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JOHN CABOT UNIVERSITY

COURSE CODE: "IT 102-5"
COURSE NAME: "Introductory Italian II"
SEMESTER & YEAR: Spring 2026
SYLLABUS

INSTRUCTOR: Angela Eliseo
EMAIL: [email protected]
 HOURS: MW 10:00 AM 11:15 AM
TOTAL NO. OF CONTACT HOURS: 45
CREDITS: 3
PREREQUISITES: Prerequisite: Placement into IT 102 through the JCU placement test, or IT 101 with a grade of C or above
OFFICE HOURS: By appointment or after class
COURSE DESCRIPTION:
A continuation of IT101. This course aims at developing and reinforcing the language skills acquired in Introductory Italian I, while placing special emphasis on oral communication.
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 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

 

Letter Grades and Numerical Values

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
Dai2! Edizione Premium S. Bacci, M. Birello, E. Caselli, M. Navarro Francés, A. Vilagrasa, C. Zambiasi, S. Bacci, M. Birello, S. Bonafaccia, M. Costa, A. Vilagrasa, C. ZambiasiCDL Edizioni 9788411571715  Hard Copy  
REQUIRED RESERVED READING:
NONE

RECOMMENDED RESERVED READING:
NONE
GRADING POLICY
-ASSESSMENT METHODS:
AssignmentGuidelinesWeight
2 Tests Tests evaluate vocabulary and structures learned together in class, on Moodle, or by self-study.15 %
Midterm ExamThe Midterm Exam is designed to evaluate the student's knowledge of the grammar and vocabulary covered up to this point, their reading and listening comprehension and written ability.20 %
Oral ProficiencyOral Exam 1 (7.5%); Oral Exam 2 (7.5%); All everyday in class or on Moodle activities in which speaking is required (5%)20 %
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.30 %
Participation and HomeworkStudents are expected to come prepared to class, and participate in all activities (individual, small groups, whole class works etc.). Active participation is crucial, since the learning process requires considerable practice. Participation also includes cooperation among students, and sharing doubts or ideas about homework, class assignments or new topics that were studied. Self-study is crucial to reinforce what learned in class and to be ready to move on on different and new topics. Homework will be assigned at the end of each session, and will be visible on current Moodle Week at the label called "Homework". Possible types of Homework: writing or recording on Moodle Forum, answering questions in the Moodle assignment activity, work on specific exercises on paper or online, listening practice, reading, writing sentences or vocabulary lists. The activity completion and the login activity will be tracked by the platform15%

-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 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 unjustified absences. The final grade will be lowered for additional absences.

Students seeking an exemption from attendance must submit an online petition to the Academic Dean’s Office. Professors should not receive or see medical documentations from students. 

Non-remote students occasionally joining online will be marked as absent.

Two late entrances count as one absence.

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

 
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                      (19, 21 Jan)

Materials provided in class; pdf file on the Moodle main page.

Review of present tense of regular, irregular and reflexive verbs, use of verb piacere.

Vocabulary: daily life, introduce yourself and ask about others, express your preferences, what you like and what you don’t like.

 

WEEK 2                         (26, 28 Jan)

Materials on Moodle main page: “Review of level 101 from Gramm.it”

Review of articles, nouns and adjectives, modal verbs.

Vocabulary: basic vocabulary related to personal data, study, work, places, hobbies, belongings, daily activities, weather, time and seasons.

 

WEEK 3                         (2, 4, 6 Feb. Friday is a make-up day) 

Unit 6 (From previous volume) “Tutti a tavola”.

Talk about food, order at a restaurant.

Grammar: direct object pronouns, partitives.

Vocabulary: food, eating habits, places for grocery shopping.

 

Unit 7 ( from previous volume) “Una bella esperienza”.

Describe past events. Talk about your own biography or past experiences. Ask and tell what you did yesterday (last week, last month etc.); say what you are able or not able to do; describe personality.

Grammar: passato prossimo, verbs sapere and potere.

 Vocabulary: adjectives to describe personality, expressions of time, main verbs and vocabulary to write ant talk about own life and biography.

 

WEEK 4                        (12, 14 Feb)

Test 1 on Wednesday

Unit 7 (from previous volume) “Una bella esperienza”.

Describe past events. Tell about your own biography or past experiences. Ask and tell what you did yesterday (last week, last month etc.); say what you are able or not able to do; describe personality.

Grammar: passato prossimo, verb sapere and potere.

Vocabulary: adjectives to describe personality, expressions of time, main verbs and vocabulary to write ant talk about own life and biography.

 

WEEK 5                        (16, 18 Feb)

Unit 1 “Parlate molto bene!”

Tell about your own biography or past experiences. Express feeling and emotions, express time, express the reason.

Grammar: passato prossimo of regular and irregular verbs, reflexive verbs.

Vocabulary: feelings and emotions.

 


WEEK 6                        (23, 25 Feb)

 Unit 2 “Che ricordi!”

Describe a period of time in the past. Talk about memories and about childhood; describe people and places in the past; compare present and past describing changes. Describe a place.

Grammar: Imperfect tense.

Vocabulary: Objects of the past, Italy during the '60s and '70s.

 

WEEK 7                         (2, 4 March)

Mid Term Exam on Wednesday

Midterm Review

 

Spring Break (9 - 13 March)

 

 WEEK 8              (17, 19 March)         

 Oral exam 1 on Wednesday

 

 WEEK 9                        (23, 25 March)

Unit 3 “Casa dolce casa”.

Describe the house, locate object in space, express preferences and opinions.

Vocabulary: the apartment with rooms, furniture, adjectives of quality.

 

WEEK 10                     (30 March, 1 April)

Unit 4 “Si va in scena”.

Tell about past events, describe past habits.

Grammar: Intro to Imperfetto and Passato prossimo, connectives (perché, perciò, siccome, quando, mentre).

Vocabulary: Professions related to Show Business, vocabulary related to movies, career, expressions to show interest in something.

 

WEEK 11                    (8 April)

Unit 5 “Ma certo!”

Offering, accepting or refusing an invitation, asking for help or for a favor.

Grammar: direct and indirect object pronouns; stare+ gerund.

Vocabulary: Expressions of courtesy, verbs related to daily activities. Selected expressions in present conditional tense (Vorrei/vorresti – potrei/potresti – dovrei/dovresti).

 

 

WEEK 12                (13, 15 April)      

Review

 Test 2 on Wednesday

 

                                      

 WEEK 13                     (20, 22 April)

Unit 6 “Una salute di ferro”

Give advices and directions, talk about own health and moods

Grammar: imperative tense (informal)

Review and practice for the Oral Presentation

 

WEEK  14                  (27, 29 April)

Oral Exam on Monday

 

FINAL EXAMS