Italian 130

Prerequisite: Completion of Italian 120 at Penn or a placement score between 450 and 540 on the SAT II in Italian or the placement test .

Required Texts: (Available in the textbook section of the Penn Bookstore, 36th & Walnut)

Mezzadri, Marco. Essential Italian Grammar in Practice
Webster’s New World Italian Dictionary
Course bulkpack (available at Campus Copy Center)

Course Description:
Italian 130 is the first half of a two-semester intermediate sequence designed to help you attain a level of competency that should allow you to function comfortably in an Italian-speaking environment.. The course will build on your existing skills in Italian, increase your confidence and your ability to read, write, speak and understand the language, and introduce you to more refined lexical items, more complex grammatical structures, and more challenging cultural material. You are expected to have already learned the most basic grammatical structures in elementary Italian and to be able to review these on your own. A unique focus of this course will be on developing cross-cultural skills through computer-mediated communication with students in Italy. The Confronti project will allow you to compare and analyze your cultural views, assumptions and values with those of your Italian counterparts on a variety of topics. Through a web site developed especially for the course you will fill in questionnaires and then participate in an e-mail exchange through the discussion board. As in other Italian courses at Penn, class will be conducted entirely in Italian. Your attendance and participation is of the utmost importance, because you will work collaboratively with your classmates and your instructor both towards an increased linguistic competence and a more complex understanding of Italian culture. You will have an active role in the class organization; daily homework will include conducting research and interviews to present to the class, and developing or responding to questions that will serve as starting points for class discussions. You will be expected to read, watch video clips and listen to music online in preparation for class. Assignments in the reference grammar will provide structured practice of the linguistic forms necessary for negotiating the concepts and questions presented through the Confronti project, while writing assignments will challenge and improve your linguistic, analytical and creative skill.

Goals:
By the end of the course, through persistent questioning of the notions of culture and some of its component parts, you will collaborate with your classmates at Penn and with students in Italy in order to develop a more subtle understanding of Italian culture and of your own. Class and group discussions will hone your abilities to express your opinions, and to challenge and debate those of others, both in writing and in conversation. Writing assignments will develop your abilities to communicate creatively, practically, and persuasively. Listening to and reading the perspectives of Italians, both as a part of the online exchange and through authentic documents (including videos, television programs, music, and radio, as well as articles, books, and letters), will help to enrich vocabulary and strengthen language skills while also providing a rich and varied base for our cultural dialogue.

Required Work
Attendance: Regular attendance in class is required. Roll will be taken on a daily basis. You are allowed a maximum of four absences during the semester. Your instructor will talk to you after three absences and send a note of warning to your advisor after four absences. After five absences your grade will be lowered. If you are absent, it is your responsibility to find out the assignment and be prepared for class. Students are expected to come to class on time. Repeated tardiness will be counted toward an absence.
Class Preparation: Daily preparation of assigned work for class discussion (including reading, viewing video clips or listening to audio texts) is essential. Many of these materials will be available to you on the course Blackboard site.
Written Homework: You will have regular assignments of various lengths, including some longer, formal compositions that will focus on the development of writing skills. All written homework must be handed in on time. It will be accepted late only if you are ill.

Tests and Exams
Tests: There will be a total of 3 module tests.
Quizzes: You will have 10 short, weekly, in-class quizzes on Fridays. Three of these will be expanded to include a listening comprehension task. Your lowest quiz will not count towards your course grade. You may also have unannounced quizzes.
Oral tests: You will have a midterm and a final oral test which will be individually scheduled by your instructor.
Final Exam: The Final exam will include Reading, Composition and Cloze.
Note: There are no make-up quizzes or exams; if you miss one you will receive a 0.

Final Grade:
Module tests - 20%
Written homework - 20%
Class preparation/participation - 15%
Weekly quizzes - 20%
Midterm and final oral - 10%
Final Exam - 15%

Grading Scale:  

MMETS (Multimedia Center):
MMETS is located in the basement of David Rittenhouse Lab (33rd and Walnut). Teachers may assign listening or recording work in the MMETS center. As a Penn student you also have access to a variety of Italian instructional videos, movies and cassettes for additional listening comprehension practice. A large collection of Italian movies is also in the Van Pelt Library.

The Department Home Page:
Consult the Romance Languages Department Home Page for information on additional resources, such as local radio and TV programming in Italian and sites where you can practice your Italian, pick up an Italian newspaper or magazine or get an Italian cappuccino! The page also has links to selected WWW sites which can enrich your study of the language. Each Italian 130 section will have a class session scheduled into a computer lab at MMETS at the beginning of the semester where you will be introduced to these resources.

La Casa Italiana:
La Casa Italiana, part of the Modern Languages Residential Program of Gregory House, is located in the Class of 1925 building, 3940 Locust Walk. It sponsors a program of Italian films as well as a weekly coffee hour in Italian which are open to the whole campus. It is also possible to join the residents for dinner. For further details on their activities visit their home page.

Tutoring Support:
Students who wish to have additional help with their language studies should contact the Penn Tutoring and Learning Resource Center at 3820 Locust Walk.
The Center organizes regular sessions for walk-in help in a number of residences in addition to providing one-on-one tutoring.

Language Direct:
This is an effort of the Wheel Project sponsored by the Modern Languages Program which will provide on-line tutorial help. Students can seek help on their study of Italian by e-mail at any time of day or night and receive a response within 24 hours. Language Direct will also organize on-site tutorials in the Modern Languages House, particularly keyed to major exams such as midterms and finals.

Study Abroad:
The University of Pennsylvania strongly encourages study abroad opportunities for its students. A variety of summer, semester and year-long programs in Italy are sponsored by Penn-Summer-Abroad (3440 Market St., Suite 100, Tel: 8-7028) and the Office of International Programs (133 Bennett Hall, Tel: 8-4661). The Penn-Bryn Mawr summer program in Florence offers Language, Literature and Art History courses.

Italian Language Program Director:

Italian 130 Coordinator:

Daniela Viale
446 Williams
898-8449