This course consists of 4 lessons in a Intensive Language Course plus 2 private tutorials on business Italian, each day.

The course is designed for students who are interested in business with Italy for professional reasons. The program focuses on the Italian language of business, aiming at providing students with the basic vocabulary and professional expressions that are most often used. The topics are confronted in several ways: with topical readings from manuals used in business schools, as well as analyses of letters, office documents and newspaper articles about business. After identifying the basic technical vocabulary and expressions, the student is helped to assimilate them through targeted exercises and discussions. On the request of the student, guided visits can be organized to businesses in the student's area of interest.

The course is conceived for all students who have an intermediate level of Italian language.

Topics that may be discussed during the course:

• Job applications: how to write a job application, useful expressions
• Curriculum vitae: language and structure of the curriculum, kinds of curricula
• References: requesting and providing references
• Layout of a business letter
• Layout, date, address, headings, referrals, beginning phrases, body of the letter, closing phrases, signature, abbreviations, style
• Requesting and sending price lists, catalogues and samples. Orders, payment, information, complaints, organizing transport, rentals, insurance
• Job applications and advertising for sales representatives
• Business owners: classification of companies
• Retail and wholesale companies, sales networks
• Business regulations: Italian and European laws
• The organization of commerce, auxiliary roles and organizations, mediators, agents, sales representatives, couriers and shippers, chambers of commerce, commodity exchange, commercial associations
• Sales contracts
• Banking documents
• National work contracts in the commercial sector

Since the material is extremely broad and cannot be covered in a thorough manner in the few available lessons, students may begin the course by planning with the instructor a program with a narrower focus on the basis of their needs, with a concentration on only several topics. In particular, if a student needs to increase his expertise in a specific area for professional reasons, we recommend that he inform us before arriving in order to give the instructor sufficient time to prepare a specific program with selected texts. For example, if a student works in an office of import-export, special attention will be given to international correspondence, banking documents relative to business transactions, Italian law on import-export and the organization of and participation in Italian trade fairs. If instead the student intends to seek work in Italy, the course will concentrate on how to write a job application, curriculum vitae, references, etc.

Students of the "Academic School Year" - Programme will be introduced to Italian Business in 12 lessons, selecting a part of the above mentioned programme.