31495 - English Language - LM

Learning outcomes

By the end of the course, students will be able to use English around an intermediate level (B1), with particular attention to the passive skills (reading and listening). 

Course contents

The aim of this course is both to consolidate the main grammar structures of the English language and to improve passive skills (reading and listening).

 

Grammar

Countable and Uncountable Nouns. Use of "some" and "any";

Expressions of Quantity ("a lot of", "a few", "a little");

Comparative and Superlative Forms;

Defining Relative Clauses;

Non-Defining Relative Clauses;

Present Simple vs Present Continuous;

Past Simple;

Past Simple vs Past Continuous;

Past Simple vs Present Perfect Simple;

Past Simple vs Past Perfect Simple;

Future with "going to";

Future with "will" and "shall": offers, promises, predictions, etc.;

Future with Present Continuous and Simple;

Passive forms;

Zero and First Conditional,

Second Conditional;

Reported Speech;

Modals of Ability;

Modals of Obligation;

Modals of Deduction.

 

Reading and Listening Comprehension

During each lesson, students will practise with reading and/or listening materials, with different lexical areas and comprehension exercises. The texts will be around an intermediate level.

Readings/Bibliography

Attending students

One grammar text among the following:

Angela Gallagher and Fausto Galuzzi, Grammar and Vocabulary Multitrainer (+ ebook), Pearson Longman 2013.

Luisa Benigni, Eliana Giommetti and Ann Louise Schou Clarke, New Active English Grammar, Hoepli 2014.

Angela Gallagher and Fausto Galuzzi, Mastering Grammar, Pearson 2016.

Mark Foley and Diane Hall, MyGrammarLab (Intermediate B1/B2), Pearson 2012. [suggested for students who already have a certification or "idoneità" B1 and/or B2].

Students are required to study the topics listed in the syllabus and to complete the related exercises.

Reading and Listening Comprehension

Either

Guy Brook-Hart and Vanessa Jakeman, Complete IELTS (B1), CUP 2012.

or

Guy Brook-Hart and Vanessa Jakeman, Complete IELTS (B2), CUP 2012. [suggested for students who already have a certification or "idoneità" B1 and/or B2].

 

Non-attending students

In addition to the bibliography for the attending students, non-attending students will have to prepare a short oral presentation (5-10') on a topic related to current events/opinion debates. The choice will have to be discussed beforehand with the professor.

 

All students are warmly recommended to practise grammar, reading and listening comprehension with the help of diverse materials (magazines, listening exercises, books), taking advantage in particular of the self-study resources available at the Sala Borsa Library or at the CLA (Centro Linguistico di Ateneo) Library. Students are also recommended to do the e-learning exercises available on the CLA website. They are divided up into levels (suggested level: B1). 

 

Teaching methods

Partly traditional and partly interactive lectures, with the assistance of audio and video materials.

Assessment methods

All students will have to take both a selective written test and an oral interview.

1) Written test: grammar exercises and texts for reading and listening comprehension.

2) Oral interview: ONLY the students who will pass the written test will be admitted to the oral interview. The interview will be based either on the lexical areas pertaining to the texts analysed during classes (attending students), or on the presentations prepared by students themselves (non-attending students).

Teaching tools

Audio and video materials.

Office hours

See the website of Giuliana Gardellini