This course is designed to meet the needs of beginner students participating in a study abroad program. The course will introduce the students to the most frequent everyday situations to facilitate their ability to communicate and function in a new environment. Grammar and vocabulary will always be presented, analyzed, and practiced in a context which is meaningful to the students. Oral skills will be emphasized, while a grounding in grammar will consolidate the understanding and use of the language structures. Vocabulary is based on everyday situations.
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 I.
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 IT 101, as determined by placement test.
Attendance policy:
Attendance is mandatory. After the first three absences, each unexcused absence will lower the final grade two points. Absences are to be considered justified only in case of illness (written medical certificate required) and IES academic events. If students miss class, it is their responsibility to find out about homework and material covered in class.
No make-ups will be given for any exams, unless you can provide a valid written medical certificate or special approval by the Director.
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:
Classes are taught with a communicative approach to facilitate students' ability to use their own resources and to develop confidence and familiarity with the target language. The instructor will lead the students through the process of learning using various techniques to reinforce written and spoken abilities. Working in pairs or small groups will be especially emphasized. Instructors will direct tasks, individual and group oral presentations, intensive and extensive readings, listening activities, class discussion, and role plays. The course will include multimedia material activities through which students will develop both cultural knowledge and language use.
The instructor will use task-based field trips and class activities to make the students aware of the strong relationship between language and culture. For this purpose the instructor will reinforce students’ independence by providing them with historic and cultural background before they go on field trips.
Required work and form of assessment:
Exclusive use of Italian language in class, active participation in all class activities, homework, research regularly completed as indicated by the instructor, oral and written tests and exams, attendance, and punctuality. Students will be required to enter the Moodle course page on a regular basis in order to access readings, exercises, and any other regular and extra material.
Class participation, engagement and homework (30%, including field studies and use of the online Moodle page); 3 Quizzes (15%); Oral competence, including oral tests (20%); Midterm exam (15%); Final exam (20%).
content:
*D:“Dimmi…”, manuale per la comunicazione Primo Livello
**PD.“Praticamente dimmi…”. Esercizi ed attività Primo Livello.
Week
Content
Assignments
Corresponding Learning Outcom
(s)
Intensive week
*D: Unit 1-2-3
**PD. Unit 1-2-3
1. Functional: Greeting people, introducing yourself, asking pronunciation and spelling of a word, ordering in a café, introducing someone, talking about leisure time, talking about how often you do something, expressing likes and preferences, describing a place, complaining, offering a solution.
2. Grammatical: Definite article, indefinite article, nouns (ending in –o and in -e), present tense regular and irregular verbs, adjective and adverb molto, present progressive, modal verbs, prepositions.
3. Vocabulary: Frequently-used words, home, descriptions, times and parts of the day.
4. Culture: Italian greeting, Italian bar and restaurant, food, market.
Field assignments:
On the bus
At the café
At the supermarket
Field study:
The market at Campo de’ fiori
Quiz 1
I.A,II.B,I.A,III.A,II.B,
IV.A,V.A,V.B
Week 1
D. Unit 4
PD. Unit 4
1.Functional: Talking about past events.
2. Grammatical: Present perfect.
3. Vocabulary: The past.
4. Culture: Italy.
Composition
My first week in Rome
You tube video:
Gestures
I.A,I.B, I.C, II.A,III.B,
IV.A,IV.B,
V.A,V.B
Week 2
D. Unit 4
PD. Unit 4
1.Functional: Traveling and talking about past events.
2.Grammatical: Present perfect regular and irregular verbs.
3.Vocabulary: Traveling, childhood.
4.Culture: Italy and Europe.
Composition
The best trip ever
Outdoor activity:
At the gelateria
Quiz 2
I.A,II.A,II.B,III.A,III.B,
IV.A,IV.B,
V.A,V.B
Week 3
D. Unit 5
PD. Unit 5
1.Functional: Talking about family.
2.Grammatical: Possessive adjectives and pronouns.
3.Vocabulary: Family.
4.Culture: The Italian family.
Composition
I present to you my family
Field study:
“Villa Borghese”
I.D,III.A,
IV.B,V.A,V.B
Week 4
D. Unit 5
PD Unit 5
1.Functional: Talking about tastes and preferences.
2. Grammatical: Present tense and present perfect of reflexive and reciprocal verbs.
3. Vocabulary: Shopping for clothes.
4. Culture: Italian celebrities.
Worksheet:
An interview about your daily routine
Field assignment:
Daily life in ancient Rome
You tube video:
“La vita è bella “
At the restaurant
II.A,III.A,
IV.B,V.A,V.B
Week 5
Intensive review
Oral presentation 1
Mid-term exam
Week 6
D. Unit 6
PD. Unit 6
1.Functional: Talking about your childhood.
2.Grammatical: Imperfect tense.
3.Vocabulary: Animals and verb piacere.
4.Culture: Roman curiosities.
Worksheet:
When I was little
You tube video:
“La leggenda del pianista sull’oceano”
II.A,III.A,
IV.B,V.A, V.B
Week 7
D: Unit 6
PD. Unit 6
1.Functional: Describing past situations and talking about habitual activities in the past.
2. Grammatical: The use of the imperfect tense compared to the past tense.
3.Vocabulary: Verbs mancare e bastare.
4.Culture: Streets and crafts in Medieval Rome.
Outdoor activity:
The streets of Rome
II.A,III.A,
IV.B, V.A,
V.A
Week 8
D. Unit 7
PD. Unit 7
1. Functional: Tastes and preferences, guessing.
2. Grammatical: Direct pronouns.
3. Vocabulary: Tastes.
4. Culture: Differences between Italian lifestyle and American lifestyle.
Worksheet:
An invitation to dinner
You tube video:
“Salirò” by T. Ferro
Quiz 3
I.D,II.A,III.A
III.B,IV.B,
V.A
Week 9
D: Unit 7
PD. Unit 7
1. Functional: Back home; talking about future events.
2. Grammatical: Indirect pronouns; simple future.
3. Vocabulary: Dreams.
4.Culture: Leaving Italy…
Worksheet:
When I grow up I’ll be a firefighter
Composition:
My best friend
II.A,III.A,
IV.B,.VA,V.B
Week 10
Additional
handouts
1. Functional: Making a polite request, inviting someone to an event/party, accepting and refusing an invitation.
2. Grammatical: Conditional simple.
3. Vocabulary: Expressing dislikes and annoyances.
4. Culture: Leaving America…
You tube video:
“ La vita che vorrei” by Vasco Rossi
Composition :
The life I would like
II.A,III.B,
IV.B,V.A,V.B
Week 11
General review
Field study:
Piazza Navona
Week 12
General review
Oral presentation 2
Final exam
Required readings:
A. Battaglia, L. Tarini, Dimmi… Manuale per la comunicazione. Primo livello, Perugia, Guerra edizioni, 2008
A. Battaglia, L. Tarini, Praticamente dimmi… Esercizi e attività. Primo livello, Perugia, Guerra edizioni, 2008
Supplementary materials (handouts, pictures, readings, videos and films scenes, song lyrics, games, etc.) will be provided by the teacher or available on the Moodle course page.
Brief Biography of Instructor:
Marta Marchetti studied Literature at the University “La Sapienza” in Rome and holds a Ph.D. in Comparative Literature from the University of Siena. Since 2004 she has been working at IES teaching Comic Italian Theatre and Italian language (since 2009). She has been collaborating with the University “La Sapienza” since 2006 teaching and researching in the field of Theatre and Drama. She is currently completing the DITALS II examinations to obtain the certification from the University of Siena.
Italian Language & Culture: Novice Abroad II
This course is designed to meet the needs of beginner students participating in a study abroad program. The course will introduce the students to the most frequent everyday situations to facilitate their ability to communicate and function in a new environment. Grammar and vocabulary will always be presented, analyzed, and practiced in a context which is meaningful to the students. Oral skills will be emphasized, while a grounding in grammar will consolidate the understanding and use of the language structures. Vocabulary is based on everyday situations.
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 I.
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 IT 101, as determined by placement test.
Attendance is mandatory. After the first three absences, each unexcused absence will lower the final grade two points. Absences are to be considered justified only in case of illness (written medical certificate required) and IES academic events. If students miss class, it is their responsibility to find out about homework and material covered in class.
No make-ups will be given for any exams, unless you can provide a valid written medical certificate or special approval by the Director.
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.
Classes are taught with a communicative approach to facilitate students' ability to use their own resources and to develop confidence and familiarity with the target language. The instructor will lead the students through the process of learning using various techniques to reinforce written and spoken abilities. Working in pairs or small groups will be especially emphasized. Instructors will direct tasks, individual and group oral presentations, intensive and extensive readings, listening activities, class discussion, and role plays. The course will include multimedia material activities through which students will develop both cultural knowledge and language use.
The instructor will use task-based field trips and class activities to make the students aware of the strong relationship between language and culture. For this purpose the instructor will reinforce students’ independence by providing them with historic and cultural background before they go on field trips.
Exclusive use of Italian language in class, active participation in all class activities, homework, research regularly completed as indicated by the instructor, oral and written tests and exams, attendance, and punctuality. Students will be required to enter the Moodle course page on a regular basis in order to access readings, exercises, and any other regular and extra material.
Class participation, engagement and homework (30%, including field studies and use of the online Moodle page); 3 Quizzes (15%); Oral competence, including oral tests (20%); Midterm exam (15%); Final exam (20%).
*D:“Dimmi…”, manuale per la comunicazione Primo Livello
**PD.“Praticamente dimmi…”. Esercizi ed attività Primo Livello.
Week
Content
Assignments
Corresponding Learning Outcom
(s)
Intensive week
*D: Unit 1-2-3
**PD. Unit 1-2-3
1. Functional: Greeting people, introducing yourself, asking pronunciation and spelling of a word, ordering in a café, introducing someone, talking about leisure time, talking about how often you do something, expressing likes and preferences, describing a place, complaining, offering a solution.
2. Grammatical: Definite article, indefinite article, nouns (ending in –o and in -e), present tense regular and irregular verbs, adjective and adverb molto, present progressive, modal verbs, prepositions.
3. Vocabulary: Frequently-used words, home, descriptions, times and parts of the day.
4. Culture: Italian greeting, Italian bar and restaurant, food, market.
Field assignments:
On the bus
At the café
At the supermarket
Field study:
The market at Campo de’ fiori
Quiz 1
I.A,II.B,I.A,III.A,II.B,
IV.A,V.A,V.B
Week 1
D. Unit 4
PD. Unit 4
1.Functional: Talking about past events.
2. Grammatical: Present perfect.
3. Vocabulary: The past.
4. Culture: Italy.
Composition
My first week in Rome
You tube video:
Gestures
I.A,I.B, I.C, II.A,III.B,
IV.A,IV.B,
V.A,V.B
Week 2
D. Unit 4
PD. Unit 4
1.Functional: Traveling and talking about past events.
2.Grammatical: Present perfect regular and irregular verbs.
3.Vocabulary: Traveling, childhood.
4.Culture: Italy and Europe.
Composition
The best trip ever
Outdoor activity:
At the gelateria
Quiz 2
I.A,II.A,II.B,III.A,III.B,
IV.A,IV.B,
V.A,V.B
Week 3
D. Unit 5
PD. Unit 5
1.Functional: Talking about family.
2.Grammatical: Possessive adjectives and pronouns.
3.Vocabulary: Family.
4.Culture: The Italian family.
Composition
I present to you my family
Field study:
“Villa Borghese”
I.D,III.A,
IV.B,V.A,V.B
Week 4
D. Unit 5
PD Unit 5
1.Functional: Talking about tastes and preferences.
2. Grammatical: Present tense and present perfect of reflexive and reciprocal verbs.
3. Vocabulary: Shopping for clothes.
4. Culture: Italian celebrities.
Worksheet:
An interview about your daily routine
Field assignment:
Daily life in ancient Rome
You tube video:
“La vita è bella “
At the restaurant
II.A,III.A,
IV.B,V.A,V.B
Week 5
Intensive review
Oral presentation 1
Mid-term exam
Week 6
D. Unit 6
PD. Unit 6
1.Functional: Talking about your childhood.
2.Grammatical: Imperfect tense.
3.Vocabulary: Animals and verb piacere.
4.Culture: Roman curiosities.
Worksheet:
When I was little
You tube video:
“La leggenda del pianista sull’oceano”
II.A,III.A,
IV.B,V.A, V.B
Week 7
D: Unit 6
PD. Unit 6
1.Functional: Describing past situations and talking about habitual activities in the past.
2. Grammatical: The use of the imperfect tense compared to the past tense.
3.Vocabulary: Verbs mancare e bastare.
4.Culture: Streets and crafts in Medieval Rome.
Outdoor activity:
The streets of Rome
II.A,III.A,
IV.B, V.A,
V.A
Week 8
D. Unit 7
PD. Unit 7
1. Functional: Tastes and preferences, guessing.
2. Grammatical: Direct pronouns.
3. Vocabulary: Tastes.
4. Culture: Differences between Italian lifestyle and American lifestyle.
Worksheet:
An invitation to dinner
You tube video:
“Salirò” by T. Ferro
Quiz 3
I.D,II.A,III.A
III.B,IV.B,
V.A
Week 9
D: Unit 7
PD. Unit 7
1. Functional: Back home; talking about future events.
2. Grammatical: Indirect pronouns; simple future.
3. Vocabulary: Dreams.
4.Culture: Leaving Italy…
Worksheet:
When I grow up I’ll be a firefighter
Composition:
My best friend
II.A,III.A,
IV.B,.VA,V.B
Week 10
Additional
handouts
1. Functional: Making a polite request, inviting someone to an event/party, accepting and refusing an invitation.
2. Grammatical: Conditional simple.
3. Vocabulary: Expressing dislikes and annoyances.
4. Culture: Leaving America…
You tube video:
“ La vita che vorrei” by Vasco Rossi
Composition :
The life I would like
II.A,III.B,
IV.B,V.A,V.B
Week 11
General review
Field study:
Piazza Navona
Week 12
General review
Oral presentation 2
Final exam
A. Battaglia, L. Tarini, Dimmi… Manuale per la comunicazione. Primo livello, Perugia, Guerra edizioni, 2008
A. Battaglia, L. Tarini, Praticamente dimmi… Esercizi e attività. Primo livello, Perugia, Guerra edizioni, 2008
Supplementary materials (handouts, pictures, readings, videos and films scenes, song lyrics, games, etc.) will be provided by the teacher or available on the Moodle course page.
Marta Marchetti studied Literature at the University “La Sapienza” in Rome and holds a Ph.D. in Comparative Literature from the University of Siena. Since 2004 she has been working at IES teaching Comic Italian Theatre and Italian language (since 2009). She has been collaborating with the University “La Sapienza” since 2006 teaching and researching in the field of Theatre and Drama. She is currently completing the DITALS II examinations to obtain the certification from the University of Siena.