JCU Logo
JOHN CABOT UNIVERSITY

COURSE CODE: "IT 101-3"
COURSE NAME: "Introductory Italian I"
SEMESTER & YEAR: Spring 2026
SYLLABUS

INSTRUCTOR: Rosa Filardi
EMAIL: [email protected]
 HOURS: MW 3:00 PM 4:15 PM
TOTAL NO. OF CONTACT HOURS: 45
CREDITS: 3
PREREQUISITES: This course carries 3 semester hours of credit.
OFFICE HOURS: Tuesday/Thursday 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:

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; modal verbs;

        Possessive adjectives; present of reflexive verbs.
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.

Numerical scale for grades:

A Excellent 94-100

A- 90-93

B+ 87-89

B Good 84-86

B- 80-83

C+ 77-79

 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 

 
TEXTBOOK:
Book TitleAuthorPublisherISBN numberLibrary Call NumberCommentsFormatLocal BookstoreOnline Purchase
DIECI from Novice low to Novice highCiro Massimo Naddeo, Euridice OrlandinoALMA EDIZIONI978861828094  Hard CopyLa FELTRINELLI L.go Torre Argentina 5/A 
REQUIRED RESERVED READING:
NONE

RECOMMENDED RESERVED READING:
NONE
GRADING POLICY
-ASSESSMENT METHODS:
AssignmentGuidelinesWeight
2 TESTSThe two tests are designed to evaluate the student's knowledge of the grammar, vocabulary coverd, their reading and listening comprehension and written ability.30%
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. The final will include a final project.25%
ORAL PROFICIENCYIn-class oral activities and presentation. Students are examined singularly and in pairs or small groups. The types of tests are: conversation between the two students or the small groups, monologues, role playing. Conversations, monologues and role playing are elicited by visual stimuli or questions from the instructor10%
Class attendance\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 practice. It is mandatory for the course to have and use the students book. You are expected to log in to the Moodle platform of the course at least two times per week, in order to follow the course schedule, to participate in class and complete all the required Moodle activities (forum, assignments, wiki, video) The activity completion and the login activity will be tracked by the platform. 15%
MIDTERMThe midterm designed to evaluate the student’s knowledge of the grammar and vocabulary covered, their reading comprehension skills and writing ability20%
   

-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:

Students are expected 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  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.
If you should miss a class, please contact another student to find out what was covered that day so that you will be prepared for the next class.

DURING CLASS, PLEASE DO NOT:

- leave the room as it is distracting to the professor and to your classmates;

- answer your cell phone, read or send text messages;

- use your computer for anything not related to the class (e.g. Facebook)

-is not allowed to use your cell phone during Test and exames

MAKE-UPS

The Midterm and Final Exam can only be made up with approval from the Dean of Academic Affairs (Please see the John Cabot University Catalog and Student Handbook).

FLRC

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. Refer to the university catalog for the attendance and absence policy.

 
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

Week 1

-Introduction to the course. Unit 0 Lettere e Numeri- Unit 1 Primi Contatti Communication and vocabulary: numbers; greetings; introduce yourself; introduce somebody; ask questions in class. Grammar: alphabet; subject pronouns io, tu, lui, lei

Verbs: present tense of Chiamarsi, essere, avere; natinonalities; singular nouns; indefinitte articles.

Week 2

Unit 2 Persone e Professioni Communication and vocabulary: more on

numbers; profession and workplaces; making a personal presentation.Grammar: regular verbs -ARE; singular definite articles; singular nouns+adjectives; interrogative pronouns;

Some prpositions; present of essere, fare, avere; use of formal/informal

Week 3

Unit 3 Buon Appetito Communication and vocabulary: ordering at the bar/restaurant;

Food and indicating preferences. Grammar: plural nouns; regular verbs -ERE; definite articles plural forms; volere e potere presente tense.

Week 4

Buon Appetito cont…

TEST 1

Week 5 Unit 4 Casa e Albergo Communication and vocabulary: describing a house; the service of a hotel; days of the week. Grammar: regular verbs in -IRE; verbs in ISC; verbi andare venire dovere.

Week 6

Unit 5 Spazio e Tempo Communication and vocabulary: describing a city; means of transportation; months of the year; asking and telling time. Grammar: uso of c’è/ci sono;

use of molto and poco; prepositions.

Week 7

Unit 5 cont…

Review for Midterm- MIDTERM exam

Week 8

Unit 6

Parliamo di me Communication and vocabulary: describing daily routines; talking about free time; Grammar: reflexive verbs; irregular present tense of verb uscire; use of piacere

Week 9

Parliamo di me cont…

Week 10

Unit 7 Italia da scoprire Communication and vocabulary: describing seasons, weather; expressions of time. Grammar: Intro past tense passato prossimo with essere e avere, regular and irregular past participle

Week 11

Unit 7Italia da scoprire cont…

TEST 2

Week 12

Unit 8 Tradizioni e Famiglia Communication and vocabulary: talking about holidays; describing family; greetings. Grammar: possessive adjectives+ possessive adjectives

with family members

Week 13 Unit 8 cont…

Week 14 Oral Presentation +FINAL REVIEW

FINAL EXAM (TBA)