2012/2013

2014/2015

DM270

L-LIN/12 (ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND TRANSLATION)

DEPARTMENT OF HUMANITIES

MODERN LANGUAGES AND CULTURES

PERCORSO COMUNE

3°

1st semester (22/09/2014 - 22/12/2014)

9

36 lesson hours

ITALIAN

ORAL TEST

PAVESI MARIA GABRIELLA (titolare) - 9 ECTS

Students must have passed English language 1 and English language 2

The course aims at a lexicogrammatical profieciency close to the C1 level of the Common European Framework of Reference as well the development of the metalinguistic competence necessary to analyse spoken English in a numbe of text types. A parallel aim is the improvement of both reception skills (listening and reading) and production skills (written and oral) also during the classes held by CELs (collaboratori ed esperti linguistici).

The course deals with the analysis of the English language in contexts of use and it specifically tackles the organization system of spoken and written language. In this perspective, the major principles will be presented which underlie spoken discourse and communication, including linguistic politeness, comparing them to those of the written language. Various syntactic, lexical and textual phenomena will be examined which are central to the structuring and construction of spoken English, including tag questions, ellipsis, repetitions, conversational routines, vocatives, inserts. Reference will be made to different genres of spoken language in spontaneous as well as mediated interactions, such as face-to-face conversation, service encounters, and political interviews. To draw a comparison, the course will also deal with selected salient features of written language, focussing on specialized discourse and the language of newspapers. Students are required to develop their analytic skills applied to spoken texts working on film script. Tutorials are organized to help students with the task.
The course is integrated with classes held by CELs (Collaboratori ed esperti linguistici) in the first and second semester. Moving from an initial B2-C1 level of the Common European Framework of Reference, these classes aim to improve language proficiency in both reception skills (listening and reading) and production skills (written and oral). The focus of the class activities will be on writing. Students will be expected to produce a number practice essays during the year. They will also be engage to in self-study on a regular basis, largely in the form of downloadable reading assignments or listening assignments, available from the Centro linguistico

Lectures, workshops, seminars and tutorials

1.Biber, D. et al. 1999. Longman Grammar of Spoken and Written English. Harlow: London. Chapter 14 - The grammar of conversation, pp. 1038-1108
2.Thomas, J. 1995. Meaning in Interaction. An Introduction to Pragmatics. London, Longman. Chapt. 6 - Theories of politeness, pp. 149-182
3.O' Keeffe A., Clancy B., and Adolphs S. 2011. Introducing Pragmatics in use. Chapt. 5 - Speech acts in context, pp. 83-93.
4. O' Keefe A. 2006. Investigating Media Discourse. Chapt. 3 - Review of methodologies for analysing media discourse, pp. 32-49.
5. Gramley, S. and K. Pätzold, A Survey of Modern English. Routledge, 2004. Chapt. 6, Written texts and English for specific purposes, pp. 145-167.
6. Semino, E. , Language in Newspapers. In J. Culpeper et al. (eds.) English Language. Description, Variation and Context. Palgrave MacMillan?, 2009, pp. 439-453.

The 15-hour phonetic trascription component is also available on-line (Dr. Morlye).

Reference grammar :
Biber, D. et al., Longman Student Grammar of Spoken and Written English. Longman, 2002.
Foley, M. and D. Hall, 2003, Longman Advanced Learners’ Grammar. Longman.

One monolingual dictionary among the following recommended ones:

Collins Cobuild Students Dictionary or Advanced Dictionary, 2006.
Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, 2003.
Macmillan English Dictionary, 2002 (latest edition is free on-line).
Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, (con CD-ROM), 2011.
Cambridge International Dictionary of English (con CD-ROM), 2002.

One bilingual dictionary among the following recommended ones:

Picchi, F. Grande Dizionario di Inglese con CD-ROM, Milano, Hoepli, 2002.
Grande Dizionario Hazon di Inglese 2.0 con WEB-CD.

Oral examination and preliminary test
In the oral examination students will be assessed on the knowledge of the course contents as well as on the linguistic competence attained with reference to the course objectives. Students are also required to watch and analyse the dialogues of the following films: Ae Fond Kiss, Crash, Secrets and Lies, Adam (available at the Language Centre), on which they will be tested during the oral exam.
The oral exam will be preceded by a preliminary test aimed at assessing the student’s global language competence. Such preliminary test (which students can take in the Summer, Autumn and Winter sessions), includes the docente’s holistic test and the CEL’s (global) test. The docente’s holistic test is a cloze test, that is a fill-in task starting from a text from which words have been deleted. (Tutorial sessions will be specifically organized to allow students to practise this test type). The CELs’ test (i.e. the global) will include a listening comprehension task, the writing of a 500-600 words long essay and a speaking assessment at C1 level.

Students who regularly attend CELs' classes (at least 70%) will be able to choose the “in itinere” evaluation (partial assessments). Non-attending students (those who will not reach 70% of CELs' classes) will have to sit all the CEL tests in the Summer, Autumn and Winter sessions.

Students are not allowed to sit the final oral exam unless they have previously passed the preliminary test.

N.B. The use of a monolingual dictionary is allowed only during the writing test. All the preliminary tests, if passed, are valid for 13 months. Students have to pass all the preliminary tests; students who fail one part of the preliminary tests will be allowed to re-sit that part within the subsequent 13 months. Students who fail two or more parts will have to retake the whole preliminary test.

Oral examination and preliminary test
In the oral examination students will be assessed on the knowledge of the course contents as well as on the linguistic competence attained with reference to the course objectives. Students are also required to watch and analyse the dialogues of the following films: Ae Fond Kiss, Crash, Secrets and Lies, Adam (available at the Language Centre), on which they will be tested during the oral exam.
The oral exam will be preceded by a preliminary test aimed at assessing the student’s global language competence. Such preliminary test (which students can take in the Summer, Autumn and Winter sessions), includes the docente’s holistic test and the CEL’s (global) test. The docente’s holistic test is a cloze test, that is a fill-in task starting from a text from which words have been deleted. (Tutorial sessions will be specifically organized to allow students to practise this test type). The CELs’ test (i.e. the global) will include a listening comprehension task, the writing of a 500-600 words long essay and a speaking assessment at C1 level.

Students who regularly attend CELs' classes (at least 70%) will be able to choose the “in itinere” evaluation (partial assessments). Non-attending students (those who will not reach 70% of CELs' classes) will have to sit all the CEL tests in the Summer, Autumn and Winter sessions.

Students are not allowed to sit the final oral exam unless they have previously passed the preliminary test.

N.B. The use of a monolingual dictionary is allowed only during the writing test. All the preliminary tests, if passed, are valid for 13 months. Students have to pass all the preliminary tests; students who fail one part of the preliminary tests will be allowed to re-sit that part within the subsequent 13 months. Students who fail two or more parts will have to retake the whole preliminary test.