Department of Foreign Languages
JFT 414 - SUNY
The State University of New York
New Paltz, NY 12561
Phone (914) 257-3480
Elementary Italian II - Section 1 Humanities 213 Course Syllabus - Spring 2000 Professor Giorgio Melloni
N.B. The sequence for language study proceeds from lower to higher. You cannot receive credit for 101 if you have already received credit for 102. You may not be allowed to receive credit for 101 if you have studied Italian before. Please, consult the most recent issue of The Advising Handbook Sum & Substance.
Course Overview: In this course,
which is a prosecution of the level 101, students will continue to
be introduced to some of the basic grammatical components of the Italian
language. They will have the opportunity to build a knowledge of
the language that will permit them to engage in basic conversation, they
will develop elementary writing skills and will, by the end of the semester,
be able to understand a variety of written texts. Additional materials
and multimedia resources will be used to supplement the required texts
which will open a window onto the rich culture and history of Italy.
Required Texts:
Supplementary Materials: Students will need a good quality, blank, 90 minute audiocassette and may be asked to purchase photocopied material ($2 maximum). They will need also a good Italian-English dictionary. I strongly recommend, both for the quality and for the money, the Melzi Bantam, pocketbook edition, available at the College Bookstore.
Oral Proficiency: The oral proficiency will be evaluated throughout the course and will particularly based, besides the criteria of clarity and correctness of the language, on how often a student speaks in class. It will be also assessed through an oral exam (=class presentation): I will provide you later during the course with guidelines on how to prepare for the final oral exam.
Homework: Homework and daily home preparation for class participation are vital. From time to time, I will collect your homework, so be sure to be prepared. No late homework will be accepted! All textbook and handout exercises must be written as completed sentences. All assignments must be typed and double-spaced, or neatly written with a line skipped or they will not be corrected.
Language Lab: During the course of the semester, students will spend a minimum of fifty minutes per week in the language lab working with Parliamo Italiano! Workbook/Laboratory manual that contains exercises which are relevant to the material covered in class. All the lab exercises of each UNITÀ are due at the end of the UNITÀ. Students will also watch (great!) Italian movies and write reviews about them. Further, more detailed, information about how to do this will be given out as we go along throughout the semester.
Quizzes: There will be 4 quizzes. The lowest grade will be dropped before calculating the average. There are no make-up quizzes.
Exams: There will be two exams, the mid-term and the final. There are no make-up exams.
Attendance: Required. Attendance is taken at the beginning of class. You are allowed to a maximum of two absences without an excuse. Beyond two the final grade will be diminished of 1 % per each absence. Arrive ON TIME! At least no later than ten minutes after the class has started. Thrice late equals once absent.
Calculation of final grade:
A Final Word: A quick look at
the syllabus will reveal that, due to time limitations, only about eight/nine
class days are allotted to each unity. Consequently, attendance is
extremely important. Luckily, however, it is a known fact that the
more regular one’s attendance in a foreign language class, the easier it
is to learn how to speak and write in it. Try not to miss a day,
but if you absolutely must, talk to me or a classmate immediately to find
out what you missed. The key to success in learning Italian is consistency.
Humans learn languages through repetition and familiarity (think about
your baby brother or sister, if you have one): for adults, this means a
meticulous attention to homework. You’ll see that doing your homework
regularly makes studying for quizzes much easier too.
CALENDARIO DEL CORSO
Settimana 1: Gen. 24, 26,
28. {Ripasso}
Settimana 2: Gen. 31; Feb
2, 4. {Unità 4}
Settimana 3: Feb. 7, 9, 11.
{Unità 5 (Primo quiz: 11 febbraio)}
Settimana 4: Feb. 14, 16,
18. {Unità 5}
Settimana 5: Feb. 22 (martedì!),
23, 25. {Unità 5 (Secondo quiz: 25 febbraio)}
Settimana 6: Feb. 28; Mar.
1, 3. {Unità 6}
Settimana 7: Mar. 6, 8, 10.
{Unità 6 (PRIMO ESAME: 8 marzo)}
Settimana 8: Mar. 13, 15.
{Unità 6 [Sosta di primavera=17-20 marzo]}
Settimana 9: Mar. 22, 24.
{Unità 7}
Settimana 10: Mar. 27, 29, 31.
{Unità 7 (Terzo quiz: 31 marzo)}
Settimana 11: Apr. 3, 5 7. {Unità
7}
Settimana 12: Apr. 10, 12, 14.
{Unità 7 (Quarto quiz: 14 aprile)}
Settimana 13: Non c’è lezione! {Unità 8 [Vacanze di primavera=17-24 aprile]}
Settimana 14: Apr. 26, 28. {Unità
8}
Settimana 15: Mag. 1, 3, 5. {Unità
8 [Presentazioni]}
Settimana 16: Mag. 8, 10, 11 (giovedì!).
{Ripasso}
ESAME FINALE: mercoledì 17 maggio
I COMPITI PER CASA