for Master Courses in Art, Italian Design, Italian Fashion or Restoration.

Sabbatical Year
This program has a length of 48 weeks, especially appropriate for students who want to spend a very long period in Italy and take a break from their everyday life. During these weeks you learn the Italian language from the basis to the high proficient level. Since programs are the same in each Leonardo da Vinci branch, you have the possibility to live in different cities during your stay and so to enter in the Italian Culture and way of living.

Intensive PLUS-5 and PLUS-10
The Intensive Plus Course consists of the Standard Course Plus additional private lessons (one-to-one). The individual lessons are specifically designed for your specific needs. We offer two kinds of Intensive Plus Courses:

Intensive Plus-5 Course: 20 lessons of Standard Course and additional 5 private lessons per week;
Intensive Plus-10 Course: 20 lessons of Standard Course and additional 10 private lessons per week.

"Italy Today" Language and Culture Course
For students who want to learn Italian and at the same time become acquainted with the culture and history and the current social and political situation of their host country, we suggest to choose the "Italy Today" Course. In addition to the 4 lessons Standard Course in the morning, in the afternoon they will be introduced to art and culture, history and folklore, press and films as well as the current political and economic situation of Italy.

The cultural part of this course consists of 10 supplementary lessons in two weeks.

Culinary Traditions and Gastronomy
What did people eat here in Siena in ancient times? What do we still serve on our tables that can be traced back to that period? A new course introduce students to the typical foods and gastronomic history of Tuscany, in particular to the tastes of Siena.

The two weeks program includes a live cooking demonstration by a professional chef in an upscale restaurant, a visit of a typical Senese bakery, a professional wine and an olive oil tasting. Students will increase their culinary knowledge and appreciation of the relationship between food and wine and they will learn the importance of DOP and IGP protected foods. Great attention will be paid to history and cultural aspects from the medieval times to today.
The program includes four lessons of Italian language each day, run in the mornings.

Culinary Traditions and Gastronomy course will be held in the afternoons. It is recommended that students taking this course have an intermediate level of Italian.

"La Dolce Vita" for mature students of any age
This course is specifically designed for mature students of any age. You will learn Italian in a pleasant and relaxing environment, accompanied by a wide variety of cultural activities.

Morning Program:
The morning course of Standard Italian Language is designed to improve language and conversational skills, and heighten the awareness and appreciation of the Italian culture.

Afternoon Program:
- Orientation tour of the city;
- Traditional Italian dinner with program instructor;
- Guided tour of "Palazzo Pubblico" and the grand gothic Cathedral;
- Wine tasting guided by expert sommeliers: Tuscan reds paired with regional Italian cheeses;
- Half day trip to the most attractive areas of Tuscany.

Professional Courses
The professional courses consist of four lessons in a Standard Language Course plus two private tutorials daily that focus on terminology from the selected professional field. An intermediate knowledge of Italian is suggested for those attending the professional courses.

The student can choose among the subjects as Business Italian, The Language of Fashion, The Language of Architecture, Italian for Law , Italian Literature, Italian for the Hotel Industry , The Language of Tourism, Italian for Flight attendants and many more.

Preparatory Courses Diploma "Firenze" Examination
Our schools are recognized examination centres of the Accademia Italiana di Lingua (AIL), and we organize preparatory courses for the different Italian examinations "Firenze" of the AIL. We organize courses (Standard courses combined with specific preparatory courses) for beginners as well as advanced students.

The duration of the courses varies from 4 to 24 weeks, depending on your knowledge of the Italian language.

Internship Program
SCUOLA LEONARDO DA VINCI offers you the unique experience of living and working in Italy. The Work Experience & Internship program consists of three stages:

ITALIAN LANGUAGE PREPARATION
The first part consists of an Italian language preparation course with a minimum duration of 4 weeks. However, to attend the Internship program, a very good knowledge of Italian is required (proficiency level - C1).

PROFESSIONAL ORIENTATION
To widen the professional knowledge and to acquire sufficient skills to start a period of Internship placement, participants get 20 lessons of professional orientation course.
The orientation course is normally organized in accordance with the last two weeks of their
language course.

INTERNSHIP PROGRAM
The third stage consists of an unpaid internship in a carefully selected Italian company for two to four months: The minimum duration is 8 weeks that can be extended up to 16 weeks (or as long as the visa of the participant is valid). Students may choose from several fields listed under unpaid experience. The position offered is influenced by the applicant’s previous work experience, education and level of Italian. Most of the employ locations are in Florence, Rome, Siena or Milan. We assist in selecting the Internship company according to
the curriculum vitae and interests of the applicant. We arrange meetings with the internship coordinator to plan the internship experience. We will help applicants with the interview at the chosen companies. We will assist applicants to get the permit of stay and to define contact agreement with the selected company. We will monitor the internship experience together with the internship company. During the Internship experience applicants will get an insurance covering workplace accidents.

At the end of the Internship program participants will receive a Certificate stating the Italian
proficiency and the acquired Internship experience. Fields of intership: Tourism / Restaurants / Hotel management / Travel Agency / Web design / Web marketing / Design / Architecture; many other fields on request.

Private Tuition
Many years of experience in giving private tuition, a flexible choice of courses and teachers experienced in individual teaching programs allow us to offer tailor-made private tuition courses.

Thanks to our proven individual system “LinguaKIT” ©, we are able to suit the private tuition program to your needs with regards to dates and specific areas of interest. Lessons can be freely scheduled as long as length and intensity, from daily 3 to 8 lessons.

On request, the private tuition can also be organized to include lunch with the teacher, to continue practising the new language during the lunch-break.

Should there be already sufficient knowledge of Italian, the participant can also learn vocabulary orientated to certain professions, such as general business Italian, banking, trading import/export, law, insurance, marketing, Hotel management, tourism, medicine and so on.

On request, we offer also “TWO-TO-ONE-COURSE” and “THREE-TO-ONE-COURSE”. In this case, the same knowledge of the Italian language of the participants is requested.