General Regulations
All registrations are subject to the following general conditions, which become legally binding upon acceptance of the registration by La Lingua La Vita, a program of The Language Center. Acceptance of the booking is considered complete only when the school sends written or electronic confirmation. The course confirmation document is a formally approved and certified form from our ISO 9001-2008 quality management system.
Course confirmations are entered and stored in our company’s internal management information system.
The minimum age for admission to La Lingua La Vita is 18 years, unless there is a signed letter from the parents of the minor as a guarantee.
LESSONS
All lessons are held from Monday to Friday, with the exception of national holidays. Private lessons can also be held on Saturdays and Sundays.
Students must report to the school at the times indicated to them with appropriate email communication the week before their arrival. The lesson duration is 55 minutes. Group lessons are generally held in the morning. The course hours include the final exam (optional and upon request). The entry level of the students is tested through a preliminary written test attached to the final course confirmation. In case the student is the only one enrolled for a particular level, their lessons will be converted into private individual lessons at no additional cost. The standard 4-lesson course will be converted into 2 hours of individual lessons. If, after the tests, there are only 2/3 students for a certain level, the number of daily lessons is reduced from 4 to 3 for a total of 15 hours of weekly lessons.
Students can contact our academic coordinator in case of complaints, need for class change, or other educational difficulties related to the course.
NATIONAL HOLIDAYS
The school is closed on January 1st, Easter Monday, Liberation Day (25/4), Labor Day (1/5), Republic Day (2/6), Assumption Day (15/8), All Saints’ Day (1/11), Immaculate Conception Day (8/12), and St. Stephen’s Day (26/12). There is no refund or make-up for the holidays on which the school remains closed.
ACCOMMODATION
The school arranges accommodation for all regularly enrolled students. The reservation is for arrival on Sunday afternoon and departure on the following Saturday after the end of the course. It is possible to arrive earlier or extend the stay, subject to availability of the booked accommodation, by paying extra fees detailed in our price list and brochure. On the day of departure, students must vacate the apartment by 11:00 am.
In the case of independent apartments, gas consumption will be calculated separately and paid directly to the owners.
The school acts solely as an intermediary for accommodations and is exempt from any responsibility regarding the relationship between landlords and students.
The apartment owners or host families welcome students upon arrival in Todi, offering them all the necessary logistic information to ensure a quality stay.
All accommodations offered by the school have been selected by the management based on location, structure, furnishings, cleanliness, and comfort. The selection of host families also takes into consideration criteria such as reliability, trustworthiness, and personal culture of the family members. The host families are also expected to be able to interact with students in good Italian language skills with a standard accent and without significant dialectal inflections. The selected families are also willing to welcome the student as an integral part of their family, involving them in their daily life and activities. As the accommodations are managed by private individuals, there may be minor differences in furniture details, apartment composition, but all meet the required quality standard that is regularly monitored by our school.
In the assignment of accommodation, the school takes into account the requests expressed by the student during the registration phase, where the student is specifically asked to indicate any allergies to pets, dietary intolerances, or any other discomfort.
The arrival of students at the apartments or host families is coordinated by the school, which provides the address and phone numbers of the apartment owners and host families for emergency communication or changes in arrival time to be communicated on Saturdays and Sundays when the school is closed. The school is able to provide coordination between students and host families/owners only if notified of the arrival by the Thursday before the start of the course.
In case of complaints, the student must contact the secretariat office and the staff of The Language Center, specifically the responsible person for the chosen program. The student should fill out a written complaint form, preferably in real-time and on-site, explaining their difficulties and grievances. The maximum resolution time is eight (8) hours.
For serious and proven reasons* of dissatisfaction, the school will propose alternative accommodation to the student, if available, without additional cost.
*List of reasons for serious and proven dissatisfaction:
- Non-functioning electrical, heating, and plumbing systems
- Dirty room and insufficient hygiene conditions
- Wi-Fi not available if it was included in the accommodation offer
If the customer is not satisfied with the service received and decides to leave the accommodation and find another one without informing the school and/or giving the school the opportunity to find a solution to the dissatisfaction within the specified timeframe or to propose alternative accommodation, regardless of whether the reasons are justified or not, the customer will lose the right to refund and/or compensation.
The student is personally responsible for any damages caused to property, people, animals, and furnishings.
The teachers represent the school, but do not initiate complaint procedures on behalf of the student; they inform the student of the established procedures and guide them in their activation.
TAXI SERVICE
The taxi service can be booked at any time before arrival, but no later than Thursday before the start of the course, so that the school can organize and communicate all the details to the student in a timely manner. Any changes or delays in flights must be immediately and directly communicated to the taxi service, the number of which is provided by the school at the time of booking. The school cannot be held responsible if the student is not informed by their agency of the aforementioned conditions, or if the student does not comply with them.
PAYMENT
At the time of booking, a non-refundable 30% deposit of the total amount is required. Payment can be made in cash, by bank transfer, or by credit card.
The remaining balance must be paid no later than 30 days before the start of the course.
If the account has not been settled by the first day of school, the student will not be allowed to attend classes.
Heating, electricity, and water costs for accommodations are not included.
PAYMENT METHODS
Payments for the entire stay can be made in cash, by bank transfer, credit card, or postal order.Taxi service must be paid directly to the taxi driver.
Bank fees are the responsibility of the student.
Utilities expenses for electricity, water, and gas during the stay, calculated based on actual consumption and meter readings upon arrival and departure, must be paid in cash directly to the property owner.
REFUNDS AND PENALTIES
Below is our cancellation policy:
Refunds will be made based on the days prior to the course start date, as indicated in the course confirmation forms approved by our ISO 9001-2008 quality system, and will be net of bank charges:
70% of the total amount for cancellations between 30th and 16th day before the start date
50% of the total amount for cancellations between 15th and 8th day before the start date
No refund for cancellations beyond 7th day before the start date
Even if the customer, who has not yet made the payment, requests cancellation less than 30 days before the course start date, they will still be subject to this cancellation policy and liable for payment of penalties.
Penalties for failure to give notice of course cancellation are the same as the refunds and are as follows:
No penalty for cancellations with more than 30 days notice
30% of the total amount for cancellations between 30th and 16th day before the start date
50% of the total amount for cancellations between 15th and 8th day before the start date
70% for cancellations beyond 7th day before the start date
COURSE REFUND AFTER ARRIVAL
If the student decides not to attend the course or interrupts it for any reason after it has started, they will not be entitled to any refund. No refund is provided for late arrival or early departure, except for cases of force majeure (illness or death of family members or close persons). Missed lessons by the student are non-refundable. To be eligible for a refund, the student can refer to the “Accommodations” section where the refund request procedure is described.
ACCOMMODATION REFUND AFTER ARRIVAL
No refund is provided for late arrival or early departure. Students requesting a change of accommodation must provide serious and justified reasons, as explained in the “Accommodations” section.
RESIDENCE PERMIT
La Lingua La Vita provides a free assistance service to students who need to obtain a residence permit. The school will send the student all the necessary documentation for visa application to the relevant Italian embassies or consulates before their arrival, and will handle the bureaucratic procedures (compilation and preparation of documents, sending of documents by mail, appointment management with the Questura of Perugia) upon their arrival in Italy.
For the documents required for obtaining the visa, please refer to the appropriate section on our website (www.lalingualavita.com), and in general, to the Italian laws on this matter.
INSURANCE COVERAGE
We recommend that students obtain personal medical insurance before leaving their home country. Students of La Lingua La Vita are covered by an insurance policy in compliance with Italian laws for activities organized by the school, both inside and outside the school.
If you have any further questions or need more information, please do not hesitate to contact us.