Venice International University

This course is a continuation of ‘Italian Beginners’. Students will begin the course by reviewing material from the previous course.
This language course is designed so that students can practice their grammar skills and increase their ability to understand, speak, read and write Italian, while emphasizing the development of reading comprehension. It includes an introduction to new grammar skills, with continued vocabulary study, conversational practice, short composition, cultural and literary readings and some work with video. Group work and role-play are used extensively to develop these skills. The course is conducted in Italian from the first day. Homework will be corrected during class time and it will allow the students to self-correct and understand why a specific grammar point works the way it does. During classes, students will produce some written documents concerning their own experience in Venice as a foreign student.
Students can ask their teacher for any extra materials they may need to further personalize their program, or to review grammar skills.

Hours: 56

Class Schedule: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday 11.00-12.30.

Syllabus
Grammar

• Review of simple present tense (regular and irregular)
• Review of simple past
• Review of simple future tense
• Reflexive verbs
• Use of the partitive “ne”
• Imperfect past tense
• Simple past (perfect tense) and imperfect used together
• Agreement of the direct pronouns with the perfect tense
• Formal/unformal use of the imperative;
• Stare + gerundio: present continuous;
• Introduction to subjunctive (present)
• Si impersonale
• Pronouns
• Use of ci
• Relative pronouns
• Introduction to conditional (present)

Communicative areas
• Telling stories and events in the past; Describing weather; Giving and asking for advises or instructions; Describing situations, places and people; Making a phone call; Organizing a trip; Asking for a permission; Giving an opinion; Making projects for the future; Apologizing; Making a proposal and inviting; Accepting and refusing ; Complaining

F1703 Italian for Foreigners - beginner and intermediate level

Oral comprehension
• Dialogues; Weather report; Songs; Phone calls; Videos; Advertisements;

Written comprehension
• Writing a letter to a friend or a relative; Instructions; Warnings and messages; Invitations; Announcements; Tales; Short literature passages; Tourist information; Horoscope; Short newspaper articles; How to write a complaint letter

Oral expression and vocabulary
• Face-to-face conversation; Instructions; Descriptions; Tales; Phone calls; Role play

Written expression
• Post cards; Familiar letters; Diary pages; Tales.

Evaluation

The students will be expected to come to all classes prepared to actively partecipate in oral and written work. Attendance for this class is absolutely mandatory. Absences will lower the final grade.

• 30% Class performance (participation and attendance). Class will involve much student-student and student-instructor interaction in more open-ended conversation. The quality of interaction will have a significant effect on the course grade.
• 20% Homework. (10 homework, written) Effort and enthusiasm will count as much as accuracy in preparation.
• 20% Mid-term exam (written);
• 20% Final exam (oral, final paper presentation)
• 10% Final working paper (written) during classes, students will produce some written documents concerning their own experience in Venice as a foreign student (e.g. small Venice guide for foreign students)

Reading

Workbook of Istituto Venezia 2 (selection of authentic teaching materials and selected teaching materials from textbooks as Espresso, Chiaro, Domani)

Tutoring

Students can ask their teacher for any extra materials they may need to personalize their program further or to review some grammar points.

Schedule

Timetable week 1-6: four lessons/week, Monday to Thursday, 11.00-12.30

Timetable week 7-12: four lessons/week, Monday-Wednesday or Tuesday-Thursday, 11.00-12.30