Italian
The study of Italian at Aberystwyth takes place in a small, friendly, cohesive and effective unit, in close proximity to students of other languages, and in an aesthetically agreeable and intellectually stimulating environment. Italian is taught at Aberystwyth in the Department of European Languages, which also offers degrees in French, German, and Spanish. This means that the study of Italian (for many students, combined with one of the other languages we offer) takes place in a European context which necessarily (and in our view, entirely beneficially) emphasizes the relationship of the language, as well as of its literature and culture, to the other major languages with which Italian itself has been in contact for hundreds of years.
The fact that the staff are native speakers of Italian means that the opportunities for speaking Italian are particularly extensive, and that an authentically Italian ambiance exists in the section. There is, in addition, an Italian Society organized by students. Aberystwyth’s Language Resource Centre is overseen by Mr Vincentelli, and this means that facilities (notably in the form of computerized materials) are especially well-integrated into the Italian language-teaching.