Overview
This course is designed to cater for the needs of students with previous experience of Italian language. It is delivered in Italian to help learners develop their skills and achieve fluency. It is based on the linked skills of listening, speaking, reading and writing and these are developed and assessed as learners progress through the course. The course develops students who are confident and engaged in an optimal learning environment and with a solid foundation for further language learning.
Syllabus
Learning outcomes
Upon successful completion of the course, students will be able to:
- demonstrate ability to maintain interaction
- understand clear speech on a range of cultural topics
- identify traits of Italian culture
By the end of the course, students will be able to perform at Level B1 of the Common European Framework.
Functional Content:
- Discussing, verifying and confirming an argument in both informal and formal contexts
- Expressing criticism and dissent
- Expressing pros and cons of a situation
- Expressing wishes or intentions
- Reporting and evaluating statistics and data
- Talking about oneself and other people
- Describing emotions using different register
- Exchanging information and more complex advice relating to one’s job
Grammatical content:
- Relative pronouns: double and possessive
- Pronominal verbs cavarsela, entrarci, uscirsene
- The position of adjectives in the sentence
- Left dislocation
- The “si” construction: impersonal and passive
- The future perfect (future anteriore)
- Time sequence of verbs: the use of conditional with the subjunctive
- The conditional sentences (type 3: impossibility)
- The use of the gerund to express cause and hypothesis
- Elements of syntax
Lexical content:
The topics covered in this module may vary from the suggested list below, as it anticipated that the content will be discussed, possibly amended, and agreed with the students during the first class.
- · Stili e scelte di vita
- · Lingua e comunicazione – pubblicità e televisione
- · La società italiana tra tradizione e modernità – diritti, tradizioni e arte
- · La giustizia in Italia– diritti e doveri nella società e in politica
Week 12: Written and speaking tests will take place this week. Completing the assessment is required for students taking the course as part of their degree. For all other students, taking the tests is also strongly recommended, as a measure of your progress and learning.
Textbook details:
Al dente 4, Barcellona: Casa delle lLngue, ISBN: 9788416943739, price: approx £25 (units 1-4)
Study Hours
The total number of study hours for this module is 150 hours, in line with undergraduate university modules. This includes class meetings, assessment preparation and self-directed study in line with guidance from the course lecturer.
If you are studying on the extracurricular option, we recognise that the total number of hours that you may be able to study every week may depend on your availability and previous experience studying languages, however, expected contribution to classes, homework completion, and learning outcomes will not vary.
Course Lecturer: Christina Diamantatou
Christina taught modern foreign languages in FE before joining the University of Liverpool in 2017 and the University of Manchester in 2024. Her professional interests include the improvement of language teaching; the education and professional development of teachers; and the refinement of theory and method in language teaching. Christina's research examines curriculum improvement and pedagogy in modern languages, and the nature of educational reform.
Peer-reviewed journal article Journal of Education and Learning “Foreign Language Learning, Motivation and the Market Economy” Published Vol. 5, No. 1, March 2016
Fees for language courses are £190/£95.
Please note that the ‘last date available to book’ date is only a guide. We reserve the right to close bookings earlier.
In order to avoid disappointment, please be sure enrol as soon as possible. Registrations will not be processed until the following day if received after 3pm.
Visit our fee bands page to see which fee applies to you.
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