ENGLISH LANGUAGE 1

ATHWAY FOR STUDENTS ENROLLED IN THE POLITICAL-INTERNATIONAL CURRICULUM (SURNAMES M-Z).

Students enrolled in the Political-international curriculum (surnames A-L) should refer to Class 1.
Students enrolled in the Literary-cultural and Linguistic-philological-language teaching curricula, and those taking English Language 1 as a single course, should refer to Class 3.

The course consists of a one-semester module and year-long language classes, closely integrated with the module and coordinated by the lecturer. Its general aim is to consolidate students' metalinguistic awareness of English and to reach a B2+ level of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR). The module, "An Introduction to Discourse Analysis in the Digital Age", provides the basic tools of discourse analysis and applies them to digital texts in English (posts, comments, reviews, short videos, chatbot exchanges). Particular attention is paid to political communication, disinformation and promotional discourse online, all central to the Political-international curriculum. Students thus learn to reflect on how English is used in context, while improving their vocabulary and their command of terminology and grammar.

The achievement of the expected learning outcomes is assessed through a structured examination.

Expected learning outcomes, with reference to the Dublin descriptors:
1. Knowledge and understanding of phonology, morphology, syntax, lexis, and pragmatics; the ability to understand complex academic texts; awareness of linguistic registers; familiarity with the International Phonetic Alphabet and the suprasegmental mechanisms of English.
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 of academic texts, and the ability to paraphrase them; note-taking while listening and the ability to summarize texts after listening

B2 level of the Common European Framework of Reference.

Module title: "An Introduction to Discourse Analysis in the Digital Age"
- What is discourse? Text, context, and discourse analysis
- From page to screen: computer-mediated communication and platform affordances
- Cohesion, coherence and genre in digital texts (posts, threads, reviews)
- Pragmatics online: speech acts, politeness and impoliteness, trolling
- Identity and self-presentation: influencers, personal branding, stance
- Multimodality: images, emoji, memes, short-form video (Instagram, TikTok)
- Participation and interaction: comments, hashtags, networked audiences
- Persuasion and ideology: promotional discourse, political communication, disinformation
- Humans and machines: algorithms, algospeak, AI-generated discourse
- Hands-on: collecting and analysing a small digital dataset (ethics included)

Language classes (Esercitazioni)
- preparation for summarising and paraphrasing academic texts;
- preparation for listening comprehension and oral production;
- activities to strengthen general language competence at B2 level.

Set texts:
1. Jones, R. H. (2024). Discourse Analysis: A Resource Book for Students, 3rd ed. London: Routledge. Unità A1–A10, B1–B10, C1–C10, D1–D4, D6, D8–D10.
2. Jones, R. H., Chik, A. & Hafner, C. A. (eds.) (2015). Discourse and Digital Practices: Doing Discourse Analysis in the Digital Age. London: Routledge (open access). Capitoli: Introduction (Jones, Chik & Hafner); Gee; Jones; Barton; Vásquez; Benson; Chik; Carrington; Lee.
3. Materials provided by the lecturer on the course Moodle page.

Supplementary materials (read and discussed in class, available on Moodle):
- Boyd, d. (2010). Social network sites as networked publics: Affordances, dynamics, and implications. In Z. Papacharissi (ed.), A Networked Self. Routledge.
- Marwick, A. & Boyd, d. (2011). I tweet honestly, I tweet passionately: Twitter users, context collapse, and the imagined audience. New Media & Society 13(1), 114–133. https://doi.org/10.1177/1461444810365313
- Krzyżanowski, M. & Ledin, P. (2017). Uncivility on the web: Populism in/and the borderline discourses of exclusion. Journal of Language and Politics 16(4), 566 - 581, https://doi.org/10.1075/jlp.17028.krz
- KhosraviNik, M. & Esposito, E. (2018). Online hate, digital discourse and critique: Exploring digitally-mediated discursive practices of gender-based hostility. Lodz Papers in Pragmatics 14(1), 45-68, DOI: 10.1515/lpp-2018-0003
- Krendel, A. (2020). The men and women, guys and girls of the 'manosphere': A corpus-assisted discourse approach. Discourse & Society, 31(6), 607-630, https://doi.org/10.1177/0957926520939
- Semino, E. (2021). "Not soldiers but fire-fighters": Metaphors and Covid-19. Health Communication 36(1), 50-58, https://doi.org/10.1080/10410236.2020.1844989
- Chiluwa, I. & Ifukor, P. (2015). 'War against our Children': Stance and evaluation in #BringBackOurGirls campaign discourse on Twitter and Facebook. Discourse & Society. 26(3), 267–296. https://doi.org/10.1177/0957926514564735

Recommended reading:
- Esposito, E. & KhosraviNik, M. (eds.) (2024). Discourse in the Digital Age: Social Media, Power, and Society. Routledge.
- Maci, S. M., Demata, M., McGlashan, M. & Seargeant, P. (eds.) (2023). The Routledge Handbook of Discourse and Disinformation. Routledge.
- Zappavigna, M. (2012). Discourse of Twitter and Social Media: How We Use Language to Create Affiliation on the Web. Bloomsbury.

Language classes (Esercitazioni):
- English File Digital Gold C1 con Student's book, & Workbook with Digital Pack (ISBN: 9780194436007) by Christine Latham-Koenig, Clive Oxenden, Jerry Lambert and Kate Chomacki, published by Oxford University Press.
- MyGrammarLab Advanced C1/C2 **con il key**, by Mark Foley and Diane Hall, published by Pearson. (ISBN: 9781408299111).

The achievement of the expected learning outcomes is assessed as follows:

Written test on the module – Prof. Maci – (60 minutes):
a. short-answer theoretical questions on the key concepts of the module;
b. a short guided analysis of an unseen digital text in English (e.g. a post, a comment thread or a review), through targeted questions on genre, pragmatic strategies, evaluative choices and multimodal features.

Integrated reading, writing and listening tests to assess language competence at B2+ level in academic contexts – Language classes (Esercitazioni) – assessed on a pass/fail basis:
a. Listening comprehension (20 minutes);
b. Paraphrase (approx. 200 words) of a written text (20 minutes);
c. Free writing (approx. 250 words) (50 minutes).

Oral communication skills are assessed during the course through a short interview, which is worth a bonus of 1–3 points added to the final mark.

A pass mark in Prof. Maci's module test remains valid for one exam session within the same academic year.

The final grade for the course is the grade obtained in the written examination for Professor Maci’s module, plus any bonus points awarded. The final grade can be recorded only after the student has passed the integrated language skills tests.

written and oral

The instructor is responsible for ensuring the authenticity and originality of all examinations and coursework. In cases of suspected academic misconduct, an additional on-site assessment may be required during the exams, which may differ from the standard format.

The written examination is assessed on the basis of students’ knowledge of theoretical concepts, their ability to apply them to the guided analysis of a digital text, the relevance and clarity of their answers, and their use of subject-specific terminology.
30 cum laude: thorough and comprehensive knowledge of the theoretical concepts; independent and rigorous application of analytical tools; a particularly convincing and well-supported interpretation of the text; precise and informed use of subject-specific terminology.
28–30: strong and accurate knowledge of the theoretical concepts; ability to apply them precisely to the analysis of the text; relevant, clear and well-supported answers; appropriate use of subject-specific terminology.
26–27: good knowledge of the theoretical concepts; generally accurate application of analytical tools; relevant and clear answers, with some minor inaccuracies in the argumentation or use of terminology.
24–25: adequate knowledge of the main concepts; ability to apply analytical tools to the most evident features of the text; generally relevant answers, although not always detailed or precise.
22–23: basic but partial knowledge of the theoretical concepts; application of analytical tools that is not always confident or consistent; sufficiently relevant answers that may be general or contain some inaccuracies.
18–21: minimum knowledge of the key concepts; limited ability to apply them to the analysis of the text; simple and partial answers, with theoretical or terminological inaccuracies that do not entirely undermine understanding of the subject matter.
Below 18: insufficient knowledge of the key concepts and/or substantial difficulty in applying them to the analysis of the text; answers that are irrelevant, seriously incomplete or demonstrate insufficient understanding of the subject matter.

Module
Lectures combined with hands-on analysis of authentic digital texts (posts, comment threads, reviews, short videos, chatbot exchanges). Each unit includes a short in-class activity, done individually or in groups, in which students apply the concepts of the unit to a real digital text. Texts and exercises are available on the lecturer's Moodle page.

Language classes
Language practice sessions with the whole cohort and in small groups to develop oral and written skills.

Accessibility, Disability and Inclusion
Accommodation and support services for students with disabilities and students with specific learning impairments

Ca' Foscari abides by Italian Law (Law 17/1999; Law 170/2010) regarding support services and accommodation available to students with disabilities. This includes students with mobility, visual, hearing and other disabilities (Law 17/1999), and specific learning impairments (Law 170/2010). If you have a disability or impairment that requires accommodations (i.e., alternate testing, readers, note takers or interpreters) please contact the Disability and Accessibility Offices in Student Services: disabilita@unive.it.

This subject deals with topics related to the macro-area "Human capital, health, education" and contributes to the achievement of one or more goals of U. N. Agenda for Sustainable Development