ITA2070 - Italian Studies 7

Leader: Roberta Mandis

Offered

Clayton First semester 2007 (Day)

Synopsis

This unit integrates two components:

1. Level 7 Language (70%) and
2. Year 2 Culture (30%).
3. Language: the aim is to stimulate and improve advanced language acquisition through the integrated practice of the four language skills. The component has a thematic approach. Topic areas explored include: education, social and environmental issues, changes in attitudes relating to the use of the Italian language and institutions,
4. The Cultural component for 2nd year Italian aims at providing a brief introduction to the first half of the Nineteenth Century though a broad overview of Italian socio-political history leading to Italian Unification and the literary production of that period.

Objectives

Upon successful completion of this unit the students will have progressed in all four language skills:

1. Listening: they will be able to understand authentic spoken Italian from songs, films, plays, TV news.
2. Reading: they will be able to comprehend a range of authentic (although slightly edited) non-specialist Italian written texts (such as short stories and magazine articles) and specialist Italian written texts (such as news reports and advertisements).
3. Speaking: they will be able to interact in correct Italian in a range of specific situations (telephone messages; sales techniques; fairly simple debates).
4. Writing: they will be able to produce a range of coherent, short (approx. 300-word) descriptive, argumentative or persuasive texts in correct and appropriate Italian.

In the cultural component students should gain an understanding of the interrelationships between the literary production and the ideology of the period covered. Students should also have familiarised themselves with textual analysis and different types of narrative constructs.

Assessment

Mid-semester Specialized Culture Assignment 1 (1000 words) in English or in Italian: 15%
End-of-semester Specialized Culture Assignment 2 (1000 words) in English or in Italian: 15%
Continuous assessment (class work, vocab and grammar tests and homework exercises): Equivalent of 1000 words in English: 30% +
Aural/oral work - Equivalent of 500 words in English: 15%
Examination Equivalent of 1000 words in English: 25%

Contact hours

4 hours (1 hour culture lecture and 3 hours language workshops) per week

Prerequisites

ITA1060 or equivalent language competence

Prohibitions

ITA1070, ITA3070