Italian Language Scholarships and Courses (An Overview)

Why learn Italian?

Italian opens many doors: many university programmes — at bachelor’s level above all — run in Italian, generally wanting B2 to apply; and even studying in English, the language repays itself in the daily life, the paperwork, the social world and the internship and job openings. Italian is access to a rich culture, a literature and an art besides. Thinking of a long Italian education or career, then, the language is the strategic investment — and started early, it arrives on time for the goals.

The roads to the language

Several roads run. The MAECI language-and-culture grant funds an intensive course in Italy; the Italian Cultural Institute (in Istanbul) offers courses and the official exams in Turkey; and in Italy sit the universities specialised in teaching Italian to foreigners — the Stranieri universities of Perugia and Siena. The universities’ language centres and the online resources fill out the options. Which fits follows the goal, the budget and the time — the roads known is the learning plan built right.

The MAECI language-and-culture grant

A component of the MAECI government scholarship funds the Italian language and culture courses — given for an intensive course at Italy’s recognised language institutions or the Stranieri universities. Short and language-focused, it is the ideal first step for the student planning an Italian degree ahead; the detail sits on our MAECI language grant page. The channel grows the Italian and the Italian experience together — the language learned, and the country known with it.

The Italian Cultural Institute

In Turkey — in Istanbul above all — the Italian Cultural Institute (the Istituto Italiano di Cultura) is the language’s important address: courses at every level, the official certificate exams (CILS, CELI) hosted, and the cultural programme feeding the Italian interest besides. For those starting the language in Turkey, the Institute is the dependable, official door; the detail is on our Cultural Institute page. The Institute is the practical way of laying the language’s base before Italy.

Notes for Turkish students

Starting the language early is the Turkish student’s great advantage. Fix the level required (generally B2 for the university) and build the learning plan against it; weigh the official channels — the MAECI grant, the Cultural Institute, the Stranieri universities; and certify the level reached with a CILS or CELI — it serves the university and scholarship applications both. The certificates are on our CILS/CELI/PLIDA page. The language is the valuable investment the whole Italian journey rests on.

How long does Italian take?

The time moves with the person, the intensity and the language background. Italian runs reachable for Turkish speakers on the whole: with steady, intensive work many students reach basic-to-intermediate within months, and the university’s B2 within about a year — the intensive courses (in Italy above all, by immersion) faster still. Started early, the language lands on time for the target programme’s condition; treated as one of the plan’s earliest steps rather than its last, it relaxes the whole season and buys the flexibility.

The online and self-study resources

Beside the official courses and grants sit the many resources that keep the learning going: the online platforms, the apps, the Italian films, the music, the podcasts and the books — exposure valuable above all for the listening and the vocabulary; and a language-exchange partner grows the speaking besides. The most productive road joins the self-study to a structured course: the course gives the base, the daily exposure keeps the language alive. The learning spread through the daily life speeds the progress — and makes the language a real means of communication.

The language and the culture together

Learning Italian is less acquiring a language than opening a door onto a rich culture — the two run together: the art, the food, the history and the way of life known, the language learns deeper and happier. The official institutions (the Stranieri universities, the Cultural Institute) fold the cultural side into the teaching for exactly that reason. Approaching Italy with a cultural interest strengthens the motivation and sets the language in its real context; the learning joined to a cultural discovery is the journey made more effective and far more meaningful at once — and the learning that lasts.

Tying the language to the scholarship plan

Don’t plan the language apart from the scholarship and education plan: the level required follows the programme and the channel — the Italian-taught want B2, the English-taught shift the condition. Plan the language, then, after the target programme and channel (MAECI, DSU, the university) are fixed; and started early, the condition is long met by application time. The language, the scholarship and the programme are one plan’s three parts — thought through together, they build the Italian journey whole and smooth.

A short checklist

• Fix the level the target programme wants (generally B2)
• Start the language early
• Weigh the official channels (the MAECI grant, the Cultural Institute, the Stranieri)
• Keep the practice going outside the course (films, music, reading)
• Certify the level with CILS/CELI/PLIDA

Frequently asked questions