Intensive course

Istituto Il David

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Course description

6 hours per day:
grammar lessons 9:00-10:50, conversation lessons 11:10-13:00, mix lessons 14:00-15:50.

Course topics

Listening, Speaking, Pronunciation, Reading, Writing, Vocabulary, Grammar and Activities

Class schedule

Course duration
1-24 weeks
Start dates
Every Monday (except for beginners)
Start dates for beginners
02 Apr 2024, 15 Apr 2024, 06 May 2024, 20 May 2024, 03 Jun 2024, 17 Jun 2024, 01 Jul 2024, 15 Jul 2024, 29 Jul 2024, 12 Aug 2024, 02 Sep 2024, 16 Sep 2024, 07 Oct 2024, 21 Oct 2024, 04 Nov 2024 and 18 Nov 2024
Classes per week
30 lessons per week (each lesson lasts 55 min)
Class days
Monday - Friday
School holidays
01 Apr 2024, 25 Apr 2024, 24 Jun 2024, 15 Aug 2024, 01 Nov 2024

Istituto Il David does not hold classes on the holiday dates above. The school does not compensate for these holidays, so make sure to choose your start date accordingly.

Class times

You can choose from the following class times:

Morning session
09:00 AM - 10:50 AM
Morning session
11:10 AM - 01:00 PM
Afternoon session
02:00 PM - 03:50 PM

Class schedule may change depending on availability and season.

Class level

All levels, beginner to advanced
You will take a placement test on your first day to determine your class level. You may also take this test before your arrival in Florence.

Class size

Average 8 students
Maximum 12 students

Student age

Age range 16 - 85 years old
Average 30 years old
(25 in the summer)

Certificate

A certificate of completion will be issued at the end of the course.
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Photos

  • Classes at Istituto Il David 1/8
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  • Classes at Istituto Il David 4/8
  • Classes at Istituto Il David 5/8
  • Classes at Istituto Il David 6/8
  • Classes at Istituto Il David 7/8
  • Classes at Istituto Il David 8/8
reviews

Reviews

100% recommend

based on 17 reviews
5 stars
9
4 stars
8
3 stars
0
2 stars
0
1 star
0
Quality of teaching
School facilities
Social activities
School location
Housing

"My experience at Istituto il David was very enjoyable and helpful with the learning process of the Italian language."

Natalia Perez Rubio Bordes, student from Mexico

At the beginning of my process there, on my first week, I had a blond teacher with short hair (I’m so sorry, but I don’t remember her name) who was really nice but she spoke to us mainly in English and a little Spanish. I understand that this was to help us understand the task we had to do but we are there to learn Italian, and in my opinion, any other language other than Italian should be used as little as possible in order to help and encourage the students to learn and understand Italian better and faster.

Later I was with Clara and Giada as my teachers and I have to say, they were incredible teachers: in grammar, Clara was very clear when explaining and was very helpful with all of the questions that we had. Grammar is a hard thing to teach and I think that she did an amazing job at it. Giada on the other hand taught us in conversation class and she truly did a stellar job. She was always very attentive to what we said but also very attentive to us and how we felt, and I feel like that is a very important thing to do in a classroom because when you know how a student is feeling and how much energy they have in your class, you can adapt the way you correct them or how much you make them speak for example. It gives you more information about the student in that current situation and lets you know how to address the student and what method of teaching will be most efficient in their current situation. It really benefits the student’s learning and their relationship with the language.

I also had Anna and Giulia as my teachers for a while and they were both great and different to the teachers I had had there. They created a very enjoyable atmosphere when teaching. I learnt a lot with them as my teachers and also had a great time in their classrooms. Anna was very good at explaining the grammatical tenses, even congiuntivo, but I feel like giving the students a few minutes to complete the exercises individually and then checking them as a group afterwards would be very beneficial in the learning process. Giulia was also a great teacher. She taught us a lot of vocabulary and used games to reinforce what we had learned, something I consider to be great for encouraging students and giving a fresh perspective to their learning experience. However, I feel like there could be more activities in which the students could practice more their speaking and conversation skills; maybe activities in pairs or small groups, or maybe an activity in which you have to tell your own experience about something without writing it down first. Nevertheless, it was great being in their classes.

All of the staff at Istituto il David was very friendly and welcoming, something that I appreciated greatly. They really took the time to get to know the students and make sure they’re comfortable and happy during their time in Istituto and in Florence. Even though I only went to a few outside of school activities, they were really fun and helpful to the learning of the language and to meeting other people at the school. I could also tell that the other students really enjoyed these activities.

The house u stayed at was delightful; the couple that owned the apartment were very friendly and good with the students. The food was always great and the other students there were also very nice. The location of both the apartment and the school was pretty good. The apartment was in more of a residential area, which was great because it allowed me to see more of what the life of people in Florence is like, and the school was basically in Piazza della Repubblica which is amazing.

I had an amazing time in Florence and it wouldn’t have been this way without the people at Istituto. It is an incredible school, one that I would definitely recommend. Istituto il David helped me achieve my goal of learning Italian, and even though it’s not perfect, there is no way it would’ve gotten to the level it is today without everyone at istituto, so I am very thankful for everything, and hope that maybe I can repeat this experience.

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My ratings for this school

Quality of teaching
School facilities
Social activities
School location
Housing
Duration of study
10 weeks
Date of study
11 Sep 2023 - 24 Nov 2023
Would you recommend this school?
Yes
This is a verified review. This student has booked a course at this school through Language International.

"Well organized school program!"

Jan Langhaug, student from Norway

I attended the school for two months, and I quite enjoyed the prorgram during my stay! The school will place you in a class that's on pair with your level (you'll take a placement test before the school starts). I felt I got good explainations to concepts such as the passato prossimo, imperfetto and the futuro. As I usually struggle with grammar (in any language) I felt the pace of teaching was good. The teachers were friendly and helpful The afternoon activities was also quite good, but if you stay for more than a couple of weeks you'll notice they repeat the activities.

What I didn't like so much was the housing. I had to deal with grumpy house owners (I didn't feel welcome at all), a room with lots of street noise (my room faced a market and the noise was more or less constant from 4 am to late evening) and poor cooking facilities. One flat was infested with cockroaches, luckily the house owner took action to deal with the problem. If I decide to attend the school again I think I will look for acommodation somewhere else.

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My ratings for this school

Quality of teaching
School facilities
Social activities
School location
Housing
Duration of study
8 weeks
Date of study
4 Sep 2023 - 3 Nov 2023
Would you recommend this school?
Yes
This is a verified review. This student has booked a course at this school through Language International.

"Very good"

Ana Gabriela García Gutierrez, student from Mexico

I liked the classes , one of the teachers was excellent the other needs more experience.
The location was very good and also the housing
I liked the most of the things.

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My ratings for this school

Quality of teaching
Duration of study
3 weeks
Date of study
2 Oct 2023 - 27 Oct 2023
Would you recommend this school?
Yes
This is a verified review. This student has booked a course at this school through Language International.

"It was an interesting expirience."

Vladana Valešová, student from Czech Republic

Housing and location was a beautiful. Peacfully part of town. School was in good distance from house, teachers were patient and very friendly. I enjoyed time with schoolmates too. Next time i would like to speak more.

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My ratings for this school

Quality of teaching
School facilities
Social activities
School location
Housing
Date of study
2 Oct 2023 - 6 Oct 2023
Would you recommend this school?
Yes
This is a verified review. This student has booked a course at this school through Language International.

"Productive"

Nelly Conte, student from USA

The pace of the classes allowed all students to clarify their doubts. The teaching materials were appropriate and helpful. The number of students was small, which allowed for more interaction and assessment. The teachers, indeed, are prepared to teach Italian as a second language.

Some activities were a bit elemental, but I was still engaged. The classroom lacked sufficient illumination.

In general, the experience was productive and met my expectations.

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My ratings for this school

Quality of teaching
School facilities
Social activities
School location
Housing
Date of study
15 May 2023 - 19 May 2023
Would you recommend this school?
Yes
This is a verified review. This student has booked a course at this school through Language International.

"A great school that gets the ball rolling on your English language skills."

Miriam Wexler, student from Canada

The school is a wonderful organization that takes teaching Italian very seriously. Excellent teachers and excellent programs.
Once you get used to the pace you start really accumulating Italian Grammar skills and vocabulary. Have to have a conversation with the director at the start to get them to slow down the teaching as they were moving extremely fast without giving students a chance to actually grasp and process the information. Once that happened, learning became enjoyable And true progress was made. I loved the teachers that I had. I just wish I had the long term sessions without constantly changing teachers every couple of months. For someone who is at the school long term, I found that a bit disheartening. But overall a great school, great teachers, great curriculum. Happy with my choice.

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My ratings for this school

Quality of teaching
School facilities
Social activities
School location
Duration of study
17 weeks
Date of study
3 Oct 2022 - 3 Feb 2023
Would you recommend this school?
Yes
This is a verified review. This student has booked a course at this school through Language International.

"Effective teaching in a good atmosphere."

Eeva Kilpiö, student from Finland

The grammar lessons of the course were clear and precise and also fun! The new things were transferred quickly - it's easier to come back to them later.
The discussion section was naturally more difficult for me (elementary level). but just listening was a good lesson.

The teachers and staff at the school were friendly.
Schedules were kept.

The idea of evening excursions is good, we made it to the S.Croce excursion, and it was really nice.

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My ratings for this school

Quality of teaching
School facilities
Social activities
School location
Date of study
12 Sep 2022 - 16 Sep 2022
Would you recommend this school?
Yes
This is a verified review. This student has booked a course at this school through Language International.

"An excellent learning experience"

Panos Mylonas, student from UK

I attended Italian language classes at Istituto Il David over two months. I did two hours of grammar and two hours of conversation classes per day and covered a lot of material during that time. The teachers at Il David are all excellent, and you can tell they like what they do which in turn motivated me to fully engage with the classes and make the most out of it. During my first few weeks I also attended some of the afternoon activities that were organized by the school which were very interesting but also helpful in socializing with other new students. At the conversation classes we covered a wide range of topics which helped me improve significantly my vocabulary but it also gave me several opportunities to use everything I've been learning during grammar classes and put them in practice. The location of the school is really good, it is centrally located right by the Piazza dalla Repubblica so it is easily accessible by anywhere in Florence really. I would wholeheartedly recommend the school to anyone who is interested in taking Italian language classes. In my view, i would recommend singing up for two weeks or more to make the most of the school but also the experience of living in Florence for a while.

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My ratings for this school

Quality of teaching
School facilities
Social activities
School location
Duration of study
7 weeks
Date of study
10 Jan 2022 - 4 Mar 2022
Would you recommend this school?
Yes
This is a verified review. This student has booked a course at this school through Language International.

"Lovely"

SARA DOMINGUEZ VILLARROEL, student from Spain

i loved the experience, very nice quality of education. the school was wonderfully located and had a very nice terrace that i loved and enjoyed a lot! loved the teachers especially Giada! <3
I had such fun and dynamic classes with her
really loved the whole school! hope to get to study with them again very soon

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My ratings for this school

Quality of teaching
School facilities
Social activities
School location
Duration of study
9 weeks
Date of study
5 Oct 2020 - 11 Dec 2020
Would you recommend this school?
Yes
This is a verified review. This student has booked a course at this school through Language International.

"Would recommend it to everyone"

Stefan Taferner, student from Austria

Everything was great. Nothing to complain about. Had a lot of fun.

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My ratings for this school

Quality of teaching
School facilities
Social activities
School location
Housing
Duration of study
1 week
Date of study
5 Aug 2019 - 16 Aug 2019
Would you recommend this school?
Yes
This is a verified review. This student has booked a course at this school through Language International.

"Very pleasant and informative time"

Stefan Taferner, student from Austria

The location and staff were both great and I had a very good time. I learned a lot and had a lot of fun. My apartment was a bit far away but the ~13 minute walk was not to terrible. Three weeks were the perfect time, less would not have been enough and more would have kind of made it to much. Sadly -even though it was quite expectable- there were not a lot of young people at the school around the time I was there.

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My ratings for this school

Quality of teaching
School facilities
Social activities
School location
Housing
Duration of study
2 weeks
Date of study
3 Sep 2018 - 21 Sep 2018
Would you recommend this school?
Yes
This is a verified review. This student has booked a course at this school through Language International.

"Very good academy with good teaching staff and attractive activities"

Graciela Peirú Duchein

Very happy to have attended the IlDavid school

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My ratings for this school

Quality of teaching
School facilities
Social activities
School location
Housing
Duration of study
2 weeks
Date of study
3 Jul 2018 - 20 Jul 2018
Would you recommend this school?
Yes

"Unforgettable"

Gabriel Sciata, student from Argentina

I spent a month doing the course for 4 hours a day from Monday to Friday. It was a very nice experience, the teachers were very capable, both in their knowledge and in the way of taking the classes. Very good attention and nice extracurricular activities. I had wonderful companions and the location is excellent. Totally recommended, I have no more to say than thanks.

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My ratings for this school

Quality of teaching
School facilities
Social activities
School location
Duration of study
3 weeks
Date of study
6 Feb 2017 - 3 Mar 2017
Would you recommend this school?
Yes
This is a verified review. This student has booked a course at this school through Language International.

"It has improved my understanding of learning the language with kind,understanding and patient teachers of which I thank for very much. I meet new friends at my class. Particularly our teacher in Grammar called Francesca she is wonderful teacher to have. Very patient and understanding. I am thankful to have come and studied in Istiuto Il David."

Constantina Noble, student from UK

The length of time allocated for our lessons is just right or it would not be fruitful. The teachers we had were helpful and patient with us when answering questions. In my opinion our teacher in grammar, Francesca was wonderful to have. She is really a nice teacher and also she was the one who took us around for our free activity in the afternoon, those I chose to join in. The location wise was just right although I got lost several times on my first day to school having to find the streets but for me it was part of experience. The places were just about right, it is just finding and knowing where it can be located. But I am happy. I welcomed the activities offered that is for free. It gave me an opportunity to go around and to be familiar with the places which are significant or of its importance which our teacher in grammar kindly explained the places when we arrived there. For the housing, my accommodation, I found the place clean and quiet. The landlady doesn't speak any English at all but for me it was a challenge to be able to practice the language I studied. I found it hard to use the keys on how to open the door of my accommodation, a bit complicated but I got it right in the end.

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My ratings for this school

Quality of teaching
School facilities
Social activities
School location
Date of study
26 Sep 2016 - 30 Sep 2016
Would you recommend this school?
Yes
This is a verified review. This student has booked a course at this school through Language International.

"Professional institute in inspiring environment"

Toine Martens, student from Netherlands

I had an inspiring week of beginners' lessons at Istituto Il David. The teachers were professionals. The school was located in an inspiring environment.

The only thing I missed was the fact that there were no activities in the afternoon, due to the lack of students who were interested or available to participate.

The week before, I was told that I would phase in the second week of a group that had started one week earlier. This was not the case, which was the reason why I changed groups after the second day due to a difference in level of knowledge.

I have enjoyed my stay and have definitely increased my level!

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My ratings for this school

Quality of teaching
School facilities
Social activities
School location
Date of study
1 Dec 2014 - 5 Dec 2014
Would you recommend this school?
Yes
This is a verified review. This student has booked a course at this school through Language International.

"Excellent"

Мариана Зхариева, student from Bulgaria

The location of the school is wonderful! Teachers are smiling, ready to help with everything they can!
My Italian has improved significantly!
Extracurricular activities are very different and interesting!
I'd love to come back to continue my studies at the Istituto Il David!
I did not use the school accommodation.

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My ratings for this school

Quality of teaching
School facilities
Social activities
School location
Duration of study
2 weeks
Date of study
7 Jul 2014 - 25 Jul 2014
Would you recommend this school?
Yes
This is a verified review. This student has booked a course at this school through Language International.

"Good"

Nikolay Gabdulin, student from Russia

I like the school, the location was very nice. The center of the city was only a 5 minute walk from my home. The teachers were perfect and I really enjoyed studying there. I didn't like that it was nothing interesting in extra activities and there were not many students, probably because of the time of the year (november-december). Housing were pretty good. I was living with an Italian family in my own room. But I didn't like a lot the fact I couldn't wash my stuff, even socks there. I had to go out and pay money to machine to do it...It killed me...So next time I go, I will note it... I improve my Italian a lot...

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My ratings for this school

Quality of teaching
School facilities
Social activities
School location
Housing
Duration of study
4 weeks
Date of study
12 Nov 2012 - 7 Dec 2012
Age group
35 - 49
Would you recommend this school?
Yes
This is a verified review. This student has booked a course at this school through Language International.
housing

Housing

Istituto Il David offers the following housing types:
homestay

single room in shared apartment

NZ$ 425
weekly
Age range: 18 - 60 years old
Location: In the city center of Florence
Housing type: Homestay
Room type: Single-person room
Board type: No meals
Facilities: Kitchen, laundry, wireless internet, and free internet
Distance to school: 3 - 20 minutes by walk
Availability: January - December
Check-in: Sunday, anytime
Check-out: Saturday, before 10:00 AM
NZ$ 425
Single room in apartment shared with other Italian or foreign students or with the owner of the accommodation. The use of kitchen is the only board solution available for this kind of accommodation. Apartments are furnished, rooms are provided with sheets and blankets and kitchens are equipped with all the necessary items to cook and eat for yourself (electrical appliances, cutlery, dishes). This is the best solution for those students who want to have more freedom, but it implies them buying their own food, cooking and doing the housework.

Homestay - Single-person room - Breakfast

NZ$ 503
weekly
Location: In the city center of Florence
Housing type: Homestay
Room type: Single-person room
Board type: Breakfast (7 meals per week)
Distance to school: 5 - 20 minutes
Availability: January - December
Check-in: Sunday, anytime
Check-out: Saturday, anytime
NZ$ 503

Homestay - Single-person room - Breakfast and dinner

NZ$ 599
weekly
Age range: 16 - 85 years old
Location: In the city center of Florence
Housing type: Homestay
Room type: Single-person room
Board type: Breakfast and dinner (14 meals per week)
Distance to school: 3 - 20 minutes by walk
Availability: January - December
Check-in: Sunday, anytime
Check-out: Saturday, anytime
NZ$ 599
Single rooms in apartments with carefully selected Italian host families. Accommodations are very comfortable and host families are always very friendly and helpful. With this type of accommodation students can choose among various board solutions: the use of kitchen, breakfast and half board (breakfast and dinner). The time of meals is arranged between the student and the host family. In case the student can not use this service, the family will prepare a pack lunch. Since it is the host family who does all the housework, this is the best solution for those students, who want to have the most comfortable stay. It is also the best way to improve your Italian as the language is spoken everyday with the host family. You also have the opportunity to learn Italian families' culture and habits. With the half board solution the host family will change the bedsheets once a week, clean your bedroom, cook meals, do the washing-up, wash your clothes in the washing machine and so on.
visa

Visa support

We cannot apply for visas on behalf of students. However, the school can supply you with all the documentation you need to support your visa application.

Your letter of acceptance will be sent to your home address by regular mail at no charge to you. If you wish to receive your paperwork by express mail, you will be charged 50 € when you register.

Flights and airport transfer

Please note that we do not book flights for our students. If you are researching airfare costs, we recommend using Kayak.com, a search engine that lets you compare flight options from your home country to Florence based on your budget, schedule and preferences.

Travel insurance

Study abroad worry-free with Language International's health and personal effects insurance coverage. When you book a course with us, you can opt to purchase an international insurance plan that covers not only your health care cost but also loss of your personal belongings. You must book your insurance in advance when you register.

Learn more about our insurance plan »

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questions

Questions and answers

Have questions? Get answers from Istituto Il David staff, Language International student advisors, and past students.

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