Sussex Centre for Language Studies
Open courses in modern languages
Italian Language and Culture – Stage 3
20 weekly meetings, 1.5 hours each
A course for those who have recently completed an Elementary or Stage 2 class and feel
confident enough to speak at a basic level. At least two years of part-time study or the
equivalent will have been completed at this stage. The emphasis is on speaking and
understanding, but new grammatical structures will be learned and reading and writing skills
will be developed. A course book is sometimes used to allow you to work on your own and
to form a framework for your learning.
This intermediate class aims to build on the knowledge of basic language structures and
functions allowing you to express yourself more freely in everyday situations. You will be
encouraged to work out your own strategies for learning and, within the framework of the
syllabus, develop language structures and functions for your own perceived needs and
interests.
The syllabus contains the following topics and language structures in addition to the revision
and consolidation of those in the earlier courses:
Topic areas:
the media (press) • regions • work • current affairs • social problems •
introduction to politics • social life •family and relationships • interests
and leisure • travel • the environment • cultural traditions and festivals
Grammar
more literary tenses • passives • subjunctive forms• simple indirect
discourse, etc.
simple note-taking • idea of register • skimming/scanning techniques •
letter writing
giving an opinion/expressing feelings.
Skills
Functions:
You will be given an insight into the history and culture of Italy within the framework of your
language studies. You will be given the opportunity to pursue your own personal research
into a topic of cultural interest which contains some analysis or debate.
Course learning outcomes
By the end of the course you will be able to express opinions in simple language. You
should be able to handle everyday situations and discuss the topic areas from the syllabus
with reasonable ease. Skimming and scanning techniques to understand longer texts will
be developing. You will have a good appreciation of the society and culture of the country
and should be able to direct your own language learning to a greater extent.
Teaching and learning methods
Your knowledge of the language will be revised and developed via the four skills, listening,
speaking, reading and writing, usually in tutor-led group situations. Both authentic and
specially prepared audio-visual and written material will be used to introduce new structures
and to allow you to broaden your vocabulary and communicate more freely in the topic
areas of the syllabus. Although many of the activities will be tutor led, you will be
encouraged to take responsibility for group learning situations. Preparation work will be set
and some written tasks assigned which may be taken from a course book.
Built into the course will be a number of assignments to allow you and your tutor to gauge
progress made. These assignments naturally form part of the course and will usually be
multi-skilled, involving some reading, writing, speaking and listening. It will be important to
complete a learning/study plan and take an active part in the classes by completing the
assignments set. You will be given an opportunity to pursue your own personal research
into a topic of cultural interest which contains some analysis or debate.
Certificate of Completion
At the end of the course you will receive an individual Record of Learning on request, giving
details of the course and your achievement of the aims and objectives, on request. If the
tutor considers that you have gained as much as possible from the course, have achieved
the learning outcomes and have participated in the assessed activities, a Certificate of
Completion of the course will subsequently be issued, on request.
Bibliography
A course book may be recommended by the tutor at the first meeting.
Suggested supplementary reading:
Bilingual dictionary:
Large edition Collins with phonetic transcript
Optional, for self-study:
BBC Italian courses: http://www.bbc.co.uk/languages/italian/
Grammar reference:
A New Style Italian Grammar - Leonardo Oriolo (ESB)