69275 - English Language and Culture I (First Language) (CL2)

Learning outcomes

Students will be expected to be familiar with the basics of English Language and culture - to understand and produce oral and written texts and express themselves fluently and naturally.

Course contents

Semester 1
Each student will attend 2 lectures a week with me and 1 laboratory lesson each week a language assistant.

One lesson will consist of an introduction to English Language and linguistics which will explore English use, grammar and style and varieties of English in the world and across a range of written and audiovisual texts. In particular, we will explore the concept of English and "post-multilingualism" i.e. the shift that is currently taking place in which English is changing from being a static "lingua franca" but more of a flexible phenomenon especially on-line in social media. We will also examine the concept of “translanguaging”. Furthermore, newspaper cartoons, internet memes and jokes will be used to illustrate a wide range of linguistic concepts.

A second lesson each week will explore cultural dimensions in the UK with particular emphasis on the concept of "The English" and "Englishness". What are the values of the "English"? Why do they behave as they do?

Students will also attend a weekly laboratory class "lettorato" (this is mandatory) with a “collaboratore linguistico” in which they will focus the necessary skills for summary writing.

Semester 2
An introduction to Liaison/Community Interpreting (for course content please visit Prof. Simona Sangiorgi's home page).

Course attendance is compulsory

Readings/Bibliography

Stanley Dubinsky & Chris Holcomb. 2011. Understanding Language through Humor. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Kate Fox. 2017. "Watching the English: The Hidden Rules of English Behaviour" London: Hodder.

Teaching methods

Apart from traditional lectures and seminars, students will be required to partcipate actively in class discussions and debates as well as prepare 3 presentations (in groups).

Assessment methods

Students will be assessed by a written exam plus an oral exam that in January 2019. These two exams will constitute 50% of the final mark. At the end of the second semester, after having followed the second course module, in summer 2019, students will be examined on their skills in Liaison/Community Interpreting. The mark obtained from this second exam will count for the remaining 50% of the final mark.

Teaching tools

Reading materials, video-clips, podcasts, electronic tools.

Office hours

See the website of Delia Carmela Chiaro