L'Altra Lingua opened in 2014, when Nicoletta Chiapedi and Elena Voltan, two highly qualified and experienced teachers of Italian, decided to found their own school.

The school offers Italian language courses to foreigners aiming to open a space for all those students who may be interested in learning a language, meeting people with different cultural backgrounds, and deepening their knowledge of Italian culture.

In our school we offer:
- Italian language courses for foreigners: one-to-one, one-to-two and group courses for all levels of proficiency, from A1 to C2 (CEFR).
- CILS (Certificazione di Italiano come Lingua Straniera, University for Foreigners of Siena) and CELI (Certificazione di Conoscenza della lingua Italiana, University for Foreigners of Perugia) preparatory courses.
- short-term courses about Italian cooking, Italian literature and history, Italian music.

From the very beginning we use the L2/LS as the privileged language of communication. Students are encouraged to interact with their teacher and classmates and, through their newly found skills, to take an active part in the learning process.
We work hard to ensure classroom activities and teaching materials are always updated and engaging.

Challenges and learning opportunities proceed based on individual language skills and learning requirements. Lessons aim to develop four essential skills (listening, speaking, reading, writing), using language in real and meaningful situations.

Grammar, while always important, is taught as a means to improve communication, introduced gradually and never removed from the context of actual language use.

For those who are interested in becoming teachers of Italian as foreign language, we also organize seminars and teacher training courses held by highly qualified trainers.

L'Altra Lingua is located in the historic centre of Pavia, a small Lombard city, rich of history and art, setting of a prestigious university which every year welcomes a great number of students, Italian and foreign.

Its position, 35 km from Milan, makes it an ideal destination for those who want to enjoy the high-quality, peaceful life-style afforded by a small city and, at the same time, take advantage of the opportunities and attractions that a city like Milan offers.
Genova and the Riviera, Como Lake and other famous touristic attraction of Northern Italy can be easily reached in a one day trip.

Accommodation can be arranged upon request.