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JOHN CABOT UNIVERSITY

COURSE CODE: "IT 101-1"
COURSE NAME: "Introductory Italian I"
SEMESTER & YEAR: Summer Session I 2024
SYLLABUS

INSTRUCTOR: Ada Bertini Bezzi
EMAIL: [email protected]
 HOURS: MTWTH 9:00 AM 10:50 AM
TOTAL NO. OF CONTACT HOURS: 45
CREDITS: 3
PREREQUISITES: This course carries 3 semester hours of credit.
OFFICE HOURS: TH - WED from 10,40 to 11,40 or 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 9788820136314     
REQUIRED RESERVED READING:
NONE

RECOMMENDED RESERVED READING:
NONE
GRADING POLICY
-ASSESSMENT METHODS:
AssignmentGuidelinesWeight
Final ExamThe final exam is designed to evaluate the student's knowledge of the grammar and vocabulary covered,their reading and listening comprehension, and the written ability.25%
HomeworkHomework must be done using the dedicated platforms ( Moodle).15%
Class participationStudents are expected to come prepared to class and participate in all activities. Active participation is crucial in class since the learning process requires considerable practice. Students must show interest through asking questions, responding to the professor or other students, overcome shyness and showing interest in what they are learning Students must try to use the Italian language in group or pair activities and follow class rules.It is mandatory for the students to have and use both the student’s book and the workbook in the format required. Students are expected to log into the Moodle platform at least once a week and complete all the required Moodle activities (forum, assignments, videos etc.). The activity completion and the login activity will be tracked by the platform.10%
Oral activities and presentations 15%
ATTENDANCE 15%
MID TERMThe midterm designed to evaluate the student’s knowledge of the grammar and vocabulary covered, their reading comprehension skills and writing ability.20%
 GRADING SCALE A Excellent 94-100 A- 90-93 B+ 87-89 B Good 84-86 B- 80-83 C+ 77-89 C Satisfactory 74-76 C- 70-73 D+ 67-69 D Poor but Passing 64-68 D- 60-63 F Failing Below 60 INC=Incomplete P= Passing (C or higher) NP=Not Passing (C- or lower) W=Withdrawal 

-ASSESSMENT CRITERIA:
AExcellent command of the language consistent with the level of proficiency. Appropriate command of sentence structure, lexis, register and idiom
BVery 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
CEvidence 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
DLittle 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
FNo evidence of the ability to control the language; failure to make oneself understood.
-ATTENDANCE REQUIREMENTS:
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 three (3) 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.
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

 Come ti chiami? – Role play: a. Come ti chiami? b. Chi è? c. Chi sei? d. Di dove sei? e. Come stai? – Oral presentation: Introduce yourself f. Some useful expressions. - Alfabeto – Role play: a. Come si scrive? b. Come si pronuncia? - Fonetica (hard sounds and soft sounds). Listening Comprehension Activities – Numbers from 0 to 20.

Che cos’è? a. Feminine nouns ending in –a; Masculine nouns ending in –o. b. Feminine articles la and una; Masculine articles il and un. – Classroom Vocabulary – Com’è? a. Feminine and masculine adjectives ending in –a and in –o. Writing Activity: describe your classroom. – Restaurant Vocabulary. Role play: At the restaurant. – Numbers - Personal Pronouns – The verb Avere. Role play: Quanti anni hai? – Some expressions using Avere – Nouns and adjectives ending in –e – Che giorno è oggi? Days of the week, months, dates. Role play: Quando è il tuo compleanno? – Masculine and Feminine Nouns beginning with a vowel – Role play: Qual è il tuo indirizzo?

Masculine Nouns beginning with S + Consonant and Z - Role play: Domanda e risposta. Articles Review – Role play: Al Bar –

Che cosa sono? a. Plural Nouns and Adjectives. B. The plural of the definite articles. C. The verb Essere – Dov’è?

Adjectives to describe a person – Oral presentation: Describe yourself – Writing Activity: Describe your roommate. Listening Activities: Chi è? – Role play: Che cosa ti piace fare?  - Writing: Parla un po’ di te.

WEEK 2

Review – Video 1: Chi sono?

Test 1 

a. Listening activity on a given story. B. Questions on the listening activity. C. Reading comprehension of the listening activity. – The present tense of the verbs ending in –ARE- ERE - IRE . Learning how to conjugate a verb. Listening activity: Chi lo fa?

Vocabulary: Andiamo a fare la spesa! Role play: Fare la spesa – On-site activity: Al mercato.

FIELD TRIP: AT THE MARKET

WEEK 3 

The verb Andare. Role play: Andiamo a visitare Roma! – Vocabulary: Colazione, Pranzo e Cena. Role play: Che cosa mangi? – Reading activity: Gli italiani a tavola – Interview your classmate – Listening comprehension: Le abitudini degli italiani. Review - Writing: Describe a given person.

All’Università – Role-play – Vocab. Le attività a scuola – Listening: Davanti alla biblioteca – Video 3: A scuola – I verbi in – isc. Role play: Che cosa preferisci? – Role play: 1. Che ore sono? 2. A che ora? – The verb Fare. Idiomatic expressions made with Fare – Listening: 1. Che cosa fai nel tempo libero? 2. Che cosa fai il fine settimana? – Writing: La mia vita a Roma.

INTERVIEW PEOPLE

WEEK 4 

Family Vocab. – Listening: Una famiglia italiana – Video 4: Felicita e la sua nuova famiglia. – Gli aggettivi possessivi – Listening: Chiara descrive i suoi parenti – Reading: La famiglia italiana.

Test 2 

Mi piace e mi piacciono. Role-play: Ti piace o ti piacciono? – Writing: Come ti piace vestirti? - Le stagioni e il tempo. Vocabulary: Che stagione preferisci? - Listening: Che programmi hai? – Video 4: Come sono? Che cosa portano?

Vocabulary and Role-play: In un negozio di vestiti – Listening: Che bel vestito! –

 - I verbi Venire e Uscire – Role play: Intervista.

FIELD TRIP: GET DIRECTIONS

WEEK 5  

Una mattina tipica. I verbi riflessivi. – Le attività di tutti i giorni – Vocabulary: Cosa facciamo ogni giorno? - Listening: 1. Giorno dopo giorno! 2. Cosa fanno? - Writing: La mia mattina tipica – Vocabulary: 1. Le parti del corpo  

Oral Presentation

Final Review

FINAL EXAM