The Institute for Language and Preparatory Studies for Foreigners and Compatriots (ILPS) of the Centre for Continuing Education at Comenius University in Bratislava is one of the oldest departments in Slovakia, which since 1960 has provided tuition of Slovak as a foreign language and prepares its students for various degree programmes at home universities. Every academic year approximately 200 students from all over the world study at ILPS CCE CU. During its existence, it has prepared more than 11,500 students from 130 countries. In addition, the ILPS organises many cultural and educational activities, e. Summer University of Slovak Language and Culture, publishes own study materials and organizes certified exams ('Testing Language Competencies in accordance with the Council of Europe ́s Common European Framework of Reference for Languages').

The area around the Soča Valley has been known as Posočje since the end of the Second World War. The River Soča, a true emerald-coloured gem in the heart of the mountains, is home to the Soča trout. At the same time, it is a very attractive river for white water sports such as kayaking, canoeing and rafting. A visit to the Valley must encompass the sites which bear witness to the fierce fighting on the Isonzo Front during the First World War, which is also documented at the Kobarid Museum. Up in the mountains, numerous strongholds, pillboxes and trenches have survived.

Visitors seeking to know more about this historic battleground can visit the spectacular Kluže Fortress or take a tour of privately owned weapons collections. On the right bank of the Soča, near Nova Gorica lies a wine-producing area known as Goriška Brda, a hilly and green land to the west of the Italian town of Gorizia, which at its southern end meets the Friulian Plain. Goriška Brda is one of the country’s best-known wine regions, also renowned for cherry and olive trees. Nova Gorica is the youngest Slovenian university town. It is also known as an entertainment and casino centre, which attracts many Slovenian and foreign guests.

The Franciscan monastery at Kostanjevica houses the tomb of Charles X, the last Bourbon King of France who, when exiled from France, found refuge in Gorizia. The influence of the Mediterranean climate reaches furthest inland in the Vipava Valley. The Valley lies between the Karst Plateau to the south, and the Trnovski gozd Plateau and Mt Nanos to the north. The small town of Ajdovščina is the seat of the Pipistrel Company, a manufacturer of top-quality, world-famous ultra-light aircraft. The land between the Gulf of Trieste, the Brkini Hills and the Vipava Valley is known as Kras. Experts also refer to it as the original Karst, as the word karst and karstic refer to many specific geological processes and phenomena. This word was adopted by many languages around the world and also gave its name to karstology, a science specialising in exploring different aspects of these phenomena.

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