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JOHN CABOT UNIVERSITY

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

INSTRUCTOR: Angela Eliseo
EMAIL: [email protected]
HOURS: MTWTH 1:30 PM 2:20 PM
TOTAL NO. OF CONTACT HOURS: 60
CREDITS: 3
PREREQUISITES: This course carries 3 semester hours of credit.
OFFICE HOURS: Before/after class 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. Note: This course carries 4 semester hours of credit during the Fall and Spring terms, 3 hours in Summer.
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 very 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.
TEXTBOOK:
Book TitleAuthorPublisherISBN numberLibrary Call NumberCommentsFormatLocal BookstoreOnline Purchase
Percorso Italia A! - A2Patota - RomanelliGarzanti Linguistica9788848040419      
Gramm.itIacovoni-Persiano-FiorentinoBonacci9788875734305      
REQUIRED RESERVED READING:
NONE

RECOMMENDED RESERVED READING:
NONE
GRADING POLICY
-ASSESSMENT METHODS:
AssignmentGuidelinesWeight
4 testsVocabulary and Structures learned together in class or by self-study20%
midterm 20%
Final 25%
Oral ProficiencyOne in class dialogue One Oral Presentation All everyday oral in class activities20%
Class Participation and Homework 15%

-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 six unjustified absences. The final grade could be lowered for additional absences. Make sure your travel plans do not interfere with the class schedule.

Two late entrances count as one absence.

MAKE-UPS

Individual arrangements for make-ups will be done only for students with medical emergencies or any other valid reasons. 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).
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                (Aug. 31 - Sept. 3)

UNIT 1 "Incontri"

Introducing yourself . Asking and telling a phone number. Greetings. Introducing a person (formal and informal)

Present tense of the verbs Essere, Chiamarsi , Avere, Abitare, and Studiare.

The Italian Alphabet. Pronunciation of soft and hard sounds. Numbers from 0 to 20. Interrogatives: Come? Qual è?Che cosa?



WEEK 2           (Sept. 7 - 10)

UNIT 2 "Fare conoscenza" 

Asking and telling nationality. Ordering in a café.            

Present tense of regular verbs and verbs in -ISC. Indefinite articles un, uno, una , un’. Nouns ending in –o and –a. Nouns ending in –e. Prepositions a, di, da, per. The negative and interrogative sentence.

Idiomatic expressions with Avere or Essere. Nationality adjectives.

Numbers from 20 to 100.

WEEK 3             (Sept. 14 - 17)

Review

UNIT 3 “Che lavoro fai?” (First part)

Talking about work. Asking for address. Asking and telling what your job is. Describing a family. Telling age and asking for age

Present tense of Avere and Fare. Definite articles (il, lo, la, l’, i, gli, le). Regular singular and plural nouns.

Names of family members. Jobs. Work places. Interrogatives: dove? Quando? Quanti?Chi?

                                                                       TEST 1  (Wed. Sept. 16)
WEEK 4                 (Sept. 21 - 25 FRIDAY, Make-up day for Nov. 26)

UNIT 3 “Che lavoro fai?” (Second part)

Talking about work. Asking for address. Asking and telling what your job is. Describing a family. Telling age and asking for age

Present tense of Avere and Fare. Definite articles (il, lo, la, l’, i, gli, le). Regular singular and plural nouns.

Names of family members. Jobs. Work places. Interrogatives: dove? Quando? Quanti?Chi?

 

WEEK 5             (Sept 28 - Oct. 1)

UNIT  4  “Un giorno in famiglia”

Talking about a typical day and week. Talking about how often you do something. Asking and telling time. Asking how people are and telling how you are (formal and informal).

Present tense of reflexive verbs. Present tense of irregular verbs andare, uscire, and stare.

Days of the week. Parts of the day.  Adverbs of frequency. Selected verbs and nouns to describe daily routines. Adverbs presto, tardi, prima, dopo. Prepositions da, con.

                                                           TEST 2  (TH. Oct. 1)

WEEK 6                 (Oct. 5 - 8)

UNIT  5 “A scuola di italiano”

Enrolling in a class. Asking and giving information about a course. Asking and giving timetable information. Writing a letter. Asking and telling the date.

There is and there are. Simple prepositions. Compound prepositions. Present tens of Volere.

Seasons and months.

 

WEEK 7                 (Oct. 12 - 15)

Review                        

                                                           MIDTERM EXAM   (TH Oct. 15)

WEEK 8         (Oct. 19 - 22)

 UNIT  8  “In giro per Siena”

Asking and giving directions. Talking about the weather. Describing a place (The street, the view from your window)

Present tense of sapere and conoscere (to know). Prepositions: vicino, lontano, davanti, di fronte, dietro, a sinistra, a destra.


 

                                                           FIRST ORAL PROOF (Wed. Oct. 21)

WEEK 9          (Oct. 26 - 29)    

UNIT 6  “Nel tempo libero”

Talking about leisure time. Expressing likes and preferences. Inviting someone, refusing or accepting the invitation. Best wishes and congratulations.

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

Adverbs: moltissimo, molto, abbastanza, poco, per niente. Selected verbs and nouns to talk about leisure time.

                  

WEEK 10              (Nov. 2 - 5)

 UNIT  7  “Fare la spesa” (pages 108-115) .  Unit 9 (page 144)

Grocery shopping. Describing food and eating habits. Ask for the price. Tell the quantity.

Direct pronoun ne. Ci vuole/ci vogliono. Adjectives (singular and plural). Use of the present conditional of the verb volere (vorrei).

Selected vocabulary related to food and grocery shopping.

                                                          TEST 3  (Tuesday Nov. 5)

 

WEEK 11        (Nov. 9 - 12)

 

UNIT 11 “Un fine settimana a Roma”

Talking about a trip. Describe past events. Tell about your own biography or past experiences. Ask and tell what you did yesterday (last week, last month etc.)

Past tense (passato prossimo). Past tense time adverbs.


WEEK 12           (Nov. 16 - 19)

Possessive adjectives. Past tense of selected irregular verbs.

                                          TEST 4 (TH Nov. 19)

 

WEEK 13       (Nov. 23 - 25)

Review and practice for the oral presentation.

SETTIMANA 14                (Nov. 30 - Dec. 3)

Final Review                              ORAL PRESENTATION (Tuesday Dec. 1)