English I

Assessment is carried out on the basis of examinations and projects, including collaborative ones. For attending students, assessment will be carried out prevalently during the course and will include multiple interim tests designed to gradually build the competences required to successfully complete the course. Such tests will have to be taken sequentially according to the order described below (e.g.: assessment of lexico-grammatical and syntactic skills preliminarily to assessment of skills in writing business-related written materials). Students who do NOT take advantage of the interim tests will sit a final multi-part exam based on the same principles of progression (from lexico-grammar, to genre-based writing, to critical skills). In particular, it is necessary to pass the preliminary written test in order to qualify for the subsequent parts of the exam, which includes, in addition to other specialized skills tests (see below), the presentation and discussion of an individual project. For students who attend regularly, this project may be replaced by activities, including group activities, carried out during the course.

Formal written tests of vocabulary-grammar and syntax take place at the beginning of each exam period (May, September and January).

Examinations aimed at verifying the specialized skills developed during the course have a dual component, written (different from lexico-grammatical and syntactic competence tested in the formal written tests, and consisting of a writing task in which students will have to prove their ability to recognize and use rhetorical structures suited to the communicative situation at hand) and oral. The written component, which is binding for access to the oral, takes place one week (approximately) before the oral component.

The above directions apply primarily to non-attending students and to those who, while availing themselves of opportunities to take the interim tests, should need or wish to repeat them. The dates of the interim tests and the organization of workshop activities reserved for attending students will be communicated on the course website on the MyAriel platform.

WRITTEN TEST (LEXICO-GRAMMATICAL AND SYNTACTIC COMPETENCES):
Test of language proficiency: verification of language skills at grammar and vocabulary level (C1 level, with lexical content related to advanced Business English vocabulary). The test includes cloze tests (10 spaces), sentence transformation and cohesive structures (10) and multiple choice gapfills (10 spaces). The time allowed to complete this test is 45 minutes. The use of dictionaries is not allowed. The test will be administered electronically.
For evaluation purposes, the three parts of the test have different weights.
- Sentence transformation/cohesive structures (10, minimum level C1): weight: 20/30
- Cloze test (10 spaces): weight: 5/30
- Multiple choice gapfill test (10 spaces): weight 5/30
To pass the test, it is necessary to obtain an overall score of 60 percent of the correct answers, while obtaining a score of not less than 50 percent in each part. This results in a score of not less than 18/30 on the three parts, with a score of not less than 10/30 in the sentence transformation exercise, and not less than 5/30 overall between the two components of cloze and gapfill. If the overall score is 18 or higher, but less than 50% in even one of the components, you will need to take the test again. You must pass this test to gain access to the next test. Attending students will have the opportunity to take this test during the course

SPECIALIZED LANGUAGE SKILLS ASSESSMENT (WRITTEN AND ORAL)
You will only be able to progress to this part of the assessment if you have passed the written test of lexico-grammatical and syntactic skills. This part of the assessment includes the following components:

1. Specialized written skills in business/management.
The test consists of writing a professional-quality text belonging to one of the text genres covered in the course (press release, fundraising letter, business proposal, internal report, etc.) using generative AI tools. Students will be provided with a very broad outline of a situation requiring some form of rhetorical response/action. They will have to choose how to respond, selecting the appropriate genre and designing suitable prompts which they will use to generate text with the help of an AI text generating tool of their choice. A commentary on the AI tool output will complete the assignment. Instructions on how to complete the assignment will be provided in due course. Assessment will be based not only to the final output but to the entire prompting process and related commentary. The task will have to be completed in three hours.


Grading will be out of thirty and will be based on the following criteria:
- Completeness (does the exam turned in fulfil the task in its entirety?)
- Quality of output (text produced) (does the final product, i.e. the text written or generated, effectively fulfil the requirements of the communicative situation?)
- Level of meta-linguistic and meta-pragmatic awareness (can I explain in academically appropriate language the reasons why the text produced fulfils the communicative requirements of the situation?)
- Competence in the use of generative AI writing tools. (how can/did I use generative AI writing tools? What are the limits of the tool? How can/did I improve the output?)
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As indicated above, this test is usually administered at least one week before each oral examination. For attending students, alternatives to this test may be available during the course as part of the (group) project work.

2. Interactional language skills in professional contexts
Interactional language competences will be assessed on the basis of students' performances in the course of group discussions / presentations / simulated business tasks (typically involving negotiations). Assessment will be based on language and communication skills, with emphasis on syntactic structures, vocabulary, pronunciation and intonation, fluency, naturalness/idiomaticity, and strategic effectiveness. It will be possible to obtain an assessment for this component during the language practice sessions (continuous assessment). Attendance is strongly recommended so that students can hone their interaction skills. Students who do not obtain it during the course must obtain it in the oral examination. The evaluation is expressed with a mark out of thirty.

3. Verification of the critical and practical skills developed in the course
Ideally, the acquisition of specialized skills will be verified during the course, through projects (including group projects) carried out in the second semester. This mode of verification is only suitable for attending students, and is therefore reserved to them. For non-attending students (and for those who do not intend to undergo ongoing assessment), the verification will consist of an interview with one of the official course lecturers. The interview will involve the presentation of a personal/group project aimed at demonstrating the acquisition of analytical methods and critical sensitivity developed during the course. Students may also be asked to discuss additional topics dealt with in class.
Regardless of the form of verification taken, the final grade will be based on the marks obtained in the various parts, but will not represent their purely mathematical average. Communication skills demonstrated in the presentation will also contribute to the grade.