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JOHN CABOT UNIVERSITY

COURSE CODE: "IT 101-7"
COURSE NAME: "Introductory Italian I"
SEMESTER & YEAR: Fall 2022
SYLLABUS

INSTRUCTOR: Ada Bertini Bezzi
EMAIL: [email protected]
HOURS: MW 6:00 PM 7:15 PM
TOTAL NO. OF CONTACT HOURS: 45
CREDITS: 3
PREREQUISITES: This course carries 3 semester hours of credit.
OFFICE HOURS: M - W by appointment

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.
SUMMARY OF COURSE CONTENT:

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
LEARNING OUTCOMES:

Listening

  • In-class listening activities: Students will listen to the instructor and to recorded texts the duration of which will be at least 250 words. Students will have to answer (orally and in writing) an increasing number of questions that test their comprehension of what they have heard.


Speaking

  • In-class oral activities and exams: Students will be examined singularly and in pairs. The type of tests will be: conversation between two students, monologues, role playing. The multiplicity of situations and the request to express personal opinions will increase from elementary level to advanced level. Conversations, monologues and role playing will be elicited by visual stimuli, texts, or questions from the instructor.


Reading

  • In-class activities and exams: Students will have to read an increasing number of texts of increasing length, complexity and of different genres. They will have to answer in writing several questions that test their comprehension of what they have read.


Writing

  • Homework assignments and exams: Students will have to answer written questions and produce written texts of increasing length, formality and complexity on topics of every day life.


TEXTBOOK:
Book TitleAuthorPublisherISBN numberLibrary Call NumberCommentsFormatLocal BookstoreOnline Purchase
Grammar.it - Grammar for English -speakersGRUPPO CSCBONACCI978-88-7573-430-5     
SPAZIO ITALIA VOL 1 + ESERCIZIARIO + DVDMaria Gloria Tommasini, Mimma Flavia DiacoLOHESHER 9788820133498     
REQUIRED RESERVED READING:
NONE

RECOMMENDED RESERVED READING:
NONE
GRADING POLICY
-ASSESSMENT METHODS:
AssignmentGuidelinesWeight
Test 2 15%
Mid-term Exam 15%
Final Exam 20%
Oral Proficiency 20%
Participation and homework 25%

-ASSESSMENT CRITERIA:
A Excellent command of the language consistent with the level of proficiency. Appropriate command of sentence structure, lexis, register and id
B Very good command of the language consistent with the level of proficiency, showing facility and very few errors. Ability to handle sentence structure naturally, and to demonstrate some awareness of stylistic variation. B = Good command of the language, consistent with the level of proficiency. Competent manipulation of sentence structure, with some evidence of development and complexity; small occurrence of grammatical errors. Work will be broadly coherent and comprehensible, good manipulation of sentence structure; grammatical and other errors will not impede comprehension. B- = Satisfactory command of the language, consistent with the level of proficiency. Work will not be coherent but comprehensible; sentence structure will be simple; medium frequency of grammatical and other errors
C Evidence of the ability to control the language for the purpose of effective communication, consistent with the level of proficiency. Work will be comprehensible; sentence structure will be very simple and grammatical and other errors will be frequent but not as serious to impede comprehension. C, C- = Some evidence of the ability to control the language for the purpose of effective communication, consistent with the level of proficiency. Some awareness of sentence structure and high frequency of grammatical and other errors.
D Little evidence of the ability to control the language for the purpose of making oneself understood. Little awareness of sentence structure and numerous grammatical and other errors.
F No evidence of the ability to control the language; failure to make oneself understood.

-ATTENDANCE REQUIREMENTS:
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. 

Students are supposed to come prepared to class and participate in all activities. Active participation is crucial, since the learning process requires considerable practice. Regular attendance is an essential component of class participation. Students are allowed two (2) unjustified absences. The final grade will be lowered by 2 points for each additional absence. Make sure your travel plans do not interfere with the class schedule.

Please be informed that:

The JCU Foreign Language Resource Center offers tutoring sessions free of charge. The FLRC is located at the Tiber Campus on the first floor. To schedule an appointment with a tutor (or a writing coach for upper-level courses), please use the online booking system.

How to get the most out of your tutoring session:

  • Come early in the semester. You will benefit more from tutoring if you come when you first begin having problems. 
  • Come prepared. Bring your textbook, notes, and review sheets with you. 
  • Attend classes regularly. Tutoring is designed to supplement class instruction, not to replace it.
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

Please, be advised that course schedule might change

 

 

WEEK 1 
PRIMI CONTATTI  

  • Introducing yourself.  Introducing a person (formal and informal). Asking for and giving phone numbers, saying where you are from, addresses and personal information. Asking people to repeat information.
  • Present tense of essere, chiamarsi and first conjugation (singular forms: io and tu), the alphabet,  singular forms of adjectives ending in -o and -a. Negative form, numbers from 0 to 20. 
  • Greetings, adjectives of nationalities, country names, classroom objects.

WEEK 2 
BUON APPETITO

  • Ordering food and drinks. Pointing at close/far away objects, asking for price, tanking someone. Asking for and telling the time.
  • Plural and singular nouns, interrogatives (che cosa, che, quanto), demonstrative (singular) pronouns (questo, quello), definite articles. Interrogatives: Che cosaqualiquanti. Indefinite articles, cardinal numbers from 20 to 100. Bene/Buono.
  • Food and beverages, meals. Grocery shopping.

ON SITE ACTIVITY: AT THE MARKET

WEEK 3 
IO E GLI ALTRI

  • Introducing someone, describing people's activities on a specific day of the week, asking for/giving someone's age , asking for someone's profession and mentioning one's occupation.
  • Present tense of Essere and Avere. Third singular person of first, second and third conjugation verbs, present tense singular forms of irregular verbs (fare, andare, stare).
  • World languages, professions, days of the week, workplaces.

WEEK 4 
Test 1 review 

TEST 1

WEEK  5 
TEMPO LIBERO

  • Talking about people's interests and occupations. Expressing likes and dislikes. Telling dates, talking about how often one does something.
  • Prepositions in + country names and per + city and country names, present tense plural persons; adverbs of frequency, interrogatives. present tense complete conjugation of avere, andare, fare, essere, stare, bere. Sapere vs conoscere, piacere.
  • Leisure activities, parts of the day, professions 

WEEK 6
VITA QUOTIDIANA

  • Talking about a typical day and week. Talking about how often you do something.
  • Present tense of reflexive verbs, frequency and time adverbs.
  • Greetings; Italian Celebrations.

WEEK 7

Midterm review

MIDTERM EXAM

ORAL EXAM

WEEK 8
LA FAMIGLIA

  • Describing a family tree.Talking about one's family and family habits.
  • Possessive adjectives.
  • Family relationships.

WEEK 9
IN GIRO PER ROMA

  • Describing a place, a neighborhood, a street. Asking for and giving directions.
  • Present tense of some irregular verbs, time and place prepositions. Agreement of adjectives and nouns, c'è/ ci sono.
  • Street directions, street furniture and urban environment, shops and stores,
  • Modal verbs, bene/male, prepositions + articles. Interrogative: Quanto.

ON SITE ACTIVITY: ASKING FOR DIRECTION

WEEK 10 
IN ALBERGO

  • Describing one's favorite hotel. Make a hotel reservations; asking for information, prices.
  • Modal verbs, bene/male, prepositions + articles. Interrogative: Quanto.
  • Hotel room types and features, home furniture and features.

WEEK 11             
IN UN NEGOZIO DI ABBIGLIAMENTO

  • Fashion in Italy. Differences between countries.
  • Asking for information, prices in a clothing store
  • Come mi sta? Come mi stanno?

        ON SITE ACTIVITY: ANDIAMO A FARE SHOPPING A VIA DEI GIUBBONARI!

WEEK 12
UN FINE SETTIMANA

  • Talking about a trip. Describing past events. Talking about the weather.
  • Past tense of regular verbs.
  • Weather conditions, time expressions

WEEK 13 
UNA VACANZA NEL PASSATO

  • Talking about past experiences. Asking about and saying what you did yesterday (last week, last month etc.)
  • Past tense of irregular verbs time adverbs.
  • Time expressions 

TEST 2

 

WEEK 14

Final review

FINAL EXAM