English Language 2 (MA)

A.Y. 2024/2025
9
Max ECTS
60
Overall hours
SSD
L-LIN/12
Language
English
Learning objectives
This course, reserved for second year graduate students, is made up of two classes, one monographic and the other language practice. In the monographic class, the habits and customs of the British people will be explored by reading and watching different multimedia products, with the aim of stimulating interesting exchange of opinions and wide debate, especially in contrastive terms with other native or well-known cultures. In the language class passive and active language skills will be further consolidated by translation exercises into English from the students' mother tongue of informative texts published on the web.
Expected learning outcomes
A sound knowledge and improved understanding of British people's English and their culture. Knowledge and understanding: in the monographic class, to be able to speak about British social and cultural matters as idiomatically and proficiently as possible, aware of one's own cultural differences; in the language class, the ability to translate to and from British English informative texts taken from brochures published on the web.
Single course

This course can be attended as a single course.

Course syllabus and organization

Single session

Responsible
Lesson period
year
Course syllabus
The name of the course is "The British and their social and cultural worlds" . It comprises three didactic units:

A: Reading "Britishness" (Guzzetti) - first semester
B: Watching the British (Contract) - second semester
C: An introduction to Sociolinguistic (and corresponds to unit C of Advanced English Linguistics (Pinnavaia) - second semester

The syllabus is valid until July 2026. The written exam only is valid until January 2026.
Prerequisites for admission
This course is addressed to second year students enroled in the degree course Lingue e Letterature Europee ed Extraeuropee.

The course is held entirely in English.
Teaching methods
The course is delivered mainly as lectures. It also includes practical classes (esercitazioni linguistiche), for this specific section, please see the Practical Classes Syllabus.
Teaching Resources
Reading list:
Unit A: Kate Fox (1994) "Watching the English" accessibile anche online
Unit B: sitcoms on youtube
Unit C: Pinnavaia (2023) "Introducing Sociolinguistics: A Glance at the English-speaking Social and Cultural Worlds"
Materials and slides used in class are available on the English Language 2 MyAriel/Teams platforms.
Notice for non-attending students
The syllabus is the same for attending and non-attending students. Non-attending students are kindly requested to e-mail prof. Martina Guzzetti ([email protected])
Assessment methods and Criteria
The exam consists in a written exam and an oral discussion. The final mark is derived from the averaged total between 18/30 (minimum) and 30/30 (maximum). The written and oral exams can be taken in any order desired.


WRITTEN EXAM
Written exam sessions: May, September, January.

The written exam consists in a translation from Italian into English of an authentic text about the food and drink industry taken from the web (for example, a leaflet, a catalogue, a website, an online brochure) and a series of questions regarding the difficulties in translating from English in one's own mother tongue (please see the practical language syllabus)

ORAL EXAM
The oral exam is based on the notions and concepts imparted in units A, B, and C.

The oral skills and the main course oral exam should be taken on the same day (appello)


Oral exam assessment criteria: 1. appropriate presentation and discussion of topics, notions, and concepts; 2. discourse organisation; 3. lexical richness and accuracy; 4. lexical propriety; 5. lexical variety; 6. detailed text analysis; 7. Speaking skills in general.
L-LIN/12 - LANGUAGE AND TRANSLATION - ENGLISH - University credits: 9
Lessons: 60 hours