• The Open University

Italian for Beginners 5: Time To Travel

In the fifth Italian for Beginners course, learn to ask for information on trains and buy train tickets.

54,125 enrolled on this course

  • Duration

    4 weeks
  • Weekly study

    4 hours

This free online course is the fifth of six in the Italian for Beginners program. It will introduce you to the language that you need to:

  • talk about arrival and departure times;
  • enquire about train times;
  • buy a train ticket;
  • ask for information;
  • talk about journey times and distances.

Learn Italian to travel, ask about trains and buy tickets

During the four weeks of the course, you will learn the vocabulary and phrases you need to travel around Italy, such as getting information about train times, buying a ticket or asking how long the journey is.

You will learn to use si (yes) to say how things are done and learn the verbs dovere (to have to), potere (can) and volere (to want). You will continue to develop your language skills, and practice asking for information in Italian. And you will find out about local transport and the rail network and about the geography of Italy.

What topics will you cover?

  • Talk about arrival and departure times;
  • Enquire about train times;
  • Buy a train ticket;
  • Ask for information;
  • Talk about journey times and distances.

Learning on this course

On every step of the course you can meet other learners, share your ideas and join in with active discussions in the comments.

What will you achieve?

By the end of the course, you‘ll be able to...

  • Develop skills in basic Italian for interacting in common communicative situations
  • Engage in simple communication in Italian
  • Apply the language introduced to talk about travel, journey times and distances
  • Apply the language introduced to say how things are done and to ask for information

Who is the course for?

This course is aimed at people with little prior knowledge of Italian, who want to learn the basic language and find out about Italy and its regions and culture. The course assumes that you have already studied the previous four courses in the Italian for Beginners program. This course is taught through English.

Who will you learn with?

OU associate lecturer and materials writer. I have written materials on business communication, Academic English and Italian.

Lecturer in Italian at the Open University, author of Italian course books. I'm Scottish but learnt Italian in Italy when young. I love singing, dancing and travelling around Italy.

Who developed the course?

The Open University

As the UK’s largest university, The Open University (OU) supports thousands of students to achieve their goals and ambitions via supported distance learning, helping to fit learning around professional and personal life commitments.

  • Established

    1969
  • Location

    Milton Keynes, UK
  • World ranking

    Top 510Source: Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2020

Learning on FutureLearn

Your learning, your rules

  • Courses are split into weeks, activities, and steps to help you keep track of your learning
  • Learn through a mix of bite-sized videos, long- and short-form articles, audio, and practical activities
  • Stay motivated by using the Progress page to keep track of your step completion and assessment scores

Join a global classroom

  • Experience the power of social learning, and get inspired by an international network of learners
  • Share ideas with your peers and course educators on every step of the course
  • Join the conversation by reading, @ing, liking, bookmarking, and replying to comments from others

Map your progress

  • As you work through the course, use notifications and the Progress page to guide your learning
  • Whenever you’re ready, mark each step as complete, you’re in control
  • Complete 90% of course steps and all of the assessments to earn your certificate

Want to know more about learning on FutureLearn? Using FutureLearn

Join the conversation on social media

You can use the hashtag #FLItalian to talk about this course on social media.