Italian language courses

Who are we?

The Laboratory of Modern Languages is USI's language centre. We offer pre-semester and semester-time Italian language courses during the Autumn and Spring semesters. All USI members are invited to attend free of charge. For further information and registration, please refer to the information below.

Laboratory of Modern Languages

Laboratory of Modern Languages lecturers

Language courses open to external users

USI Alumni, students enrolled at other Swiss universities and external users may be admitted to some courses on a fee-paying basis, provided that places are available. Please consult the following links for further information:

• Language courses open to USI Alumni and students of other Swiss universities;
• Language courses open to External users.

Why learn Italian?

• Italian is the official national language of Canton Ticino and the southern valleys of Graubünden;
• In Switzerland, an excellent command of at least two official languages (German, French, or Italian) is generally required, along with passive (receptive) skills in the third official language;
• A good knowledge of Italian broadens your study and career opportunities;
• An officially recognised certificate is a requirement for admission to universities in Italy;
• The knowledge of the language could be a requirement for university Mobility programmes;
• A good knowledge of Italian is essential for professional integration not only in canton Ticino but throughout Switzerland. For example, the Federal Act on Medical Professions (LPMed) requires all future doctors to have the necessary language skills to practise their profession.

LLM Italian language lecturers

Lara Faccio

Susanne Stigen Pescia

Pamela Trincado

Italian language course supervisor

Susanne Stigen Pescia

ECTS credits for LLM language courses

ECTS All Faculties

ECTS Bachelor in Communication

ECTS Bachelor in Lingua, letteratura e civiltà italiana

Registration

To register online, please select, at the bottom of this page, the campus where you study or work and consult the course descriptions. Places are limited, only register if you are serious about attending more than 75% of the course. 

Language courses orientation questionnaire

To discover the language courses offered by the university and the language requirements for your study programme, you are welcome to complete the “Language Courses Orientation Questionnaire”.

Click on the button.

Orientation Questionnaire

Attention: completing the questionnaire does not constitute official registration for the courses. To register, go to 'Course offer and online Registration" at the bottom of the page and select the desired campus.

Study path

Italian language courses are offered in different levels corresponding to those described in the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR). The table shows the possible language courses based on the starting level and the development of skills over two years. The language offering includes intensive pre-semester and semester-time courses. For a complete view of the content on your phone, switch to landscape mode.

Workload

At levels A, B and C, practical semester-long courses are offered, each lasting 56 hours (28 hours of in-person classes and 28 hours of independent study or 56 hours in-person) and for lower levels also pre-semester intensive courses of 60 hours, and aimed at the balanced development of the four language skills. To progress to the next level, the completion of at least two courses per level is required. By way of example, to achieve level A1 it is necessary to attend courses A1.1 and A1.2, for a total of 112 hours (56 hours in-person and 56 hours of independent study), in addition to at least the same number of hours of practice. Only upon completion of this pathway is it possible to access courses at the next level, namely A2.1. The overall duration of each level corresponds to approximately one academic year. Attendance is compulsory in order to ensure adequate development of all four language skills.

Withdrawal

Good course planning requires accurate data on the number of participants. In the event of an unforeseen withdrawal, it is the candidate's responsibility to inform the Laboratory of Modern Languages before the start of the course by writing promptly to [email protected]

Frequently Asked Questions

The LLM administration operates on reduced hours and may not be able to respond to all messages promptly. Please consult the FAQ before contacting the language centre, in order to quickly find the necessary information. To make it easier to find answers, questions are organized by topic (click the FAQ button):

FAQ

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COURSE OFFER AND ONLINE REGISTRATION

Select the campus where you study or work, explore the course offerings, read the entry requirements carefully and enrol online. Please note that the schedule may be subject to change.

Lugano Campuses

Faculty of Biomedical Sciences; Faculty of Communication, Culture and Society; Faculty of Economics; Faculty of Informatics; Faculty of Theology of Lugano.

Mendrisio Campus

Academy of Architecture

Bellinzona Campus

Institute for Research in Biomedicine IRB and Institute of Oncology Research IOR