OMNILINGUA is a small, professional school that prides itself on its family atmosphere.

Learning Italian at OMNILINGUA provides professional language and cultural studies in the perfect Italian environment; sole, mare and la dolce vita.

Join us at our school for the complete Italian experience - learn the language while sampling the culture, the cuisine, the history and the art or just simply relax on the beach with a gelato.

The school is recognised by A.S.I.L.S. (Association of Italian schools as a second language) and has received "Excellence Awards" for outstanding customer services.

The OMNILINGUA Methodology   
 

OMNILINGUA's objective is to ensure that students learn to speak Italian fluently and confidently. The classes are kept to a maximum of 9 students. This enables teachers to give individual attention to each student while providing an environment that encourages open discussion and conversation. OMNILINGUA also ensures that students obtain a sound understanding of Italian grammar to ensure a strong foundation for the spoken and written language.

OMNILINGUA provides a full immersion experience by exposing students to the Italian language in as many forms as possible. Teaching materials are made up of a variety of media including: newspaper articles, editorial material, magazine articles, literary excerpts, song texts and poetry. Students are also encouraged to contribute their own materials and ideas to the class. Multimedia such as DVDs, videos, CDs, the Internet and television also make up an integral part of the teaching material and methodology. Teachers choose from a range of contemporary and engaging topics to help students gain insight into modern Italian culture, society and lifestyle

OMNILINGUA is constantly researching and updating new and innovative teaching methods for the curriculum to ensure students are receiving the best language education available. In addition, "Lingua Vissuta" - the Living Language is incorporated into the curriculum. This involves venturing out into the local community, visiting the markets, the library, the shops, the Casino etc. to gather information for various class projects. This gives students the opportunity to practice what they have learned in the classroom in real life situations.

THE COURSE TYPES AND THE COURSE LEVELS

Standard Course

4 group hours per day from Monday to Friday from 9am to 12.40pm. One teaching hour is 50 minutes long. This type of course is perfect for those who want to combine study with other cultural and leisure activities in the afternoon.

Standard-PLUS Course

4 group hours per day from 9am to 12:40pm plus 1 hour individual lesson in the afternoon every day, a total of 25 teaching hours per week. One teaching hour in the morning is 50 minutes long, in the afternoon 60 minutes. This type of course is ideal for those who would like to combine the experience of a group class with the individual attention of a one on one lesson.

Intensive Course

6 group hours per day from 9am to 12:40pm and 1.20pm to 3pm. One teaching hour is 50 minutes long. This type of course is designed for students wanting to maximise study time during their stay.

CILS-Exam (Preparation Course)

4 group hours per day from 9am to 12:40pm plus 2 hours individual lesson in the afternoon every day, a total of 30 teaching hours per week. One teaching hour in the morning is 50 minutes long, in the afternoon 60 minutes. This type of course offers adequate preparation for the CILS (Certificate of Italian Language as a Foreign Language.) CILS is an official title that rates the degree of competence in Italian as a foreign language and is often required to enter Italian Universities.  OMNILINGUA provides the necessary preparation and assistance for students who want to take this exam and gives advise regarding the choice of the university and the entrance requirements. The exam preparation takes place on OMNILINGUA premises in Sanremo, but the actual exams are held at authorized centres (the nearest in Genoa).

Italian + "Cooking & Wine"

This course has been tailored for students with an interest and passion for the Italian Cuisine and Wine. The course includes 4 hours of Italian language from 9am to 12:40pm in a group + once a week from 1.20pm to 3pm theory speciality course in the school + once a week in the evening the practice part held in a nice country villa, azienda agricoltura Fabiocallea, where the students can pick vegetables and fruits from the small farm! 

The preparation of Ligurian dishes will be held by Sig.ra Lina and the students can help and taste their dishes. The course involves instruction and preparation of particular Italian dishes especially from the Ligurian region. For example they include 2-3 typical dishes like: pesto, Ligurian vegetable pie (torta di verdura), farinata, sardenaira (local pizza), Ligurian rabbit stew, and traditional sweets. This is accompanied by an introduction to and tastings of the wonderful homemade wines.  Who is interested in visiting a wine cellar? The students can also visit and see where their wine is producted. A veritable paradise for wine and good food lovers! Buon appetito!

Italian + Sculpture

This course has been tailored for students with an interest and passion for the Italian Art. The course includes 4 hours of Italian from 9am to 12:40pm in a group + for the first time from 2.00pm to 4pm theory speciality course on the school premises + the practice part held by a famous professional artist and sculptor of Sanremo, Doctor Paolo Ammirati, Friday of the same week and Tuesday and Friday of the next week, 2 hours each in the afternoon at school or at his studio. The course involves instruction and preparation of Italian sculpture made of wood or iron. At the end of the course, you can take home your beautiful opera!!! All utensils and materials are prepared for you! Buon divertimento!

(PHOTO: The works of Doctor Paolo Ammirati, a famous professional artist and sculptor of Sanremo, who will instruct you during the course)

Educational language stays for school groups

These courses are tailor-made to meet, in particular, hotel management and tourism schools requirements.  The course includes 4 hours of Italian from 9am to 12:40pm in a group, in total 20 hours per week. One teaching hour is 50 minutes long.  In the afternoon, as your requests, we can organize some excursions and interesting social visits. For example, a visit to Olive oil museum, a guided visit to the Casinò, Artisanal Gelato Tasting, etc. You can also visit Genova and/or Monte Carlo.  

For more information please click : Brochure

Combination Commercial Courses

Private Lessons

This teaching programme is one of the most flexible and efficient methods of learning. The individual lesson format is available both for beginners as well as for advanced speakers. In coordination with the teacher, the student decidesthe speed and rhythm of learning, the timetable and the content of the lessons. One private lesson is 60 minutes long. 

Course Levels
 
Courses are broken up into 4 main levels (in summer time up to 8).
 
The Livello Base (beginner level) is aimed at those who have no knowledge at all of Italian. The aim is to develop a solid grammatical base from which students can begin to construct their own sentences and develop every day conversational skills.
 
The Livello Elementare (elementary) is aimed at students who have some rudimentary knowledge of Italian. Students at this level should already be familiar with verb tenses such as the “passato prossimo” (compound past). This level will provide students with more confidence in spoken Italian and strengthen their grammatical foundation.
 
The Livello Intermedio (intermediate) is where participants should already be familiar with verb tenses such as “futuro semplice e composto” (future composition and simple).  Students are introduced to more complex grammatical structures and will be taught a level of vocabulary for understanding more abstract themes. At this level students will be encouraged to express themselves in Italian and discuss and debate various topics of interest within the class.
 
The Livello Avanzato (advanced) focuses on an analysis of the complex syntactic structures of Italian. This level is aimed at students who already have a good working knowledge of Italian and a comprehensive vocabulary. Advanced grammar, phonetics and specialised vocabulary will form the basis of these courses. Essential grammatical elements for example, will include “congiuntivo presente e passato” or “periodo ipotetico” (the subjunctive past and present or hypothetical tense). Students at this level will be given ample opportunity to practice more complicated conversational topics. Students can choose from a range of social, political, cultural, economic, historical or contemporary issues and topics to discuss in class.
 
All students receive a certificate at the end of the course indicating the specific dates and levels studied. Preparation for CILS is available upon request.

Prices 2008

Standard Course

Standard-PLUS Course

Intensive Course

Italian + “Cooking & Wine”

Italian + "Art (sculpture)"

Italian for professionals

CILS exam (preparation course)

€ 29 per hour

Enrollment fee: € 40 (including teaching materials)

Course dates 2008

New courses will start every 2 weeks. The school will be closed on: 24/03/2008; 25/04/2008 01/05/2008; 15/08/2008; 01/11/2008; 08/12/2008. Only private lessons can be made up.