Chiacchere - Conversazioni in Italiano - Siracusa - Sicily

Biblios onlus, is a cultural association that promotes and divulges the local culture.
In this specific context Biblios has been running for some years Italian language and culture courses "Chiacchiere, conversazioni in italiano" that it is pleased to introduce to you, hoping to have you soon among our students.

Our courses are addressed to all the “inquisitive” curious travellers that want to combine a vacation with the knowledge of the daily-spoken language, the culture and the traditions of the Country, in the context of one of the most interesting regions of the Italian peninsula. The courses are actually held in the centre of our association, in the charming islet of Ortigia, the historical centre of Siracusa, among the most fascinating cities in Sicily; the particularly suggestive, cosy and informal atmosphere favors an approach to the language free from the scholastic stereotype, in line with the didactic principles of our courses, the daily conversation and communication and in the local cultural context.

Ours are conversation courses, that, starting from the fundamental grammar bases, give the "learner" a communication-based approach to the language, focused on the four language skills (listening, speaking, reading, writing), in order to be able to speak and converse in the foreign country, to interact and be independent in any daily-life situation.

Through an entry test and with the assistance of our teachers, each student can pick one of the different levels and attend the most suitable course to his/her own abilities.

Besides the standard courses, we offer also Advanced and Individual Courses, for people with special requests.
In accordance with the Foreigners University of Siena, we run preparatory courses for the CILS exams for all levels (Certificate for Italian as Second Language – www.unistrasi.it.

The preparatory CILS courses last at least two weeks, and 60 hours. They include practice sessions using CILS tests.
The dates of this specific courses depend on the dates of the Siena University exams.

Our teachers have high-level competences and qualifications, and have developed conspicuous experience in Italy and abroad.
Although Italian is their mother-tongue, they speak also different foreign languages which make them able to communicate in the students’ mother-tongue and better interact with them.

All our courses include two activities outside the school, in order to let experience the Italian language in a real situation, such as a visit to the market and a city tour, or different other activities according to the language level of the students.

In order to let the students stay in close contact with the culture and the local traditions, the language courses are integrated with extra activities, such as cooking, ceramics and architecture classes, and excursions .
The excursions will follow the same themes of the courses and will lead the students to discover the classical must-see places in Sicily, its traditions as well as the cuisine and the wine, the nature, the myths and some of the places which have been the backgrounds for famous novels and movies in the last century.
The excursions take place in the afternoons or during the week-ends and have an extra price.
We can also provide different kinds of accommodation in Hotels, apartments and B&B, which are mostly very close to the school.

SERVICES:

Accommodation booking, cultural and naturalistic excursions and tours of Sicily,private guided tours, walking tours, cycling tours, sailing, wine tasting tours.

Special courses: Italian/Sicilian cookery, pottery craftsmanship, drawing and painting on papyrus.

Arrivederci in our school!