Course calendars

When do the next courses begin at CLA?
The beginning and end dates of courses are available under Calendar and course timetables, on the CLA homepage.

Available course types

What is the difference between an extensive, blended or intensive course?
CLA courses differ according to length and number of lessons per week.

• Extensive courses are two and a half months long. Lessons take place twice a week and each one lasts for two 60-minute hours.
• Blended courses (only available for English level B2 for specialized Engineering courses) consist of two and a half months with one classroom based lesson a week of two and a quarter 60-minute hours. On a blended course, apart from the classroom based lessons, students follow an online course in their own time by using an interactive self-access platform (Moodle).
• Intensive courses run for around three weeks, with lessons from Monday to Friday each one lasting three academic hours (intensive Italian courses instead have lessons from Monday to Saturday, each one of three academic hours).

Is it possible to follow language courses online?
Yes. CLA offers students the chance to access online self-study language courses for B1 and B2 English level with innovative and interactive software. These are useful for students who, for various reasons, are not able to attend a traditional classroom based language course.
For further information click Course enrolments.

Does CLA also offer private lessons?
No.

Does CLA organize language courses or study trips abroad?
No. CLA does, however, allow organizations who offer such courses/trips to advertise on the noticeboards around the centre.

Languages and levels available

Which languages can I study at CLA?
CLA offers courses of English, German, French, Spanish, Italian as a second language for foreigners, Portuguese, Chinese and Russian.

How are the language courses levels organized at CLA?
CLA offers courses at different linguistic levels; generally the following levels are offered:
A1a/A1 (absolute beginners), A1b, A2, B1, B2a, B2b and the advanced levels C1a and C1b.

How to enrol and rules

Is enrolment on a CLA course compulsory?
Yes, if student want to attend language couses, enrollment is mandatory. You can find out how to do this under Course enrolments.

If I want to enrol on a course but the deadline has passed, what can I do?
It is possible to enrol on a course late, but only on specific days indicated on the CLA website. This applies only to courses which have been activated and those with free places remaining.

Prices and fees

Do I have to pay for a course at CLA?
There are different rules governing enrolment and payment according to the type of user participating in the courses (a student who has to pass a compulsory language exam, a student who is following a course for personal reasons, university staff members, external users or workers from other organizations which have stipulated an agreement with the university for its personnel). For further information please visit the page Course enrolments.

Do I have to pay for the books required on a CLA course?
Yes. Students have to buy their own books from one of the various bookshops around Trento.

Are graduates offered a discounted rate if they enrol on a CLA course?
No. From the moment they graduate each course costs 400 Euro, exactly the same as an external user.

Overlaps and schedule changes

In the event of a timetable clash between a CLA course and lessons in your Department, what can I do?
After having enrolled on a course, if you discover that there is an overlapping of days and times between a CLA course and those of other lessons in your Department, you can ask the CLA Secretary’s office to change to another parallel course with free spaces. This is only possible before the third lesson of the course you have enrolled on.

Where can I find information about changes to lesson times/notices about lessons booked to make up for cancelled ones?
Students are informed by email of all variations. Furthermore all variations in lesson times or lessons making up for cancelled ones can be found on a specific monitor outside the CLA Secretary’s office. For courses held outside CLA on other university sites, please contact the reception of the relative Department.

End-of-course tests and Departmental language exams

Is it possible to take the end of course test without having attended the course?
No. In order to take the test students have to attend at least 75% of the lessons.

Are CLA certificates valid at European or International level?
No. They are simply certificates to show you have attended a course.

Is the end of course test the same thing as the language exam required by the Departments?
No. The end of course test is only to show the level the student has reached by the end of the course attended. If the student passes, it enables them to enrol on a CLA course at the next level up to one year after the end of the original course. In order to pass the language exam required by the Department and gain the relative credits, the student has to take the exam at CLA which is totally separate to the language course.

Is it compulsory to attend a language course to take the language exam?
No, but the course is recommended to improve your language skills.

Requirements and regulations

If I have no knowledge of a language, do I have to take the placement test in any case?
No. You can just enrol directly on the A1a/A1 level course for absolute beginners.

Do I have to take the placement test to enrol on a course if I have a certificate recognized by the University of Trento (e.g. PET, FCE, etc.)?
No. The placement test is not necessary. You can enrol online if the certification or exam result has been inserted into Esse3. Alternatively, you can submit the certificate to the CLA Secretary's Office by logging into your personal area on U-Gov CLA and opening a Support Request (for the complete procedure, please consult the PDF guidelines in the Download box on the Course Enrolments page).

How it works, duration and results

What does the placement test consist of?
The placement test is done online and is a single test covering all levels. It is available for English, German, French, Spanish, Russian and Italian. It consists of multiple choice questions, sentence completion, etc., which establishes the level which most closely corresponds to a student’s knowledge of a language. 

How long is the placement test? How long is it valid for?
The test lasts for a maximum of around 50 minutes; it can be taken at any time up to the same day as enrolment (students are advised to make sure they allow enough time to do this beforehand).
It is valid for 6 months from the date it was taken and can be repeated after 2 months.

Are the test results available immediately?
Yes. After taking the test the system will tell you the level of course you can follow.

Technical support and issues

What can I do if the placement test page closes before I have finished all the questions?
You need to contact the CLA Secretary’s office (cla@unitn.it) and they will check what can be done.

What can I do if I am told that my login ID and password are invalid when I insert them into the system?
You need to contact the CLA Secretary’s office (cla@unitn.it) and they will check what can be done.

Study and preparation resources

How can I prepare for the language test?

1. to find out about the required language skills, exam formats, and all information regarding timelines and registration procedures, it is important to consult the Test section;
2. Students are advised to take the online placement test, which is available on the CLA webpage, in order to find out their individual language level and see if it is necessary to improve their knowledge of that language before the language exam or not;
3. you can view the grammatical and lexical content required for the exams at the page Resources for Language Learning;
4. Students intending to prepare for the exam alone may consult paper-based and multimedia resourses in the Trentino library catalogue (CBT), divided according to language, level and language skills. These are available at the University Central Library, situated on the ground floor below the CLA language centre itself;
5. There is a language tutoring service available for students who want to go about improving their study of foreign languages through a self-study programme. Times of various teachers’ office hours are available at the page Office Hours and Tutoring.

Taking exams without course attendance

Is it possible to take the language test required by my Department without attending CLA courses?
Yes. CLA courses are optional and are aimed at helping students reach the language level required by the Department exam.

Exam recording and certifications

Are certificates issued for exams taken at the CLA?
No, but you can download your transcript from Esse3, which lists all passed exams (including your language test).