ITA 01 — Beginning Italian: Part I
Quarter: Winter
Instructor(s): Giovanni Tempesta
Date(s): Jan 13—Mar 10
Class Recording Available: Yes
Class Meeting Day: Tuesdays
Class Meeting Time: 7:00—9:05 pm (PT)
Tuition: $575
Refund Deadline: Jan 15
Unit(s): 2
Enrollment Limit: 30
Status: Closed
Learn how to speak Italian and follow simple Italian conversations in this introductory course. Grammar will be introduced with a communicative, culture-based approach for beginning students, using a grammar book in English. In this course, students will learn how to understand and carry out simple conversations on everyday subjects such as work, personal interests, family, and friends. By the end of the course, students will know how to conduct simple transactions such as renting a car, making reservations for hotels and restaurants, and ordering food.
This is the first course in a two-course sequence. Part II will be offered in Spring 2026. Students may enroll in this course without intending to take both courses in the sequence.
GIOVANNI TEMPESTA
Advanced Lecturer in Italian, Stanford
Giovanni Tempesta has been at Stanford since 1983. He is the author of the Italian grammar book Questa bellissima lingua italiana, impariamola insieme! He has also published an Italian translation of Robert Service’s The Cremation of Sam McGee and Other Verses, a collection of his own poetry in Italian, Acque, lutulente e chiare (Waters, Muddy and Clear), and a collection of short stories in Italian and English, A Cena Con Fluffy (Dinner with Fluffy). Textbooks for this course:
(Required) Suzanne Branciforte, PARLIAMO ITALIANO, 5th Edition,(LLF w/ 12mo Supersite) (ISBN 978-1543374087)