Email: nvalli@luc.edu

Office:Room 115

Office Hour:By appointment

Meeting Days and Times:M/T/W/TH: 3 PM-5.05 PM

Meeting Place:

Online course: https://sakai.luc.edu/ (for help and log-in information, see

http://www.luc.edu/itrs/teachingwithtechnology/sakai/sakai-student-tutorials.shtml)

           

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.Progetto Roma, a series of on-site guided activities, will encourage students to explore sites of the city while practicing structures and vocabulary learned in class interacting with local people.

 

learning outcomes

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

Upon completion of Italian 101, students should attain a level of competency sufficient to:

 

1. Utilize basic essentials of Italian grammar in speaking and writing with a high level of precision. Specifically, students should be able to:

1. 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);
2. Convey emotions and express feelings;
3. Provide and obtain information on such topics as personal/family background, preferences, interests, and daily routine.

2. Read, with basic understanding, general interest articles in newspapers and magazines, as well as simple stories, brochures, signs, advertisements, songs, and poems;
3. Understand clearly articulated native Italian speech within the limits of familiar vocabulary;
4. Be knowledgeable of Italian history, culture, geography, etc. within the scope of this course.

 

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. A missed mid-term due to travel schedule will not be allowed to be made up, regardless of the circumstances.  The only exception will be an absence due to illness, and a doctor's slip or a note from Cindy Bomben if the doctor isn't available will be the only acceptable proof.

 

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 2%.

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

 

text – required:

New Italian  Espresso/Textbook - Gruppo Italiaidea – Alma Edizioni  ISBN 978-88-6182-354-9

New Italian Espresso /Workbook - Gruppo Italiaidea - Alma Edizioni ISBN 978886182357-0

(available for purchase in JFRC bookstore)

 

 

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

 

*Oral Assignments (2)                            16%

*Compositions & Rome Project                 16%

Participation                                              11%

*Homework                                               10%

Quizzes (2)                                            12%

Midterm Exam                                       15%

Final Exam                                            20%     

                                                                                                                       

 

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.

 

 

SAKAI

 

This course requires that each student activate and maintain access to the Sakai on-line learning tool. Through this medium such tasks can be accomplished as communicating homework assignments, submitting homework, and communicating important course-related information. In addition, specific files can be accessed through Sakai (e.g., course syllabus, quiz correction keys, language-learning files).

 

 

LOYOLA MEDIA

The oral and/or homework components of the course will require each student to access the Loyola Media tool.