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IT101-30 Italian for Beginners

Department
School of Modern Languages and Cultures
Level
Undergraduate Level 1
Module leader
Valentina Abbatelli
Credit value
30
Module duration
22 weeks
Assessment
Multiple
Study location
University of Warwick main campus, Coventry
Introductory description

This foundation module in Italian Language for beginners (or near beginners) covers the main linguistic (oral, aural, written, spoken) skills. It looks for the acquisition of grammatical awareness and essential communicative competences.

Module web page

Module aims

By the end of the year students will be able to sustain everyday conversations in Italian, read authentic texts (e.g. newspaper articles), follow the gist of a TV or radio programme and be able to write an intermediate range of texts in Italian. In addition to class-time, students will be required to complete a range of (formative) study tasks aimed at complementing and deepening the material covered in formal instruction.

Outline syllabus

This is an indicative module outline only to give an indication of the sort of topics that may be covered. Actual sessions held may differ.

Classes integrate the four skills – listening, speaking, reading and writing – with an emphasis on form by
targeting some essential structures for intensive practice within a communicative context.
Students will also practice some elementary translation. All these activities will entail students´ self-study
to broaden vocabulary and aural understanding.
Every week, students will learn grammar, vocabulary and functional aspects of Italian. They will have
several activities in the classroom and through VLE, to improve their understanding of the language and
their performance through practice of oral, listening and writing exercises. Below it is the description of
grammar, vocabulary and functional aspects of the language, which will be covered in this module:

  1. Pronunciation, alphabet, introducing oneself, regular conjugations.
  2. Subject pronouns, definite and indefinite articles, numbers, conjunctions, colours and adjectives.
  3. Gender and number of nouns, demonstrative and possessive adjectives, uses of ser and estar.
  4. Reflexive verbs and pronouns, adjectives of origin and numerals.
  5. Adverbs of location, verbs of motion and prepositions, irregular present tenses.
  6. Irregular verbs in present tense.
  7. Possessive adjectives and pronouns, demonstrative pronouns Interrogative pronouns
  8. Direct and indirect object pronouns.
  9. Verb piacere and other verbs with similar conjugation pattern (servire; mancare, etc).
  10. Modal verbs.
  11. days of week/seasons/months, temporal markers and perfect tense.
  12. Past tenses with temporal expressions
  13. Contrast between imperfetto and passato prossimo Exclamations, comparatives and conjunctions.
  14. Comparatives and superlatives
  15. Introduction to imperatives and instructions
  16. Adverbs of time.
  17. Future tense, temporal expressions in the future.
  18. Accentuation and punctuation.
Learning outcomes

By the end of the module, students should be able to:

  • demonstrate individual skills in writing and reading in Italian, and initial cross-lingual awareness through translation.
  • demonstrate familiarity with different language variations and register
  • demonstrate a strong command of basic structures of Italian grammar and their use in various contexts
  • demonstrate competence in different registers
  • demonstrate skills of aural comprehension and oral communication over a wide range of topics
  • identify and discuss intercultural awareness in the Italian context and Italian-English-speaking contexts
Indicative reading list

Textbooks:
T. Marin, Nuovissimo Progetto italiano 1, (Libro dello Studente + DVD Video), Edilingua, 2019 (ISBN 978-88-99358-50-1)
L. Ruggieri, T. Marin, S. Magnelli, Nuovissimo Progetto italiano 1, (new edition of the Workbook) (Quaderno degli esercizi+ CD audio), Edilingua, 2019 (ISBN 978-88-99358-52-5)

Grammar book: Nocchi, Susanna, New Italian Grammar in Practice: Exercises, Tests, Games, Alma Edizioni 2015 (ISBN 9788861824287)

View reading list on Talis Aspire

International

All modules delivered in SMLC are necessarily international. Students engage with themes and ideas from a culture other than that of the UK and employ their linguistic skills in the analysis of primary materials from a non-Anglophone context. Students will also be encouraged to draw on the experiences of visiting exchange students in the classroom and will frequently engage with theoretical and critical frameworks from across the world.

Subject specific skills

This module will develop students’ linguistic skills through engaging with primary materials in the target language. It will build students’ capacity to engage with aspects of Italian culture through analysis of this primary material and through seminar discussion aimed at deeper critical thinking. In particular, students’ awareness of Italian will be enhanced through lectures and seminars which engage in scholarship in the field.

Transferable skills

All SMLC culture modules demand critical and analytical engagement with artefacts from target-language cultures. In the course of independent study, class work and assessment students will develop the following skills: written and oral communication, creative and critical thinking, problem solving and analysis, time management and organisation, independent research in both English and their target language(s), intercultural understanding and the ability to mediate between languages and cultures, ICT literacy in both English and the target language(s), personal responsibility and the exercise of initiative.

Study time

Type Required
Lectures 20 sessions of 1 hour (7%)
Seminars 60 sessions of 1 hour (20%)
Private study 220 hours (73%)
Total 300 hours
Private study description

Students will be expected to make use of the TRC, directed learning and self-study options to complement taught class hours e.g. through VLE / Moodle

Costs

No further costs have been identified for this module.

You do not need to pass all assessment components to pass the module.

Students can register for this module without taking any assessment.

Assessment group D1
Weighting Study time
Test 1 10%

Grammar test - end of term 1

Test 2 10%

Grammar test - end of term 2

Oral Examination 20%

Presentation followed by general questions

In-person Examination 60%

Composition, reading and comprehension, translation


  • Answerbook Pink (12 page)
Assessment group R1
Weighting Study time
Oral Examination - Resit 20%

Presentation followed by general questions

In-person Examination - Resit 80%

Written exam


  • Answerbook Pink (12 page)
Feedback on assessment

Feedback will be provided in the course of the module in a number of ways. Feedback should be understood to be both formal and informal and is not restricted to feedback on formal written work.
Oral feedback will be provided by the module tutor in the course of seminar discussion. This may include feedback on points raised in small group work or in the course of individual presentations or larger group discussion.
Written feedback will be provided on formal assessment using the standard SMLC Assessed Work feedback form appropriate to the assessment. Feedback is intended to enable continuous improvement throughout the module and written feedback is generally the final stage of this feedback process. Feedback will always demonstrate areas of success and areas for future development, which can be applied to future assessment. Feedback will be both discipline-specific and focussed on key transferrable skills, enabling students to apply this feedback to their future professional lives. Feedback will be fair and reasonable and will be linked to the SMLC marking scheme appropriate to the module.

Past exam papers for IT101

Post-requisite modules

If you pass this module, you can take:

  • IT201-24 Modern Italian Language II
  • IT201-30 Modern Italian Language II

Courses

This module is Core for:

  • Year 1 of ULNA-R9Q2 Undergraduate Modern Languages with Linguistics

This module is Core optional for:

  • Year 1 of ULNA-R300 BA in Italian Studies
  • Year 1 of UCXA-Q801 Undergraduate Classics (Ancient Greek) with Study in Europe
  • Year 1 of ULNA-QR38 Undergraduate English and Italian
  • Year 1 of UIBA-N140 Undergraduate International Business
  • Year 1 of UIBA-N1R4 Undergraduate International Business with Spanish
  • Year 1 of ULNA-R3Q3 Undergraduate Italian and Linguistics
  • Year 1 of UITA-R3W5 Undergraduate Italian with Film Studies
  • Year 1 of UETA-Q1A3 Undergraduate Linguistics with Italian(with Intercalated Year)
  • Year 1 of ULNA-R9Q2 Undergraduate Modern Languages with Linguistics
  • Year 1 of UPOA-M165 Undergraduate Politics, International Studies and Italian
  • Year 1 of UITA-R3V3 Undergraduate Taught Italian and History of Art

This module is Optional for:

  • Year 2 of UIBA-N201 BSc in Management

This module is Core option list A for:

  • Year 1 of UCXA-VV18 Undergraduate Ancient History and Classical Archaeology with Study in Europe
  • Year 1 of UITA-R3V2 Undergraduate History and Italian
  • Year 1 of UITA-RQ38 Undergraduate Italian and Classics
  • Year 1 of ULNA-R3L4 Undergraduate Italian and Economics (4-year)
  • Year 1 of UFRA-R900 Undergraduate Modern Languages

This module is Core option list B for:

  • Year 1 of ULNA-R3WA Undergraduate Italian and Theatre Studies
  • Year 1 of UITA-R3W5 Undergraduate Italian with Film Studies

This module is Core option list C for:

  • Year 1 of UFRA-R900 Undergraduate Modern Languages

This module is Core option list E for:

  • Year 1 of ULNA-R9L1 Undergraduate Modern Languages and Economics (4-year)

This module is Core option list G for:

  • Year 1 of ULNA-R4RH Undergraduate Hispanic Studies and Italian
  • Year 1 of ULNA-R9Q1 Undergraduate Modern Languages and Linguistics

This module is Option list A for:

  • Year 1 of ULNA-R1A3 Undergraduate French with Italian
  • Year 1 of UHAA-V3R3 Undergraduate History of Art with Italian

This module is Option list G for:

  • Year 1 of UCXA-Q821 Undergraduate Classical Civilisation with Study in Europe

This module is Unusual option for:

  • Year 1 of UCXA-Q802 Undergraduate Classics (Latin) with Study in Europe