ENGLISH LANGUAGE I

Università degli Studi
"G. d'Annunzio"

Chieti - Pescara

Alphabetic division AF - GZ

Course Sheet

Course code:

L0001

Academic Year of enrolment:

2022

Year of supply:

2022/2023

Divisions:

Gruppo B

Type of Course:

Basic

Degree:

Course of 1st Cycle Degree in LINGUISTIC MEDIATION AND INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION

Disciplinary Sector:

English Language and Translation

Is part of:

ENGLISH LANGUAGE I

Location:

PESCARA

Credits:

Programme Year:

Professor and Collaborators:

BRUSASCO Paola

SECCIA Maria Cristina

Cycle:

Single Annual Cycle

Hours of classroom activity:

Individual study hours:

228

Prerequisites:

CEFR level A2

Objectives

The course contributes to the curriculum's general aim to provide a sound linguistic and cultural education on which to build competencies in the field of translation and cross-language mediation. Besides consolidating and enhancing the students' mastery of English, the course aims at stimulating critical and metalinguistic reflection on its phonology, syntax, vocabulary – as well as its textual, cultural, social, and historical dimensions. Students will also be introduced to written mediation activities in line with the descriptors provided by the CEFR Companion Volume (2020).

    
LEARNING OUTCOMES  

Knowledge and understanding:
- knowing the fundamentals of English linguistics - phonetics, syntax, lexis - and the socio-cultural factors that have favoured the spread pf English all over the world;
- recognising language varieties
 - being aware of both internal elements and external factors that influence the effectiveness and interpretation of a text.  

Making judgements: 
- being able to assess the communicative situation and choose the degree of mediation needed;
 - being able to critically analyse a text.  

Communication skills:  
- understanding and producing oral and written texts at CEFR level B1;
 - implementing language mediation strategies for written texts;
 - using suitable vocabulary, syntax, and register as required by the communicative situation;
 - producing cohesive and coherent texts.

Contents

The course is an introduction to the structural and cultural aspects of English, considered both in its historical evolution and its contemporary geographical varieties. Aspects of phonology and phonetics, morphology, syntax, and lexis will be analyzed, sometimes in a contrastive perspective with Italian. The course will also sensitize students to the relationship between language and society, the construction of meaning, and elements of text linguistics. Students will acquire some mediation strategies for written texts selected among those outlined in the Companion Volume to the CEFR (2020).
In order to both achieve the levels of language proficiency described in the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR), and pass the final exam, it is highly advisable to attend the language practice classes held by CLA instructors.

Extended Syllabus

An introduction to English linguistics and the mediation of written texts. The historical evolution of English. Main geographical varieties. The spread of English as a lingua franca: advantages and problems. Phonology and phonetics. Morphology. Syntax. Lexis and phraseology. The construction of meaning in different communicative situations: semantics and pragmatics. Elements of text linguistics: from co-text to context. Register, cohesion, coherence. Intralingual and cross-language mediation of written texts.
 
Please refer to the Centro Linguistico di Ateneo website for information about the schedule of language practice classes, tests, and instructors’ (CEL’s) office hours.

Recommended Bibliography

- Bieswanger, M., Becker, A. (2017). Introduction to English Linguistics. Tübingen/Basel: A. Francke Verlag.
- Baker, M. (2018). In Other Words. A Coursebook on Translation. Third edition. Oxon/New York: Routledge. Ch. 6 and 7.
- Council of Europe (2020), Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: Learning, teaching, assessment – Companion volume. Strasbourg: Council of Europe Publishing, pp. 90, and 117-121 (www.coe.int/lang-cefr).
Reading materials will be given or assigned during the course.

Teaching Methods

Lectures supported by multimedia presentations and videos; group-, pair- and individual work; peer tutoring and cooperative learning; class discussion of tasks previously carried out.
Language practice classes with native English speaking teachers.

Evaluation methods

Verification of learning:

The exam is written and oral. The written test aims at assessing the competencies acquired with the course, e.g. transcribing orthographically a short text given in phonetic transcription, creating the tree diagram of a sentence, mediating a short text, exercises on morphology, pragmatics and lexis, aspects of text analysis. The oral exam, to be taken only after passing the written part, consists in a conversation in English on the topics covered during the course.
Before the Lingua inglese exam, students will take the CLA language practice test, whose result will be taken into consideration in the Lingua inglese final evaluation.

Università degli Studi
"G. d'Annunzio"

Chieti - Pescara

Aree