The University for Foreigners of Siena, in collaboration with the Italian Cultural Institute in Abu Dhabi, is launching synchronous distance Italian language courses starting from April 2024. The courses, “CLID Emirates,” are designed for students/workers residing in the United Arab Emirates. The planned courses follow the levels A1, A2, B1 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR), with each course lasting 3 months (12 hours per month, 3 hours per week).
Upon completion of each quarterly course, a certificate of attendance is issued upon request, provided that the student has participated in at least 70% of the synchronous hours and has passed the end-of-course exam. The attendance certificate, however, does not serve as an official certification of Italian language proficiency.
Each course (with completed final exam) allows for the acquisition of 2 ECTS (European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System) credits.
The CLID Emirates quarterly courses are organized with synchronous lessons on Zoom Pro Education. Zoom classes consist of a minimum of 5 and a maximum of 18 students per level/course, all taught by native Italian speakers from the University for Foreigners of Siena.
You can read also about these courses on “Course Taker News-UAE” here
INDIVIDUAL CLASSES CLID
Alternatively to the online “class”, it is also possible to register for 12-hour cycles of “one-to-one” mode, at a cost of Euro 540.00 for each cycle of 12 hours. With the “one-to-one” formula, the lesson schedule can be agreed upon with the student, from Monday to Friday with a schedule up to 9:00 PM (Italian time). The registration link will be available starting from May 2, 2024.
GROUP CLASSES CLID
The registration fee for the course is €390.00 (including €16.00 for the Italian stamp duty, WHICH IS NON-REFUNDABLE).
ZOOM LESSON SCHEDULE
For each course, lessons are held twice a week over a period of 3 months – on Tuesdays and Thursdays – Classes from January to March and from October to December, the time is 5:30 PM to 7:00 PM (GST). From April 1 to July 23, the time is 4:30 PM to 6:00 PM (GST).
CLID SYNCHRONOUS GROUP COURSES CALENDAR 2025
Session 1: January 7 – March 28, 2025 (pre-registration deadline December 3, 2024; course payment by December 15, 2024)
Session 2: April 1 – June 27, 2025 (pre-registration deadline March 7, 2025; course payment by March 15, 2025)
Session 3: July 7 – September 26, 2025 (pre-registration deadline June 5; course payment by June 15, 2025)
Session 4: October 6 – December 19, 2025 (pre-registration deadline September 3; course payment by September 15, 2025)
REGISTRATION PROCEDURE
Registration for “CLID Emirates” courses is exclusively done online, following the course calendar’s specified dates. The process involves:
- Pre-registration at the Italian Cultural Institute Abu Dhabi. Students can choose to register for the group or individual course by filling out one of the online form below:
Group Courses CLID
Individual Courses CLID
For more information about the courses please email abudhabiiic.segre@esteri.it. - Once the pre-registration is completed, the Student Affairs Office of the University for Foreigners of Siena sends an email to the pre-registered individuals containing all the necessary information, instructions, and links to make the payment for the course registration fee (through the PagoPA portal) and the form to formalize the final enrollment. The student will also receive instructions for the online test (if not an absolute beginner).
- Upon receiving the test results, a student intending to enroll in the course for which they are deemed eligible must formalize their enrollment by paying the entire course fee on or before the “Payment Deadline.” The payment and final enrollment must be carried out following the instructions provided by the University for Foreigners of Siena.
- Note that in case of non-payment and failure to complete the final enrollment form by the specified deadline, the pre-registration is automatically canceled.
WITHDRAWAL PROCEDURE
Students can withdraw from the course and request a refund of €374.00 (the Italian stamp duty of €16.00 is NON-refundable) within 14 days of payment. The request must be sent via email to segrstud@unistrasi.it. The refund, excluding bank charges, will be processed within 60 days to the student’s bank account. For students under 18, the refund request must be made by the parent who made the payment.
After 14 days from the course fee payment date, students lose the right to request a refund of the aforementioned amount.
EDUCATIONAL MATERIALS
The course uses the “Nuovo Espresso” series published by Alma Edizioni, Florence. The manual, available in e-book form on www.almaedizioni.it, is not included in the course fee and must be purchased by the student before the course begins.
TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS
- The courses are preferably accessed via PC, notebook, or tablet.
- A stable internet connection is required.
- The courses are delivered on the Zoom Pro Education platform for synchronous lessons.
DATA HANDLING
The Italian Cultural Institute in Abu Dhabi and the University for Foreigners of Siena conduct their activities in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) No. 2016/679.
COURSE DESCRIPTION
Level | Content description by level |
A1 | The objective of the course is to develop basic skills and competencies related to personal and interpersonal mastery in common communicative situations: expressions for everyday use to meet basic needs, such as introducing oneself, providing contact information, asking and giving information. Learners are guided in learning and using basic grammatical, phonetic, and lexical structures. Emphasis is placed on oral skills. |
A2 | The objective of the course is to develop skills for socializing in a simple yet effective manner through the use of common expressions in both informal and formal situations. This includes describing routine activities in familiar and everyday situations, interacting in formal settings, writing an email, inviting someone to do something, etc. The repertoire of communicative situations (and the associated vocabulary) in which the learner may find themselves interacting is expanded. Additionally, linguistic and textual structures for referring to past events are introduced. Emphasis is placed on oral skills. |
B1 | The objective of the course is to develop skills and competencies for understanding and speaking more fluently about familiar topics related to the public domain, education, leisure, and work. Linguistic tools are introduced to narrate past experiences, express dreams, hopes, and ambitions, articulate personal opinions, and describe plans for the future. Emphasis is placed on oral skills and the handling of written texts. |