First-Year Italian: ITAL 1401, 1402 Beginning Italian
The first two semesters of Italian offer a communicative and interactive approach. Students read and listen to authentic materials, prepare written and oral presentations, and practice conversation. Special focus is given to communicating about yourself and others, places, interests, and activities. All classroom activities are supported by online activities, such as audio and video files.
The courses also introduce students to Italy, its geography, its literature, and its culture, and explore cross-cultural similarities and differences between Italy and the United States.The goals of first semester Italian include learning the Italian alphabet, correct pronunciation, greeting Italians properly, and asking and answering personal questions in the present tense about personal background, daily activities, and the weather.
The goal of second semester Italian is to improve students’ ability to understand and speak Italian using common idiomatic expressions, and to increase cultural and geographical knowledge of Italy. Students will speak about vacations, meals, holidays, and shopping in Italy, and describe hobbies and activities both in the present and the past tenses.
Second-Year Italian: ITAL 2401, 2402 Intermediate Italian
The third and fourth semesters of Italian will develop mid-intermediate proficiency level in the four major language skills: speaking, reading, writing, and listening, with an emphasis on communication activities and more complex grammar structures. Students continue to study Italian culture, geography, and literature with content that includes food, shops, money, hobbies and sports, and to explore cross-cultural similarities and differences between Italy and the United States.
The goal of third semester Italian is to further improve students’ ability to speak and understand Italian, to become familiar with the use of different tenses and moods (present and past indicative, imperative, conditional, subjunctive), to increase their writing skills as they begin to read different kind of texts, from informal to literary. Students talk about fashion, travel, jobs, and the workplace, and express wishes, desires, and opinions.
The goal of fourth semester Italian is to promote lengthier conversations in Italian with good pronunciation and using various tenses and moods. Students read brief articles and short stories in modern Italian and write grammatically correct paragraphs in Italian. Students also discuss the arts, the media, and politics.
