IT 102 is a revision and continuation of the basic elements of Italian language and culture. It focuses on grammar, speaking, listening, reading and writing skills using a communicative direct approach to the language. The class is divided into an intensive period and a regular course.
This course is intended for students who have already had a semester of Italian, who have already studied a foreign language or who feel willing to work hard and learn at a faster pace than the absolute beginner course.
The course will start by refreshing the basic knowledge of the Italian language and will cover grammar topics up to the use of the future tense. Through a communicative method we will reinforce vocabulary, use it in different oral activities and read a variety of texts that deal with contemporary Italian life and culture.
Italian will be the only language used in class. Many will find this difficult at first, but it will seem natural soon enough. Do not despair when you feel that some of your questions are not answered during class: answers to complex grammar questions are available in English in some textbooks the instructor will provide on request. In class, concentrate on learning Italian: your learning process will be faster.
Following each class period, students must review/study the newly presented material by reviewing the texts presented in class. Students are responsible for all assigned work, and should be aware that absence from the preceding class is not an excuse for non-preparation. All assignments are expected when due. Homework assignments will not be graded on a daily basis, but the completion of daily homework assignments will be calculated in your final grade.
STUDENT PROFILE: This course is designed for students with very basic knowledge of the language. This course builds upon the skills acquired in Novice Abroad 1.
By the end of the course, the successful student will develop a basic foundation in the five skills: intercultural communication, reading, writing, listening, and speaking to accomplish a variety of basic everyday needs in the host culture as described in the learning outcomes below.
Prerequisites:
Proficiency at a level equivalent to the outcomes mastered through IES Abroad’s IT101, as determined by placement test.
Attendance policy:
Attendance is mandatory for all IES Abroad classes, including field studies. Extra information about the field studies such as dates and times will be provided by the teacher in class. Any exams, tests, presentations, or other work missed due to student absences can only be rescheduled in cases of documented medical or family emergencies. If a student misses more than three classes in any course half a letter grade will be deducted from the final grade for every additional absence. Seven absences in any course will result in a failing grade.
Learning outcomes:
By the end of the course, students will be able to achieve some of the outcomes for the Novice Abroad level as defined by the MAP for Language and Intercultural Communication. The key learning outcomes from the MAP are summarized below:
I. Intercultural Communication
A. Students will be able to meet simple everyday needs using verbal and nonverbal communication, and they will be able to use compensatory strategies when they do not know the word or expression (repetition, talking around the point, body language etc.).
B. Students can recognize some appropriate and inappropriate expressions and behaviors in the host language.
C. Students will be able to distinguish between basic representations of formality and informality in the language.
D. Students will understand that there are differences between cultural stereotypes and generalizations between the home culture and the culture of the host country.
E. Students will start to make informed comparisons between the host culture and the home culture.
II. Listening
A. Students will be able to understand basic statements, requests, descriptions, and questions in specific cultural context relevant to them (interactions with hosts, Center interactions, studying, shopping, transportation, meals).
B. Students will be able to use context to understand the gist of some simple spoken language they overhear, including the media, conversations between others, and announcements.
III. Speaking
A. Students will be able to use simple phrases appropriately in everyday situations (home, the IES Abroad Center, the community)
B. Students will be able to express many simple needs by asking questions, and get what they need in uncomplicated, everyday situations.
IV. Reading
A. Students will be able to identify and understand many simple sentences and deduce some meaning from context if it is relevant to their studies.
B. Students will be able to interpret main ideas in short passages, and news headlines if they are relevant to them.
V. Writing
A. Students will be able to write short texts about simple and concrete topics they have studied, such as themselves, their families, their friends, their likes, their dislikes, plans, experiences, and their daily routines.
B. Students will be able to send simple emails, text messages, online posts, and postcards, and fill out some simple forms.
Method of presentation:
The approach to learning is communicative and direct, designed for an immediate use of the Italian language. In class, students are asked to use new language expressions in different situations, so that at the end of the lesson they can observe the way the language works. Students are never considered passive recipients, but active users of the language for their immediate need.
There will be in-class discussions, student presentations, field studies, hands-on lessons, and guest lectures (some of them are mandatory).
Field studies are intended to help students to integrate into Italian everyday life. They will be short and focused on language and expressions, as announced at the appropriate time. Field studies and guest lectures are considered a normal class: absence, tardiness or leaving before the end of the field study/guest lecture are not excused. A 2h guest lecture will be included in the program.
LANGUAGE OF PRESENTATION: Italian will be used in all instances, with emergency use of English for disambiguation. “Pledge for Italian-only in class”: in class students are invited to formally commit themselves to trying to use Italian only.
Required work and form of assessment:
Assignments: 10%
Listening comprehensions: 10%
Final Test Intensive: 10%
Midterm Exam: 15%
Oral Exam: 10%
Final Exam: 20%
Active participation through discussion, reading and writing: 15%
Cultural essays: 10%
Intercultural activities: each student is required to attend at least two events dealing with Italian culture and write two typed, one-page essays in Italian on what he/she has learned. These should be completed and turned in before the midterm and at the end of the semester. A list of possible cultural activities is as follows: movies, conferences, exhibitions, shows, opera, concerts of classic music and any famous Italian singer, folkloristic events, cultural aspects of any attended field trip, socio-cultural differences between the Italian and the American life style during your time being a guest of an Italian family, readings suggested by your teacher. Also, attending meetings with a Language Partner (ask your teacher for information about it), is considered a cultural activity and the final essay will report any impressions or considerations about this experience.
Grades will not be curved and will be determined according to the following scale:
On request, after completion of the Midterm exam, students will receive information on their grade breakdown, and they will discuss it with the teacher.
Students will be required to enter the Moodle course page on a regular basis in order to access readings, exercises, and any other regular or extra material.
content:
The course will start with a quick review of the basic structures of Italian and will cover grammar topics up to the use of presente indicativo, verbi modali, preposizioni semplici/articulate, passato prossimo indicativo, pronomi diretti/indiretti, imperfetto indicativo, futuro indicativo, presente condizionale, I comparativi e I superlativi, imperativo. Extra material will be provided during class if necessary. The course pace will be adjusted (accelerated or slowed down) according to class response to teaching methodology.
* P.Bacci – Zambardino G., Un tuffo nell’azzurro, nuovo corso di lingua italiana – 1 – Panozzo Editore.
Students are expected to go to class having studied in detail the Assignments as indicated on the syllabus and by the teacher in class.
INTENSIVE COURSE
Week
Content
Assignments
Corresponding Learning Outcome(s)
Week 1
* Unit 1 – 2
1. Functional: asking questions, asking about time, introducing yourself, describing a person, buying a bus ticket
2. Grammatical: general review of verbs to be, to have, definite articles, gender and number of nouns and adjectives, verbs c’è ci sono, present tense (regular)
3. Vocabulary Review: nationality, self-presentation, profession, numbers, weekdays, months, the city, the city transportation, school, study
4. Culture: Italian University
* Unit 1 – 2
Listening and comprehension 1
FIELD STUDY: visiting Accademia di Brera, interviewing local students
Ia, IIa, IIIa, IIIb, IVa, Va
Week 2
*Unit 3 - 4
1. Functional: talking about yourself, descriptions
2. Grammatical: review indefinite articles, present tense (irregular: andare, venire, fare, scegliere, conoscere…), simple prepositions, verbs Mi piace non mi piace, amo adoro, odio; possessive adjectives and pronouns, general review
3. Vocabulary: jobs, hobbies, sports, physical description and personality, the family
4. Culture: the Italian free time activities, Italian family
* Unit 2, 4 and 5
Final Test Intensive
Ia, Ib, Ic, IIIa, IIIb, IVa, Va
GENERAL COURSE
Week
Content
Assignments
Corresponding Learning Outcome(s)
Week 1
*Unit 5
1. Functional: asking for price and quantity, make comparison, express food tastes.
Supplementary material will be provided by the teacher or available on the Moodle course page. This may include: games, readings, song lyrics, Italian movies, extra exercises, etc.
Brief Biography of Instructor:
Chiara Bodini graduated in Foreign Languages and Literatures from Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore di Milano in 2002. She obtained a Master’s degree in intercultural policies from Università degli Studi di Firenze in 2007 and in 2010 the DITALS certification from Università per Stranieri di Siena. She also worked for Università Politecnico di Milano, Provincia di Milano and several minor Italian schools. She has been teaching Italian to students from all over the world since 2007.
Italian Language in Context: Novice Abroad II
IT 102 is a revision and continuation of the basic elements of Italian language and culture. It focuses on grammar, speaking, listening, reading and writing skills using a communicative direct approach to the language. The class is divided into an intensive period and a regular course.
This course is intended for students who have already had a semester of Italian, who have already studied a foreign language or who feel willing to work hard and learn at a faster pace than the absolute beginner course.
The course will start by refreshing the basic knowledge of the Italian language and will cover grammar topics up to the use of the future tense. Through a communicative method we will reinforce vocabulary, use it in different oral activities and read a variety of texts that deal with contemporary Italian life and culture.
Italian will be the only language used in class. Many will find this difficult at first, but it will seem natural soon enough. Do not despair when you feel that some of your questions are not answered during class: answers to complex grammar questions are available in English in some textbooks the instructor will provide on request. In class, concentrate on learning Italian: your learning process will be faster.
Following each class period, students must review/study the newly presented material by reviewing the texts presented in class. Students are responsible for all assigned work, and should be aware that absence from the preceding class is not an excuse for non-preparation. All assignments are expected when due. Homework assignments will not be graded on a daily basis, but the completion of daily homework assignments will be calculated in your final grade.
STUDENT PROFILE: This course is designed for students with very basic knowledge of the language. This course builds upon the skills acquired in Novice Abroad 1.
By the end of the course, the successful student will develop a basic foundation in the five skills: intercultural communication, reading, writing, listening, and speaking to accomplish a variety of basic everyday needs in the host culture as described in the learning outcomes below.
Proficiency at a level equivalent to the outcomes mastered through IES Abroad’s IT101, as determined by placement test.
Attendance is mandatory for all IES Abroad classes, including field studies. Extra information about the field studies such as dates and times will be provided by the teacher in class. Any exams, tests, presentations, or other work missed due to student absences can only be rescheduled in cases of documented medical or family emergencies. If a student misses more than three classes in any course half a letter grade will be deducted from the final grade for every additional absence. Seven absences in any course will result in a failing grade.
By the end of the course, students will be able to achieve some of the outcomes for the Novice Abroad level as defined by the MAP for Language and Intercultural Communication. The key learning outcomes from the MAP are summarized below:
I. Intercultural Communication
A. Students will be able to meet simple everyday needs using verbal and nonverbal communication, and they will be able to use compensatory strategies when they do not know the word or expression (repetition, talking around the point, body language etc.).
B. Students can recognize some appropriate and inappropriate expressions and behaviors in the host language.
C. Students will be able to distinguish between basic representations of formality and informality in the language.
D. Students will understand that there are differences between cultural stereotypes and generalizations between the home culture and the culture of the host country.
E. Students will start to make informed comparisons between the host culture and the home culture.
II. Listening
A. Students will be able to understand basic statements, requests, descriptions, and questions in specific cultural context relevant to them (interactions with hosts, Center interactions, studying, shopping, transportation, meals).
B. Students will be able to use context to understand the gist of some simple spoken language they overhear, including the media, conversations between others, and announcements.
III. Speaking
A. Students will be able to use simple phrases appropriately in everyday situations (home, the IES Abroad Center, the community)
B. Students will be able to express many simple needs by asking questions, and get what they need in uncomplicated, everyday situations.
IV. Reading
A. Students will be able to identify and understand many simple sentences and deduce some meaning from context if it is relevant to their studies.
B. Students will be able to interpret main ideas in short passages, and news headlines if they are relevant to them.
V. Writing
A. Students will be able to write short texts about simple and concrete topics they have studied, such as themselves, their families, their friends, their likes, their dislikes, plans, experiences, and their daily routines.
B. Students will be able to send simple emails, text messages, online posts, and postcards, and fill out some simple forms.
The approach to learning is communicative and direct, designed for an immediate use of the Italian language. In class, students are asked to use new language expressions in different situations, so that at the end of the lesson they can observe the way the language works. Students are never considered passive recipients, but active users of the language for their immediate need.
There will be in-class discussions, student presentations, field studies, hands-on lessons, and guest lectures (some of them are mandatory).
Field studies are intended to help students to integrate into Italian everyday life. They will be short and focused on language and expressions, as announced at the appropriate time. Field studies and guest lectures are considered a normal class: absence, tardiness or leaving before the end of the field study/guest lecture are not excused. A 2h guest lecture will be included in the program.
LANGUAGE OF PRESENTATION: Italian will be used in all instances, with emergency use of English for disambiguation. “Pledge for Italian-only in class”: in class students are invited to formally commit themselves to trying to use Italian only.
Assignments: 10%
Listening comprehensions: 10%
Final Test Intensive: 10%
Midterm Exam: 15%
Oral Exam: 10%
Final Exam: 20%
Active participation through discussion, reading and writing: 15%
Cultural essays: 10%
Intercultural activities: each student is required to attend at least two events dealing with Italian culture and write two typed, one-page essays in Italian on what he/she has learned. These should be completed and turned in before the midterm and at the end of the semester. A list of possible cultural activities is as follows: movies, conferences, exhibitions, shows, opera, concerts of classic music and any famous Italian singer, folkloristic events, cultural aspects of any attended field trip, socio-cultural differences between the Italian and the American life style during your time being a guest of an Italian family, readings suggested by your teacher. Also, attending meetings with a Language Partner (ask your teacher for information about it), is considered a cultural activity and the final essay will report any impressions or considerations about this experience.
Grades will not be curved and will be determined according to the following scale:
On request, after completion of the Midterm exam, students will receive information on their grade breakdown, and they will discuss it with the teacher.
Students will be required to enter the Moodle course page on a regular basis in order to access readings, exercises, and any other regular or extra material.
The course will start with a quick review of the basic structures of Italian and will cover grammar topics up to the use of presente indicativo, verbi modali, preposizioni semplici/articulate, passato prossimo indicativo, pronomi diretti/indiretti, imperfetto indicativo, futuro indicativo, presente condizionale, I comparativi e I superlativi, imperativo. Extra material will be provided during class if necessary. The course pace will be adjusted (accelerated or slowed down) according to class response to teaching methodology.
* P.Bacci – Zambardino G., Un tuffo nell’azzurro, nuovo corso di lingua italiana – 1 – Panozzo Editore.
Students are expected to go to class having studied in detail the Assignments as indicated on the syllabus and by the teacher in class.
INTENSIVE COURSE
Week
Content
Assignments
Corresponding Learning Outcome(s)
Week 1
* Unit 1 – 2
1. Functional: asking questions, asking about time, introducing yourself, describing a person, buying a bus ticket
2. Grammatical: general review of verbs to be, to have, definite articles, gender and number of nouns and adjectives, verbs c’è ci sono, present tense (regular)
3. Vocabulary Review: nationality, self-presentation, profession, numbers, weekdays, months, the city, the city transportation, school, study
4. Culture: Italian University
* Unit 1 – 2
Listening and comprehension 1
FIELD STUDY: visiting Accademia di Brera, interviewing local students
Ia, IIa, IIIa, IIIb, IVa, Va
Week 2
*Unit 3 - 4
1. Functional: talking about yourself, descriptions
2. Grammatical: review indefinite articles, present tense (irregular: andare, venire, fare, scegliere, conoscere…), simple prepositions, verbs Mi piace non mi piace, amo adoro, odio; possessive adjectives and pronouns, general review
3. Vocabulary: jobs, hobbies, sports, physical description and personality, the family
4. Culture: the Italian free time activities, Italian family
* Unit 2, 4 and 5
Final Test Intensive
Ia, Ib, Ic, IIIa, IIIb, IVa, Va
GENERAL COURSE
Week
Content
Assignments
Corresponding Learning Outcome(s)
Week 1
*Unit 5
1. Functional: asking for price and quantity, make comparison, express food tastes.
2. Grammatical: modal verbs, prepositions (preposizioni articolate)
3. Vocabulary: food, shops, market, money, quantities, clothes, sizes, colours
4. Culture: Italian money, Italian food, the importance of gestures
* Unit 5
Field_Study MERCATO PAPINIANO
Field Study: Improvisational theater class in Italian
Ib, Ic, IIb, IIIa, IIIb, IVa, Va, Vb
Week 2
*Unit 6
1. Functional: talking about daily activities, describing houses
2. Grammatical: reflexive and reciprocal verbs, time adverbs
3. Vocabulary: shops, directions
4. Culture: the Italian houses, typical Italian day
* Unit 6
Listening and comprehension 2
Ia, Ib, Ic, Id, IIa, IIb, IIIa, IIIb, IVa, Va, Vb
Week 3
*Unit 7
1. Functional: make an order, invite someone to do something
2. Grammatical: direct pronouns, the particle “CI”, adverbs ending with – mente
3. Vocabulary: drink and food at a bar, animals
4. Culture: the coffee tradition in Italy, Italian stereotypes
* Unit 7
October 12th
Ia, Ib, Ic, Id, IIa, IIb, IIIa, IIIb, IVa, Va, Vb
Week 4
*Unit 8
1. Functional: traveling, talking about past events, agree/disagree
2. Grammatical: present perfect, irregular forms
3. Vocabulary: traveling, childhood
4. Culture: Italian music, Italian television, the love for football
* Unit 8
Listening and comprehension 3
Ia, Ib, Ic, IIa, IIb, IIIa, IIIb, IVa, Va, Vb
Week 5
*Unit 9
1. Functional: ordering at a restaurant, organizing a party, buying food at a supermarket
2. Grammatical: indirect pronouns with verbs like PIACERE, present perfect with direct pronouns
3. Vocabulary: food and restaurant menu
4. Culture: Italian food, Italian festivities
* Unit 9
Ia, IIa, IIb, IIIa, IIIb, IVa, IVb, Va, Vb
Week 6
*Unit 10
1. Functional: planning things in the future, back home; talking about future events
2. Grammatical: simple future (regular ad irregular forms)
3. Vocabulary: travel, booking a hotel, at the railway station
4. Culture: Italian tourism
* Unit 10
Id, IIIa, IVb, Va, Vb
Week 7
Intensive review
Midterm_Exam
Week 8
*Unit 11
1. Functional: talking about yourself, telling stories, describing things and people in the past
2. Grammatical: imperfect tense – difference between present perfect and imperfect tense
3. Vocabulary: fairy tales, childhood, school
4. Culture: Italian school, difference with Italian and American school
* Unit 11
I cultural essay
Listening and comprehension
IIa, IIIa, IVb, Va, Vb
Week 9
* Unit 12 - 13
1. Functional: make comparisons, telling the way to get to…, give suggestion and information, how to make a recipe
2. Grammatical: comparatives and superlatives, imperative tense
3. Vocabulary: cinema, the weather, street signals
4. Culture: Italian cinema, how to prepare Italian dishes
* Unit 12 - 13
Oral exam
Id, IIa, IIIa, IIIb, IVb, Va
Week 10
* Unit 14
1. Functional: express hopes, desires, wishes, possibilities
2. Grammatical: simple conditional tense
3. Vocabulary: adjectives about personality, the horoscope
4. Culture: looking for a job in Italy
* Unit 14
II cultural essay
Language partner TANDEM
IIb, IIIa, IVb, Va, Vb
Week 11
General review
Week 12
Final Exam
Final exam
P.Bacci – Zambardino G., Un tuffo nell’azzurro, nuovo corso di lingua italiana – 1 – Panozzo Editore.
P.Bacci – Zambardino G., Quaderno degli esercizi– 1 – Panozzo Editore.
Supplementary material will be provided by the teacher or available on the Moodle course page. This may include: games, readings, song lyrics, Italian movies, extra exercises, etc.
Chiara Bodini graduated in Foreign Languages and Literatures from Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore di Milano in 2002. She obtained a Master’s degree in intercultural policies from Università degli Studi di Firenze in 2007 and in 2010 the DITALS certification from Università per Stranieri di Siena. She also worked for Università Politecnico di Milano, Provincia di Milano and several minor Italian schools. She has been teaching Italian to students from all over the world since 2007.