Terms & Conditions
Individual Lessons
Lesson cancellation
Individual lessons can be cancelled or rescheduled no later than 18 hours prior to their start. Should a student inform us of their inability to attend within 18 hours from the lesson’s start, the lesson will be lost. This does not apply to force-majeure situations (such as the student’s illness). In this case, please inform our staff at info@italmente.it so that we can return the lesson to your calendar. Should the teacher be unable to attend the lesson due to force-majeure reasons, we will try to find a prompt replacement. In case this won’t be possible, a member of our team will inform the student, and the lesson will be rescheduled.
Package duration
Our packages of individual lessons have a fixed duration, meaning that lessons need to be used within the following time frames:
- 4 lessons: 2 months
- 10 lessons: 6 months
- 25 lessons: 1 year
When additional lessons are purchased, the time frame will be extended accordingly.
In case a student doesn’t use all of his/her lessons within the given time frame, the lessons will be lost. This rule does not apply to force-majeure situations in which either the student or the teacher were forcibly unable to attend the lessons.
Teacher change
Should you feel any dissatisfaction with your course, please promptly inform our team at info@italmente.it, we will be happy to discuss any concern you might have and, if necessary, proceed to choose another teacher for you.
However, please note that learning a language might be hard at times. It is normal to face difficulties, and our teachers are professionals who are trained to help students overcome their barriers. That said, each tutor has a different personality, and we will be happy to find a replacement better suiting your needs and schedule.
Course programme and approach
Individual lessons can be tailored to your needs, so please feel free to inform your teacher or our team if you have specific requests, we will do our best to comply. If no request is made, we will follow our standard programme based on the communicative approach.
The communicative approach focuses on pragmatic communication through an active use of the language on behalf of the student, while the use of English and of a purely grammar approach is limited. This approach is based on the Common European Framework of Languages and ensures the most effective results.
Should you prefer a different approach, we will be happy to elaborate a tailored programme for you. We believe in a student centred approach, which provides the best possible results.
Textbook
If you purchased a minimum of 10 private lessons, you will be sent an email with the instructions to access the electronic Italian textbook of your level. Should you encounter any issues with the textbook, please promptly inform us at info@italmente.it.
Booking and accessing your lessons
After purchasing your lessons, you will be able to schedule them in your Dashboard. We will send you detailed instructions on how to use our platform to schedule your classes, but feel free to inform us should you need any assistance. After booking each lesson you will receive an email with the link to access the class. You will also find the link in your Dashboard (it will become active one hour before the class). You won’t need to download any third-party app, as we use our own software for video conferencing. Please note that once a teacher is assigned, you will be able to book lessons only within their available slots. Should you need a different schedule please inform us, and we will find a teacher who can better meet your scheduling needs. We kindly ask you to discuss the schedule with our stuff or the teacher before the start of the course, in order to avoid issues when booking your next lessons. For any questions regarding the use of our Dashboard, please contact us at info@italmente.it
Group Course
Italian level test
After you confirm your participation in the course, we will contact you to organize a quick virtual meeting with a teacher to determine your level and choose the right group for you (unless you are a full beginner). Please note that attending this test is compulsory.
Accessing your lessons and materials
After attending the placement test and completing the payment, we will send you a Zoom link to access your classes and the instructions to access your electronic textbook.
Course duration
Each group course lasts 8 weeks and students must attend their group lessons for the period they have booked. After the course ends, the students in the group can choose to extend their course for another 8 weeks, provided there are at least 2 students in the group.
Lesson cancellation
Group lessons follow a fixed timetable and cannot be canceled or rescheduled by the students. Students are not allowed to attend missed lessons at a later date. We are happy to record any lesson, provided we are informed in advance of this necessity. Should the teacher be unable to attend the lesson due to force-majeure reasons, we will try to find a prompt replacement. In case this won’t be possible, our team will inform the group, and the lesson will be rescheduled.
Group availability
Groups are opened with at least 2 participants. With 2 participants, the lessons will run from 8 to 9.15pm Italian time. With 3 or more participants, from 8 to 9.40pm.
Should the group not reach the minimum number of participants, students who already paid will be given the possibility to receive a full refund, join another ongoing group, convert their course in individual classes or wait for additional participants.
Group change
After your placement test, you will be assigned to a group of students of your same level. This does not mean, however, that every student in the group will possess the same skills and knowledge: it is normal for study groups to be dishomogeneous and this represents a positive input for the students, who are exposed to different styles and can learn from their peers as well as from their teacher. Nevertheless, should you feel that the group is either too weak or too advanced for you, please inform us at info@italmente.it, we will be happy to discuss your concerns and, if possible, to organize a group change.
Teacher change
Should you feel any dissatisfaction with your course, please promptly inform our team at info@italmente.it, we will be happy to discuss any concern you might have. Please note, however, that in most cases it won't be possible to change the teacher in your group.
Special Offers
Special offers are non cumulative. Should you be made a personal offer when another offer is active, you will be able to choose either of them, not both.
Free Trial Lessons and level tests
All students can request a free trial lesson or a level test. These can be a private or group class depending on their choice and our availability. Only one free trial lesson or level test is allowed per student. Once an individual trial lesson or level test is scheduled, it can be canceled or rescheduled only up to the day before. If such a session is canceled or rescheduled on the same day, or if the student fails to connect, the class will be considered lost and the student will be required to pay the cost of the class, amounting to the cost of 1 individual lesson (30€).
Speaking Club
Free trial and subscription
Students can sign up for our Italian speaking club and will enjoy a 7-day free trial, after which they will be billed monthly. The subscription can be currently canceled at any moment by informing us at info@italmente.it.
Accessing your sessions
After signing up to our Italian speaking club, we will create an account for you and you will be automatically added to a dedicated group on our platform, which you will find in your Dashboard. Inside, you will find the schedule of the sessions and the links to access them (each link will become active 1 hour before the start of each session). Each session is 50 minutes long.
Levels
Students can access either level (A1 or A2+) freely. However, we recommend attending the level that is closer to yours, in order to ensure the best experience for you and the other participants.
Access for students of Individual and Group courses
Students who purchased an Individual or Group course enjoy a 50% discount for our speaking club for the duration of their course.
Refund
Students who purchased a private course are entitled to a full refund upon request within 30 calendar days from the payment, if no more than 4 individual lessons have been attended. After this 30-day period, and for Group courses and Speaking Club subscriptions, refunds can be granted only for force-majeure reasons that will be judged on a case-by-case basis. Please note that in case of force-majeure situations, courses can be also rescheduled at a later date.
Should you feel dissatisfied with your course, please inform us at info@italmente.it, we will be happy to discuss your concerns and find a solution suiting your needs best.
Technical Issues
Should you encounter any issues with using our platform, please inform us promptly at info@italmente.it.
If you are unable to attend a lesson due to a technical failure on our behalf outside Italian business hours (9am - 6pm CET), you will be able to reschedule it (in case you booked an individual course) or to attend your missed group lesson during the week after your course expires.
Behaviour
Students should keep respectful behaviour towards the teacher and their peers. Any episodes of bullying, verbal aggression, discrimination, harassment and other offensive acts will not be tolerated and might lead to the course’s cancellation without refund.
Payments
All courses need to be paid in advance.
Payments are usually made by credit card through our portal. If you wish to pay by bank transfer, please contact us at info@italmente.it, and we will provide you with our bank details. Speaking club memberships can only be purchased via credit card, billed on a monthly basis.
Minimum age
The minimum age for our group courses is 16.
We don’t have a minimum age for individual courses; however we kindly ask you to inform us in advance in case you wish to book a course for a pupil under the age of 16, in order for us to choose a teacher who is specialized in teaching young students.
Public holidays
Group lessons are not held during Italian public holidays and festivities: between December 24th and January 6th and on April 10th, April 25th, May 1st, June 2nd, August 15th and November 1st.
There are no fixed holidays for individual lessons, although the possibility to book them depends on the teacher’s and we cannot guarantee availability during the aforementioned holidays and festivities.