by Anthony Parente

Many people aspire to study in Italy. Some wish to take art, cooking, fashion or language courses, which last less than a month and others, look to spend an entire year taking various courses geared towards their degree. No matter which one you choose there is a lot to consider. Since there are numerous courses and schools you can attend I plan to dedicate this feature on studying Italian in Italy and follow up with a feature that addresses the many other possible courses students can take.

So you want to study Italian in the place where it all began. Sounds like a great idea, but before you go and enroll there are a number of things to consider. In addition to cost and the amount of time you want to stay you should consider these factors as well.

• Big city vs. small city
• North vs. South
• Conversational Italian vs. specialized Italian

There are advantages and disadvantages to studying in a big city like Rome and Florence. Depending on the type of person you are you need to decide whether these advantages and disadvantages are worth considering at all. If they are than you need to make note of them when you select your school. The major disadvantages in a big city are increased traffic and tourists. This will make traveling around the city more difficult. Some major advantages are more activities to do and a more active nightlife. Another factor that will fall into both categories is more English speaking people in bigger cities. Hearing English spoken may be a distraction and hamper your learning of the language. These advantages and disadvantages may seem inconsequential but they may cause undo stress and make your experience less enjoyable.

Another factor to consider is what part of Italy you want to study in. Like any country there are cultural differences between various areas. This is the same for Italy. Southern Italy is where you would go to experience the true Italian culture with little influence from foreigners. Northern Italy tends to show less of this culture because it is affected by a greater foreign influence from bordering countries. There are more factors that affect the cultural differences between the north and south. We don't need to list them. We just need to know that there is a distinct difference and one worth considering before you choose your school.

The last factor is what type of Italian are you trying to learn. Most people want to learn the language so they can strike up a conversation with others. There are those that need to tailor there learning to a specific need like computer or business Italian. If you are looking for the latter you will need to make sure that the school you are interested in have special courses you can take.

Language schools incorporate the local culture in their teaching and they offer various itineraries for you to explore the culture during your free time. Below is a listing of schools that offer courses for those who wish to learn Italian. Keep in mind that this is not a complete listing of schools that offer such programs. This list does however reflect a good mix of schools located throughout Italy. Browse through the list to see what each has to offer and compare them to see which school has what you are looking for.

Italian Language Schools
ABC Elba	Accademia Leonardo	Accademia Italiana
Accademia Lingua Italiana Assisi	Babilonia	Centro Culturale Conero
Centro di Lingua e Cultura Italiana Mediterraneo	Centro Linguistico Dante Alighieri	Cultura Italiana
A Door to Italy	Istituto Lorenzo de'Medici	Italiaidea
Italian Language and Culture Homestays	Italian Language School	Italian Learn
ITALIANOit	Language Center	Lingua Service Worldwide, Ltd.
Parliamo Italiano	Scuola d'Italiano Roma	Scuola Leonardo da Vinci
Scuola Tricolore	Societa Dante Alighieri	Study Abroad Italy
Terramare	Università per Stranieri di Siena	Università per Stranieri - Perugia

References

• Neighbor, Travis & Larner Monica. Living, Studying and Working in Italy: Everything You Need to Know to Fulfill Your Dreams of Living Abroad. New York: H. Holt and Co., 1998.
  
• Studying in Italy
  Has a listing of resources and addresses you can contact for more information.