ITAL 202: Intermediate Italian II

Course Description
Perugia is a wonderful laboratory for learning the Italian language, and the structure of the Italian language program reflects this urban reality. The first week of intensive language instruction immerses you in the Italian language and culture, and introduces you to local routines and life in Perugia, where the opportunity to use the language abounds. This immersion further orients you to studying Italian in Italy, where the communicative approach with Italian only in classroom is practiced in full. Lastly, the week sets the rules and rhythm for the semester and helps to instill an enthusiasm for the Italian language and culture.

This upper intermediate course (the equivalent of a fourth semester course) is designed to equip you with the ability to speak the language with a certain degree of confidence, to acquaint you with more complex grammatical structures, and to introduce you to authentic texts as a way to enhance their lexicon. The course begins with a grammatical review to reinforce and build upon the grammatical elements introduced in the first three semesters of study.

You will be introduced to a variety of authentic texts and materials (film clips, radio and TV segments, newspaper articles, literary excerpts) to develop your skills in reading, writing, listening, and speaking. You will gain the capacity for more complex written and oral expression. In-class activities, such as games, role-playing, presentations, and interviewing in pairs, provide the means by which you learn to differentiate various social contexts and build a vocabulary and socio-linguistic competence appropriate for each situation. You will develop your use and understanding of more advanced grammatical structures, including:

• I pronomi doppi e relativi
• Il futuro anteriore
• Il passato remoto
• Verbi riflessivi e particelle pronominali riflessive
• Il condizionale presente e passato
• Il congiuntivo presente e passato
• Concordanza dei tempi con il congiuntivo presente e passato
• Congiuntivo imperfetto e trapassato e l’uso delle congiunzioni con i congiuntivo
• Il periodo ipotetico della realtà, della possibilità, e della impossibilità
• Cenni sulla forma passive e impersonale

Throughout the semester, you will participate in cultural activities, including interviews with Italian university students and trips to the local markets, bars, and museums, to acquire an understanding and appreciation for contemporary culture as expressed in the local community. You will be asked to reflect and comment upon these experiences, as a way to compare the new culture to that of your home country, in the form of short essays and in-class discussions.

Course Structure
• One week of intensive language instruction (20 contact hours)
• 13 regularly scheduled weeks in which the class meets 6 hours per week

Course Objectives
At the end of the semester, you should reach the level B1 + of the Common European Framework in the four basic competencies: listening, speaking and interacting, reading, and writing. In practice, you will be able to:

• Interact with a native speaker on familiar, everyday topics and topics of personal interest when clear, standard speech is used;
• Produce relatively simple texts on everyday topics and understand texts containing concrete and relatively simple abstract topics
• Express opinions on current affairs, familiar topics and topics of personal interest, describe personal experiences, and provide brief explanations;
• Understand the main points of radio and television announcements, advertisements, news items, and talk shows when the speech is relatively slow and clear;
• Build a basic vocabulary of 750-1000 words and start to develop a small, specialized vocabulary tied to one’s personal interests and to the specific activities covered in class;
• Write simple texts based on familiar topics, personal experience and on certain aspects of culture and contemporary society (in the form of brief compositions, summaries, and informal and formal letters);
• Develop a more sophisticated understanding of Italian culture and contemporary society.

Course Materials

• Required Text: A. Mazzetti, P. Manili, and M. R. Bagianti, Qui Italia Più (corso di lingua italiana per stranieri), Le Monnier, 2006.
• Mandatory course reader
• Dictionary: you are strongly recommended to purchase an English/Italian, Italian/English dictionary. The library in via Bartolo also has a number of dictionaries available for consultation.