French language courses

The Modern Languages Laboratory (LLM) is the USI University language centre. It offers French language courses from A1.1 level up to B2.2 level of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR). Each course aims to develop oral and written comprehension and oral and written production skills.

The courses are free of charge and are open to all members of Università della Svizzera italiana.

Who we are

Modern languages laboratory

Modern languages laboratory Lecturers

French language supervisor

Susanne Stigen Pescia

USI French language lecturers

Regina Bollhalder Mayer

Anne Criblez

Typhaine Manzato

Location and schedule:

The courses take place on the Lugano campuses, the timetables and classrooms will be communicated to enrolled students a few days before the start of the course.

Entrance test

All upper-level courses require knowledge of the material covered in other courses. A final decision on admission can therefore only be taken after the entrance test organized on the first day of the course.

End-of-course test

Various assessment procedures are foreseen during the course, including an end-of-course test.

Linguistic certification of the French language

There are six official levels of proficiency attested by the DELF (Diplôme d'Études en Langue Française) and DALF (Diplôme Approfondi de Langue Française) diplomas, which assess mastery of the French language. The DELF DALF Graubünden and Ticino Examination Centre is located in Bellinzona. For information: https://delfdalf.ch/prufungszentrum-chur-bellinzona.

CEFR level

Knowledge of the CEFR level allows you to assess your initial language skills and to enrol in the language courses that best suit your needs.

CEFR self-assessment grid from A1.1 to C1.2

On-line CEFR language assessment test

Study path

The table shows the possible language paths according to the starting level and the development of skills over two years. The language offer includes:

• Intensive 60-hours pre-semester courses prior the start of the semester either in autumn (Pre-SA) or spring (Pre-SP), the first two weeks in September and the first two weeks in February;
• Semester courses of 28, 42 or 56 classroom hours with 2, 3 or 4 hours per week during the autumn semester (SA) and spring semester (SP) with the same number of hours of self-study.

Places are limited, please only register if you are serious about attending more than 80% of the course.

Withdrawal

Good course planning requires accurate data on the number of participants. In the event of an unforeseen withdrawal, it is the candidate's responsibility to inform the Modern languages laboratory before the start of the course by writing promptly to [email protected].

Frequently asked questions

Reading the Frequently asked questions section helps to resolve doubts quickly at any time. To make it easier to find answers, the questions are divided into different topics.

Click on the FAQ button.

FAQ

ECTS LANGUAGE COURSES

ECTS All Faculties

ECTS Bachelor in Communication

PLANNING AND ENROLMENT FOR FRENCH LANGUAGE COURSES ACADEMIC YEAR

The two tables below allow you to plan your language study programme for the entire academic year. Careful planning of the levels to be attended is particularly important if you need to reach a B2.2 level of knowledge by the end of your studies and take the language exam in session or deliver a DELF B2 certificate that exempts you from the USI exam.

N.B.: Dates and times may be subject to change. The Modern Languages Laboratory receives final confirmation from the administration in September for the autumn semester and in February for the spring semester.