The course is divided into two modules:
A) Upper Intermediate language practice (20 hrs). This module focuses on the lexico-grammar competences of English at an upper intermediate level. Listening, speaking, reading and writing are here practised based on the following grammar and functional areas. Special attention will be drawn on speaking and listening:
Time and Tense
- The simple present
- The present continuous
- The past simple
- The past continuous
- Used to and would
- The present perfect simple
- The present perfect continuous
- The past perfect
- The past perfect continuous
- Going to and will
- Present tenses for talking about the future
- Modals
Sentences
- Word order
- Reported speech and reporting verbs
- Relative clauses
Other verb forms
- Verbs followed by the infinitive or the -ing form
- First, second and zero conditional sentences
- The third conditional, wishes and regrets
- The passive
- Get/have something done
- Basic phrasal verbs
Naming and describing
- Articles
- Personal, possessive, reflexive and demonstrative pronouns
- Countable and uncountable nouns and expressions of quantity
Functional Areas
- Ways of comparing
- Possibility in the present and in the past
- Present, past and future obligation and necessity

B) The Language of the Media (36 hrs). In this module, through the analysis of authentic texts and the participation in oral (i.e. role plays) and written (i.e. functional exercises of English for special purposes – ESP, brief samples of translations from Italian into English) activities, students are got started in the use of specialised English for the media, the web and multimedia technologies, crisis communication, based on the following main topics:
- Magazines
- Newspapers
- Advertising
- Music reviews