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Course dates: Saturday 10 October 2026 - Saturday 29 May 2027

Class timetable: 24 sessions (View class timetable for Saturday 10 October 2026 to Saturday 29 May 2027)

Timetable data for Saturday 10 October 2026 to Saturday 29 May 2027

Day of class Date of class Time Venue
Saturday 10-Oct-2026 9:00am - 11:30am Birkbeck Campus, Central London
Saturday 17-Oct-2026 9:00am - 11:30am Birkbeck Campus, Central London
Saturday 24-Oct-2026 9:00am - 11:30am Birkbeck Campus, Central London
Saturday 31-Oct-2026 10:00am - 12:30pm Birkbeck Campus, Central London
Saturday 07-Nov-2026 10:00am - 12:30pm Birkbeck Campus, Central London
Saturday 21-Nov-2026 10:00am - 12:30pm Birkbeck Campus, Central London
Saturday 28-Nov-2026 10:00am - 12:30pm Birkbeck Campus, Central London
Saturday 05-Dec-2026 10:00am - 12:30pm Birkbeck Campus, Central London
Saturday 12-Dec-2026 10:00am - 12:30pm Birkbeck Campus, Central London
Saturday 19-Dec-2026 10:00am - 12:30pm Birkbeck Campus, Central London
Saturday 16-Jan-2027 10:00am - 12:30pm Birkbeck Campus, Central London
Saturday 23-Jan-2027 10:00am - 12:30pm Birkbeck Campus, Central London
Saturday 30-Jan-2027 10:00am - 12:30pm Birkbeck Campus, Central London
Saturday 06-Feb-2027 10:00am - 12:30pm Birkbeck Campus, Central London
Saturday 13-Feb-2027 10:00am - 12:30pm Birkbeck Campus, Central London
Saturday 27-Feb-2027 10:00am - 12:30pm Birkbeck Campus, Central London
Saturday 06-Mar-2027 10:00am - 12:30pm Birkbeck Campus, Central London
Saturday 13-Mar-2027 10:00am - 12:30pm Birkbeck Campus, Central London
Saturday 20-Mar-2027 10:00am - 12:30pm Birkbeck Campus, Central London
Saturday 01-May-2027 9:00am - 11:30am Birkbeck Campus, Central London
Saturday 08-May-2027 9:00am - 11:30am Birkbeck Campus, Central London
Saturday 15-May-2027 9:00am - 11:30am Birkbeck Campus, Central London
Saturday 22-May-2027 9:00am - 11:30am Birkbeck Campus, Central London
Saturday 29-May-2027 9:00am - 11:30am Birkbeck Campus, Central London

Location: Birkbeck Campus, Central London

Fees: £1615.00

Register

Course Overview

Please note that each weekly session will be two and a half hours in length and run from 6pm to 8.30pm (please disregard any other timings on this page).

Learn how to speak and understand Italian from beginner level and discover the diversity of cultures in the Italian-speaking world. You can take Italian 1 as a short course, or as part of the Certificate of Higher Education in Culture and Language (French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Spanish), or as part of a BA degree. 

This interactive short course, leading to *CEFR stage A2/GCSE, is for complete beginners. It will teach you how to speak and understand basic Italian. You will also learn to speak and write at a basic level about:

  • yourself and your family
  • your home, your hometown and everyday routines
  • your feelings
  • past events and future plans
  • the climate
  • people
  • clothes
  • culinary tastes
  • visits to shops, restaurants and cinemas.

You will learn how to give directions and tell the time in Italian.

You will also be introduced to a variety of Italian media - websites and newspapers - and learn to give opinions on books, films and contemporary events.

We offer Italian language courses from beginner to advanced levels so you can continue your journey to a high level of competency.

Assessment is via two pieces of coursework (10%), a written in-class assessment (20%), written and listening comprehension in-class assessment (40%), oral in-class assessment (20%), portfolio (5%) and class participation (5%).

As a student on this course, you will study alongside Birkbeck students enrolled on one of our undergraduate or postgraduate courses, giving you the opportunity to network with a range of Birkbeck current students whilst you learn.

This short course runs with classes over three terms every year starting in October.

*Common European Framework of Reference for Languages. Please note this is only an approximate equivalence.

This can be taken as a standalone short course or as part of:

Credits: 30 credits at level 4

Fees

Students are charged a tuition fee for each short course on registering. Please view details for this course, including dates, location and fees at the top of this page. Short course fees may be subject to annual inflationary increases. For more information, please see our Fees Policy.

Birkbeck's Lifelong Learning Guarantee

If you've studied at Birkbeck before and successfully completed an award with us, take advantage of our Lifelong Learning Guarantee to gain a reduction on the tuition fee of this course.

School of Creative Arts, Culture and Communication

The school's teaching and research is highly interdisciplinary, spanning cultures and periods. Academic and practice-based study will equip you for a career in the creative and cultural industries.

Entry Requirements

Most of our short courses have no formal entry requirements and are open to all students.

This short course has no prerequisites.

As part of the registration process, you may be required to submit a copy of a suitable form of ID.

International students who wish to come to the UK to study a short course can apply for a Visitor visa. Please note that it is not possible to obtain a Student visa to study a short course.

How to Register

You register directly onto the classes you would like to take. Classes are filled on a first-come, first-served basis - so register early.

If you want to take more than one short course, you can select each one separately and then register onto them together via our online application portal. There is usually no formal selection process, although some modules may have prerequisites and/or other requirements, which will be specified where relevant.