Sussex Centre for Language Studies
Open courses in modern languages
Italian Language and Culture – Stage 2
20 weekly meetings, 1.5 hours each
This course is for those who have mastered the basics and are ready to expand
their knowledge and skills. The emphasis is on speaking and understanding, but
new grammatical structures will be learnt and reading and writing skills will be
developed. A course book is used to allow you to work on your own and to form a
framework for your learning, but this is generally agreed with the group. The course
aims to give you more confidence, allowing you to express yourself more freely in
everyday situations. You will be encouraged to work out your own strategy for
learning and, within the framework of the syllabus, learn to use language structures
and functions to suit your own needs - for example, travel, basic business/academic
language, socialising…
The syllabus options will include some of the following topics and language
structures in addition to the revision and consolidation of those already studied:
Everyday situations to be developed might include: Personal information • life styles
and interest • family/social arrangements • Directions – Time Numbers/ Money •
Travel/transport • food and drink/ buying and selling • Accommodation hotel/lodgings/business • Holidays and leisure • Business
Grammar and functions revised are: gender • articles • present tense, one past
tense and one future form of common regular and irregular verbs • negatives •
questions • descriptions • adjectives and adverbs • personal pronouns •
polite/familiar forms • prepositions • possessives •
New grammar and functions include: comparative/superlative forms • more
adjectives and adverbs • present tense, another past tense and future form of less
common regular and irregular verbs • modals • expressions using the subjunctive.
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 containing 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 an appreciation of the
society and culture of the country and should have developed greater confidence
and enhanced autonomy in your language learning and be able to direct your own
language learning to some 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. 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.
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. 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
Course book
To be agreed at first meeting
Suggested supplementary reading:
Bilingual dictionary:
Large edition Collins with phonetic transcript
Optional, for self-study:
Breakthrough Italian (Macmillan)
BBC Italian courses
Grammar reference:
A New Style Italian Grammar - Leonardo Oriolo (ESB)