The courses we offer to children
Melocco MassimoFrom the last year of kindergarten to 5th grade
From the last year of Kindergarten to Class V
The Italian language and culture courses at the primary level are aimed at children attending the second year of Kindergarten (if the composition of the group allows it and subject to agreement with the teacher) and the first five years of the Primarschule.
They are open to children who already know Italian, because they speak it or hear it at home, but also to those who are interested in learning our language starting from scratch.
They generally take place in the afternoon, after the lessons of the Swiss school, or on Saturday morning. They have a maximum duration of 2 hours per week, they begin in the last week of August and follow the same holiday calendar as the Swiss school in which they are hosted.
Where the number of enrolments allows it, the pupils are divided into subgroups according to age and language proficiency. In other cases, the courses are attended by pupils from several classes, also with different levels of ability and competence. The programme adapts to the learning styles of children from 6 to 11 years of age and takes into account the language skills of each one. A playful and communicative approach is favoured, more suitable for this age group, and space is dedicated to the observation of the written form of words and to elementary forms of contrastive analysis with German and with other languages known by the pupils.
In accordance with the Rahmenlehrplan of the Bildungsdirektion of Zurich and with the PTOF of the School Office of the Consulate of Zurich, the main thematic areas are: myself and others, the family, the school, games, the home, food, celebrations, nature, geography and history, with objectives and contents adapted according to the age and language skills of the pupils.
The skills are assessed with a grade that is transmitted to the teachers of the Swiss school to be entered on the school report card. Different procedures are in use in the various Cantons: in the Canton of Zurich the grade is entered every semester on the report card starting from the second year of primary school; in other Cantons the grade is given only from the third class onward, and in still others only in the second semester.
From class VI to the second year of Sek
The Italian language and culture courses at secondary level are aimed at students attending the sixth year of the Primarschule, the first two years of the Sekundarschule and the third year of the Sekundarschule (to prepare for a further language certification exam).
They are open to students who already know Italian, either because they speak it or hear it at home or because they have attended the primary level courses.
They generally take place in the afternoon, after the Swiss school lessons, or on Saturday morning. They last a maximum of 2 hours per week, begin in the last week of August and follow the same holiday calendar as the Swiss school that hosts them. They provide preparation for a language certification exam at the end of the cycle (2nd Sek).
To take this exam it is necessary to make a separate registration, the details of which will be provided by the teachers, and to pay a fee to the certifying bodies (PLIDA and CELI).
The programme takes into account the cognitive development of students aged 12 to 15 and includes an in-depth study of Italian grammar, the production and comprehension of increasingly complex texts, and the development and refinement of oral skills, with the aim of providing adequate preparation for the language certification exams.
In accordance with the Rahmenlehrplan of the Bildungsdirektion of Zurich and with the PTOF of the School Office of the Consulate of Zurich, the main thematic areas are: myself and others, the family, school, games, the home, food, celebrations, nature, geography and history, with objectives and contents adapted according to the age and language skills of the students.
Competencies are assessed with a grade that is passed on to the teachers of the Swiss school to be entered in the school report at the end of each semester.
