ENGLISH LANGUAGE 1
Stampa
Enrollment year
2017/2018
Academic year
2017/2018
Regulations
DM270
Academic discipline
L-LIN/12 (ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND TRANSLATION)
Department
DEPARTMENT OF HUMANITIES
Course
MODERN LANGUAGES AND CULTURES
Curriculum
Lingue per l'impresa
Year of study
Period
1st semester (25/09/2017 - 10/01/2018)
ECTS
9
Lesson hours
36 lesson hours
Language
English
Activity type
WRITTEN AND ORAL TEST
Teacher
MONTI SILVIA (titolare) - 9 ECTS
Prerequisites
Students who don't attain B1 level as a result of the Placement Test have to attend extra lesson hours within the esercitazioni.
Learning outcomes
The course aims at developing a wide range of linguistic and metalinguistic competences relevant to the different descriptive levels (phonetics and phonology, morphology, lexicon and syntax, semantics and pragmatics) as well as to geographical and social uses, registers and textual genres of contemporary English. Considering the course's overall organization, at the end of the triennio students will have progressively acquired a full competence in the use of both written and spoken language.

The levels of language proficiency to be attained at the end of the year (and established by the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages) are the following ones: B1 for writing and oral performance, B2 for reading and listening.
Course contents
Starting from a preliminary definition of Standard English, the course (modulo docente) aims at illustrating the main dimensions of variation – geographical, social, situational – in the use of contemporary English language, focusing on important varieties of such as dialect, slang, ethnolect, genderlect, idiolect, jargon, Netspeak which will be analysed from a lexical, syntactic as well as semantic point of view.
Particular attention will be devoted to the varieties of British English, American English and Australian English, which will be illustrated pointing out analogies and differences with regard to spelling, lexicon, syntax, semantics, fixed and idiomatic expressions, common everyday uses.
The description of such phenomena will be accompanied by the analysis and translation of such texts as film dialogues, travel accounts, guidebooks, non-fiction books, newspaper articles, whose belonging to different textual genres will aim at identifying their relevant linguistic functions.
The lessons will be held, in English, during the I term.
Students will also have tutorials within which they will be able to further analyse the course’s contents.
As far as the four language skills are concerned, the levels of language proficiency to be attained at the end of the year (and established by the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages) are the following ones: B1 for writing and oral performance, B2 for reading and listening.
At the beginning of the academic year, students will have to take a placement test designed both to assess their level of knowledge of the English language and to assign them to the suitable type of language lessons to be attended. Such test is compulsory.

The language lessons (esercitazioni) are held during the whole academic year by the Collaboratori ed Esperti Linguistici (CEL). The aim of the esercitazioni is to develop the students’ linguistic competences with particular attention to the use of the language as well as to the four basic language skills.
Further information related to teaching materials and timetables will be available at the Centro Linguistico (Offices).
Teaching methods
Lectures
Reccomended or required readings
Bibliography for modulo docente
Attending students:
S. Gramley - K. Pätzold, 2004. A Survey of Modern English, London-New York: Routledge
cap. 1 "The English language: standards and variation" (pp. 1-19)
cap. 2 "Vocabulary" (pp. 23-35)
cap. 5 "Grammar" (pp. 97-121)
cap. 9 “Language and gender” (pp. 212-218)
cap. 10 “English in the British Isles” (pp. 227-249)
cap. 12 "Standard British and American English in comparison" (pp. 272-295)
P. Stockwell, 2002. Sociolinguistics, London-New York:Routledge
"Introduction: key concepts in sociolinguistics" (pp. 1-25)
"The changing prestige of RP"; "The reality of genderlects" (pp. 38-43)
G. Tottie, 2002. An Introduction to American English, London:Blackwell
cap. 7 "The grammar of American English" (pp. 146-177)

Non-attending students
S. Gramley - K. Pätzold, 2004. A Survey of Modern English, London-New York:Routledge
cap. 1 "The English language: standards and variation" (pp. 1-19)
cap. 2 "Vocabulary" (pp. 23-35)
cap. 5 "Grammar" (pp. 97-121)
cap. 9 “Language and gender” (pp. 212-218)
cap. 10 “English in the British Isles” (pp. 227-249)
cap. 12 "Standard British and American English in comparison" (pp. 272-295)
cap. 13 “English in Australia, New Zealand and South Africa” (pp. 296-303)
P. Stockwell, 2002. Sociolinguistics, London-New York:Routledge
"Introduction: key concepts in sociolinguistics" (pp. 1-25)
"The changing prestige of RP"; "The reality of genderlects" (pp. 38-43)
G. Tottie, 2002. An Introduction to American English, London:Blackwell
cap. 1 "Writing it and saying it" (pp. 8-24)
cap. 4 "Life and language in the United States" (pp. 69-92)
cap. 5 "American English vocabulary: a systematic view" (pp. 93-129)
cap. 7 "The grammar of American English" (pp. 146-177).

A monolingual dictionary to be chosen among the following:
Collins Cobuild Advanced Learner’s English Dictionary (con CD-ROM), 2006
Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English (con CD-ROM), 2003
Macmillan English Dictionary for Advanced Learners (con CD-ROM), 2002
Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, 7th ed. (con CD-ROM), 2005
Cambridge International Dictionary of English (con CD-ROM), 2002
Bilingual dictionary:
Picchi, F. Grande dizionario di inglese. Inglese italiano/italiano inglese (con CD-ROM), Milano, Hoepli, 2002

Reference Grammars:
Biber, D. et al., 2002. Longman Student Grammar of Spoken and Written English, London: Longman (with Workbook).
Downing, A. - P. Locke, 2002. A University Course in English Grammar, London-New York: Routledge
Assessment methods
Oral examination and preliminary tests
In the final oral examination students will be assessed on the knowledge of the course contents as well as on the linguistic competences attained with reference to the course objectives. The final oral exam will be preceded by a preliminary test aimed at assessing the student’s global language competences. The docente is in charge of such preliminary test, which includes the docente’s holistic test and the CEL’s tests (assessments).
Besides studying the books quoted in the bibliography, students will be asked to read one of the following books by Bill Bryson: Notes from a Small Island, Down Under, Mother Tongue; during the final oral exam students will have to analyse, from a linguistic point of view, a brief excerpt from the chosen book.
Students who regularly attend CEL’s classes (reaching at least 70% attendance) will be able to choose the in itinere evaluation (assessments) during the academic year.
Non-attending students (those who don’t reach at least 70% attendance of CEL’s classes) will have to sit all the CEL’s tests (three possible sessions in Summer, Fall and Winter) together with the docente’s holistic test (global test) in the sessions of June, September, January. Students are not allowed to sit the final oral exam unless they have previously passed the preliminary tests.

Note well
Dictionaries are not allowed during tests. Students have to pass all parts of the preliminary test; students who fail one part of the preliminary test will be allowed to re-sit that part during the global preliminary test within the subsequent 13 months. Students who fail two or more parts will have to retake the whole global test. All components of the preliminary tests, if passed, are valid for 12 months.
Further information
Oral examination and preliminary tests
In the final oral examination students will be assessed on the knowledge of the course contents as well as on the linguistic competences attained with reference to the course objectives. The final oral exam will be preceded by a preliminary test aimed at assessing the student’s global language competences. The docente is in charge of such preliminary test, which includes the docente’s holistic test and the CEL’s tests (assessments).
Besides studying the books quoted in the bibliography, students will be asked to read one of the following books by Bill Bryson: Notes from a Small Island, Down Under, Mother Tongue; during the final oral exam students will have to analyse, from a linguistic point of view, a brief excerpt from the chosen book.
Students who regularly attend CEL’s classes (reaching at least 70% attendance) will be able to choose the in itinere evaluation (assessments) during the academic year.
Non-attending students (those who don’t reach at least 70% attendance of CEL’s classes) will have to sit all the CEL’s tests (three possible sessions in Summer, Fall and Winter) together with the docente’s holistic test (global test) in the sessions of June, September, January. Students are not allowed to sit the final oral exam unless they have previously passed the preliminary tests.

Note well
Dictionaries are not allowed during tests. Students have to pass all parts of the preliminary test; students who fail one part of the preliminary test will be allowed to re-sit that part during the global preliminary test within the subsequent 13 months. Students who fail two or more parts will have to retake the whole global test. All components of the preliminary tests, if passed, are valid for 12 months.
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