Numbers and Quality

ASILS was founded with the aim of creating a network among Italian language schools in Italy, representing the needs of the sector and establishing shared quality standards.

Today, ASILS is the leading organisation representing the Italian language teaching sector in Italy. It is the only association whose membership process includes a quality inspection carried out by an independent third-party body, evaluating both the administrative and organisational structure as well as the academic and teaching standards of each school.

As our association has often pointed out, the sector of Italian language schools in Italy was ignored by public institutions for many years, and even today there remains a concerning lack of specific regulations capable of properly governing the activities of operators within the industry.

In the absence of clear legislative provisions regulating the Italian language school sector in Italy, ASILS schools comply with UNI Standard 11863:2022, which defines the service requirements for schools teaching Italian language and culture as a second language.

Certified Quality

To become part of ASILS — and to remain within the Association — schools must comply with the UNI 11863:2022 Standard: Italian Language and Culture Schools for Foreigners – Service Requirements.

UNI 11863:2022 establishes the standards for services provided by schools teaching Italian language and culture as a second language. The objective of the standard is to provide our schools with a framework that strengthens professionalism and quality while ensuring greater transparency in commercial policies, fairness in professional relationships, careful accommodation selection, assistance with student-related issues, and full compliance with regulations concerning study visas and residence permits.

Compliance with the standard is verified every year. We are proud to say that all ASILS schools are independently verified quality schools.

Statistical Data – CST

While we have invested significant individual and collective effort into certifying the quality of our schools, teaching methods, staff management and student services, we have also recognised the importance of making our figures publicly available.

The numbers themselves are highly significant, not only for those directly involved in this economic sector, but also for the many industries that indirectly benefit from language tourism flows.

ASILS statistics show, for example, that our students stay in Italy for an average of four weeks, generating a substantial impact on local economies through accommodation rentals, shopping, museum and event tickets, nightlife, excursions, restaurants and many other activities.

The data also reveals interesting trends regarding the nationalities and age groups of Italian language enthusiasts. German and American students have traditionally confirmed their strong connection with Italian culture, while in recent years Asian markets — particularly China, Japan and Russia — have experienced significant growth.

In many schools outside major cities, the average student age can be quite high, as programmes designed for the 50+ generation have become increasingly popular.

In 2019, the sector employed 681 professionals including teachers, administrative staff and academic directors. Nearly 30,000 students attended Italian language courses at ASILS schools, and more than 1,800 Italian language certification exams were administered.

ASILS schools generated approximately 20 million euros in revenue, while the overall economic impact created by the sector was estimated at 48 million euros.

During the pandemic, the activities of ASILS schools were inevitably slowed down — or completely halted during the most critical periods. However, thanks to the ability of individual schools to develop new operational models as early as summer 2020, the first signs of recovery soon appeared.

The year closed with approximately 7,800 enrolled students and more than 3,000 activated courses, around 70% of which were delivered online, for a total of 114,000 teaching hours.

The year 2021 marked the beginning of the sector’s rebound after a long period during which every aspect of social and economic life across many countries had been heavily affected by the global health emergency.

Student enrolments rose to 14,500, with 71.5% returning to on-site classes, while 2,170 students sat for an Italian language certification exam.

However, 2022 represented the real return to operational normality, with 25,000 enrolled students — 88.4% attending courses on site — and 2,700 students taking certification exams.

The 2023 statistical report recorded 29,000 students, with 90.7% attending on-site courses, and more than 3,600 students taking Italian language certification exams.

A total of 618 staff members were employed across teaching, administration and academic management roles.

The turnover generated by ASILS schools exceeded 22.6 million euros, while the overall economic impact generated by the sector surpassed 60.4 million euros.

The need for certified statistical data also emerged through requests from the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which required reliable figures capable of mapping the phenomenon of Italian language study in Italy.

For several years now, our statistical data has been processed and published in the White Book of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

To support this important process, ASILS entrusted the collection and analysis of its data to the Centro Studi Turistici of Florence.

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International Recognition

The work carried out by ASILS is made easier thanks to a network of international partners that support the Association and provide valuable ideas, perspectives and opportunities for development.

The model that inspires us is primarily the Anglo-Saxon and French system. In these countries, governments recognised decades ago the value of language and cultural tourism and understood its enormous potential for economic development.

Similarly, many other countries have also started investing heavily in the sector, while Italy — as often happens — still remains behind.

Thanks to our international network and our long-standing experience within the industry, we are fully aware of what Italy would need in order to strengthen and properly support this sector, and we continue to engage with national authorities to help close this legislative gap.

Partnership Green Standard Schools

ASILS has established a partnership with Green Standard Schools, giving member schools the opportunity to adopt high environmental sustainability standards in their daily operations, in addition to the quality standards already required for all associated schools.