70769 - English Language (Advanced Course)

Learning outcomes

The student is expected to:
- understand the main ideas of complex text on both concrete and abstract topics, including technical discussions in his/her field of specialization.
- interact with a degree of fluency and spontaneity that makes regular interaction with native speakers quite possible without strain for either party.
- produce clear, detailed text on a wide range of subjects and explain a viewpoint on a topical issue giving the advantages and disadvantages of various options.

Course contents

Grammar content (all points specified for level B2+)

• Tenses: present/past/ future (active and passive form)
• Modal verbs
• Conditional tenses
• Relative clauses
• Articles and quantifiers
• Phrasal verbs
• Reported speech
• Morphology: Idiomatic expressions ; Adverbs, adjectives and prepositions

Lexical contents

The topics covered include the analysis of texts about specific fields of study such as: archaeology, art, preservation of cultural heritage, museography, library science, legislation of Cultural Heritage. (Overall general linguistic ability – Level B2+ CEFR LEVELS).

1.Difference between Italian and English sentence structure - grammatical definitions and misunderstandings

2. Translating and / or paraphrasing - structural casts

3. Read to understand the general meaning - summarize and infer

4. Read to identify specific information - scan a text, keywords

5. Collocations and idioms - 'I know my chickens'

6. Formal and informal communication - Register / gender

7. Structure of the text - cohesion and coherence

Listening/Speaking: CAN follow or give a talk on a familiar B2 topic or keep up a conversation on a fairly wide range of topics.In particular Technical Vocabulary through specific reading given by the teachers (see bibliography)

Reading: CAN scan texts for relevant information, and understand detailed instructions or advice.

Writing: CAN take notes while someone is talking or write a letter including non- standard requests.

Readings/Bibliography

Kuehn, Hermann, Conservation and restoration of works of art and antiquities, Vol. 1

Swartzburg, Susan G., Swartzburg, Susan G., Preserving library materials. A manual

Amoroso, Giovanni G. (Giovanni Giuseppe); Fassina, Vasco, Stone decay and conservation: atmospheric pollution, cleaning, consolidation and protection

Harvey, John, Conservation of buildings

John Ashurst,Francis G. Dimes, Conservation of Building and Decorative Stone

Riegl, Alois , "The modern cult of monuments: its character and its origin"

Farneti, Manuela, Glossario tecnico-storico del mosaico. Con una breve storia del mosaico. Ediz. italiana e inglese

E- Dictionaries

- http://www.acronymfinder.com (database internazionale di acronimi, inizialismi e abbreviazioni)

- https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english (dizionario monolingue)

- http://www.macmillandictionary.com/ (dizionario monolingue)

- http://www.merriam-webster.com/ (versione online del dizionario inglese Merriam-Webster, con definizioni, thesaurus, trascrizione fonematica e pronuncia "sonora" dei lemmi
- http://oald8.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com (dizionario monolingue)

- http://www.ozdic.com/ (dizionario delle collocations)

- http://www.thesaurus.com/ (dizionario dei sinonimi)

- http://www.wordreference.com/ (dizionario multilingue online, con trascrizione fonematica e pronuncia "sonora" dei lemmi)

Glossaries:

- https://www.moma.org/learn/moma_learning/glossary/

- https://noma.org/uploads/Glossary_with_images-1419286964.pdf [https://docreader.readspeaker.com/docreader/?cid=cebfg&lang=it_it&url=https%3A%2F%2Fnoma.org%2Fuploads%2FGlossary_with_images-1419286964.pdf]

- https://www.tate.org.uk/art/art-terms

Painting Conservation Glossary of Terms, a cura di SMITHSONIAN MUSEUM CONSERVATION INSTITUTE

Ulteriori articoli, report o altro materiale utile verrà consegnato dal docente durante le lezioni.

GRAMMAR TOOLS:

Michael Vince, English Grammar in Context - Advanced, Macmillan, 2014

Iandelli, Zizzo, Humphries, Smith, Smart Grammar, Eli 2016.

Thomson, Martinet, A Practical English Grammar (with keys) + Workbook 1 e 2, Oxford University Press.

Dorothy E. Zemach, Lisa A. Rumisekm, Academic writing, from paragraph to essay, MacMillan, 2010.

Teaching methods

Lectures and e-learning

Assessment methods

Level B2+/C  Written/Oral Text; knowledge of glossary and technical terms.

Teaching tools

Different texts, articles and excerpts from academic books will be given by the teacher; other learning material is available on the university e-learning platform.

Office hours

See the website of Laura Rizzà