The four language skills (listening, speaking, reading and writing) will be practiced, but emphasis will be placed on learning to communicate and perform as one would outside the classroom. Class time will be spent learning to communicate with the teacher and classmates and class discussions will be strongly encouraged. The overall aim of the course will be achieved mainly through intensive oral and written practice. Students will work with activities designed to train them to cope with simple everyday situations and to master basic Italian grammar. Students will be engaged in information-based tasks, ranging from group decision activities to question and answer exercises or games. Grammatical accuracy will be strengthened by the use of computer-based activities. The lesson will be conducted almost entirely in Italian. Audio-visual aids will be used to enhance the learning process.