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JOHN CABOT UNIVERSITY

COURSE CODE: "IT 101-1"
COURSE NAME: "Introductory Italian I (Note: This course carries 4 semester hours of credit)"
SEMESTER & YEAR: Fall Semester 2012
SYLLABUS

INSTRUCTOR: Maggini Stefania
EMAIL: [email protected]
HOURS: TTH 15:00-16:50
TOTAL NO. OF CONTACT HOURS: 60
CREDITS: 3
PREREQUISITES: This course carries 3 semester hours of credit.
OFFICE HOURS: by appointment: [email protected]

COURSE DESCRIPTION:

COURSE AIMS:

This course is focused on the city of Rome and its local culture and high culture, such as city maps and districts, food, paintings, architecture, movies, songs, traditions, history, using multi-media on line teaching materials and based on the premise that the learning of culture can, and should, occur parallel to, and in natural harmony with, language acquisition. We will have several cultural experiences outside class.

N.B. The professor will only use the Italian language to teach. The course will be in Italian and students are expected to use only Italian in class. This being a language course, emphasizes teaching through stimulating class conversations and interactions rather than lectures. We use the language rather than just study it.

SUMMARY OF COURSE CONTENT:

To acquire the skills necessary to better understand Rome and Italians.

To derive useful information from authentic Italian visual, oral and written materials.

To communicate with Italians in Italian.

To study and understand grammar starting from examples rather than rules.

To engage in simple conversations in Italian on a wide variety of topics, both cultural and practical.

To talk about your preferences, needs, and interests and to describe and comment on images, activities, places, movies, and works of art.

To speak, read and write in present and past tenses.

LEARNING OUTCOMES:
You will feel confident in being exposed to Italian culture and language in taking risks, making mistakes and learning from your mistakes; you will communicate with Italians and Italian speakers on a simple level; you will learn how to learn, according to your personal learning style, about a new culture and a new language enjoying it; you will understand how to become a better "traveler".
TEXTBOOK:
Book TitleAuthorPublisherISBN numberLibrary Call NumberCommentsFormatLocal BookstoreOnline Purchase
I piccoli Dizionari Garzanti-ItalianoGarzantiGarzanti978884800642-2     
Corso Italia 123Andreini,Bolognesi,Valeri,Zaccone,ZingoniM.I.R. Edizioni978-88-8895594101     
REQUIRED RESERVED READING:
NONE

RECOMMENDED RESERVED READING:
NONE
GRADING POLICY
-ASSESSMENT METHODS:
AssignmentGuidelinesWeight
Attendance 5%
Homework 10%
Participation 20%
Test Uno 10%
Mid Term Exam  15%
Test Due 10%
Oral Exam  15%
Final Exam  15%

-ASSESSMENT CRITERIA:
 

A = 94-100 B = 83-86 C = 70-74
A- = 90-93 B- = 80-82 D = 60-69
B+ = 87-89 C+ = 75-79 F = 0-59


A/A- = Excellent command of the language consistent with the level of proficiency. Appropriate command of sentence structure, lexis, register and idiom. Also to get an A/A- evidences of excellent extra work and partecipation are required.

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 = 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.

NB: in case, for a better assessment, you may be asked to bring your performance evidences of the course to your professor.


-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. It is imperative that you come to every class. Absences will be minimally penalized up to two. The final grade will be lowered by two points for each additional absence - whatever the circumstances. Make sure your travel plans do not interfere with the class schedule.

You are allowed to arrive later or to leave class earlier only with your professor authorization. Otherwise that incomplete day of attendance will be considered an absence.

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:

Course Introduction, Greetings, Alphabet, Pronunciation, Basic Expressions.

In classe. Introducing yourself. Present tense of Essere and Gender and numbers of nouns, adjectives of nationality. Idiomatic Expressions.
Arianna - Ascolto


week 2:

Al bar. Present tense of Avere e Prendere. Numbers from 0 to 100; days of the week; months and seasons.

Il Trionfo di Galatea di Raffaello Sanzio alla Villa La Farnesiana. Nouns and adjectives in -o and in -a vs nouns and adjectives in -e. Agreements, Construction of the phrase.
- Cultural Activity: cost around 10 euros

week 3:

Al ristorante. Formal and informal communication. Definitive and indefinitive articles.
Film Un Americano a Roma - Nando e i maccheroni -Review.
Test 1 - Thursday


week 4:

Un giorno a Roma. Verbs in are, ere and ire. Formal and informal communication. Numbers from 100 onwards.

week 5:

Alla Fontana di Trevi. Una scena dal flm di F.Fellini "La Dolce Vita" Verbs STARE, FARE, ANDARE, STARE. Verbs in ISC; Verbs SAPERE and CONOSCERE. Names of occupations; peculiarities of nouns. Simple prepositions.
- Cultural Activity: cost around 10 euros

week 6:

Il tempo libero. Adverbs of frequency; verb PIACERE; asking questions.
La giornata tipo di Arianna- Ascolto

week 7:
Review and Midterm Exam
MIDTERM EXAM

week 8:
La danza di Sylvia da La Dolce Vita -Present tense of irregular verbs; simple prepositions. C'è vs Ci sono. Adjectives of the second group. Asking the time.
- Cultural Activity: cost around 10 euros

week 9:
Arianna e Trastevere- Ascolto - Fare e ricevere inviti. Modal verbs; bene/buono and male/cattivo.
Ordinal numbers; compound prepositions. "A che ora?".

week 10:
La prima sera di Dora e Guido da "La Vita è Bella" .Il fine settimana passato. Passato prossimo with essere and avere; Irregular Past Participles. Past time expressions; adverbs of time; Ci vuole vs Ci vogliono.

week 11:
Il fine settimana passato di Arianna - Review for Test 2. Class Activities.
- Cultural Activity: cost around 10 euros

week 12:
Passato prossimo. Review.
Cultural Activity.

week 13:
Vita quotidiana. Reflexive verbs; position of the reflexive pronouns; possessive adjectives.
La famiglia. Possessive adjectives.


week 14:
Review for Final Exam
Oral Presentations.
Oral Presentations
- Cultural Activity: cost around 10 euros

week 15:
FINAL EXAM