Fall 2011

Email:bcapitini@luc.edu  

Office: Room 115

Office Hour: by appointment

                         course description

 The aim of this course is to further develop students’ knowledge of the target language (communicatively relevant patterns and common exceptions in interactive discourse) and culture through communicative in-class activities and out-of-class assignments. Authentic material in Italian (songs, films, short prose narratives, etc.) will complement this course. Short and frequent writing assignments will be an important way for students to reflect on their language use. This course is designed  as a systematic review and expansion of the grammar ;emphasis is placed on further development of  reading, writing and speaking  skills. This course will be conducted in the target language.

             learning outcomes

Class meetings will center on developing communicative ability, and will be supplemented with in-class activities and as much authentic reading, listening, and visual material as possible.

Upon completion of Italian 4, students should attain a level of competency sufficient to:

• -          Communicate ideas in extended discourse and participate in common interactive situations (speaking skills);
• -          Understand native speech and its social meaning - everyday topics in predictable/unpredictable contexts (listening skills);
• -          Comprehend the content and the cultural significance of literary and non-literary texts on familiar/unfamiliar topics and discourse types (reading skills);
• -       Write coherently and appropriately on a variety of topics and discourse types (writing skills);
• -       Understand specific aspects of Italian culture (contemporary issues on immigration and politics, the fine arts, history, geography, etc.) as well as assumptions and beliefs underlying culture-specific norms and infractions to norms (cultural competency).

course requirements

In order to attain the learning outcomes outlined above and to ensure that the course proceeds efficiently, students are encouraged and expected to:

1. Attend class. Not attending class will lower a student's grade for several reasons (e.g., lack of participation; missed clarifications, explanations, and analyses; missed vocabulary, etc.);
2. Participate actively and constructively in class both with the instructor and other students;
3. Take all quizzes and exams on their scheduled dates and at their scheduled times. Make-up quizzes and exams will be provided only in accordance with Rome Center policy regarding excused absences (see absence policy);
4. Complete homework assignments on their due date;
5. Comport themselves in a manner conducive to learning and with respect for other students;
6. Speak Italian during class meetings.

 general absence policy

In order for an absence to be excused, the student must present the instructor with a written note of excuse from the Dean of Faculty, the Associate Director of Students, or the Director of Residence Life. Please note that such personal reasons as travel plans, visiting relatives, friends, etc., cannot be accepted as valid grounds for excusing an absence unless authorized by the Dean of Faculty.

                                                                           course-specific absence guidelines

For the purpose of grade calculation, each unexcused absence that a student accumulates after the second will reduce her or his final grade by 3% (e.g., if a student's pre-absence grade calculation is 92%, with 4 absences the grade reduces 9 percentage points to 83%, resulting in a drop in the final grade from A- to B).

It is the student's responsibility to inform herself or himself of homework assignments, class notes, etc. in the event of absence.

texts – required:

                       Schaums’s Outlines ITALIAN GRAMMAR 3 th Edition

                Handouts  collector provided by the Instructor.

               ** Students are also strongly urged to purchase an Italian-English dictionary (pocket/travel dictionaries are unsuitable; see instructor for suggestions).

means of assessment

The final grade will be determined on the basis of the following criteria, and grades will be assigned according to the following scale:

*Oral Assignments (2)                                        10%

*Compositions (6, graded)                                10%

Participation                                                         10%

*Homework & other assignments    15%

Quizzes (4)                                                            20%

Midterm Exam                                                    15%

Final Exam                                                           20%       

                                                                                    final exam                                                                   

                                                                    General absence policy

One must be present in order to participate. Absence is strongly discouraged. Only two undocumented absences are allowed. More than that will result in a 5% lowering of the participation grade In order for an absence to be excused, the students must present the instructor with a written note of excuse from the Dean of Faculty, the Associate Dean of Students, the Director of Residence Life or in case of illness, with a medical excuse signed by attending physician or the Rome Center Doctor.

Please note  that such personal reasons as travel plans, visiting relatives, friends, cannot be accepted as valid grounds for excusing an absence unless authorized by the Dean of Students.

It is the student’s responsibility to inform himself or herself of homework assignments, class notes etc. in the

event of absence

Those students who cannot attend the final exam session will receive a grade of 0 (zero) on the final exam (except those students with a valid excuse; see absence policy), and the final grade will be calculated accordingly.

                                                                                       academic integrity

The deliberate appropriation and representation of another person's work (ideas, language, findings, etc.) as one's own on any written assignment, quiz, exam, or paper—commonly referred to as "plagiarism"—will result in a student's automatic failure for that assignment or examination and notification of the Director that the student is suspected to have committed plagiarism. Any such behavior undermines the fundamental trust upon which academic integrity and a community of scholars is based. Every student must familiarize herself or himself with the rules referring to academic integrity as outlined in the Loyola University Chicago Undergraduate Studies Catalogue. Knowledge of the University's academic integrity guidelines will be taken for granted.

Please remember that while study groups are acceptable, students should not use on-line instant translators to write compositions, ask friends or native speakers to complete their assignments and recycle their own or other people’s materials. Plagiarism or dishonest examination behavior will result minimally in the instructor assigning the grade of “F” for the assignment or examination. For a complete account of what constitutes academic dishonesty as well as the penalties, see the Undergraduate Catalogue.

In addition to the Loyola University Chicago policy on Academic Honesty (see Loyola website), the following rules apply in all modern language courses:

1. Students may not use automated translators to write compositions.

2. Students may not ask friends, relatives or native speakers to complete their assignments.

3. Students may not recycle their own or other people’s work.

4. Students must explicitly cite any material that has been taken from the Internet or other sources and in most cases are urged to paraphrase rather than copy and paste.           students with disabilities

Students with documented disabilities who wish to discuss academic accommodations should contact me the first week of class.