Communicative Competence Development of Language B -Italian, level 2

obligatory courses

Compulsory, 1st year, BA studies. Students continue to study Italian, as the first language of students’ specialization (B) at level B2 of CEFR at the outset of the course.

Classroom

The study of Italian, as the first language of students’ specialization (B) at level B2 (Upper Intermediate) of CEFR at the outset of the course. The course

consists of 120 hours in-class in the 2nd semester, divided into thematic segments, and requires a considerable amount of the student’s

individual self-study.

The aim of the course is to develop and improve the students’ communicative competence in Italian at the advanced level B2+ within the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages. The teaching process stimulates integrated development of several communicative competences, i.e.: pragmatic, sociolinguistic, intercultural and metalinguistic. The content of the course conforms to the level of language skills among students and designed for the studies at the Applied Linguistics.

A compulsory course for year 1 BA students with Italian as the first language of students’ specialization (B).

During the 2nd semester of the course, students’ communicative competence in Italian continues after the 1st semester at an advanced level, equivalent to level B2 within the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages. The aim of the course is to further develop and improve the students’ communicative competence in Italian by the end of the 1-st year at an advanced upper intermediate level, equivalent to level B2+ within the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages.

During the 2nd semester the teaching process continues to stimulate integrated development of several communicative competences, such as the pragmatic competence, sociolinguistic, as well as intercultural and metalinguistic competences, with the continuous focus on the skills of speaking and pronunciation, writing, listening and reading comprehension, as well as control over vocabulary and grammar structures at the B2+ level by the end of the 1-st year. The content of the course conforms to the level of language skills among students and is designed for the studies with the major in Applied Linguistics, especially to professional requirements in academic, glottodidactic and translation domains. During the 2nd semester of the 1st year the course comprises of the following thematic components: :

- vocabulary / speaking / listening

- grammar / pragmatics

- writing / reading

- Integrated skills

These components improve the students’:

- lexical competence (by contributing to their growing control over a vast range of vocabulary contained in the teaching programme at a B2+

level CEFR);

- grammatical competence (by contributing to their growing receptive and productive skills of comprehending grammatically complex texts

and utterances and creating such texts and utterances in keeping with grammatical standards covered by the teaching programme);

- discursive competence in speech and in writing (by contributing to their growing skills of composing logically, grammatically and

stylistically consistent texts and utterances.

- functional and sociolinguistic competence (by contributing to the development of the skill of applying the appropriate forms of expression

to communicative situations and its recipients in the context of selected cultural aspects associated with Italian at a B2+ level)

The "Integrated Skills" component aims to consolidate, improve and deepen the knowledge acquired during the course of other

components.

Contact hours (in-class): 120 hrs

Self-study/individual work:

- working with assigned texts – 30 hrs

- practical grammar assignments – 20 hrs

- preparing oral presentations and written assignments – 35 hrs

- revising and preparation for the end-of-term written tests/assignments/oral presentations – 15 hrs

Self-study/individual work total: 100hrs

KNOWLEDGE:

The student:

- has the knowledge of the language at B2+ level (CEFR), understands its structure and specificity (K1_W01);

- knows morphosyntactic structures, understands oral statements at B2+ level, interprets written texts at B2+ level, knows word definitions,

synonyms and idioms, has a grounded knowledge of lexical, grammatical and phonetic issues regarding the Italian language, as indicated

in the course description(K1_W01);

- understands the complexity of the Italian language at B2+ level (CEFR) (K1_W03);

- knows and understands the elements of Italian culture, understands the role of language in intercultural and cultural communication

(K1_W07, K1_W10);

- knows and understands cultural differences, constituting important factors in the process of creating multicultural societies in the modern

world, has a general knowledge of the reality, socio-economic and legal conditions of Italy (K1_W11).

SKILLS

The student:

- possesses linguistic skills at B2+ level (CEFR), also in typical professional situations which require the knowledge of techniques, strategies

and different communication channels (K1_U05, K1_U09);

- is able to critique cultural texts, search for, analyse, evaluate and select authentic texts in Italian and develop professional skills in Italian

(K1_U01);

- can identify characteristic cultural elements and correctly interpret phenomena regarding the Italian language, react properly in every

communicative situation while considering the cultural context and using customary expressions (K1_U03);

- can prepare written assignments in Italian on discussed subjects (K1_U06);

- can prepare speeches in Italian using properly selected source materials (K1_U07);

- can set priorities and plan activities in order to perform specific linguistic, communicative and professional tasks in Italian, understands

the need of self-study and the necessity of continuous development of skills (K1_U12);

- can solve problems and perform linguistic tasks in Italian at B2+ competence level in conditions which are not fully predictable, through

assessing the situation and choosing appropriate methods and tools (K1_U13)

SOCIO-CULTURAL COMPETENCIES

The student is:

- prepared to cooperate and work in a group, assume various roles and respect rules of good communication in Italian (K1_K06);

- prepared to identify and properly solve communicative dilemmas between Italy and Polish, which result from the asymmetry in linguistic

systems and cultural variety (K1_K01);

- prepared to participate in cultural life in Poland and Italy, promote their cultures while using both traditional and modern forms of

communication and media (K1_K03).

- prepared to take measures in inter-linguistic communication in order to preserve the cultural heritage of Poland and Italy (K1_K04)

Assessment criteria – thematic components:

Each thematic component is assessed according to the following:

- Continuous assessment (preparedness, activity in class)

- Home assignments

- graded control tests

- mid-term written tests/term papers

- mid-term oral exams

- preparation and delivery of oral presentations

Grading criteria - thematic components:

The passing percantage for graded works on all thematic components is 60%. All written tests and assignments within the components and during the course are graded according to the following criteria:

0-59% = failed (2.0)

60-67% = satisfactory (3.0)

68-75% = satisfactory plus (3.5)

76-83% = good (4.0)

84-91% = good plus (4.5)

92-98% = very good (5.0)

99-100% = very good! (5.0!)

The student is allowed one retake of every failed graded test at the time designated by the teacher. Unexcused absence during a test or a retake forfeits that attempt.

Assessment criteria – Exam:

In order to take the exam the student must receive passing grades from all the thematic components during the course. Receiving a failing grade from one or more thematic components results in negative grade in the USOS in first term, at which point the student must receive passing grades from all failed components in order to be allowed a second attempt at the exam during the retake exam session.

The exam is composed of written and oral parts. The written part consists of grammar test, lexical test and an essay in academic writing on a chosen topic.

Grading criteria – Exam:

The writing parts are graded according to the following criteria:

0-59% = failed (2.0)

60-67% = satisfactory (3.0)

68-75% = satisfactory plus (3.5)

76-83% = good (4.0)

84-91% = good plus (4.5)

92-98% = very good (5.0)

99-100% = very good! (5.0!)

The oral part of the exam assesses the communicative competence as well as the level of vocabulary, pronunciation and grammatical competence acquired during the 2nd semester of the course. The assessment criteria of the oral exam are as follows:

5.0 – very good: very good linguistic competence (proper and correct use of grammatical and lexical elements acquired during the course, accompanied by the proper phonemes, accent and intonation); extensive vocabulary (uses visibly diverse vocabulary, idioms, collocations and other expressions acquired during the course, uses proper register); very good and clearly thought through structure of delivered statements with clearly identifiable introduction, supporting arguments and conclusion; frequent, fluent and correct use of logical connectors and linking phrases; clearly signalling beginning and closure of an argument; statement coherent with the topic

4.0/4.5 – good/good plus: good linguistic competence (proper and correct use of grammatical and lexical elements acquired during the course, with the use of proper phonemes, accent and intonation; sporadic mistakes in pronunciation, sporadic and isolated errors in grammar); good level of vocabulary (uses diverse vocabulary from the classes, idioms, collocations and other expressions with few and isolated mistakes and errors, and occasional errors of register); good and planned structure of delivered statements that shows clear introduction, supporting arguments and conclusion, with singular losses of fluency and diversion from the main topic; visible use of logical connectors and linking phrases clearly signalling beginning and closure of an argument; statement coherent with the topic

3.0/3.5 – satisfactory/satisfactory plus: satisfactory competence (proper and correct use of grammatical and lexical elements acquired during the course, with the use of proper phonemes, accent and intonation; infrequent or occasional mistakes in pronunciation and grammatical errors are acceptable and do not prevent successful communication); satisfactory level of vocabulary (vocabulary acquired during the classes, idioms, collocations and other expressions, lacks in diversity; visible mistakes and errors, and errors of register); satisfactory structure of delivered statements that shows visible, but not clearly discernible introduction, supporting arguments, and conclusion of the argument; visible losses of fluency and diversion from the main topic; rare or infrequent use of logical connectors and linking phrases signalling beginning and closure of an argument; satisfactory coherence with the topic

2.0 – failed: unsatisfactory linguistic competence (notorious and regular grammatical, lexical, phonetic and pronunciation mistakes); vocabulary insufficient to create coherent statements, frequent errors of register, lack or incorrect use of idioms and collocations; chaotic structure of delivered statements, without discernible introduction, development and conclusion of the argument; lack of logical connection between parts of the argument, lack or incorrect use of logical connectors and linking phrases; visible lack of fluency, jagged or incomplete sentences, clear lack of coherence with the topic

The final grade from the exam is the average from the written and oral parts of the exam. The final grade from the course in the USOS is the average of the grades from the exam (50%) and the classes (50%).

Failing one part of the exam results in a failing grade from the entireexam in the summer exam session and the need to retake the exam in the same form during the retake exam session.

Students are required to attend all the classes in a given component of the course. Students are allowed two unexcused absences in a given component per 30 contact hours. When the number of allowed absences is exceeded, the student should ask the teacher to be given additional tasks aimed at making up for the material missed from the classes by that student. If the number of absences is equal to or exceeds 50% of the component’s total number of contact hours, it will result in a negative grade from that component as well as from the entire course.