• The Open University

Italian for Beginners 4: Likes And Dislikes

In the fourth Italian for Beginners course, learn to talk about your likes, dislikes and preferences.

52,015 enrolled on this course

Italian for Beginners 4: Likes And Dislikes

52,015 enrolled on this course

  • 4 weeks

  • 4 hours per week

  • Digital certificate when eligible

  • Introductory level

Find out more about how to join this course

  • Duration

    4 weeks
  • Weekly study

    4 hours
  • 100% online

    How it works
  • Unlimited subscription

    $244.99 for a whole yearLearn more

This online course is the fourth of six courses. It will introduce you to the language you need to :

  • say what you like and dislike;
  • talk about your likes, dislikes and interests;
  • compare likes and dislikes;
  • talk about preferences;
  • give reasons.

Learn Italian to talk about your hobbies and interests

During the four weeks of the course, you will learn the vocabulary and expressions to talk about what you like doing in your leisure time.

You will learn how to talk about what you like and dislike, using the piacere (to like) and what you prefer, using preferire (to prefer).

By now, you will be halfway through the Italian for Beginners program, and you will be growing in confidence. You will be coming across longer texts in Italian, and you will read some of them for gist, so you understand what they are about even if you don’t understand all of the words.

You will learn about popular holiday destinations for Italians, about the Università per Stranieri in Perugia and about the Abruzzo region.

Syllabus

  • Week 1

    Saying what you like and dislike

    • A photograph of a woman sat on a wall outside playing an acoustic guitar.

      Talking about activities you like or dislike

      In this activity you learn to talk about what you like or don’t like doing.

    • A photograph of a woman smiling while holding three handbags over her shoulder, each one is yellow, white and red.

      Saying how much you like doing something

      In this activity you will learn to quantify how much you like or dislike doing something.

    • Thumbs up and down

      Talking about your likes and dislikes

      In this activity you learn to talk about the things that you like or don’t like, and about what interests you.

    • A graphic with an @ symbol at the centre on the floor reverberating out. Symbols of women dotted around.

      Talking about what other people like or dislike

      In this activity you learn how to talk about what someone else likes or dislikes, using the verb piacere.

    • Photo of a hand writing with pen on paper.

      Over to you

      Learning another language requires personal effort. Here you can find some guidance to get the most out of what you learned this week.

  • Week 2

    Comparing likes and dislikes

    • Photograph of three birds sat atop of a television aerial.

      Italian television programmes

      In this section you will learn how to talk about Italian television companies and the programmes they broadcast.

    • A graphic of a green hand gesturing a thumbs up and a red hand gesturing a thumbs down.

      Talking about other people’s likes and dislikes

      In this activity you will learn how to use emphatic pronouns to compare people's likes and dislikes.

    • A photograph of the entrance to Cinecittà film studio in Rome.

      Talking about the things you are interested in

      In this activity, you will learn to talk about the things that interest you and about Italian cinema.

    • A graphic of a pair of scales.

      Comparing and contrasting people’s likes and dislikes

      In this activity, you will learn how to compare people’s likes, dislikes and interests using the words anche and invece.

    • Photo of a hand writing with pen on paper.

      Over to you

      Learning another language requires personal effort. Here you can find some guidance to get the most out of what you learned this week.

  • Week 3

    Talking about preferences

    • Two people walking in the mountains

      Talking about holiday destinations

      In this activity you will learn to talk about holiday destinations and hobbies. You will also find out what Italians do during their holidays.

    • Photograph of the sprawling beach at Cala Goloritzé in Sardinia.

      Talking about preferences

      In this section, you learn how to express your preferences using the verb preferire.

    • A photograph of a girl pointing at a laptop next to her.

      Indicating objects

      When talking about what you prefer you may want to point things out. In this activity you will learn how to use ‘this’ (questo) and ‘that’ (quel) in all their forms.

    • Pronunciation patterns

      In this activity you will work on vocabulary for descriptions and learn about words ending in -co and -go. You will also learn some common Italian false friends.

    • Photo of a hand writing with pen on paper.

      Over to you

      Learning another language requires personal effort. Here you can find some guidance to get the most out of what you learned this week.

  • Week 4

    Giving reasons

    • A graphic of a a red hand gesturing a thumbs down.

      Expressing dislike

      In this activity you will learn how to say you really dislike something.

    • Perché …

      Giving reasons

      In this section you will learn to give reasons and practise doing this by using perché.

    • A graphic of the Italian flag.

      Reasons for studying Italian

      In this activity you will read about the reasons for studying Italian given by some students on a summer language course at the Università per Stranieri in Perugia.

    • A photograph of a barrow of confetti (sugared almonds) flowers on sale.

      Reasons for emigrating to other parts of the world

      In this activity you find out why some abruzzesi – people from the Abruzzo region – have emigrated to other parts of the world, and how this part of Italy has developed in the last decade.

    • Photo of a hand writing with pen on paper.

      Over to you

      Learning another language requires personal effort. Here you can find some guidance to get the most out of what you learned this week.

When would you like to start?

Start straight away and join a global classroom of learners. If the course hasn’t started yet you’ll see the future date listed below.

  • Available now

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 what you like and dislike, and what you prefer
  • Apply the language introduced to talk about what you like doing in your leisure time

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 three courses in the Italian for Beginners program. This course is taught through English.

Who will you learn with?

Anna Proudfoot

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.

Anna  Calvi

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

Who developed the course?

The Open University

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

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Ways to learn

Choose the best way to learn for you!

Subscribe & save

$244.99 for a whole year

Automatically renews

Develop skills to further your career

  • Access to this course
  • Access to 1,000+ courses
  • Learn at your own pace
  • Discuss your learning in comments
  • Tests to boost your learning
  • Digital certificate when you're eligible

Cancel for free anytime

Buy this course

$79/one-off payment

Fulfill your current learning need

  • Access to this course
  • Learn at your own pace
  • Discuss your learning in comments
  • Tests to boost your learning
  • Printed and digital certificate when you’re eligible

Limited access

Free

Sample the course materials

  • Access expires 12 Mar 2025

Find out more about certificates, Unlimited or buying a course (Upgrades)

Sale price available until 3 March 2025 at 23:59 (UTC). T&Cs apply.

Find out more about certificates, Unlimited or buying a course (Upgrades)

Sale price available until 3 March 2025 at 23:59 (UTC). T&Cs apply.

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