Istituto Linguistico Mediterraneo
Via Battisti, 3, Pisa, 56125, Italy
Istituto Linguistico Mediterraneo
Group lessons: 45 minutes each
Individual lessons: 60 minutes each.
This course is specifically for the preparation for the CILS, CELI or CERTIT (Certificate in Italian as a second language) exam from the University for foreigners of Siena, Perugia and Rome.
Group Lessons 45 minutes each
Individual lessons 60 minutes each
During the individual lessons, by means of exercises and practice tests, students become more familiar with the particular methods needed for the CILS exam. It also an opportunity for students to concentrate on the areas in which they have most difficulty.
The course is 25 lessons a week (20 group hours and 5 individual hours a week) 5 lessons a day. Hours: group lessons 09.15- 12.30 (Pisa) / 09.00- 12.15 (Viareggio) Individual lessons 13.00-14.00
Listening, Speaking, Pronunciation, Reading, Writing, Vocabulary, Grammar and Activities
Class schedule may change depending on availability and season.
Average | 7 students |
Maximum | 12 students |
Age range | 16 years old and older |
Average | 23 years old (21 in the summer) |
Our school has free time activities to compensate for Easter Monday and International Labour day holidays.
Istituto Linguistico Mediterraneo is located in Pisa centre, a few steps away from a primary train station, an international airport and the main commercial street, also just 15-25 minutes by bus you can reach the Mediterranean coast.
Pisa is a small city located in Tuscany, so it makes easier to practice the language outside the classrooms. This is due to 2 main reasons: first Pisa is full of university students, so our students can easily get in touch with the young city life and second Tuscany doesn't have a specific dialect so the language spoken is mainly the neo-standard Italian, the same students deal with during their lessons.
The Insitute has facilities that include computers, free wi-fi connection and, on request, it is possible to have access to self study material and an interesting library on various subjects related to the Italian culture.
The school is located very close to several seaside resorts, students can easily reach (15/25 minutes by public transports), so during summer courses it is possible to add leisure vacation time to your learning schedule .
Pisa is also very well loacted so to enable to reach the main art cities in the whole country.
ILM has partnerships with the following universities and colleges in Italy. You can gain full or conditional acceptance into one of these institutions.
The nationality and age mix at Istituto Linguistico Mediterraneo varies over different time periods, courses and levels. Throughout the year, the average age is 23. In the summer, the average age is 21.
ILM teaches students from all over the world, including:
The school is located very close to the city center and the main railway station. It is easy to reach, by train, by bus and, more important, walking. Pisa is a quite small city, so normally our students don't need to use public transports to come to school.
The area is in front of the main street of the city, so they can easily eat somenthing or go shopping and then come back to school to use our facilites.
In summer students can get a bus (beside the school) and reach the seaside in 15 minutes.
We could define Pisa the Galileo Galilei and Andrea Bocelli town, located near the sea and connected to the whole world.
Pisa is also very well located to reach the main art cities in the whole country.
Pisa airport is served by 17 airlines operating 446 weekly flights to 78 national and international destinations, so you can reach Pisa from a number of European and non-European destinations.
The flag companies reach Pisa from Rome but there are a lot of Low cost flight companies that provide direct flights to Pisa. in a short time and for a very cheap price. it is possible to get there from United Kingdom and Spain, from Germany and Austria, as well as from Paris, Lion Budapest, Moscow, St. Petersburg, Oslo, Bergen, New York and several other countries and destinations.
The classes were small. The teachers were competent and friendly. There were a lot of exercises and grammar. The location was good.
Show details » Read more...Ich hätte mir mehr DiDifferenzierung in der Schulklasse in Bezug auf den Wissenstand gewünscht
Show details » Read more...In the class we were 7 students, one American, two Mexicans, one Spanish, one Brazilian, one Japanese and me from Norway.
It was very difficult to understand some of the other students, especially the mix of spanish and italian. One of the students was placed at the wrong level, it must have been difficult for her.
The teacher was nice and clever. She saw evryone and got everyone involved.
The location was central, and perfect for me. I arrived with the train from from Pietrasanta every day. Our classroom was terrible. The acoustics were miserable. The room was small with correspondingly little fresh air, we should have had the window open, but it was difficult because of the traffic outside.
Otherwise the facilities were ok.
As an activity I attended a winetasting in Pisa with one of the other teachers, she was very nice. It was a shame that a group of the other studedents only spoke their own mother tongue, in fact, it was quite rude.
I was at the school only one week. It is probably too short to have a full value, but I was inspired to get on with my italian studies in Norway.
Thank you.
Cordiali saluti
Liv
I was a little disappointed as there was only one level. Of course I learned some, but overall the level was too high for me.
The teacher spoke too rapidly for me to understand it all, also because of some really poor classrooms with an extremely bad acoustic so I had really problems hearing. I tried to use my hearing aid, but it just made much more noise.
Location very central but I missed a room for a break, a cup of coffee and informal speak with other students. Copies were in bad condition. I did not hear about activities.
I made my own housing via airbnb
Dear Bent!
Thanks for your feedback.
We thank for all the positive reviews we receive but also for the negative ones, which allow us to improve what is possible.
Ours is a small school and all students receive the same attention.
Our teachers are all experienced and speak in a way that makes themselves understood.
At the time of the placement test we immediately understood that you have a hearing problem, as you confirm in your review. We also noticed that you never responded to our greetings and this confirmed the hearing problem as it obviously couldn't be a rudeness issue. For this we have seated you close to the teacher, as far as Covid regulations allow.
About class rooms "poor" is not the right word, considering the cost of a 200sqm apartment in the center of Pisa! I think "simple" is the right word as a School should be in order to avoid to charge students with higher costs.
The classrooms are large and bright, all rooms have air conditioning, computer projector, large new double glazed windows. The bathroom is brand new.
For the break, we give all students a ILM students discount card to use at Bar Gambrinus, a nice café located on the ground floor of the building where the school is located. All the students go there during the break just to socialize.
For leisure time, the school exhibits a leaflet every week, where students must write their name if they want to participate.
Maybe we should have made sure you saw it. I am sorry.
Anyway I hope you could improve your knowledge of Italian and enjoy our nice town.
I am very happy to have passed five weeks in the school, the teachers are very cute and the lessons very interesting, I do progress. Every thing is very nice. My flat is wonderful, Annalisa wonderful.
Thank you for your help, I am happy. The place is so nice. Pisa interesting.
Dear Christine!
Thank you for your nice feedback!
We consider it our mission to make students happy.
Even if this will not always be possible with everyone, we will continue in this direction and your judgment helps us.
Thanks again and take care!
The classes were very sharp and precise, the teacher competent and friendly. We were only 3 persons in the class, and the 2 others had been there for months.
The location was excellent, near the railway station, in the center, optimal.
The classroom had an awful acoustic and there was noise from the aircon. The teacher talked very distinct and loud and was easy to hear, but the 2 other persons were not expected to talk like him, and therefore it could be difficult to hear everything.
There was no common activity at all outside the class.
The housing? You mean the family I lived with?
It was a nice location, difficult to find at first. But I'd have preferred to know, that the lady had 2 dogs inside, one of them was very noisy. Sometimes also at night.
The breakfast I've paid for was very little and sparing: 1 cup of coffee and 1 little cup with yogurt. Basta.
I had to ask for toilet paper!
It was a single and elderly woman,very kind, who had housed students from that school for many years. She talked a lot, was kind of lonely and in doubt what to do with her 3 houses and all material stuff (and money, I guess), but was not interested to listen that much..
Although I was permitted to use the fridge and kitchen, I did not feel welcome to do it.
I find two of my three weeks very instructive, as I had a very good teacher. Unfortunately, there was a change of teachers, which I found very regrettable because the new teacher was much less experienced than the previous one.
I only had 2 hours of one-to-one lessons instead of the 4 lessons, but this was also very good as I was able to respond to my wishes in a very concrete way.
One big criticism, however, is that I did not get a conversation group that matched my level.
Although I could practice my Italian in groups, it was not what the school promised. In addition, the conversation group was significantly larger (more than 5 people), as promised.
All in all, the teachers and the staff were very pleasant and gave her as much as possible to make my stay at the school nice.
Hello Nha, thank you for your kind words about our school and staff, we work very hard to make sure our students are taken care of and are happy about their experience with us. We are glad that in the end you are happy about your time spent with us, your teachers enjoyed having such a knowledgeable student.
You booked a General Course (GA), which consists of 4 hours of group lessons a day, due to the fact that you have a very high level of Italian (C1) we didn't have a group at the time that was high enough for you. We gave you two hours of one-on-one lessons as per our rules and regulations. We also allowed you to join the highest level group we had during the 2 hour conversation part of their group lessons, in order to orally practice your Italian as well as learn and observe Italian language teaching methods, that could have been useful for you due to your profession. This is not part of our rules and regulations, we did this in order to try to accommodate you, so you would still be doing 4 hours of studying. I'd also like to say that our maximum class size is 10 students, this is also present on our website.
As we said in person, we are sorry about the change in teacher, but your original teacher was meant to teach an off campus course that was booked the previous year. If there had been a way to have you keep the same teacher, we would've made it happen, but it just wasn't possible. All of our teachers are highly trained but we do understand they are different and students have their preferences.
If you are to come back one day, we'd love to talk about specific dates so we can accomodate more to your liking, your high level of Italian. We truly enjoyed having you Nha, thank you once again for choosing us.
This was a very awesome experience with mixed students member in the class, different and intensive topics, very nice and challenging teachers. The school place is located near by the central station just like the housing. The housing keeper was very gently and polite, I was very impressed.
The only thing which could be better is the clean situation, but acceptable.
AT least I have intensive, nice and welcomed experience. Thanks a lot.
The staff was very professional and friendly.
Show details » Read more...My field experience in Italy as a student was exceptional because every feature of the program offered me an aspect of what it meant to be Italian. The class settings were perfect for the occasion, especially in Viareggio where there was a great deal of Italian culture. I would make a suggestion that the teachers re-evaluate the levels in which they may have placed students, though I do not say this from personal experience. I could agree that some students were placed at a higher level than they should have been placed. Despite that opinion, my teacher did a great job accommodating students at any level.
The activities we had were fun, adventurous, and informative, and they complemented the experience. The housing also complemented the experience because I felt like I was staying at an Italian's home rather than a commercial hotel, which I believe could have put me at a disadvantage because I learned so much staying at that particular hotel. Dinner also had a traditional family-themed ambiance that I really connected to.
Great structure. Professors' feedback helps students. Down to earth learning style. Loved all my teachers. Activities made me feel at home.
Show details » Read more...The location is perfect, very close to Pisa Centrale and pleasantly located in Tuscany. The teachers are fun, easy-going, and caring. You get a real family feel while you are there. Don't expect anything special from the facilities; it's run down and small just like most of the other buildings in Italy. However, it still has its charm.
Show details » Read more...Alessio is a very friendly and patient person, which was very helpful when teaching. The location and facilities were appropriate.
Show details » Read more...In the beginning it was nice, then new advanced students started to join the course and of course I got lost. Actually I also don't like the idea of forcing to speak. Usually people speak a language when they feel comfortable and more confident.
I didn't like the textbook and I don't think this is a good way of teaching a new language. It's not about reading very difficult essays and finally you start to guess the answer from the context. For me I would prefer to teach using simple written Italian conversations. Or short and simple stories. Unfortunately I lost my chance to speak Italian.
Anyway, the problem is not about the teacher, the teacher was so nice and in a short time we trusted him. But the problem was with the approach and the organisation. You can't mix different levels and concentrate on the advanced students, this way you lose the other students.
Actually I quit the course when you changed the teacher, because the other teacher concentrated on only one student and totally ignored us.
Hi Yehia! First I want to thank you for your review, the feedbacks from our students are always for us a source of growth and improvement. Our school uses a method called linguistic-communicative who is considered the most efficient way to learn to write and speak in a language in comparison to other methods considered nowadays outdated, according to modern educational theories. Each student, before starting any course, must take a test to check his level of knowledge; this is because our staff first of all takes care that not occur mix of levels. However we take seriously your impressions and we'll use them in order to provide a better service in the future. We greet you warmly and we hope to have you back soon with us.
The teachers at the Istituto Linguistico Mediterraneo are friendly and competent and do their very best to make your stay and classes as comfortable and educational as possible. They also arrange activities outside school so you get to socialise a bit more than you would've otherwise.
The school is located close to the train station - easy to find. The classrooms are a bit small at times but other than that I have nothing negative to say about the school. I had a very pleasant experience and would recommend the school to anyone studying Italian.
I chose a homestay and the family was very friendly and accommodating.
I had a great experience at the ILM in Pisa. The teachers and staff were all very helpful and friendly. The classes were small so I had lots of opportunities to practice speaking. The teachers created a good environment so I felt comfortable asking questions if I didn't understand something. It's a relatively small school which makes for a friendly learning atmosphere however, because there were only a limited number of classes if you were finding it hard in one class there was not the opportunity to change classes. They organised trips around Pisa when there was a celebration happening in the city and activities to do with the whole school if you wished to partake.
The location is great; very central, near the station and surrounded by some lovely cafes for a break-time coffee.
I would recommend studying at the Istituto Linguistico Mediterraneo.
hi Lucie, thanks for your comment. We are very glad to have had you as our student. See you soon.
Though I had a small holiday course in Viareggio (2013), the time that I spent there was really great. It was my first time in Italy and I got a lot of good memories from that comparatively short period of time. I lived in a nice comfortable apartment with 3 other students from ILM. And it would have been still better if there was a lift in our house and if it wasn't situated so close to the noisy road. What I liked is that it took just about 5 minutes to get to school from the house where our apartment was.
The teachers at school were excellent! I really liked it that besides classes they organized trips to other Tuscan towns, introduced us to the Italian culture, helped us and treated us like friends, which is very important. So we learned outside school as well.
By the way, being a student of ILM allowed us to have a discount at one of the town beaches (what is summer without the sea!) that are normally not very cheap.
I can say that I'm very glad I had chosen ILM as a summer language school and I'd love to go there again. I had a great time there (and I probably would have had even more fun had I stayed longer and come a bit earlier because those 2 weeks were the last before holiday course in Viareggio closed). I certainly improved my Italian even with a light course. GRAZIE, ILM! :)
By the first week I felt like I had been studying at your institute for a long time. Nothing bothered or disturbed me. I studied with nice people. My classmates were well-graduated people, meaning I am thinking ILM has a good reputation.
Show details » Read more...The teachers were very patient and the lessons were well- organized. So even though my mother language is far different from Italian I could learn a lot in the short period. They especially explained the grammar patiently until I understood.
I also learned about the Italian culture during the lessons.That was very helpful in order to understand the country and that made my life in Italy comfortable.
The students were very international. The lessons were always unpredictable and were interesting.
But this substance is based on my experience which was in the beginner or intermediate class. The advanced class will be different from that and speaking would be the main thing in the class.
The school is favorably located. It is near the train station and it is convenient to go to the center of the city.
I liked the way the professor organized the lectures, especially when you are teaching a class who has very little knowledge about the Italian language. Those classes gave enough vocabulary and knowledge to do daily things and get basic information in Italian.
Show details » Read more...I have been studying Italian with Istituto Linguistico Mediterraneo within my PhD studies at IMT Alti Studi Lucca.
I had two language instructors, Ida and Alessio Nessi, who both have been engaging and inspiring.
I took classes within the facilities of my PhD school in Lucca and the instructors from SLM have always been arriving to classes on time and are prepared.
Thanks to SLM, I felt much more comfortable in Italy as I mastered the basics of Italian language.
Die Schule wird von vielen jungen Menschen aus Europa besucht. Die Zimmer sind sehr professionell und Lehren sind relevant für den gewählten Kurs.
Die Lehrer sind sehr gut vorbereitet.
Homestays are carefully selected and offer students the opportunity to learn more about the local culture in a comfortable setting while studying Italian in Pisa. These homes are often between 5 - 20 minutes away from the school by public transport. Families usually offer affordable meal plans that allow you to sample the local cuisine. If you have special requests or diet restrictions (because of religion or health reasons), please let us know in advance. Your housing starts on the Sunday before your first day of class and ends on the Saturday after your last day of class, unless otherwise noted. Learn more about homestay housing
It is possible to live in a rented apartment during your study in Pisa, but this tends to be more expensive. ILM provides some assistance with apartment rentals or you can rent an apartment on your own. Learn more about apartment housing
ILM provides some assistance with hotel or hostel reservations or you can reserve a room on your own. Learn more about hostel housing
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.
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 Pisa based on your budget, schedule and preferences.
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.
Have questions? Get answers from Istituto Linguistico Mediterraneo staff, Language International student advisors, and past students.
Ask a questionIstituto Linguistico Mediterraneo