Italian courses at Madrelingua in Bologna have been running throughout the summer ‘in presenza’, so no longer online, but things have obviously been a lot quieter than in a non-pandemic year.
But now, with the cooler weather, the universities starting their academic programs, and the ending of the requirement for visitors from Britain to quarantine for five days on arrival (you’ll still need a ‘green pass’ or recent negative test), things are finally looking up!
On Monday 6th of September we have a number of new students arriving, and so will be restarting our (free, supplementary) afternoon tutoring slot. The hours for that will be from 5 to 7 p.m. and we have a fresh, new university student tutor to help you with your homework, and practise speaking Italian with (this is in addition to your classes in the mornings, obviously.)
And because we’ll finally have a decent number of people in the school (don’t worry – it won’t be crowded, we have four spacious classrooms and two smaller ones, which permits ‘social distancing’), we’ll be emphasising the chance to participate in social activities, with other students and the tutor, so as to make friends to speak Italian with.
These might include going for a drink (tables on the sidewalk, not inside), a visit to a museum (visitor numbers strictly limited), or a walk around the city. So your course is more than just the basic lessons, but includes chances to interact with other people outside of the classroom, if you choose to do so.
Check the ‘information for tourists’ on this page to find out what the rules are for travelers from your country.
Find out about Bologna here, look at photos of the school here, read articles about learning Italian here.
Italian course information is here, the prices are here, and this page explains how to book.
And here’s how to contact us, if you have questions, or need more information.
Covid protocol notes!
The rules designed to keep you (and us) safe change often, and it’s not always clear who they apply to… For example, for over a month, schools were open ‘in presenza’ but language ‘courses’ like ours still had to be held online. Someone just forgot us, probably. Italy can be like that!
For the moment, we’re allowed to teach classes, with actual students, in physical classrooms, as long as we follow the sanitation rules, which we understand to be:
- everyone, staff and students, has to wear masks when they’re in the building, though not if you go out for coffee with your classmates, for example
- we check your temperature as you enter in the morning
- you’ll need to sit at least a metre away from other students (we arrange the tables to make this possible)
- we discourage crowding in corridors, the entrance, the toilets, etc.
- the classrooms have to be well ventilated, which usually means leaving windows and doors open (how this will work in the winter, we’re unsure…)
- there’s hand-sterilisng solution everywhere
- the classrooms are cleaned after each use
N.b. It’s not yet clear if/when we will be required to check students’ ‘green passes’ or equivalent. Not everyone has them, yet.
Italian kids are due to go back to school in a couple of weeks, and there’s still a lot of debate about the hows and the whos of green pass checking – for the staff, but also for the children, many of whom won’t have had the chance to be vaccinated.
There’s also discussion about whether employers in sectors other than education will have to check their employee’s green passes, or not. It’s controversial!
Watch this space for further details, as they become available!
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