Course Syllabus

JOHN CABOT UNIVERSITY

COURSE CODE: "IT 101-18"
COURSE NAME: "Introductory Italian I"
SEMESTER & YEAR: Fall 2018

SYLLABUS

INSTRUCTOR: Valentina Dorato
EMAIL: [email protected]
HOURS: MTWTH 9:00-9:50 AM
TOTAL NO. OF CONTACT HOURS: 45
CREDITS: 3
PREREQUISITES: This course carries 3 semester hours of credit.
OFFICE HOURS:

COURSE DESCRIPTION:
This course is designed to give students basic communicative ability in Italian. By presenting the language in a variety of authentic contexts, the course also seeks to provide an introduction to Italian culture and society. Students work on all four language skills: speaking, listening comprehension, reading, and writing. Note: This course carries 4 semester hours of credit during the Fall and Spring terms, 3 hours in Summer.

SUMMARY OF COURSE CONTENT:
By presenting the language in a variety of authentic contexts, the course also seeks to provide an introduction to Italian culture and society. Students work on all four language skills: speaking, listening comprehension, reading and writing.

LEARNING OUTCOMES:

Upon completing this course, students will possess the ability to:

satisfy a very limited number of immediate needs
understand and convey some spoken Italian through the knowledge and usage of familiar and memorized structures, on the most common features of daily life that require the interchange of simple and direct information.
understand the general meaning of oral announcements and brief texts on familiar subjects with simple morphology and lexicon.

produce one-paragraph texts with limited formulaic information by using elementary functions.

TEXTBOOK:

NONE

REQUIRED RESERVED READING:

NONE

RECOMMENDED RESERVED READING:

NONE

GRADING POLICY
-ASSESSMENT METHODS:

Assignment	Guidelines	Weight
Quiz (4(		20%
Midterm		20%
Final		20%
Oral proficiency		20%
Class Participation and Homework and on site activities		20%

-ASSESSMENT CRITERIA:
AWork of this quality directly addresses the question or problem raised and provides a coherent argument displaying an extensive knowledge of relevant information or content. This type of work demonstrates the ability to critically evaluate concepts and theory and has an element of novelty and originality. There is clear evidence of a significant amount of reading beyond that required for the course.
BThis is highly competent level of performance and directly addresses the question or problem raised.There is a demonstration of some ability to critically evaluatetheory and concepts and relate them to practice. Discussions reflect the student’s own arguments and are not simply a repetition of standard lecture andreference material. The work does not suffer from any major errors or omissions and provides evidence of reading beyond the required assignments.
CThis is an acceptable level of performance and provides answers that are clear but limited, reflecting the information offered in the lectures and reference readings.
DThis level of performances demonstrates that the student lacks a coherent grasp of the material.Important information is omitted and irrelevant points included.In effect, the student has barely done enough to persuade the instructor that s/he should not fail.
FThis work fails to show any knowledge or understanding of the issues raised in the question. Most of the material in the answer is irrelevant.

-ATTENDANCE REQUIREMENTS:
ATTENDANCE REQUIREMENTS AND EXAMINATION POLICY
You cannot make-up a major exam (midterm or final) without the permission of the Dean’s Office. The Dean’s Office will grant such permission only when the absence was caused by a serious impediment, such as a documented illness, hospitalization or death in the immediate family (in which you must attend the funeral) or other situations of similar gravity. Absences due to other meaningful conflicts, such as job interviews, family celebrations, travel difficulties, student misunderstandings or personal convenience, will not be excused. Students who will be absent from a major exam must notify the Dean’s Office prior to that exam. Absences from class due to the observance of a religious holiday will normally be excused. Individual students who will have to miss class to observe a religious holiday should notify the instructor by the end of the Add/Drop period to make prior arrangements for making up any work that will be missed. The final exam period runs until ____________

ACADEMIC HONESTY
As stated in the university catalog, any student who commits an act of academic dishonesty will receive a failing grade on the work in which the dishonesty occurred. In addition, acts of academic dishonesty, irrespective of the weight of the assignment, may result in the student receiving a failing grade in the course. Instances of academic dishonesty will be reported to the Dean of Academic Affairs. A student who is reported twice for academic dishonesty is subject to summary dismissal from the University. In such a case, the Academic Council will then make a recommendation to the President, who will make the final decision.

STUDENTS WITH LEARNING OR OTHER DISABILITIES
John Cabot University does not discriminate on the basis of disability or handicap. Students with approved accommodations must inform their professors at the beginning of the term. Please see the website for the complete policy.

SCHEDULE

WEEK 1

Percorso 1: Trastevere

Introducing yourself. The Italian Alphabet. Pronunciation of soft and hard sounds. Numbers from 0 to 10. The Italian language’s structure. Intro to the city of Rome.

WEEK 2

Percorso 1: Trastevere

Rome and its people. Asking nationality. Nouns genders and numbers. Indefinite articles. Interrogatives. Some verbs.

WEEK 3 QUIZ 1

Percorso 1: Trastevere.

Verbs (cont.). Formal speech.

WEEK 4

Percorso 2: Centro storico

Idiomatic expressions with Avere or Essere. Verbs, cont. Adjectives and nous, cont.

WEEK 5

Percorso 2: Centro storico

Adjectives nouns agreement. Colors. Descriptions of people and places. C’è, ci sono.

WEEK 6 QUIZ 2

Percorso 2: Centro storico

Descriptions, cont. Mi piace/mi piacciono.

WEEK 7 MIDTERM EXAM

Review

WEEK 8 ORAL PRESENTATION

Percorso 3: Monteverde Vecchio

Verbs, cont. Sapere and conoscere. Some irregular verbs.

WEEK 9

Percorso 3: Monteverde Vecchio

Talking about how often you do something. Present tense of irregular verbs. Adverbs of frequency.

WEEK 10 QUIZ 3

Percorso 3: Monteverde Vecchio

Present tense of modal verbs.

WEEK 11

Percorso 4: Monti

Possessive Adjectives. Reflexive verbs.

WEEK 12

Percorso 4: Monti

Introduction to past tense. Prepositions.

WEEK 13 QUIZ 4

Percorso 4: Monti

Time expressions. Use of To Be or To Have in the Past tense. Descriptions in the past. Telling past events.

Review and practice for the oral presentation.

SETTIMANA 14 ORAL EXAM

Final Review