Program Advantages
- Study with dynamic and qualified teachers of Italian.
- Complete your Mason foreign language requirement in one summer.
- Eat great food, make friends, and discover new places!
Program Dates
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ITAL 110 and ITAL 210
June 1 to July 24
(9 credits)
-
Field trip to Little Italies (optional)
July 27 to July 31
(1 credit)
Contact Info
Assistant Professor,
Kristina M. Olson
Italian Program Coordinator
kolson4@gmu.edu
703-993-1827
Department of Modern and Classical Languages
4400 University Drive, MS 3E5
Fairfax, Virginia 22030.
Parliamo italiano!
(Let’s speak Italian!)
Have you wanted to learn the language of Michelangelo, Dante, Pavarotti, and Benigni? Do you want to study a language that will enhance your appreciation of art history, music, religious studies, or international affairs? Have you dreamt of speaking the language of your Italian ancestry? Fulfill your dreams this summer in Mason’s Italian language program—Little Italies.
In this intensive program, you will develop intermediate-level proficiency in Italian through class meetings, lunch hour conversations, and weekly excursions. In the classroom, you will be part of our own “Little Italy”—speaking exclusively in Italian, listening to music, reading and writing stories, and watching Italian films. At lunch, you will eat an authentic Italian meal (pranzo) as you learn about the regional differences reflected in Italian cuisine. The daily lunch hour is also an opportunity to speak Italian spontaneously during the social encounter of a shared meal—a tradition that continues in Italy to this day.
Andiamo insieme!
(Let’s go together!)
Your experience of Italian language and culture does not stop in the classroom. You will go on weekly excursions to such places as the National Gallery of Art to tour the Italian collection, Holy Rosary Church to participate in the Festa Italiana, Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts to hear an opera, and the Italian Embassy to meet the diplomatic staff and hear about modern Italian politics from the people at the center of that world.
You can extend the eight-week language program with a one-week field trip to Baltimore, Philadelphia, and New York, three Northeast cities with historic Little Italies. This optional 1-credit course will give you the opportunity to integrate your knowledge of Italian language and culture with an exposure to these thriving Italian-American communities.
Class Sessions
Classes meet Monday through Thursday from 9:30 a.m. to noon. The required lunch hour takes place from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m.