Ideal for students who want to be right by the Roma Termini station.
Not ideal for students who are not sociable.
The good
- Safe location in a large school premises.
- Largely free social programme
- Long history of high quality teaching experience.
The bad
- One of the more expensive language schools in Rome.
Date of my inspection visit at Dilit International House Rome: June 12, 2024.
My overall take
Dilit International House Rome (Dilit) was genuinely an impressive school. Known for being one of the first schools in Italy to adopt the fully communicative approach to teaching Italian as a foreign language, you could say that Dilit was a trailblazer; they had just celebrated their 50th anniversary when I visited. Their teaching approach is not static; it is regularly adapted and updated to ensure that the teaching methods they use remain current and effective.
The teachers at Dilit have an average of 12 years of experience, which speaks volumes about their dedication and expertise. What stood out to me was their personal commitment to professional development. All teachers participate in monthly education seminars, which likely contributes to the high quality of teaching.
Dilit focuses on providing real-life communication skills through immersive and practical activities. There are specific programmes that have projects for students who want to go on to study at an Italian university; the teachers hold all activities which is a plus. This different method helps students learn the language and use it confidently in everyday situations.
Overall, Dilit demonstrated that they are a well-established and trendsetting language school. Students interested in not only the language but also the culture and lifestyle of Italians would enjoy this school because the language and culture are always combined in the lessons and extracurricular activities.
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Dilit International House Rome at a glance
| Rating of former students | 4.4 (370 ratings) |
| Class size | Lingo Traveller rating: Average Max. 14 students in Standard Italian course |
| Diversity of nationalities | Lingo Traveller rating: Excellent diversity. No nationality more than 9%. Top nationality: German |
| Learning intensity | 1-2 hours of homework per week |
| Number of students | 160-180 adults in July 130 adults in January |
| Minimum student age | 16 years |
| Accreditations | Ministry of Education, IALC, IH World Organisation, CELI, CILS, ASILS, AISLI |
| Course range | Intensive Italian course Combined Group courses Rome for 30-40 Year Olds Discovering Rome Italian + Italian Cinema Italian through Architecture Small Group Non-Intensive Three-to-One Lessons Rome for 50+ Academic Semester Academic Year Online Intensive 10 Online Let’s Speak Italian Online One-to-One Lessons One-to-One Lessons Two-to-One Lessons Online Reading Club Preparatory Course for Italian Universities Business Italian Italian + Italian Fashion Italian for Law CILS/CELI Exam Preparation Course Italian + Italian Home-Cooking Italian + Italian Opera Italian through Italian Cooking Italian + Italian Wine Italian through Photography |
| Accommodation types | Homestay, Shared Apartments |
| Price | |
| Standard Group course 20 lessons/week: 45min/lesson | 1 week: €260 3 weeks: €665 |
| Additional fees | Inscription fee: €85 Course material fee: €19 |
| Price level – Standard Group course (based on 3 weeks incl. all fees) | €17.10 per 60 minute tuition |
My tour of the school & video review
Student voices
Unfiltered comments from random students I met at the school and asked about their experience.
“The teachers are very good, I must say I am really happy with my teachers so far! And besides that, there are lots of activities you can do in the afternoon or the evening.“
Reese
49 years from Spain
“Everyone in the classes talks a lot, we hang out after school, and you do a lot of mixing and matching.“
Charlie
19 years from England
Questions to school director
Excerpts below from my conversation with Paula Lazzaro, School Director of Dilit International House Rome.
Me: “What sets your school apart from others in the city?“
School: “Dilit International House was the first school of Italian in Italy, we are celebrating 50 years.“
Me: “Is there a particular type of student for whom your school is especially suitable?
School: “We have students from all over the world, all ages, so we have different cultures and countries. I don’t think there is a special kind of student for us; everybody is welcome.“
School inspection report
Classrooms
Classrooms are all bright and airy. They do range in size but the large classrooms are generally used more often than the smaller classrooms. The maximum class size is also 14.
Facilities
The facilities in this building are excellent; they include a basement cafeteria, screening area, garden/patio and rooftop terrace.
Surrounding area
Different embassies surround the school; it is only a 5-minute walk to the Roma Termini station. Other notable landmarks close by include the Papal Basilica of Saint Mary Major and Teatro dell’Opera di Roma, and all other landmarks are well connected to this location by bus, metro or tram.
Social activities
I was unable to get a picture of the social programme board. Still, there are several types of social activities from Monday to Saturday, i.e. seminars about Italian culture, literature, cooking, history of art, aperitifs where students can bond over food and drink and, best of all, most of the activities are free of charge.
Trusted student ratings of Dilit International House Rome on the web
| Total | 4.4 (370 ratings) |
|---|---|
| ESL | 4.5 (245 ratings) |
| LanguageCourse.net | 4.3 (150 ratings) |
| Boa Lingua | 4.2 (25 ratings) |
Ratings as of June 28, 2024
Why no Google or Facebook ratings? Schools may have requested Facebook, Google or Trustpilot reviews only from those students that previously gave positive after-course evaluations. I only trust ratings from independent booking platforms/agencies, that allow exclusively clients who booked via their platform to rate the schools. I have checked each of these sites above and they have no disproportional number of positive vs negative reviews.
Location of Dilit International House Rome
Via Marghera, 22, 00185 Roma, Italy
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