Modern Languages and Cultures Italian

ITAL 1150 Italian Language I (5 credits)

ITAL 1250 Italian Language II (5 credits)

• Prerequisite ITAL1150 or equivalent

ITAL 1350 Italian Language III (5 credits)

• Prerequisite ITAL1250 or equivalent

ITAL 3000 Elective (5 Credits)

• Approved Italian culture course

* All students must take at least 20 credits at Seattle Universty in order to obtain a minor.

First year Italian at Seattle University provides a comprehensive introduction to spoken and written Italian in addition to introducing students to the richness and diversity of Italy and the Italian culture. Students gradually familiarize with grammatical rules and functional skills necessary to communicate in Italian. Students will develop an understanding of grammar and pronunciation through continual interaction with their instructor and each other, guided role-play, songs and games, oral and written exercises. Class will be conducted in Italian as much as possible.

By the end of the sequence 1150, 1250 and 1350, students will have developed oral and written skills in Italian, which enable them to understand and communicate at a low intermediate level of proficiency (A1-A2 CEFR levels scale). Students will be able to:

• Understand short, simple conversations and narratives (live or recorded material) in Italian, within highly predictable and familiar contexts.
• Speak simple spoken Italian with confidence and good pronunciation.
• Read short simple texts in Italian and find predictable information and vocabulary in simple everyday familiar topics.
• Know at an elementary level the structure of the Italian language, general grammatical terms and concepts as well as vocabulary and expressions of everyday Italian.
• Write short compositions in Italian by recombining learned vocabulary and structures to form simple narratives on familiar topics.
• Get acquainted with the culture of Italy and be able to perceive, recognize, accept, appreciate and value cultural differences.
• Build a solid foundation necessary for future learning before moving to the next level of Italian and study abroad in Italy.

All languages in our programs are taught in the vernacular, within their cultural context and through study abroad programs. At the end of your Minor in Arabic, Chinese, French, Italian, Japanese or Spanish, or your Major in French or Spanish you will be able to:

1. Communicate efficiently in the target language with proficiency at an intermediate level in the languages in which we offer our Minors, and at a higher level in our Majors. You will have the ability to speak, write, listen, read, and interact in your language of study in everyday situations as well as in professional settings.
2. Research, read, analyze, asses and interpret academic resources in the target language, identify important works of literature of its culture and produce written and oral critiques of those works.
3. Demonstrate appreciation for other forms of seeing the world and relating to it by comparing and contrasting the perspective of your own culture with the realities and values of other countries.
4. Express a solid cultural competency based on the study of different national histories, traditions, literatures, socioeconomic and political systems, beliefs systems, arts and more

The relationship with the Società Dante Alighieri, among other benefits, provides Seattle University’s students, faculty, alumni, adult learners, and members of the community the opportunity to take the PLIDA Italian Certification Exam on campus.  The PLIDA (Progetto Lingua Italiana Dante Alighieri) is recognized by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, the Ministry of Labor and Welfare, the Ministry of Education, the University of Rome and the Società Dante Alighieri in Rome. The goal of the PLIDA is to assess proficiency in Italian as a foreign language on a 6-level scale in line with the parameters established by the Common European Framework for Languages (A1, A2, B1, B2, C1, C2). The prestigious certificate is helpful in order to enroll in an Italian university, obtain the Italian Citizenship, and permit a stay in Italy.

The Italian language program at Seattle University has a long tradition of community outreach that is somewhat linked to the ties between the founders of the university and the Italian community.  Joseph Cataldo JS, an Italian Jesuit who established Gonzaga University in 1866, approved the purchase of the first campus in Seattle’s First Hill neighborhood in 1890 that went on to become Seattle University. 

In the Seattle Department of Neighborhoods website, one can read about the founding: In 1903, the Cabrini Sisters arrived in Seattle from Chicago and opened an orphanage on Beacon Hill at 1133 Twelfth Avenue South. Mother Cabrini wrote, “In the valleys between the hills there are about 5,000 Italians who follow us like chicks follow the hen. We hope to help them, and they will help us.” The Cabrini orphanage became an Italian mission center. At about the same time, the Jesuits founded Seattle College and Immaculate Conception parish. There has long been a strong relationship between the Italian community and the Jesuits in Seattle. In 1911, Father DeRop, S.J. arrived in Seattle and gave the first mass for the Italian community at the old St. Boniface church in the Mount Baker area.”

Years later, the church became Monte Vergine Church, named after a church in Caserta, Italy. The church school was an important part of the parish and was located in a small building behind the church. The school opened in 1918 with an enrollment of 162 students and remained in operation for more than 60 years. The church became the heart of Seattle’s Italian community and offered Italian language lessons. The teachers were Italians supported by the Società Dante Alighieri, the leading institution in Italy and abroad for the promotion of Italian language and culture since 1889.  Around the church flourished Italian-American businesses such Oberto Sausage Company founded in 1918 and later on Remo Borracchini Bakery and the Isernio’s Company.  When the Società Dante Alighieri in Seattle founded in 1908 with Dr. Xavier P. DeDonato as first president, reorganized in the name Dante Alighieri Society of Washington in the early eighties, Seattle University played an important role by hosting an Italian program open to the entire community that is still active today. It is thanks to the generosity of an Italian donor that the Italian credit program at Seattle University was established in 2003 under the coordination of the current faculty member along with a designated fund to support Italian studies at Seattle University and its students.

In addition to the strong relationship with the Dante Alighieri Society of Washington, the Italian program at Seattle University is in contact with the Education Office at the Italian Consulate General in San Francisco which provides scholarships, internships. opportunities for students to study in Italy, and support of Italian studies. The Italian program also participates in Seattle Opera Events, such as the Opera Italian Mixer, invites guest speakers on campus during the Seattle International Film Festival (SIFF) - Cinema Italian Style Festival and the International Film Festival. It also maintains contacts with alumni and benefactors and organizes events on campus open to the entire community.