Open University program

Italian for Beginners

This program of six free online Italian courses, created by The Open University, will help you develop your
skills in Italian at a basic level, and introduce you to Italy and its language and culture.

Learn basic Italian, and discover Italy and its language and culture

Have you ever visited Italy and wished you spoke some Italian so you could get around more easily and interact
with the locals? Do you have Italian family, friends or colleagues and want to know more about their language
and culture? Are you interested in the food, music, cinema, art or literature of Italy? Or do you simply want to
get to know the country and its many and varied regions better?

Whether you want to learn Italian to go on holiday, for work or study, or simply to learn a new language, this
Italian for Beginners program will help you discover one of Europe’s most beautiful languages, and the diverse
and fascinating world of Italy and its regions and culture.

The program is designed for learners with no prior knowledge of Italian, and provides a solid foundation at
level A1 of the CEFR.

Accessible for free on desktop, tablet or mobile, and delivered in bite-sized chunks, the six, four-week courses
in the program provide a flexible way to learn to understand and talk about everyday and familiar situations in
Italian.

Italian for Beginners 1: Meeting, Greeting and

Eating
Learn how to order food and drink, greet people, and introduce yourself, in this first Italian for
Beginners course.

o TBA
o 4 weeks
o 4 hours pw

Why join the course?

This free online course is the first of six in the Italian for Beginners program. It will introduce you to the basic
language, so that you are able to:

 order snacks and drinks in a café;

 greet people and introduce yourself and others;
 talk about where you live and where you come from;
 talk about the languages you speak;
 talk about what you do.

Start to speak, listen, read and write in Italian

During the four weeks of the course, you will learn some of the vocabulary and phrases you need to help you
interact with people at a basic level.
You will start to develop the four language skills of speaking, listening, reading and writing through a range of
activities, which will introduce the language in authentic settings, and audio resources, which will let you hear
the language in action.

There are some activities where you will also practice your speaking skills, as it is important that you start
speaking as soon as possible.

You will also learn some essential Italian grammar, including some basic verbs, such as essere (to be) and
chiamarsi (to call). Finally, you will get some tips and advice on how to develop your study skills, so that you
can become a successful language learner.

Take your Italian learning offline by purchasing two hours of downloadable audio files and transcripts made by
the course creators at The Open University. These MP3s are a great way to practise your Italian listening and
speaking wherever you are. They cover examples and exercises in the same topics as the course.

Read more

What topics will you cover?

 Order snacks and drinks in a café;
 Greet people and introduce yourself and others;
 Talk about where you live and where you come from;
 Talk about the languages you speak;
 Talk about what you do.

What will you achieve?

By the end of the course, you'll be able to...

 Develop skills in basic Italian for interacting in common communicative situations

 Engage in simple communication in Italian
 Apply the language introduced in order to greet people, talk about where you live and what you do
 Apply the language introduced to talk about languages you speak and order drinks and snacks

Program index
Italian for Beginners 2: My Friends and Family
Learn how to introduce people, exchange information about them and talk about your family.

o 26 Feb
o 4 weeks
o 4 hours pw

 1. Introducing people and exchanging contact details (23 steps)

o Introducing people
 1.1 Introduction to the course discussion
 1.2 Introducing people to each other article
 1.3 Practise introducing people quiz
 1.4 Italian first names discussion
 1.5 Italian first names quiz

o Pronouncing Italian double consonants
 1.6 Double consonants article
  1.7 Double consonants in Italian first names article
 1.8 Double consonants in Italian surnames quiz
o Exchanging phone numbers
 1.9 Numbers 0–10 article
 1.10 Asking for and giving telephone numbers article
 1.11 Understanding phone numbers quiz
 1.12 Speaking practice article
o Exchanging addresses
 1.13 Asking for and giving an address article
 1.14 Practice quiz
 1.15 Exchanging email addresses article
 1.16 Numbers 11–19 quiz
 1.17 Lucky and unlucky numbers discussion
o Exchanging information about people
 1.18 Plural verb forms article
 1.19 Listening practice quiz
 1.20 Grammar practice quiz
 1.21 Talking about your friends discussion
o Over to you
 1.22 Test your progress test
 1.23 Next steps article
 2. Families and relatives (23 steps)
o Describing family relationships
 2.1 Talking about family members article
 2.2 Vocabulary practice quiz
 2.3 Pronouncing family vocabulary article
 2.4 Using 'di' to indicate possession article
 2.5 Practise talking about relationships quiz
 2.6 Talking about your family discussion
 2.7 Talking about people’s marital status article
o Using possessive adjectives to talk about families
 2.8 Possessive adjectives article
 2.9 Listening practice quiz
 2.10 Practise using possessive adjectives quiz
 2.11 The changing Italian family discussion
 2.12 The verb 'avere' article
 2.13 Practice using 'avere' quiz
 2.14 Describing a family article
o Asking and saying a person’s age
 2.15 Numbers 20–100 article
 2.16 Pronouncing numbers 20–100 article
 2.17 Saying how old you are article
 2.18 Listening practice quiz
 2.19 Writing practice article
 2.20 Describing a family you know discussion
 2.21 Population decline in Italy article
o Over to you
 2.22 Test your progress test
 2.23 Next steps article
 3. Clothes, colours, patterns and fabrics (16 steps)
o Talking about clothes
 3.1 Items of clothing quiz
 3.2 Listening practice quiz
o Colours, fabrics and patterns
 3.3 Adjectives describing colour article
 3.4 Vocabulary practice quiz
 3.5 Fabric and pattern article
  3.6 Vocabulary practice quiz
o Talking about what you wear
 3.7 Key vocabulary article
 3.8 Reading practice quiz
 3.9 Listening practice quiz
 3.10 Grammar practice quiz
 3.11 Clothes and fashion in Italy article
 3.12 Writing practice discussion
o Pronouncing Sc and sch
 3.13 'Sc' and 'sch' article
 3.14 Pronunciation practice article
o Over to you
 3.15 Test your progress test
 3.16 Next steps article
 4. Describing people (22 steps)
o Describing people’s physical appearance
 4.1 Benvenuti alla settimana quattro! article
 4.2 Describing people article
 4.3 Adjectives that describe people quiz
 4.4 Listening practice quiz
 4.5 Grammar practice quiz
o Describing features of hair and face
 4.6 Describing people’s face and head quiz
 4.7 Listening and speaking practice article
 4.8 Describing people’s hair and eyes quiz
 4.9 Key words quiz
 4.10 Vocabulary practice quiz
 4.11 Describing yourself discussion
o Describing personality
 4.12 La Commedia dell’Arte article
 4.13 Personality traits quiz
 4.14 Key vocabulary quiz
 4.15 Cognates and false friends article
 4.16 Listening practice quiz
 4.17 Pronunciation practice article
o Intensifying the adjective
 4.18 Adverbs that intensify adjectives quiz
 4.19 Discussion discussion
o Over to you
 4.20 Test your progress test
 4.21 Next steps article
 4.22 Join us! article

Italian for Beginners 3

Starts 2 April

Italian for Beginners 3: My Daily Life

In the third Italian for Beginners course, learn how to talk about your daily life and your leisure
activities.

o 2 Apr
o 4 weeks
o 4 hours pw
Italian for Beginners 4: Likes And Dislikes
Starts 7 May

In the fourth Italian for Beginners course, learn to talk about your likes, dislikes and preferences.

o 7 May
o 4 weeks
o 4 hours pw

Italian for Beginners 5: Time To Travel

Starts 11 June

In the fifth Italian for Beginners course, learn to ask for information on trains and buy train tickets.

o 11 Jun
o 4 weeks
o 4 hours pw

Italian for Beginners 6: Out And About

Starts 16 July

In this sixth Italian for Beginners course, learn to book holiday accommodation and order a meal.

o 16 Jul
o 4 weeks
o 4 hours pw