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Washington State University
News Travels December 2015 newsletter home page

Course Information

Italian Professor Maria Previto and her class making traditional tiramisu.
Italian Professor Maria Previto and her class making traditional tiramisù.

Italian courses are back! We are happy to offer classes in such a beautiful, useful, and appealing language. Students taking Italian have a great advantage when it comes to all of the opportunities Italy offers for students who are majoring in almost any field, such as music, fine arts, architecture, agriculture, business, apparel, and hospitality. Several study-abroad programs take students to cities such as Rome, Florence, and Milan.

Italian 101 and 102 provide students with the basic language skills, which will help them become independent enough to go to Italy able to communicate in the target language. After taking Italian 101 and 102, students will be able to go to Italy and truly interact with the locals, to introduce themselves, talk about the hobbies they partake in, their likes and dislikes, and family. Students will also be able to communicate about errands and going to public markets, museums, restaurants, and banks, in addition to doing some transactions.

If students are interested in continuing a second year of Italian, their vocabulary and language skills will expand enormously. They will learn how to communicate about sports and all the activities Italy offers in its cities and countryside, its beautiful Mediterranean coasts, and its breathtaking mountains. Students will be introduced to the fascinating world of fashion, for which Italy is world renowned. Finally, students will learn about the Italian economy and job market.

We also want to develop Italian courses at intermediate (300) level to introduce students to “high culture” and modern life in Italy.

In all our courses, we strive to always have tangible and practical cultural activities. For instance, this semester we will have a cooking lesson. Students will learn how to make tiramisù, one of the most famous and traditional Italian desserts. This is an entirely hands-on activity.