JCU Logo

JOHN CABOT UNIVERSITY

COURSE CODE: "IT 101-4"
COURSE NAME: "Introductory Italian I"
SEMESTER & YEAR: Spring 2015
SYLLABUS

INSTRUCTOR: Rosa Napoli
EMAIL: [email protected]
HOURS: MW 1:00 PM 2:50 PM
TOTAL NO. OF CONTACT HOURS: 60
CREDITS: 3
PREREQUISITES: This course carries 3 semester hours of credit.
OFFICE HOURS: Monday 1030- 1130 or by appointment

COURSE DESCRIPTION:
This course is designed to give students basic oral and written communicative ability in Italian while building a strong grammatical foundation.
By presenting the language in a variety of authentic contexts, the course 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; Present tense of regular and irregular verbs; Past tense (Passato Prossimo); Agreement nouns / adjectives;
        Possessive adjectives; Present and Past tense of riflexive verbs; Introduction to direct pronouns.

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.

Reflectivity

Students will be able to reflect, in English, on personal experiences while learning a new language and living in a different culture. They will work towards identifying their personal learning style. Particular emphasis will be placed on awareness and use of language learners’ strategies.

TEXTBOOK:
Book TitleAuthorPublisherISBN numberLibrary Call NumberCommentsFormatLocal BookstoreOnline Purchase
Percorso Italia A1/A2Giuseppe Patota e Norma Romanelli DANTE ALIGHIERI9788869643248     
Gramm.it for english speakerGruppo CSCBonacci editore9788875734305     
REQUIRED RESERVED READING:
NONE

RECOMMENDED RESERVED READING:
NONE
GRADING POLICY
-ASSESSMENT METHODS:
AssignmentGuidelinesWeight
TESTSThe three tests are designed to evaluate the student's knowledge of the grammar, vocabulary coverd, their reading and listening comprehension and written ability.25%
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.25%
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%
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 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 practice.10%

-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 co
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)

 

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).

Please 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

 
 

 Week 1 

 

Introducing yourself. Present tense of the verbs Essere (to be), Chiamarsi (my name is....), Avere (to have), Abitare (to live) and Studiare (to study). The Italian Alphabet. Pronunciation of soft and hard sounds. Numbers from 0 to 20. Idiomatic expressions with Avere or Essere.

UNIT 1                

Greetings. Introducing a person (formal and informal)

Present tense of the verb Presentare (to introduce).

Asking for and giving a phone number.

Week 2

 

UNIT 2

Asking nationality. Nationalities. Ordering in a caffè.                      

Present tense of regular verbs and verbs ending in _ISC. Undefinite aticles. Nouns ending in –o and –a. Nouns ending in –e.

Prepositions a, di, da.

Numbers from 20 to 100.

Week 3 

 

UNIT 3

Talking about work. Jobs. Asking for addresses. Talking about family. Telling age and asking for age. Family nouns.

Present tense of Avere (to have) and Fare (to do). Definite articles.

TEST 1

 Week 4 

 

UNIT 4

Talking about a typical day. Talking about how often you do something. Asking and telling the time. Days of the week.

Present tense of reflexive verbs. Adverbs of frequency. Present tense of irregular verbs andare (to go), uscire (to go out) and stare (to stay/to be).

             

 Week 5 

UNIT 4 

Enrolling in a class. Seasons and months. Asking for and giving timetable information.

Writing a letter.

 Week 6 

 

UNIT 5 

There is and there are. Simple prepositions. Compound prepositions. Present tens of Volere (to want)


TEST  2

 Week 7 

   UNIT 5           

Week 8

   Midterm revew
   MIDTERM

UNIT 6

Talking about leisure time. Expressing likes and preferences. Inviting someone. Best wishes and congratulations.

Present tens of modal verbs. Mi piace/mi piacciono (I like). Indirect pronouns. Present continuous.

         

Week 9 

 

UNIT 11

Talking about a trip.

Past tense. Past tense time adverbs.

 Week 10 

 

UNIT 11

Past tense of irregular and reflexive verbs.

TEST 3

 Week 11 

UNIT 7

Grocery shopping. Describing food and eating habits.

Direct pronom ne. Ci vuole/ci vogliono (you need).

 

UNIT 8

Asking for and giving directions. Talking about the weather.

Present tense of sapere and conoscere (to know).

 Week 12 

UNIT 8 CONT.

 Week 13

UNIT 9

Ordering in a restaurant. Asking for the check. Talking about food. Numbers 100 -1.000.000.000

Direct pronouns. Adjectives.

 Week 14

Oral presentation

             

Final Review

Final Examination