Placement in Italian Courses
 | Did you know...? According to Statistics Canada, Italian is the fourth most widely spoken language in this country after English, French and Chinese |
High-school students from Alberta in possession of an ITAL 30 qualification are normally placed in ITAL 203 by the Registrar's Office.
We recommend that students with high-school or university qualifications in Italian from other provinces contact the Italian Undergraduate Advisor to ensure appropriate placement.
Students who have acquired a knowledge of Italian in a non-academic environment (e.g. through a sojourn in Italy or in an Italophone family) or are unsure of their proficiency should take one of the placement tests below.
Please print your test and fill it out manually. Once completed it can be handed in personally (we are in Craigie Hall D318), sent in the post (2500 University Drive, Calgary, AB, T2N 1N4) or faxed to (403) 284-3634. In the case of a Word file, the completed test can also be e-mailed to fisl@ucalgary.ca.
No sooner than three working days after handing in your test please contact the Department office at (403) 220-5300 to inquire about your results. After your consultation with the Department, electronic approval will be posted for the appropriate course/s. Students who already have a U of C ID will be able to self-register through PeopleSoft. Those without an ID number will have to fill out an Open Studies Student form : the form will subsequently need to be taken to the Department for a signature of authorization, and finally to the Registrar's office for registration. If the course you wish to register in is full please refer to our overload policy
ITAL 203 (Beginner's II)
This course is designed for those students who can hold and follow a basic conversation; write simple sentences; comprehend uncomplicated texts; express themselves orally and in writing using the simple present (presente) and the present perfect (passato prossimo).
Click here to view and print the test for ITAL 203
ITAL 301 and ITAL 309 (Intermediate)
ITAL 301 is an intensive course aiming at the improvement of grammar and vocabulary alongside the development of spoken and written skills. ITAL 309 deals with aspects of Italian civilization and contemporary cultural issues in Italian studies. The student must be able to use, for example, reflexive verbs, double pronouns, the future tense, and the past continuous (imperfetto).
Click here to view and print the test for ITAL 301/ 309
ITAL 303, 305 and 307 (Intermediate II)
ITAL 303 is the continuation of ITAL 301. ITAL 305 aims at developing critical thinking and communicative skills through text analysis. ITAL 307 studies different types of means of communication.
Students are expected to show a wide lexical ability and be confident with, for instance, possessive, relative and combined pronouns, impersonal verbs, and the conditional mood.
Click here to view and print the test for ITAL 303/305/ 307
400-LEVEL ITALIAN (Advanced)
Our 400-level courses cover a wide range of topics: ITAL 401(composition and conversation); ITAL 405 (Introduction to Italian Literature); ITAL 407 (study of Italian theatre, opera and drama); ITAL 409 (Italian culture through cinema); and ITAL 499 (selected topics in Italian language, literature or civilization). These courses presuppose a high degree of oral and written fluency.
Click here to view and print the test for ITAL 401