Italian 1
This course provides students with a sound basis for communicating effectively and accurately
in oral and written Italian. Authentic materials (songs, videos, advertisements, and film clips) are
used in a communicative-based approach, and emphasis is placed on the four skills of listening,
speaking, reading, and writing. Students participate in several sessions of language exchange
with Italian university students, and field trips take them outside the classroom to engage with
the city and Romans to reinforce the grammatical skills learned in class. The course is conducted
entirely in Italian. The final grade is based on daily homework, two written in-class
compositions, an oral and written mid-term, and written and oral final examinations. Texts
include: Piazza and an exercise book.
Learning Outcomes
• Proficiency in basic Italian spelling and pronunciation
• Recognize and use elementary Italian grammar and syntactic structures, especially the
use of nouns and adjectives and regular and irregular verbs in present and past (passato
prossimo in contrast with imperfect), as well as basic idiomatic expressions
• Read and comprehend simple texts on familiar situations; texts with easy descriptions
accompanied by images; brief and simple written indications
• Engage in simple conversations on topics found in everyday situations such as buying
food at markets, ordering at restaurants, purchasing tickets, and sharing and seeking
personal information
• Employ simple transactional language, such as telling time, expressing and inquiring
about likes/dislikes, inviting someone to do something, expressing wishes and desires
• Ability to talk about one’s daily life, family, personal background, present and past
experiences
• Write simple texts on self and daily life, short descriptions of people and places, present
and past experiences and personal plans
• Understand and practice the formal and informal register in Italian culture
Grade Breakdown:
written midterm
oral midterm
two compositions
homework
preparation and participation
final written exam
final oral exam
20%
10%
10%
10%
10%
30%
10%
Italian 2
This course provides students with a sound basis for communicating effectively and accurately
in oral and written Italian. Authentic materials (songs, videos, advertisements, and film clips) are
used in a communicative-based approach, and emphasis is placed on the four skills of listening,
speaking, reading, and writing. Students participate in several sessions of language exchange
with Italian university students, and field trips take them outside the classroom to engage with
the city and Romans to reinforce the grammatical skills learned in class. The course is conducted
entirely in Italian. The final grade is based on daily homework, two written in-class
compositions, an oral and written mid-term, and written and oral final examinations. Texts
include: Piazza and an exercise book.
Learning Outcomes
• Proficiency in basic Italian spelling and pronunciation
• Recognize and use basic Italian grammar and syntactic structures such as the use of
nouns, adjectives, personal pronouns and verbs in present, past, future, imperative, and
conditional verbal systems; ability to use direct, indirect, and reflexive pronouns;
comparatives and superlatives
• Read and comprehend simple texts on daily life, descriptions of people and places and
events in the present, in the past and in the future, and on someone’s wishes and
desires
• Engage in simple conversations on topics found in everyday situations such as buying
food at markets, ordering at restaurants, purchasing tickets, planning holidays, talking
about future job and life and wishes, and sharing and seeking personal information
• Employ simple transactional language, such as telling time, expressing and inquiring
about likes/dislikes, inviting someone to do something, expressing wishes and desires,
making plans about future
• Ability to talk about one’s daily life, family, personal background, present and past
experiences, future plans using common expressions and basic idiomatic expressions
• Write simple texts on daily life in the US and in Italy, descriptions of people and places,
education, jobs and present, past, and future experiences and personal plans
Grade Breakdown:
written midterm
oral midterm
two compositions
homework
preparation and participation
final written exam
final oral exam
20%
10%
10%
10%
10%
30%
10%
2
Italian 3
This course provides students with a sound basis for communicating effectively and accurately
in oral and written Italian. Authentic materials (songs, videos, advertisements, and film clips) are
used in a communicative-based approach, and emphasis is placed on the four skills of listening,
speaking, reading, and writing. Students participate in several sessions of language exchange
with Italian university students, and field trips take them outside the classroom to engage with
the city and Romans to reinforce the grammatical skills learned in class. The course is conducted
entirely in Italian. The final grade is based on daily homework, two written in-class
compositions, an oral and written mid-term, and written and oral final examinations. Texts
include: Piazza and an exercise book.
Learning Outcomes
• Revision of two preceding levels with the addition of the recognizing and using more
complex Italian grammatical and syntactic structures such as the present and past
conditional and present subjunctive verbs
• Read and comprehend texts about everyday situations; descriptions of people and
places and events in the present, past, and future; wishes and desires, as well as factual or
argumentative texts about Italian politics, traditions, and history;
• Engage in conversations in public topics such current affairs, occupations, education and
ability to make oral presentations in topics regarding Italian culture;
• Employ complex transactional language, such as expressing and inquiring about
likes/dislikes, inviting someone to do something, expressing wishes and desires, making
plans about future life, expressing hypotheses about a range of topics;
• Write with complex grammatical structures in order to produce summaries of events
and literature, descriptions of real or imaginary facts; offer opinions or provide descriptive,
narrative, argumentative, or expository texts.
Grade Breakdown:
written midterm
oral midterm
two compositions
homework
preparation and participation
final written exam
final oral exam
20%
10%
10%
10%
10%
30%
10%
3
Italian 4
This course provides students with a sound basis for communicating effectively and accurately
in oral and written Italian. Authentic materials (songs, videos, advertisements, and film clips) are
used in a communicative-based approach, and emphasis is placed on the four skills of listening,
speaking, reading, and writing. Students participate in several sessions of language exchange
with Italian university students, and field trips take them outside the classroom to engage with
the city and Romans to reinforce the grammatical skills learned in class. The course is conducted
entirely in Italian. The final grade is based on daily homework, two written in-class
compositions, an oral and written mid-term, and written and oral final examinations. Texts
include: Piazza and an exercise book
Learning Outcomes
• Proficiency in intermediate and pre-advanced Italian spelling and pronunciation
• Recognize and use complex Italian grammatical and syntactic structures, particularly the
use of verbs in all tenses and moods, as well as manage advanced structures such as
connective words, all uses of the subjunctive mood, in hypothetical sentences as well as
with conjunctions or in indirect speech;
• Read and comprehend complex texts from a variety of situations, from descriptions of
people, places, and events to Italian politics, traditions, history; acquire the ability of
read and comprehend pieces of Italian literature, both in prose and poetry;
• Engage in complex conversations on topics found in everyday situations such as buying
food at markets, ordering at restaurants, purchasing tickets, planning holidays, talking
about future job and life and wishes, and sharing and seeking personal information as
well as information about more complex topics like differences within USA and Italy, for
instance habits, art, music, etc.
• Employ transactional language such as expressing and inquiring about likes/dislikes,
inviting someone to do something, expressing wishes, desires, and ambitions, making
plans about future life, expressing hypotheses about a variety of topics as well as
idiomatic expressions and an extensive vocabulary and lexicon to communicate in Italy
as an Italian;
• Write with complex grammatical structures to express opinions about a range of topics
from daily life to current affairs, arts, music, sport, and literature.
Grade Breakdown:
written midterm
oral midterm
two compositions
homework
preparation and participation
final written exam
final oral exam
20%
10%
10%
10%
10%
30%
10%
4
Italian 5
This course provides students with a sound basis for communicating effectively and accurately
in oral and written Italian. Authentic materials (songs, videos, advertisements, and film clips) are
used in a communicative-based approach, and emphasis is placed on the four skills of listening,
speaking, reading, and writing. Students participate in several sessions of language exchange
with Italian university students, and field trips take them outside the classroom to engage with
the city and Romans to reinforce the grammatical skills learned in class. The course is conducted
entirely in Italian. The final grade is based on daily homework, two written in-class
compositions, an oral and written mid-term, and written and oral final examinations. Texts
include: Piazza and an exercise book
Learning Outcomes
• Proficiency in intermediate and pre-advanced Italian spelling and pronunciation
• Recognize and use complex Italian grammatical and syntactic structures, particularly the
use of verbs in all tenses and moods, as well as connective words requiring advanced
structures, all uses of the subjunctive mood, in hypothetical sentences as well as with
conjunctions or in indirect speech;
• Read and comprehend complex texts from a variety of situations, from descriptions of
people, places, and events to Italian politics, traditions, history; acquire the ability of
read and comprehend extended passages of Italian literature, both in prose and poetry;
• Engage in complex conversations on topics found in everyday situations such as buying
food at markets, ordering at restaurants, purchasing tickets, planning holidays, talking
about future job and life and wishes, and sharing and seeking personal information as
well as information about more complex topics like differences within USA and Italy, for
instance habits, art, music, etc.
• Employ transactional language such as expressing and inquiring about likes/dislikes,
inviting someone to do something, expressing wishes, desires, and ambitions, making
plans about future life, expressing hypotheses about a variety of topics as well as
idiomatic expressions and an extensive lexicon to communicate in Italy as an Italian;
• Write with complex grammatical structures to express opinions about a range of topics
from daily life to current affairs, arts, music, sport, and literature.
Grade Breakdown:
written midterm
oral midterm
two compositions
homework
preparation and participation
final written exam
final paper, with oral component
20%
10%
10%
10%
10%
30%
10%
5