ITAL 102 – The Florence Experience II

Formerly called ITAL 102 – The Florence Experience II: Beginning Italian II

Description
The Florence Experience II is an interdisciplinary course in Italian language that builds on one semester of previous work. It focuses on achieving a post-basic level in cultural and linguistic-communicative competences regarding familiar matters, personal experiences, studies, work and daily routine, while introducing students to various relevant aspects of contemporary Florentine life and Italian culture. Students thus develop communication skills both to easily understand and make themselves understood during interaction with native speakers.

Each class introduces students to linguistic skills such as communicative structures, grammar structures, vocabulary and pronunciation. In addition to classroom work, the course includes many on-site meetings, such as interviews with Florentines, field-trips and treasure hunts at the most lively markets, meetings with students from the “Università di Firenze”, with Italian cadets from the local Scuola Militare Aeronautica Giulio Dohuet, and with Francesco Rotelli and Roberto Caccavo (professional actors, directors, and playwrights) who conduct language/culture in-class activities.

Learning Outcomes
On completion of the course, students should be able to:

– Comprehend spoken Italian in dialogues and conversations ( recorded and in authentic context) related to daily life situations, such as doing grocery shopping, buying clothes in a fashion store, and asking for street directions.
– Read and understand written Italian texts (emails, dialogues, informative texts) about topics such as past events, weather conditions, house descriptions and personal habits.
– Talk about free time and daily activities in Italian; invite, accept and decline invitations; talk about past events; describe persons, places and the weather in the past; talk about school, ongoing actions and future plans; express preferences and desires; give and ask for advice and suggestions; give orders.
– Write dialogues on daily situations and compositions on topics such as childhood memories, holidays, weekends, habits in the present and in the past; cities that the students have visited, suggestions for friends on what to see and do in Italy.

Course descriptions may be subject to occasional minor modifications at the discretion of the instructor.

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