Italian 134

Prerequisite: Completion of Italian 112 at Penn and proficiency in another foreign language. Permission from the course coordinator is also required.

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

Gruppo META, Due, libro dello studente
Gruppo Meta, Due, libro degli esercizi
Barki & Diadori, Pro e Contro, livello intermedio
Collins Gem Italian Dictionary

You should bring both the Libro dello studente and the Libro degli esercizi as well as the Pro e Contro to class each day.

Course Description:
Italian 134 is the second, intermediate half of an intensive two-semester sequence designed to help you attain a level of proficiency that should allow you to function comfortably in an Italian-speaking environment. You are expected to have already learned the most basic grammatical structures in Italian 112 and to be able to review these on your own. 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. Like other Italian courses at Penn, the class will be conducted entirely in Italian. In addition to structured oral practice, work in class will include frequent communicative activities such as role-plays, problem-solving tasks, discussions and debates often carried out in pairs or small groups. Through the study of authentic materials such as articles, poems, songs, films, videos and taped conversations between native speakers you will deepen your knowledge of the Italian-speaking world. Daily homework will require listening practice with audio and video cassettes, in addition to regular written exercises in the Libro degli esercizi, and weekly composition practice. The course will also invite you to explore the Italophone world on the Internet.

Goals:
By the end of this course you should be able to communicate well enough in Italian to discuss your personal life experiences, your immediate surroundings and your interests (past, present, future) with more agility and a richer choice of words. You will also have the tools to be able to function in a variety of social or travel situations such as making hotel reservations, either in person or by letter, travelling by train, plane or car, expressing your opinions about the world at large, making comparisons, agreeing and disagreeing with the opinions of others, and even contradicting another opinion in a culturally appropriate way. You should be able to function without trouble in an Italian setting, be it in the home, in the marketplace, in a store or other public place. You will learn about how to look for and apply for a job, and some of the vocabulary that is essential for the workplace, such as words used in the bank, at the post office, and other more general burocratic situations: for example, getting an identity card and making complaints. You will further develop your knowledge of the different regions of Italy and different cities. You will also become more familiar with the past literary tense, which will enable you to read more complex narratives with richer cultural material than in the past. With the aid of a dictionary you will be able to understand the main ideas and a fair amount of supporting detail in general-interest articles from the Italian press and to appreciate somewhat more complex excerpts from literary works. You will also increase your confidence in understanding spoken Italian and can expect to be able to get most of the main points of conversations by native speakers on familiar topics.

Required Work:
Attendance: Regular attendance in class is required. Roll will be taken on a daily basis. You are allowed a maximum of FIVE absences during the semester Your instructor will talk to you after four absences and send a note of warning to your school office after five absences. After six 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 towards an absence.
Class Preparation: Daily preparation of assigned work using the Libro degli esercizi and the exercise cassette is essential. Because of the heavy emphasis on the development of oral and listening comprehension skills in this course, it will not be sufficient to study the assignments silently from the book at home. Tape work can be done either in the Multi-Media Center or you can make a copy of the exercise cassette to work with at home. You can expect to do 1 - 2 hours homework for every hour in class. Your performance on these prepared exercises will be graded.
Oral Preparation: Because of the emphasis on the development of oral and listening comprehension skills in this course, it will not be sufficient to study the assignments silently from the book. Daily preparation of assigned work using the Libro degli esercizi and the exercise cassette is essential. Oral exercises will be assigned regularly and these should be prepared out loud before coming to class. Your performance on these prepared exercises will be graded.
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.
Video Day: On Video Day you will be working with the film Il Postino. Your performance in exercises related to the film will be graded.

Tests and Exams:
Unit tests: At the end of every four units you will have a written test.
Quizzes: You will also have very short in-class mini-quizzes, which may or may not be announced in advance. (These quick spot-checks will count as part of your homework participation grade, as they provide feedback to the teacher on the quality of your daily class preparation.)
Midterm: The midterm is scheduled over a period of two days. The Listening and Reading Comprehension are generally scheduled on one day and the Composition is scheduled on another day in conjunction with a unit test.
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 is the Proficiency exam. All students in Italian 134 are required to pass the Italian Proficiency exam . The results of the exam do not count in the computation of the final grade. The first part of the exam will be a Multiple Choice Test , which will be administered in class during the last two weeks of the semester. This is a sixty minute test, so on that day you want to be sure to arrive to class early and to have with you a number 2 pencil and an eraser. The second part is the Proficiency Listening Comprehension, which is administered on the last video day of the semester. The third part of the exam, scheduled in the Final exam period, includes a Reading comprehension and a Composition.
Note: There are no make-up quizzes or exams; if you miss one you will receive a 0.

Final Grade:
Written Tests - 25%
Midterm - 15%
Written homework, compositions & quizzes - 40%
Oral Homework and participation - 20%

Grading Scale:

MMETS (Language Lab):
The language lab is located in the MMETS in the basement of David Rittenhouse Lab (33rd and Walnut). All students are required to attend a short orientation session before actually using the facilities for class assignments. Orientations will be given during the first few days of the session. The lab staff will show you how to make a copy of the cassette which accompanies Due, Libro degli esercizi for use at home. You may purchase blank cassettes at MMETS.

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.

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. For information about the Penn-Bryn Mawr program, call the Italian Studies Center (Wms 549, Tel: 8-6040).

Italian Language Program Director:

Italian 130 Coordinator:

Daniela Viale
446 Williams
898-8449