Overview

Description

CALENDAR DESCRIPTION:

This course is designed to provide the student with the means of acquiring basic spoken fluency and reading facility.

COURSE DETAILS:

Since language acquisition requires interaction among students in the "learning community," your conduct in the classroom impacts on others. The following policies will serve to create a pleasurable and productive learning experience for the entire group. 

• In an effort to create an immersion experience, students are asked to speak Italian in the classroom. Your commitment to speaking the language will help you improve your skills steadily. You will be graded on classroom performance, including willingness to communicate. Getting it right matters much less than making an effort to speak.
• Class attendance is necessary to progress and you are expected to attend all classes. However, the first 2 absences will not be held against you (use them for illness!). After 2 absences, your final grade will be lowered for each additional absence (for example from a B to a B-).  Also, tardiness to class creates a disturbance that disrupts the learning environment and is inconsiderate of others. Students who are 5 or more minutes late to class will be counted tardy. Students will receive two "free tardies". These provide for family emergencies, traffic accidents, etc. A third tardy in a class will constitute an absence.   An absence is not considered an excuse for not doing your assignment. Get the contact information of at least two classmates during the first week of class. If you are absent, contact them to find out about the day’s assignments.
• Note carefully the dates for tests and the final exam. There are no make-ups of any kind, except in cases of documented serious illness or death in the family, or official university notification of mandatory participation in university activities. It is your responsibility to inform the instructor of your absence BEFORE the scheduled test.
• Postings regarding this course will appear on Canvas. Students should check the course site regularly for announcements, assignments, or other information. 
• Written communication between you and the instructor (or other faculty members) must originate from your SFU email address. Please do not use personal accounts (gmail, yahoo, etc.).
• Please turn off cell phones and any other disruptive electronic devices before entering class. No eating in class, although you may bring something to drink.  

Disability Statement: This course is open to all students who meet the academic requirements for participation. Any student who has a need for accommodation based on the impact of a disability should contact the instructor privately to discuss the specific situation as soon as possible. Contact the Centre for Students with Disabilities at Email: csdo@sfu.ca / Phone: 778.782.3112 to coordinate reasonable accommodations for students with documented disabilities. 

Any incidences of cheating will result in failure of the exam or quiz and will be reported to the disciplinary committee. All students are required to be familiar with the University policies on Academic Integrity. Please refer to: http://www.sfu.ca/students/academicintegrity.html http://www.sfu.ca/policies/gazette/student/s10-01.html  
Assignments: Assignments reinforce classroom concepts. Therefore, please be timely with assignments. The Percorsi MyItalianLab is deadline sensitive, so please pay attention to due dates.  

• Before every class you are required to prepare the vocabulary, and especially the grammar points to be discussed during that class period. Familiarizing yourself with these notions before coming to class allows you to pinpoint the parts that pose real difficulties, so that we can better focus our discussion and activities.
• Compositions: there will be TWO compositions due during the semester. The compositions make up 10% of your final grade.
• There are 4 scheduled Quizzes. The quizzes emphasize the vocabulary and grammatical structures contained in each unit, and may include listening comprehension, reading comprehension, dictation and writing. There are no make-up quizzes.
• Exams include a Midterm and a Final Exam.  Each exam has a written and an oral part to test your overall communicative abilities. During the semester you will have speaking assignments to build your speaking abilities.    • There is a five-minute Oral Exam that will be scheduled during the final week of class, and which counts for 10% of your final grade.  

Evaluation: Please note: Failure to complete any of the major assignments may result in failure of the course.   

COURSE-LEVEL EDUCATIONAL GOALS:

To prepare students to communicate simply but effectively in Italian through the development of four skills – listening, speaking, reading and writing – as well as to develop a knowledge of Italian culture. Specifically, upon successful completion of this course, students should be able to:

• provide basic information in Italian about themselves, their families, interests, likes and dislikes, and daily activities;
• participate in simple conversation on everyday topics (e.g. weather, meeting new people, school, shopping, etc.);
• read edited texts on familiar topics; understand the main ideas, and pick out important information from "authentic texts" (e.g. menus, signs, train schedules, etc.);
• complete forms requesting general information, write letters and postcards providing simple information;
• provide general information about Italy (e.g. geography, weather, food, etc.);
• use and understand essential vocabulary related to everyday life (e.g. days of the week, colors, numbers, months, seasons, time of day, stores, family members, modes of transportation, etc.)
• produce Italian with enough grammatical accuracy and accurate pronunciation to be comprehensible to an Italian speaker accustomed to speaking with non-natives.

Grading

Materials

REQUIRED READING: