Here are typical programs for Italian Level 1 and Japanese Level 2.
All language sessions have a similar itinerary. Level 1 is designed for students with no prior experience in the language. Level 2 is for students who have completed Level 1 or have some prior speaking ability in the language. Level 3 is for students who have completed Level 2, have taken more than a semester of the language at the college level, or have prior speaking ability in the language.
ITALIAN LEVEL 1
Week 1: Party!
Get to know your fellow students and try out some conversational Italian. Describe yourself, your age, where you’re from. Or go all-out Fellini—bring your RayBans and discuss camera angles and alienation.
Week 2: Time Travel
This week, you tell Italian time and talk about courses. What time do you get up for your first class? Study for tests? Fall asleep while trying to study for tests? You also find out about NYU’s exchange program in Florence.
Week 3: Perfect Plans
What do you like to do in those rare moments when you’re not studying? Leisure and planning time is what we discuss this week, along with a trip to Alitalia.
Week 4: Tasty Italy
If you’ve seen Bread and Tulips, you know that an Italian meal can be a real adventure. This week, chat, relax, and order dinner at an Italian restaurant.
Week 5: Fashion and Film
Versace. Antonioni. Ferragamo. Fellini. Discuss Italy’s legendary couture and cinema as you head to the theatre or movies.
Week 6: The Foods of Little Italy
Time for a shopping spree. Price risotto and cannoli with the old-time Italian shopkeepers.
Week 7: Money, Money, Money
The universal language. Who has it, who wants it, where to get it. Discuss bank transactions at the Banca Commerciale Italiana.
Week 8: Music, Opera, Art
Italy’s legacy of music and art is incomparable. This week, you take in an Italian art exhibit, opera, or concert.
Week 9: Going, Going, Gone
Transportation is this week’s topic. If Fredo zooms from Rome to Naples in his red Ferrari at 70 kilometers per hour, and Joe takes the subway from West Fourth Street to 23rd Street at 2 miles an hour, who will reach their destination first?
Week 10: Wrapping Up
Now that you’ve had a sampling of a new culture, you may want to plan further study or look into NYU’s study abroad programs.
JAPANESE LEVEL 2
Week 1: All in the Family
This week, we explore Japanese family values. What Japanese titles should you use to address your own family members, as opposed to members of other families? Compare yoofuu (western) and wafuu (Japanese) marriage ceremonies, and learn how to negotiate those marriage fees.
Week 2: Friendships, Relationships, and Love
We ask the age-old questions, Japanese style. How can you find your true love? What are you looking for in a mate? Could you use a matchmaker’s help? Before you commit, let the uranaishi (fortune-teller) see if you’ll be happy together.
Week 3: Customs, Traditions, and Folklore
This week, we visit kanpo (a calligraphy center) and learn how to wield a calligrapher’s brush. Test your Japanese etiquette: Do you know how to take a bath appropriately? How to eat properly? How to bow correctly? You will after Week 3!
Week 4: Learn in Good Health
Feeling under the weather? Try a massage like shiatsu, a hari (acupuncture) session, or a visit to the onsen (hot springs). If that doesn’t do the trick, you’ll learn how to tell your Japanese doctor whether it’s your head, stomach, or feet that ail you.
Week 5: Food and Recipes
Just how do they make all that wonderful food at your favorite Japanese sushi bar? This week, you learn how to prepare traditional Japanese dishes like sushi, tempura, and udon.
Week 6: Leisure, Hobbies, and Fun
Want to know how to really drink tea? Time to visit a urasenke (tea center)—better than Starbucks! Then, learn about ikebana (flower arranging) and hanami (flower viewing), and try Japanese board games like go and shoogi.
Week 7: Treasure Hunting
Join us as we unearth the national treasures of Kyoto and Nara.
Week 8: Sporting Life
Sumo, judo, or karate, anyone? How about kendo (Japanese fencing)? See Japan’s version of the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat.
Week 9: Holiday Traditions and Costumes
Explore traditions like tanabata (wishing upon two stars), hinamatsuri (doll festival), bonodori (dance festival for the ancestors), oomisoka (New Year’s Eve), and shoogatsu (New Year’s Day). We’ll even show you how to wear a kimono.
Week 10: Travel
So there you are in Japan. How do you make a reservation to come home? How do you get help if you get lost? Find out how to be a savvy Japanese traveler this week.