Combined Course

Solemar Academy

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Course description

The combi course, combines the standard group course with single units (everyday one unit).

Course topics

Listening, Speaking, Pronunciation, Reading, Writing, Vocabulary, Grammar and Activities

Class schedule

Course duration
1-52 weeks
Start dates
Every Monday (26 Feb - 29 Nov)
Classes per week
25 lessons per week (each lesson lasts 45 min)
Class days
Monday - Friday
School holidays
01 Apr 2024, 01 May 2024, 15 Aug 2024, 25 Dec 2024 - 26 Dec 2024, 26 Dec 2024

Class times

Morning session
09:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Morning session
12:15 PM - 01:00 PM

Class schedule may change depending on availability and season.

Class level

All levels, beginner to advanced
You will take a placement test before your arrival in Cefalù to determine your class level.

Class size

Average 4 students
Maximum 10 students

Student age

Age range 17 years old and older
Average 45 years old
(35 in the summer)

Certificate

A certificate of completion will be issued at the end of the course.
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school
photos

Photos

  • Students of Solemar Academy 1/7
  • Reception of Solemar Academy 2/7
  • Student residence offered by Solemar Academy 3/7
  • City of Cefalù 4/7
  • Classroom at Solemar Academy 5/7
  • City of Cefalù 6/7
  • Student residence offered by Solemar Academy 7/7
reviews

Reviews

100% recommend

based on 14 reviews
5 stars
14
4 stars
0
3 stars
0
2 stars
0
1 star
0
Quality of teaching
School facilities
Social activities
School location
Housing

"Experience the immersion into Italian Life, Culture and Language. GO TO CEFALU, SICILY"

Mary Ballard, student from Ireland

What can I say. From the first day the professionalism of the management and staff was obvious. The grading was done simply and efficiently, the classes were lively, interesting and fun, Cultural aspects of Sicily was covered along with historical aspects and fun facts,

Grammar was covered in an interesting and practical way. Extra curricular activities were well planned and suited to all ages. A wide variety of interests were covered. The sharing and cross contact of all other nationalities and how they would explain how the same topics worked in their countries was an aspect that was unexpected but a great learning all round.

Everything went well and great contacts were made between people.

One thing I would suggest and something I forgot to raise whilst there, would be to set up a WhatsApp group with the students, in particular for the ones who travelled alone. If someone wanted to go for a drink or a pizza a suggestion could be put into this group and people could pair up sooner.

A great experience, one that I will repeat in the not too distant future.
Thanks to all,
Mary+

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My ratings for this school

Quality of teaching
School facilities
Social activities
School location
Duration of study
1 week
Date of study
23 Oct 2023 - 3 Nov 2023
Would you recommend this school?
Yes
This is a verified review. This student has booked a course at this school through Language International.

"I had a very good teacher"

Rainer Steinbach, student from Germany

Friendly environment, good teacher, there is actually not much more to say.

Sometimes, there was some disturbing noise from other classes.

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My ratings for this school

Quality of teaching
School facilities
Social activities
School location
Date of study
15 May 2023 - 19 May 2023
Would you recommend this school?
Yes
This is a verified review. This student has booked a course at this school through Language International.

"Two weeks in Cefalù"

Tuula Paunila, student from Finland

This was my first language course abroad, I am a senior but I took a normal course.
To my surprise, most of the participants were the same age as me. (+++)

The teaching groups were small; there were 2 of us in the first week and 4 in the second.

The teachers were very good and inspiring and I learned exactly the things I wanted to learn,

The location of Solemar Academy is good (the city is quite small) near the beach, there was air-condition in the classrooms and very nice courtyard for recess.
There were many different activities during the week.
I It was possible to get a room through the school, but I lived i an a nearby B&B Lumachella (+++++) There were very nice rooms and a really good breakfast. In addition, it took approx. 5 minutes to walk to school.

I liked everything ( only negative thing was, that because of the covid, there was mandatory to use the masks).

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My ratings for this school

Quality of teaching
School facilities
Social activities
School location
Duration of study
1 week
Date of study
6 Jun 2022 - 17 Jun 2022
Would you recommend this school?
Yes
This is a verified review. This student has booked a course at this school through Language International.

"Excellent language course and good teaching"

Katharine Neuteboom, student from UK

I was in a class of five of us all similar standards. Our teacher was excellent, patient and knowledgeable. She pitched the level just right. The academy arranged a tour around the town which was brilliant and more to the point was free of charge. My
accommodation was lovely, a big room in a villa with shared facilities. I thought it was a bit far from the school but apart from that it was excellent. Ivana lived there and helped me - she worked at the academy and was very good. All in all it was a good experience and I would go back again.

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My ratings for this school

Quality of teaching
School facilities
Social activities
School location
Housing
Date of study
20 Jun 2022 - 24 Jun 2022
Would you recommend this school?
Yes
This is a verified review. This student has booked a course at this school through Language International.

"Perfectish"

Javier de Torres, student from Spain

This academy is one of the best places to learn Italian there is! There is one class for each level, which really facilitates the process of learning. Not only are the teachers excellent at they job, but they're also really kind outside the class. With regard to the location of the academy and its facilities as well, what can I say, there's nothing you can complain about. If you wanted to set up an academy, you just would want to do it like these guys.
The housing, that's what I didn't like as much. I lived in a place called Villa Caterina, which is an apartment house in which various people spend their holidays. The house was in a high place, so to get there I had to go up a really infuriatingly long street. Yeah, if you like to walk like me, it's paradise, but otherwise, run from it as if it was the plague. I came back to Madrid with soccer player strong legs! Uh, also, if you decide to stay here you will have roommates, who can be nice or not. The last roommate that came in after the first one left was an incredibly nice german girl with whom I got along really well. Heck, we even had breakfast together once, I did an avocado salad and she fried some eggs. She was really nice, so nice you felt good to exist. The other two roommates I had were not as pleasant, unfortunately. I could talk about them using harsh language, but I'll refrain from rude attitudes and use the mildest language I can. The first one was a young girl from Belgium who, despite telling me she was not sociable at all, spent all day outside ; needless to say I developed a series of theories about her companies, she once talked about "guys talking to her in the street". The second one was a czech woman, oh boy, do I remember her with love and affection, she said to me the least amount of words that is possible to say to a person you spend two weeks with in the same appartment. She didn't like me in a quite transparent way so convivence was sometimes uncomfortable. She said almost nothing, for a talkative person like me, it was hell. Did I do something wrong to deserve this ostracism? Did I offend her in any respect? What, woman, what, why don't you like me?, I thought all the time. At least I got to have some fun picking on her because she couldn't like me less so, what she gonna do if I annoy her, like me even less?, I didn't even care. Oh, and she duplicated the consonants when she spoke italian. I'm not saying I have perfect pronunciation, but I can appreciate how annoying is that kind of thing. It's like the stereotypical accent of you language you hate hearing on foreigners, it's just painful to hear... In conclusion. All these bad things I just said, I don't really care, I just needed to get that trash out off me. What generated this resentment and what I really care about is that, look, I don't care how they speak italian, I don't care what they do with their lives, but we were all roommates and the least we could do was being nice to each other. And they failed consistently every day. They did not talk to me, they just said "hi" and rushed into their bedrooms, there was no kindness. It does not feel nice to be treated that way. The worse thing than being alone is being alone surrounded by people.
There was no chance I could spend my time with those two silent people, let alone have fun with them, so I kind of was forced to go out and make friends outside of the house. With perspective, I reckon this was the best timeline possible. Because I had in home two people with whom it was impossible to have a single conversation, I went outside in search of people to speak with; and I found them. Bartenders, shop owners, people at the beach, people at the street, there was people to practice with everywhere and, without realizing, I made some amazing friends and improved my italian a lot. Those have been such great holidays and, by combining the academy time and the environment time, I maxed to the top my learning process.
Solemar Sicily is not just an excellent academy but also the wonderful place it's in, a village in which there is wonderful food and wonderfull people to make the best out of your holidays and learning experience. To sum up, THIS is a place to learn Italian. Putting those two girls aside, the experience was absolutely perfect. Ten out of ten, would repeat for sure!

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My ratings for this school

Quality of teaching
School facilities
Social activities
School location
Housing
Duration of study
1 week
Date of study
19 Aug 2019 - 30 Aug 2019
Would you recommend this school?
Yes
This is a verified review. This student has booked a course at this school through Language International.

"Above expectation"

Annette Baltzersen, student from Denmark

The teachers were very talented and organized an interesting teaching process with great involvement of the students.
I really learned a lot.

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My ratings for this school

Quality of teaching
School facilities
Social activities
School location
Housing
Duration of study
1 week
Date of study
15 Jul 2019 - 26 Jul 2019
Would you recommend this school?
Yes
This is a verified review. This student has booked a course at this school through Language International.

"Great School"

Avril Williams

Everything was great. The teacher, Marco, the quality of the lessons and the school itself was a lovely place in a great location.

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My ratings for this school

Quality of teaching
School facilities
Social activities
School location
Duration of study
52 weeks
Date of study
30 Oct 2017 - 2 Nov 2018
Would you recommend this school?
Yes

"Mi piace tantissimo, vorrei andare a Cefalu di piu una volta!"

Dasha Chernova

I like Solemar Academy. This is my first experience of studying languages in Italy and I was not disappointed

All right: the school is very close to the sea, all very friendly and always answer your question, the ambiance is relaxing, beautiful, comfortable. The teacher Rosario is responsible and good! We talked a lot and discussed on the different topics, we also played very fun games

After 2 weeks I spoke better! I would like to repeat my holiday with Solemar this year. See you and I embrace you all.

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My ratings for this school

Quality of teaching
School facilities
Social activities
School location
Housing
Duration of study
2 weeks
Date of study
23 Sep 2018 - 10 Oct 2018
Would you recommend this school?
Yes

"Excellent place to learn Italian with great teachers and fun activities"

Stefan Jaindl

I've been at the Solemar language school for 2 weeks. I had to make an online placement test upfront and got ranked in an intermediate course (I've learned Italian ~2-3 years at University).
The welcome on the first day was very friendly, we got a bit of Italian breakfast and coffee. I've been in a group of 4 persons from different countries (Switzerland, Australia, Slovakia and Austria). So the group was very small which was great because we could speak a lot in Italiano (which is the hardest part, at least for me). We didn't do lots of grammar but a lot of conversation, discussions, watched some videos, listened to Italian songs.
The instructors are very friendly. Valerio who owns the school even took us to a private tour to Tusa (a small City with a cool beach) and the Piramides (insider tip), which was really great. I've also participated in school organized tours such as a boat trip, horse riding, a barbecue at night, Cefalu City tour, a tango course and much more.

In the second week I've got an upgrade to a higher course. It was much more challenging but great to further improve my Italiano.
I've also moved to Villa Caterina in the second week which is a school owned Appartemento with 2 cute dogs.
I would absolutely recommend taking a course at Solemar language school in Cefalu, it's absolutely worth it.

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My ratings for this school

Quality of teaching
School facilities
Social activities
School location
Housing
Duration of study
18 weeks
Date of study
9 Jul 2017 - 17 Nov 2017
Would you recommend this school?
Yes

"A great experience that I will fondly remember!"

Alina Neumann

Cefalù is the perfect place for a language trip. The city is not big but very lovable. Great location. Because of the size, you can quickly find your way around and get in contact with other students and locals. The "Cefaludesi" are very open, friendly and helpful!

The school is centrally located. In small classes, every student can quickly make progress and thus learn a lot in a short time. In addition to the language, there is also much to know about the history and culture of Sicily.

The teachers are all very motivated and adapt their lessons to the interests and wishes of the students.

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My ratings for this school

Quality of teaching
School facilities
Social activities
School location
Housing
Duration of study
6 weeks
Date of study
2 Oct 2017 - 17 Nov 2017
Would you recommend this school?
Yes
Giuseppe, Assistant at Solemar Academy responded to this review.
26 October 2017

Hello!
Thank you very much for your feedback. It is much appreciated. We are really happy that you enjoyed your time here in Cefalu and at our school and we look forward to seeing you here again in the future.

A presto!

"Experience! laugh! cry! enjoy!"

Maxime Fuenger

small classes, sympathetic and friendly teachers, who are also make you feel welcome outside the classroom. Inviting and stylish school. Thanks to the varied activities, you can learn about the country, the people and the specialties. Villa Catherina offers you the opportunity to meet new people and spend time together with them. Cefalu: sea, beach, restaurants, bars, friendly and helpful Italians and DOLCE!

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My ratings for this school

Quality of teaching
School facilities
Social activities
School location
Housing
Duration of study
8 weeks
Date of study
1 Sep 2017 - 27 Oct 2017
Would you recommend this school?
Yes

"Unforgettable experience, very good teachers and Cefalu is amazing"

Stavros Kyriakopoulos

The classes were very interesting, we focused on the oral section, which was my disadvantage, so i think i managed to upgrade my speaking a little bit.. All tha teachers were very friendly and experienced.. and Valerio, che pazzo tizo! Hahah.. Cefalu was the place to be for me in the summer because of its big beautiful beach ,its historical center and its restaurants,bars and shops for souvenirs, clothes ecc...I stayed in villa Caterina which is very beautiful and has a view at the sea.. the only thing i didn’t like was this crazy dog “Iva” that was approaching and barking to me unstoppably every time i was getting into the villa!

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My ratings for this school

Quality of teaching
School facilities
Social activities
School location
Housing
Duration of study
1 week
Date of study
8 Jul 2017 - 15 Jul 2017
Would you recommend this school?
Yes

"It was a wonderful experience at Solemar"

Philomena Provenzano

I made a 2 weeks course at Solemar and learned a lot.
My teacher was Marco. We had a lot of fun in class and talked a lot which was what we wanted. It was a small course which was good.
The whole Solemar team was always nice and welcoming and it was a very friendly

Learning atmosphere. They had a nice variety of trip offers for the afternoons.

I stayed at villa Caterina for the two weeks and absolutely loved this place with an amazing view over cefalu and the sea.
There is nothing I can complain about.

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My ratings for this school

Quality of teaching
School facilities
Social activities
School location
Housing
Duration of study
2 weeks
Date of study
22 Jul 2017 - 5 Aug 2017
Would you recommend this school?
Yes

"A great experience"

Kim Eberhardt

I studied italian language at Solemar Academy for four weeks in June. It was my first experience at a language school and I am so happy that I have been there. Everything was perfect: the teachers, the school itself, the location, the other students... As soon as I entered Villa Caterina I felt at home. The school is very familiar and the classes are not to big so that you learn a lot. I started with only a few words in italian, but at the end I was able to communicate more fluently: I lost my fear to make mistakes. The school offers many activities also for free, for example a barbecue at Villa Caterina or a boat trip arround Cefalu. All is well organized and you can have a lot of fun.
My teacher was the best for me! She is polite and patient and made me feel safe to practice the language. In my first week we played a theater scene in Italian language - for me a quite interesting experience, because I am working as an actrice. All in all I can highly recommend this school - I will definitively go there again!

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My ratings for this school

Quality of teaching
School facilities
Social activities
School location
Housing
Duration of study
3 weeks
Date of study
5 Jun 2017 - 30 Jun 2017
Would you recommend this school?
Yes
housing

Housing

Solemar Academy offers the following housing types:
student-residence

Student residence - Single-person room - No meals

220 €
weekly
Age range: 18 - 80 years old
Address: Via Brancati 9, Cefalù, PA 90015, Italia
Location: In the city center of Cefalù
Housing type: Student residence
Room type: Single-person room
Board type: No meals
Facilities: Kitchen, laundry, wireless internet, free internet, air conditioning, and garden
Distance to school: 15 - 20 minutes by walk
Availability: January - December
Check-in: Saturday, after 04:00 PM
Check-out: Saturday, before 11:00 AM
220 €
Fully-furnished apartment in the center of Cefalù. Only 900m from the school or the beach and 600m from the train station (link to the map: https://goo.gl/maps/jTV8iZkonLP2). The apartment is located at Villa Caterina, which has a large garden with, private parking, a barbecue, drinking fountain and relaxation area.
At the Villa we also have several farmyard animals such as chickens, ducks, rabbits, land tortoises, and a cat and a dog that are used to roaming freely in the outdoor spaces. The grounds of the Villa are also entirely covered by Wi-Fi. In the apartment there are three bedrooms. Shared areas include the bathroom, living room, and kitchen. The price indicated includes the use of water, gas, bed linen and towels, final cleaning and Wi-Fi. For air conditioning we apply a fee of € 0,50 KW/h. CITY TAX of € 2,00 per person per night not included.
visa

Visa support

We cannot apply for visas on behalf of students. However, the school can supply you with all the documentation you need to support your visa application.

Your letter of acceptance will be sent to your home address by regular mail at no charge to you.

Flights and airport transfer

Please note that we do not book flights for our students. If you are researching airfare costs, we recommend using Kayak.com, a search engine that lets you compare flight options from your home country to Cefalù based on your budget, schedule and preferences.

Travel insurance

Study abroad worry-free with Language International's health and personal effects insurance coverage. When you book a course with us, you can opt to purchase an international insurance plan that covers not only your health care cost but also loss of your personal belongings. You must book your insurance in advance when you register.

Learn more about our insurance plan »

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questions

Questions and answers

Have questions? Get answers from Solemar Academy staff, Language International student advisors, and past students.

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