Foreign Languages
Chinese (Istituto Confucio di Pisa)French (Dr. Marie-Odile Volpoët)
English (Dr. Melanie Rockenhaus)
German (Dr. Kai Neubauer)
At the Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa courses in German and French are taught at three different levels: Level 1, elementary; Level 2, intermediate; Level 3, advanced. English, however, is taught only at the intermediate and advanced levels.
The aim of the courses is to facilitate the acquisition of full language proficiency, from reading and listening comprehension to written and oral production. In the courses of the higher two levels, the reading of a novel or short stories is expected, as well as additional study of grammatical structures, listening comprehension and other activities, etc.
The levels of language competency of our students are comparable, generally, to the B2 level (Level II) and C1 (Level III) established by the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) of the European Community. The levels are certified by way of both written and oral exams, which are in line with the official exams recognized by European authorities of the respective languages.
The internal language exams of the Scuola Normale Superiore are recognized as valid also by the University of Pisa for our students who are pursuing the laurea degree concurrently at that institution.
