Istituto Il David

The Istituto Il David is a school specialised in teaching the Italian language and culture to foreign learners. The school, which owes its name to Michelangelo's famous sculpture, was one of the first Italian language schools established in Florence. Our experience in the field of language teaching guarantees our students both good results and a pleasant stay in Florence. A strong point of our school is its friendly and relaxed atmosphere. The school is open all year round and is situated in the historical centre of Florence, on the third floor of a palace (with a lift) built at the end the 19th century. Its location is the bustling heart of Florence's economy, the borough that houses banks, insurance companies and the elegant, world-wide famous fashion shops. The Cathedral with its famous Dome by Brunelleschi, the railway station and the main monuments and museums are all within walking distance of the school.

Florence is the capital of Tuscany; it is located in the north-central part of Italy, between Rome and Milan, and it is crossed by the Arno river. It is surrounded north by the mountain chain of the Apennines, south by the gentle Chianti hills, the famous wine production area, and west by the Valdarno plain. Florence is known all over the world because it is the city of art and the capital of the Renaissance. Florence is not a very big city, but if we consider the tourists, the Italian and foreign students, the commuters and the domiciled immigrants more than one million people “live” this city every day. Florence has one of the world's largest historic centres, which has such a huge number of monuments and works of art that you have the impression you never finish visiting and getting to know it. It seems incredible that almost half of the Italian artistic heritage is located in this city! ..... not to mention the works of art in the other Italian cities, like Venice and Rome, which, all together, make up half of the world's artistic heritage! Many reasons make Florence be the ideal place to learn Italian or to improve your knowledge of the language. It is the city where the Italian language was born and where it evolved. Its immense and rich artistic heritage has made Florence become one of the world's artistic and cultural centres. For these reasons more and more students and tourists come studying and staying in Florence, thus creating an intense cultural exchange.

Teaching hours last 55 minutes. Each teaching session consists of two teaching hours and lasts 110 minutes. Classes are held from Monday to Friday with the following timetable: 9.00-10.50 AM Grammar - break - 11.10-13.00 AM Conversation - lunch break - 2.00 - 3.50 PM Workshop (Intensive course only) - afternoon break - 4.10-5.00 PM Combined C. Each teaching session is held by a different teacher. This gives students the chance to hear different ways of speaking. In the course of grammar lessons new structures are presented, drilled and reinforced, language features already dealt with are regularly reviewed and practised. Teachers bring in materials of their choice, to be used in addition to exercises and drills contained in the school textbook. During conversation sessions teachers put forward current topics and encourage learners to take part in discussions, make their own contributions, bring up controversial issues, etc. The degree of difficulty is carefully gauged up to the level of competence of learners. Language workshop lessons are a combination of applied grammar and conversation. Role plays and class games are used to simulate daily situations, in which relevant vocabulary is constantly elicited, presented and drilled. In addition to classes, tailor-made one-to-one lessons are available, giving students the chance to deepen their grammatical knowledge and to enhance their awareness of the Italian language and culture. As learners themselves are encouraged to suggest the contents of their individual lessons, one-to-one hours can be used to tackle or review specific grammar points, to discuss and deepen cultural topics, etc.

The school helps students find accommodation in Florence. The different types of accommodation available are: single or double room with the use of kitchen, with breakfast or half board (breakfast and dinner), with a host family, in a student apartment, in a private apartment (one or two rooms) or in a hotel room (1, 2 or 3 stars). In order to guarantee our customers a pleasant stay in Florence all rooms, flats, hotels, etc. are carefully chosen and thoroughly checked by the school staff. The school expect students to arrive on the Sunday before the beginning of lessons and to leave their lodgings on the Saturday after the end of the course. All apartments in the historic centre of Florence are 5/15 minutes walk far from the school, while those outside the historic centre are at a maximum of 15 minutes by bus far from the school. The nearest bus stops to the school are in Via Vecchietti and in front of the central railway station.

The school offers a minimum of 10 extracurricular activities per month. The activities taking place in the school premises are free of charge. In order to give each student the possibility to join in, all activities take place after 4:00 PM and during the weekend.