Foreign Languages

Foreign Languages

The Scuola Normale provides foreign language courses recognized for the fulfilment of internal linguistic obligations.
The courses currently on offer are:


* Chinese (Levels 2, 3, 4 from starter to elementary)
* French (levels I - basic, II - intermediate, III - advanced)
* English (levels II - intermediate, III - advanced)
* German (levels I - basic, II - intermediate, III - advanced)


The courses aim to provide overall linguistic skills, from reading and listening comprehension, to written and oral production. The courses of the last two levels also include reading a novel or short stories, work on grammatical structures and listening, as well as exercises.


The levels reached by students in the language courses are comparable, in principle, to levels B2 (Level II course) and C1 (Level III course) of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages. The levels are assessed through written and oral examinations in line with the official tests recognized by the European authorities for the respective languages.

For students of the faculties of Letters and Philosophy, the French, English and German courses take place at the Scuola Normale, while the Chinese ones - in agreement with the Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna and organized by the Istituto Confucio – are held at the Scuola Sant'Anna.
The internal language exams of the Scuola Normale Superiore are also valid for degree courses attended by our students at some of the faculties of the University of Pisa.


Students of the Faculty of Political and Social Sciences will be able to attend, autonomously, a language course at the University of Florence, the Centro Linguistico di Ateneo (the Linguistic Centre) of the University of Florence, or another institution of their choice, and they must sit a final examination of the levels achieved.