Durham University
Programme and Module Handbook

Undergraduate Programme and Module Handbook 2018-2019 (archived)

Module ITAL2031: ITALIAN LANGUAGE 2B

Department: Modern Languages and Cultures (Italian)

ITAL2031: ITALIAN LANGUAGE 2B

Type Open Level 2 Credits 20 Availability Available in 2018/19 Module Cap Location Durham

Prerequisites

  • Italian Language 1B (ITAL1102)

Corequisites

  • None.

Excluded Combination of Modules

  • Italian Language 2A (ITAL2111), Understanding Italy from the 1960s to Today (ITAL1061), Italy and the Arts (ITAL1081) and Introduction to Italian Literary Culture & Theory (ITAL1091).

Aims

  • To improve and expand linguistic competencies (oral and written).
  • To further improve and expand linguistic skills, knowledge of the culture of a country where the target language is spoken, and to stimulate intercultural awareness.

Content

  • To revise and consolidate competence in Italian grammar and syntax, and to develop a securer feeling for the vocabulary and idiom in contemporary spoken and written Italian.
  • To broaden understanding of modern Italian life and culture.
  • Discussion and practice of specific grammatical structures: oral and written exercises in groups and individually.
  • Development of translation skills (from and into Italian).
  • Introduction to different registers of written Italian.
  • Practice in essay writing in Italian.
  • Speaking and listening practice in small groups, based on topical issues.

Learning Outcomes

Subject-specific Knowledge:
  • An understanding of:
  • modern Italian life and culture,
  • specific grammatical structures,
  • different registers of written Italian.
Subject-specific Skills:
  • The module emphasises performance skills, to enhance the student's ability to write and speak Italian more freely and move more easily between English and Italian.
Key Skills:
  • Students improve their written and oral skills, expanding on the foundation of grammatical and syntactical accuracy consolidated at Level 1, so as to explore more sophisticated modes of verbal expression and a variety of linguistic registers.
  • Students will gain the ability to present information and/or construct an argument effectively in the target language.

Modes of Teaching, Learning and Assessment and how these contribute to the learning outcomes of the module

  • Regular, assessed practice in a variety of written and oral exercises extends linguistic accuracy and verbal manipulation.
  • these exercises include some relevant to functioning well in an Italian-speaking country.
  • Summative assessment tests competencies acquired in formative practice, including appropriateness of language (register and idiom); and range of language (lexis and structures).

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

Activity Number Frequency Duration Total/Hours
Oral 21 1 per week 1 hour 21
Practical 20 1 per week 1 hour 20
Grammar 20 1 per week 1 hour 20
Student preparation and reading time 139
Total SLAT hours 200

Summative Assessment

Component: Written Examination Component Weighting: 75%
Element Length / duration Element Weighting Resit Opportunity
Written examination 2 hours 100% Yes
Component: Oral Examination Component Weighting: 25%
Element Length / duration Element Weighting Resit Opportunity
Oral examination 15 minutes 100% Yes

Formative Assessment:

Regular written and oral exercises.


Attendance at all activities marked with this symbol will be monitored. Students who fail to attend these activities, or to complete the summative or formative assessment specified above, will be subject to the procedures defined in the University's General Regulation V, and may be required to leave the University