ANGLO-AMERICAN LANGUAGE 1

The course consists of a module held in the second semester and a year-round language practice course (“esercitazioni”) closely integrated with the module and co-ordinated by the Instructor. The general aim is to consolidate the metalinguistic competences needed to describe the English language and to achieve an operational competence of B2+ on the CEFR (Common European Framework of Reference). The main focus is on providing the instruments to achieve a detailed understanding of the English verb system.

The expected learning outcomes are assessed in a structured exam at the end of the course.

1. Knowledge and understanding of verb tenses and aspects, ability to use complex verb structures (modal verbs, passive voice, conditional sentences, direct and indirect discourse, use of the infinitive and participle forms); the ability to understand complex academic texts; awareness of linguistic registers.
2. Applying knowledge and understanding: the ability to understand complex and lengthy academic texts, oral presentations and lectures in English, appropriate to the context of the course of study. The metalinguistic awareness acquired in the module should facilitate language learning in an academic context.
3. Making judgments: interpreting and synthesizing complex texts in English in an efficient and personalized way.
.4 Communication skills: Level B2+ of the CEFR, for receptive skills, written production, oral production and oral interaction. Students should be able to express themselves clearly, in a structured way, and with few errors.
5. Learning skills: understanding academic texts and the ability to paraphrase them; note-taking while listening and the ability to summarize texts after listening.

Level B2 of the CEFR and interest in the subject.

Module: The English Verb System:

Expressing time: present, future, past;
Dynamic and stative verbs;
Perfect forms; contrast past simple and present perfect;
Simple and progressive forms and their meaning;
Modal verbs: permission, ability, possibility, necessity, obligation;
Conditional sentences
Passive voice;
Direct and indirect discourse;
Infinitive and –ing form.


Lettorato:

- developing comprehension skills for oral and written texts
- learning to synthesize and paraphrase academic texts
- consolidation of overall level of B2 on CEFR

Module:
Leech, Geoffrey. MEANING AND THE ENGLISH VERB. Routledge, 2004.
or
Lews, Michael. THE ENGLISH VERB: AN EXPLORATION OF STRUCTURE AND MEANING. Cengage, 1986
or
Dowling, Gregory. A STUDY OF THE ENGLISH VERB. Supernova, 2015.

Lettorato:
Oxenden, Clive; Latham-Koening, Cristina. ENGLISH FILE ADVANCED Student’s book and workbook, Oxford University Press
Hewings, Martin; Thaine, Craig. CAMBRIDGE ACADEMIC ENGLISH C1 ADVANCED, Cambridge University Press, 2012

Dizionari consigliati:
F. Picchi, GRANDE DIZIONARIO INGLESE-ITALIANO E ITALIANO-INGLESE. Milano: Hoepli.

MACMILLAN ENGLISH DICTIONARY FOR ADVANCED LEARNERS 2ND EDITION WITH CD-ROM: ISBN: 978 1405 025 263 - Macmillan Education.

The written exam consists of two parts.
1.
Module:
Exercises with verbs to be inserted in the correct form (tense, aspect, modal form...);
Transformation of sentences;
Short translation from Italian into English, focusing on the forms of the verb. For students whose mother-tongue is not Italian this last exercise can be substituted by an exercise on question-formation.

2.
Integrated exercises of reading and writing comprehension, to assess language skills at B2+ level in an academic ambit:
a. listening to a short dialogue or interview, with short questions to assess understanding;
b. "reading comprehension", with questions to assess both understanding and the ability to paraphrase and summarise contents;
c. Cloze test;
d. short composition (. 250 words)
An oral test can also be taken, with the CEL during the academic year, outside of classroom hours, which can add a bonus of 1-3 points to the final mark, once a pass-mark has been achieved. The test is not obligatory but strongly recommended. The points for the speaking test will remain valid for two academic years. The passing of the language part (which must in any case by sufficient) is subordinated to the passing of the module, both to be taken together.

Traditional ("frontal") with the help of multimedia supports on the university's e-learning platform moodle.unive.it.

Italian

written