Course is excellent with the right balance and first-class
student interaction

This is my 3rd year of Italian at City Lit and it is undoubtedly getting harder. We are at the stage of having a decent understanding but being hesitant speakers of the language. Throughout the courses I have taken however the teaching has been of the highest standard, well focused and disciplined but also really good fun and enjoyable. The grammar, the 'piccole parole'. the taped listening exercises are all tricky (they speak so fast!) but the very experienced teacher is very aware of what English people will find difficult. I very much hope to continue next year. It's tough sometimes but a lot of fun.

Compared to Mary Ward, where I spent 2 years, the food here is not very good.
The cold and hot drinks are fine. The pre prepared cold dishes/puddings are good too.
But the hot food is most unappealing. There is litle sign of any overarching style. In Mary Ward the food is prepared on site daily. It has a Spanish/Italian style; is reasoably priced; and attractively presented, with details of the ingredients.

Can I suggest you try a meal there and see if you agree with me. I am a retired academic with much experience of university canteens. Our cafe is too close to some poor canteens I have experienced.

This is an enjoyable evening with a patient teacher who creates a good learning environment. There's a strong focus on speaking, aural comprehension and working in small groups, and a range of materials are used in addition to the course book. The learning objectives are clear and there is plenty of opportunity for revision of grammar. Discussion and debate are actively encouraged and this has helped to develop a good feeling of 'togetherness' in the class which makes for a fun as well as educative evening. My only criticism is of the accommodation which is a cramped and has poor quality desks.

I am repeating this course for the 2nd time as felt I needed to consolidate. Am enjoying it more this year. Although we have the same teacher the content has been changed: however we are still following Espresso 3. The class is lively and varied with a mixture of grammar, conversation, literary articles, listening exercises and extracts from films etc. My only complaint is that the class is large so there is limited opportunity for conversation, especially for the less confident although the teacher does her best to draw everybody out.