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JOHN CABOT UNIVERSITY

COURSE CODE: "IT 101-17"
COURSE NAME: "Introductory Italian I"
SEMESTER & YEAR: Spring 2025
SYLLABUS

INSTRUCTOR: Sarah Franceschi
EMAIL: [email protected]
 HOURS: TTH 11:30-12:45 PM
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.
SUMMARY OF COURSE CONTENT:

This course presents the first principles of Italian language, geography and culture in a student-centered learning environment.
Upon completing this course, students will possess the ability to:

  • Satisfy a 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

        Students will study in depth the following grammar points:

        Definite and indefinite articles;  agreement nouns / adjectives;

        Present tense of regular and irregular verbs: past tense Passato prossimo
LEARNING OUTCOMES:

Comprehension

-          Listening:  students will be able to understand familiar words and basic sentences concerning themselves and familiar topics when people speak slowly and clearly.

-          Reading: students will be able to read short, simple texts, such as advertisements, menus, brief articles from magazines. They will be able to develop reading strategies to find specific, predictable information in texts and brief personal communications.

Production

-          Speaking: students will be able to use the target language with a basic level of conversational fluency on familiar topics. They will be able to ask and answer simple questions in areas of immediate need or on familiar topics.

-          Writing: students will be able to write short, simple messages dealing with everyday issues and to describe, in basic sentences, themselves, their friends and families, their immediate surroundings and their daily routines.

Cultural awareness

Students will be able to identify some characteristics of the target language culture(s) and distinguish between patterns and stereotypes. They will be able to note similarities and differences between target cultures and their own. They will be able to give examples of the relationship between language and culture.
TEXTBOOK:
Book TitleAuthorPublisherISBN numberLibrary Call NumberCommentsFormatLocal BookstoreOnline Purchase
New Italian Espresso_Textbook_Beginner and pre-intermediate Updated edition Gruppo ItaliaideaAlma Edizioni9788861827240     
New Italian Espresso Textbook beginner workbookGruppo ItaliaideaAlma Edizioni9788861827288     
REQUIRED RESERVED READING:
NONE

RECOMMENDED RESERVED READING:
NONE
GRADING POLICY
-ASSESSMENT METHODS:
AssignmentGuidelinesWeight
4 Tests ( one will be dropped)The four tests are designed to evaluate the student's knowledge of grammar, vocabulary covered, reading and listening comprehension, and writing ability.40%
Final examThe final exam is designed to evaluate the student's knowledge of grammar and the vocabulary covered, reading and listening comprehension, and writing ability.25%
Oral proficiencyOral proficiency In-class oral activities and an oral presentation. Students are examined singularly, in pairs, and, in small groups. The types of tests are conversations between the two students or small groups, monologues, and role-playing. Conversations, monologues, and role-playing are elicited by visual stimuli or questions from the instructor.15%
Class participation and HomeworKStudents are expected to come prepared to class and participate in all activities. Active participation is crucial since the learning process requires considerable practice20%

-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:

 

 
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

 

SCHEDULE

 

PLEASE NOTE THAT THE SCHEDULE IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE AT THE PROFESSOR’S DISCRETION

 

Week 1

 

January 21, 23

 

First Class

Competencies: Introducing yourself and a friend.

Grammar: Present tense. Alphabet. Pronunciation. Numbers from 0 to 20.

Vocabulary: Idiomatic expressions with Avere or Essere.

UNIT 1    Primi contatti            

Competencies: Introducing a person (formal and informal). Greeting people. Asking about pronunciation and spelling. Asking and giving phone number.

Grammar: First conjugation verbs. Preposition di, in.

Vocabulary: Greetings. Classroom objects. Adjectives of nationalities.

Culture: Saluti.

 

 

Week 2

 

January 28, 30

 

UNIT 1 cont.

                                                                       

Week 3

 

February 4, 6

 

UNIT 2      Buon appetito!

Competencies: Ordering in a café and in a restaurant. Asking in a polite way. Asking for the bill. Asking for price.

Grammar: Plural and singular nouns. Interrogatives che cosa?,quanto?. Definite articles. Indefinite articles. Numbers from 20 to 100.

Vocabulary: Food and beverage. Meals.

Culture: Gelato che passione

 

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 6 TEST 1

 

Week 4

 

February 11, 13

 

UNIT 3  Io e gli altri

Competencies: Introducing someone. Describing people’s activities. Asking for age and profession. Telling dates.

Grammar: Singular forms of present tense. Prepositions in, a, per. Formal.

Vocabulary: Professions. Days of the week. Workplaces.

Culture: Donne e lavoro in Italia

 

Week 5

 

February 18, 20

 

UNIT 3 cont.

 

Week 6

 

February 25, 27, 28

 

UNIT 4         Tempo libero

Competencies: Talking about free time. Talking about how often one does something. Talking about people’s interests. Expressing preferences.

Grammar: Plural persons of present tense. Adverbs of frequency. Interrogatives. Present tense of irregular verbs.

Vocabulary: Leisure activities. Parts of the day. Expressions with the verb avere.

Culture: Ristorante, trattoria o…?

 

FEBRUARY 27 TEST 2

 

FEBRUARY 28 MAKE-UP DAY FOR THURSDAY MAY FIRST

 

Week 7

 

March 4, 6

 

Unit 4 cont.

 

MARCH 10-14 SPRING BREAK

 

Week 8

 

March 18, 20

 

UNIT 5   In giro per l’Italia

Competencies: Describing a city. Following and giving directions. Asking and telling time.

Grammar: Present tense of irregular verbs. Prepositions a, in. C’è, ci sono. Adjectives. Noun-adjective agreement.

Vocabulary:  Street directions. Shops and stores.

Culture: Quanta Italia c’è in te?

       

Week 9

 

March 25, 27

 

Unit 5 cont.

 

MARCH 27 TEST 3

 

Week 10

 

April 1, 3

 

UNIT 6  In albergo

Competencies: Describing one’s favorite hotel. Describing a room. Asking for information on accommodation. Talking about one’s holiday activities. Describing a perfect vacation.

Grammar: Present tense of modal verbs. Preposition a + time. Compound prepositions.

Vocabulary: Time expressions. Home furniture and features. Months and seasons. Holiday activities.

Culture: Mancia e scontrino, che cosa sono

 

Week 11

 

April 8, 10

 

UNIT 6 cont.

 

Week 12

 

April 15, 17

 

APRIL 17 TEST 4

 

Week 13

 

April 22, 24

 

UNIT 7      Un finesettimana

Competencies: Talking about past actions. Understanding descriptions of past events..

Grammar: Past tense passato prossimo .

Vocabulary: Weather conditions. Time expressions.

Culture: Dove Andiamo in vacanza?

 

 APRIL 24 ORAL PRESENTATION

 

Week 14

 

April 29

 

APRIL 29   Final Review

 

Final Examination May 5-9