Course admission requirements
In order to attend the course you must be at least 16 years of age.
In order to know your level in a language and therefore which course level to enrol for, you need to take a placement test.
However, this test is NOT necessary if you:
- are a complete beginner (you have no knowledge of the language), in which case you can enrol directly on an A1a/A1 course;
- have successfully completed a CLA course one level below the level of the course you are interested in (as long as you passed the course within the last twelve months)
- have passed the language exam that is specified in your degree course programme (the exam must be registered in Esse3)
- have a language certificate that is included on the list of “language certificates recognised at the international level” (in the event that the certificate is not yet registered on Esse3 you can bring it to the CLA Secretary’s Office when you enrol)
If you are not a university student, before you can take the placement test and/or enrol on a course, you need to apply for access to the services of the University Language Centre (CLA) by filling in the online form. Once you have filled in and sent the form, you will receive an email within three working days from the CLA Secretary’s Office, which describes the procedure to be followed to access the online services.
Enrolments
Enrolments for courses open a few weeks before the courses start.
You can enrol:
- online (except for Italian courses and specialist language courses)
- at the CLA Secretary’s Office (except for some categories of course user listed on the pages for enrolling on the various types of courses). In this case you need to come to the office with valid ID (identity card, driver’s licence or passport), or you can delegate someone else by using the delegation form and including a copy of your ID.
If you are a Trento University student and have to take the language exam for the first and/or second language as specified in your degree course programme, you have priority over other students when enrolling and you have the right to one free enrolment per level up to and including the level of the language required by the exam.
If you enrol and then decide to withdraw from a course, you have to tell the CLA Secretary’s Office by email or in writing by the deadline indicated for each cycle of courses.
If you are an outgoing international exchange student, you have the right to one free enrolment on the language of the country you are going to. Even if you don't attend the course, the second enrolment on the same level will not be free of charge (you'll have to pay 50 Euros).
If a course is full you can go on the waiting list. If places then come free the CLA Secretary’s Office will notify students, following the order in which they are placed on the waiting list. Any course fee that is due can be paid after you have been contacted by the CLA.
If you enrolled paying the fee and then you realize you don't want to attend the course anymore, you can ask for the enrolment fee back by filling out this online application , or you can opt to use the money for a future course (but both procedures are possible if you attended just one lesson, not more) to be done within the same year in which you paid the fee. A refund for the cost of the password for blended and online courses is not possible if the password has already been uploaded onto the system. If you ask for the refund for personal reasons and if you are not a University of Trento student and you have paid 100€ or more for the course, then the cost of the "bollo" (stamp duty), which is compulsory, will be deducted from the refund.
Payment
- by credit or debit card
- from your current account through a PagoPA partner bank
- by other payment methods (Satispay, BancomatPay, PostePay, iConto, PayTipper)
Enrolment will be considered confirmed only if payment is done by 12 noon of the day after enrolling. For those who enrol on Fridays, payment must be done by 12 noon on the following Monday.
Before, during and after the course
Before
Check the list of courses that will be activated at course calendar. If your course is cancelled (due to not enough students enrolling), you will be informed by email by the CLA Secretary’s Office, and you can ask for the enrolment fee back by filling out this online application , or you can opt to use the money for a future course, to be done within the same year in which you paid the fee. You can ask for a refund even if you decide that you cannot follow the course anymore for personal reasons. In this case, the refund can only be granted if you have attended one lesson at most (and a refund for the cost of the password for blended and online courses is not possible if the password has already been uploaded onto the system). If you are not a University of Trento student and you have paid 100€ or more for the course, then the cost of the "bollo" (stamp duty), which is compulsory, will be deducted from the refund.
Students enrolling during the re-opening enrolments periods, before going to the lesson, will have to:
- connect to the CLA Moodle page and log in at least once, so as to be enrolled by the teacher in the course's online community;
- print the course enrolment certificate, which can be
- download from MyCLA (by clicking on "Print Certificate" under the "Courses" menu) or
- collect at the CLA secretary’s office;
The certificate must be handed in to the teacher at the first lesson of the course.
For the courses taught online through Zoom system, you'll receive an email before the beginning of the lessons with the procedure to follow to enter the course in Didattica Online.
You must buy the course book before the start of the course.
During
If you do not attend the first three lessons of the course without a valid reason (e.g. illness, being away on a Trento University exchange programme, etc.), you lose the right to attend the course.
You can change course, up to and including the third lesson, only if there are free places in the new course. After the third lesson changes will not be accepted. You need to fill out a form at the CLA Secretary’s Office or send an email. Note that you can only move to a higher course with the written permission of your teacher.
You can take the final test just if you have attended at least 75% of the lessons.
After
You can ask the CLA Secretary’s Office for a certificate of attendance if you pass the course/final test and you have attended at least 75% of the lessons.
You can enrol on the next course in the following twelve months only if you pass the course/final test; if you simply attended the course without taking the final exam then you have to take the placement test.
Assessment
FOR ENGLISH COURSES there will be no final test. Instead you will be evaluated through continuous assessment. That means periodic testing at specific moments during your language course, which your teacher will inform you of. The assessment itself will be done by 3 or 4 computerized tests consisting of reading comprehension, listening comprehension and use of English exercises (grammar/vocabulary) on the Moodle platform to be done outside the classroom, and 3 or 4 writing tasks, also to be done at home. Thanks to language practice opportunities in class you will also be able to improve your speaking skills.
You will pass the course if:
• you have successfully completed at least 3 of the computerized tests (min. mark of 75%)
• you have successfully completed at least 3 writing tasks (2 for C1 levels)
• you have attended at least 75% of the lessons in class
FOR ITALIAN, RUSSIAN, ARABIC AND CHINESE COURSES: at the end of all CLA courses there is a final test. You may take the test only if you have attended at least 75% of the lessons. No credits are are recognised for passing the test, but you can apply for the next level within one year of the end of the previous course.
FOR GERMAN COURSES:
There will be no final test. Instead you will be evaluated through continuous assessment. That means periodic testing at specific moments during your language course, which your teacher will inform you of. The assessment itself will be done by 2 writing tests and 2 oral tests about the issues studied during the course. Furthermore, to pass the course, you have to attend at least 75% of the lessons in class.
FOR FRENCH COURSES:
Courses held in person: at the end of all CLA courses there is a final test. You may take the test only if you have attended at least 75% of the lessons. No credits are are recognised for passing the test, but you can apply for the next level within one year of the end of the previous course.
Intensive courses hel online: there will be no final test. Instead you will be evaluated through continuous assessment. That means periodic testing at specific moments during your language course, which your teacher will inform you of. The assessment itself will be done by 5 writing tests. Furthermore, to pass the course, you have to attend at least 75% of the lessons in class (11 lessons out of 15).
FOR SPANISH COURSES there will be no final test. Instead you will be evaluated through continuous assessment. The assessment itself will be done by 5 writing/speaking tests. Furthermore, to pass the course, you have to attend at least 75% of the lessons in class.
At the end of the courses, you will receive an email from the CLA secretary with the results of the course you attended. No credits are are recognised for passing the test, but you can apply for the next level within one year of the end of the previous course. Furthermore, you can get an attendance certificate; please come to the CLA secretary's office with an identification document in order to collect it.
Dates and how to enrol
In order to see the enrolment dates for the language courses and how to enrol, click on “Course enrolments”, and then on the language you are interested in.