Terms & Conditions
Individual lessons
Lesson cancellation
Individual lessons can be cancelled or rescheduled no later than on the business day before the planned beginning. Should a student inform us of his/her inability to attend within 24 hour 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. In this case, if you are using our virtual calendar to schedule your lessons, the lesson will be returned to your lesson count.
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.
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Package duration
Our packages of individual lessons have a fixed duration meaning that lessons need to be used within the following time frames:
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1 lesson: 1 month
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10 lessons: 6 months
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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 their 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.
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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.
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 and approach, 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 do our best to comply with your request, although please note that this might affect your progress.
Textbook
If you purchased a minimum of 10 private lessons, you will be sent an email with the code to download the electronic Italian textbook of your level, containing all the necessary instructions. 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, in the section called “My Private Lessons”. If you haven't been assigned a teacher yet, you will be able to book your first class with a teacher of your choice, who will be assigned to you after our admin confirms the lesson.
After booking each lesson you will find the relative Zoom link in the calendar, and you will also receive it via email.
Please note that once a teacher is assigned, you will be able to book lessons only in the teacher’s available slots. Should you need a different timetable please inform us, and we will try to find a teacher who can meet your scheduling needs.
We kindly ask you to discuss the schedule with the teacher during your first lesson, in order to avoid issues when booking your next lessons.
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For any questions regarding the use of the calendar, please contact us at info@italmente.it
Group course
Italian level test
After you confirm your participation to 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. Please note that attending this test is compulsory.
Accessing your lessons and materials
After attending the placement test and completing the payment, you will be given access to your study group in your Dashboard, in the section “My Group”. There, you will find the Zoom link to access your lessons, the course’s schedule and eventual materials uploaded by the teacher.
Course duration
Unless agreed otherwise, 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 3 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.
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 7 to 8.15pm Italian time. With 3 ore more participants, from 7 to 8.40pm.
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 it won't be possible to change the teacher in your group.
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 canceled at any moment in the "Speaking Club" section of your personal area (upper right corner of the screen).
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Accessing your sessions
After signing up to our Italian speaking club, you will be automatically added to a dedicated group on our platform, where you will find the schedule of the sessions and the Zoom links to access them. You can find this group under Learn in the upper menu, and the My Groups (if you are on mobile, the Learn menu is substituted by the book icon. You'll automatically receive the link to access via email at the time of your registration.
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.
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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. Should they wish to participate, they will be given a coupon code to activate their discount when purchasing the plan.
Italian quizzes
Our quizzes are created via a third-party platform. In order to access them, you need to allow third-party cookies on your browser. Please check our FAQ or our guide on allowing third-party cookies for more instructions if you encounter any issues.
Refund
Students 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 or via the live chat on our website.
If you are unable to attend a lesson due to a technical failure on our side 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.
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. However, please note that you won’t be able to begin your course until the payment is received on our side.
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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 24 and January 6 and on April 25, May 1, June 2, August 15 and November 1.
There are no fixed holidays for individual lessons, although the possibility to book them depends on the teacher’s availability and we cannot guarantee availability during the aforementioned holidays and festivities.