Siena Semester (Accordion)

(75 total hours) All students, whether beginners, intermediate or advanced, begin their Siena Italian Studies experience with our Three Week Intensive Italian Language Course. After an entrance exam, students are placed in appropriate levels and participate every day in classes and activities designed to develop all linguistic abilities, from the basic (listening, reading, writing, speaking) to the integrated (responding to questions, note-taking, transcodification). A wide variety of teaching materials is used beyond the traditional textbook to allow each student to best identify and develop his or her abilities. Students also interact with the city environment and help to create their own Italian language study materials. Once a week, students and teachers discuss the dynamics of language learning and the teaching methods used.

(75 total hours) All students, whether beginners, intermediate or advanced, begin their Siena Italian Studies experience with our Three Week Intensive Italian Language Course. After an entrance exam, students are placed in appropriate levels and participate every day in classes and activities designed to develop all linguistic abilities, from the basic (listening, reading, writing, speaking) to the integrated (responding to questions, note-taking, transcodification). A wide variety of teaching materials is used beyond the traditional textbook to allow each student to best identify and develop his or her abilities. Students also interact with the city environment and help to create their own Italian language study materials. Once a week, students and teachers discuss the dynamics of language learning and the teaching methods used.

(8 hrs/week) Following the Three Week Intensive Italian Course, students are placed in the appropriate level and continue to study Italian language 2 hours a day, 4 days a week for the duration of the semester. Classes include a variety activities linked to experiences in the city, student presentations, discussions, videos, quizzes, and writing assignments, as well as the study of specific aspects of Italian grammar. The intermediate and advanced levels provide a complete study of grammatical and communicative structures using materials that are varied in both content and type.

(45 total contact hours) This course will analyze some of the fundamental themes present in Italian literature during the contemporary period:  love, political consciousness, the search for freedom and the creation of an identity.  The themes will be presented through the reading of various passages from such authors as:  Ungaretti, Montale, Saba and Luzi and short stories from authors such including Ginzburg and Moravia. Students will learn how the works are constructed and how language has evolved by comparing one author to another and discussing the themes presented.

(45 total contact hours) The course will analyze a theme that has been a foundation of Italian literature from the medieval period to the contemporary one:  the love story, with the woman often considered as an angel and inspirational muse.  This theme will be presented through the reading of some of the most poetic works, from Dante to Saba, and from Petrarch to Montale.  This reflection will also be accompanied by the study of some pieces by modern and contemporary authors on the existential crises of the modern man, from Pirandello to Calvino, from Svevo to Tabucchi.