ENGLISH I
- Overview
- Assessment methods
- Learning objectives
- Contents
- Delivery method
- Teaching methods
- Contacts/Info
Level B1 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages – CEFR.
Assessment Learning is assessed exclusively through a final exam, which consists of a written and an oral test, both at B2 level. The two parts take place on the same day and must be taken at the times scheduled by the lecturer. Students must pass the written test in order to access the oral exam. IMPORTANT: At the beginning of the course, a mandatory online placement test will be administered. Based on the result, it will be determined whether students are required to follow a blended learning path, which includes reading, listening and writing activities through dedicated software. At the end of the online path, if completed successfully and reaching the required B2 level, students will be allowed to sit the written and oral exams. Written Test Duration: 65 minutes The test consists of multiple-choice and structured response questions, and is designed to assess the student’s grammatical competence and knowledge of specialist media-related vocabulary. It includes the following tasks: • Error recognition and correction: sentences with one error to identify and correct. • Gap-fill: fill in blanks with the correct verb tense, based on context (media-specific). • Sentence transformation: rewrite sentences correctly using fixed given lexemes. • Specialist media expressions: complete sentences with an appropriate media-related term of the student's choice. • Headlines and linguistic strategy: match news or magazine headlines to the correct communicative strategy from a list of options. • Headline reformulation: rewrite headlines using formal English. • Media-related definitions: match specialist definitions with the appropriate technical term, based on given alternatives. The maximum score is 30 points. A minimum of 18/30 is required to pass and access the oral exam. Students who score below 18/30 will need to retake the written test in the next exam session. Oral Exam The oral component consists of a discussion on course content and the presentation of five documents in English, selected and prepared by the student: a) One advertisement b) One editorial (minimum 500 words) c–d) Two articles (minimum 500 words each) from newspapers or magazines e) One music review Students must present and analyse these materials during the oral exam. Examples of newspaper and magazine article analysis and advertisement analysis can be found in the course book Cambridge English for the Media and on selected websites introduced during the lessons. Oral Assessment Criteria (total 30 points): • Knowledge and understanding of course topics and selected materials – 8 points • Ability to apply linguistic and communicative analysis to selected texts, including comprehension, grammatical accuracy, and lexical range – 8 points • Critical thinking, depth of analysis, and independent judgement – 5 points • Communication skills and management of the oral exam – 5 points • Learning capacity – 4 points The oral exam is passed with a minimum of 18/30. Students who fail will be required to retake the exam in the following session. The final mark is calculated as the average of the written and oral exam scores.
The course aims to develop receptive and productive skills in English at an upper-intermediate level (Level B2 – Vantage according to the CEFR – Common European Framework of Reference for Languages) with regard to speaking, reading, listening and use of English, and, to a lesser extent, writing. It also introduces students to the use of specialist English for the media. More specifically, by the end of the course, students will be able to: - use the main morphological and syntactic structures of English; - read and understand specialised texts; - recognise and use basic specialist vocabulary related to the media (magazines, newspapers, advertising, music, communication and technology); - apply writing strategies to produce short specialist texts for media-related purposes; - take part in conversations and give presentations on current affairs covered by international media. Students will also be able to consult bibliographic resources, databases, pronunciation dictionaries and online monolingual dictionaries in order to support the development of these skills.
The course is divided into two modules: A) Upper Intermediate Language Practice (20 hours) This module focuses on developing lexico-grammatical competence at an upper-intermediate level. All core language skills – reading, writing, speaking and listening – will be practised, with particular attention in class to speaking, listening, and writing through translation. The topics covered include: Tenses and aspects • Present simple • Present continuous • Past simple • Past continuous • Used to and would • Present perfect simple • Present perfect continuous • Past perfect • Past perfect continuous • Going to and will • Present tenses used for future meaning • Modal verbs Sentence structure • Word order • Reported speech and reporting verbs • Relative clauses Other verb forms • Verbs followed by the infinitive or -ing form • Conditional sentences (first, second, and zero types) • Third conditional, wishes and regrets • Passive voice • Get/have something done • Basic phrasal verbs Naming and describing • Articles • Personal, possessive, reflexive, and demonstrative pronouns • Countable and uncountable nouns; expressions of quantity Functional areas • Ways of making comparisons • Expressing possibility in the present and past Expressing obligation and necessity in the present, past and future B) The Language and Textual Genres of the Media (36 hours) This module introduces students to the use of English in the context of contemporary media, the web, and multimedia technologies. Through the analysis of authentic texts and participation in oral (role play, listening comprehension) and written activities (functional tasks in English for specific purposes and short translation exercises from Italian into English), students will develop linguistic and pragmatic competence in relation to English-language media and their textual genres, such as news articles, editorials, advertisements, and music reviews. The texts analysed will be drawn from: • Magazines • Newspapers • Print advertising (from newspapers and magazines) • Music reviews (from newspapers and magazines) Focus will be placed on communication through both traditional and contemporary channels (including web-based media).
The course is delivered through lectures, during which the lecturer presents the course content while encouraging students’ active participation through exercises, listening to authentic texts in English, reading, conversation, and short mock tests administered during the course, followed by guided correction and discussion with the students.
Office hours upon appointment via email: alessandra.vicentini@uninsubria.it