Ital 101 - Italian I
Spring 2012
course description
The purpose of this course is to introduce students to the Italian language. Emphasis will be placed on developing speaking, listening, reading and writing skills and grammar sufficient to support these. Through in-class activities and homework assignments, students can also expect to learn about modern Italy, including geography, culture, history, and society. Given the unique cultural context in which this course is placed, students will be particularly encouraged to begin speaking Italian outside the classroom as soon as possible.
learning outcomes
Class meetings will center on developing communicative ability, and will be supplemented with in-class activities as well as reading, listening, and visual material.
Upon completion of Italian 1, students should attain a level of competency sufficient to:
- Utilize basic essentials of Italian grammar in speaking and writing with a high level of precision. Specifically, students should be able to:
a. Provide and obtain information on a range of practical topics (e.g., preferences, needs, interests, descriptions) and in a variety of situations (e.g., transportation, greetings, introductions, obtaining and discussing food and lodging, carrying out simple transactions);
b. Convey emotions and express feelings;
c. Provide and obtain information on such topics as personal/family background, preferences, interests, and daily routine.
- Read, with basic understanding simple stories, brochures, signs, songs.
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:
- Attend class.
- Participate actively and constructively in class both with the instructor and other students;
- Take all quizzes and exams, and complete assignments 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);
- Complete homework assignments on their due date;
- Comport themselves in a manner conducive to learning and with respect for other students;
- Speak Italian as requested during class meetings.
ATTENDANCE POLICY
Daily attendance is required. Not attending class will lower a student’s grade for several reasons (e.g. lack of participation, missed clarifications and explanations, etc).
Please note that only two unexcused absences are allowed; any supplementary unexcused absence will affect your participation and, thus, each unexcused absence that a student accumulates after the second one will reduce her or his final grade by 3% (e.g., if a student’s pre-absence grade calculation is 92%, with 5 absences the grade reduces 9 percentage points to 83%, resulting in a drop in the final grade from A- to B).
Punctuality is also strictly required- two delays correspond to an absence.
Travel plans, missing a plane or having one’s flight canceled, visiting relatives, friends, etc., cannot be accepted as valid reasons for absences; only notes authorized by the Dean of Faculty, the Associate Director of Students and the Director of Residence Life will be acceptable to allow a student to be excused from class.
It is the student’s responsibility to inform herself or himself of homework assignments, class notes, etc. in the event of absence.
texts – required as new:
- Ciao! Seventh Edition Heinle Cengage Learning: USA.
- Workbook for Ciao!.
** Students are also strongly urged to purchase an Italian-English dictionary (pocket/travel dictionaries are unsuitable).
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:
% of final grade Grading Scale
A 100-93% A- 92-90 B+ 89-87 B 86-83 B- 82-80 C+ 79-77 C 76-73 C- 72-70 D+ 69-67 D 66-60 F 59 and below |
Class participation 10%
Homework 15%
Compositions (4-6) 10%
Oral Presentations (2) 10%
Quizzes (4) 20%
Midterm Exam 15%
Final Exam 20%
final exam
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
Knowledge of the University’s academic integrity guidelines will be taken for granted (also refer to Loyola University of Chicago Undergraduate Studies Catalogue). In addition to the Loyola University policy on academic honesty, the following rules apply:
- students may not ask friends, relative or native speakers to complete their assignments;
- students may not distribute or communicate materials prior to an exam.
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.
CLASS SCHEDULE (the following schedule is subject to modification)
*Please note that there will be no make-up lessons given the language component of the general orientation.
Date | Italian Espresso | Linguistic function | Pronunciation/Activities
| Grammar / Structure | Means of Assessment |
Jan 16/17/19 | preliminary ch. ,“primo incontro” ch. | Introducing yourself / spelling/ greetings | alphabet, stress, geminates, gn, gl, differences betw. English and Italian | introduction to course / overview of sound system / basic communicative expressions / |
|
Jan 23/24/26 | ch.1 | directions |
| numbers 0–49 / sound-spelling correspondences /introductions/ days of the week/directions/present tense of essere/ |
|
Jan 30/31/ Feb 2
| ch. 1/2 | describing someone/geographic information |
| c’e’/ci sono/gender and plural of nouns/definite and indefinite articles/ interrogative pronouns/ adjectives | Quiz1 |
Feb 6/7/9
| ch. 2 |
|
| present tense of avere / idioms |
|
Feb 13/14/16 | ch 3 | at the Italian University | a reading about the Italian University | Regular verbs ending in –are- present tense | Quiz2 |
Feb 20/21/23
| ch. 3 |
|
| Simple and articulated prepositions | Oral Presentation 1 |
Feb 27/28/ Mar 1 | ch. 4 | at the restaurant: vocabulary |
| Regular verbs ending in –ere and ire present tense/ verbs with the – isc form | Midterm |
| ch 4 |
| Mar 2-11 Spring semester break |
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Mar 12/13/15 | ch. 4 | at the restaurant: how to order something |
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Mar 19/20/22
| Ch. 5 | on the phone: how to make a conversation | discussing leisure activities | Irregular verbs ending in – are/ days of the week/ months of the year/ numbers 50-100 and above |
|
Apr. 2/3/5 | ch. 6 | describing your family | a reading on the Italian family changes | Irregular verbs ending in –ere and ire present tense / sapere and conoscere | Quiz 3 |
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| Apr 6-9 Easter recess |
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Apr 10/12 | ch. 6 |
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| possessive adjectives /direct pronouns / modal verbs |
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Apr 14/15/17 | ch. 6 | at the train station | musical activity | Passato prossimo tense with avere / irregular past participles | Quiz 4 |
Apr 16/17/19 | ch. 7 | means of transportation in Italy | a reading on Tuscany | Passato prossimo tense with essere / adverbs of time / the time. Review. | Oral Presentation 2
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Apr 23-27 |
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| Final Exams
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