54
English Language and Translation
UNIVERSITÀ DEGLI STUDI DI NAPOLI "L'ORIENTALE"
Overview
Date/time interval
Syllabus
Course Objectives
COURSE GOALS AND EXPECTED RESULTS
The course consists of a six-month module of theoretical/methodological nature and a year-long practical language module. The course targets first year students for whom it represents the opportunity to assess their previous skills and knowledge and aims to provide useful tools for the analysis and description of the English language system. It also aims to consolidate the metalinguistic competence and develop intermediate plus/upper-intermediate language skills in English.
The main objective of the course is the acquisition and consolidation of the phonological, morphological, lexical, and syntactic knowledge of the English language. It will provide the descriptive and metalinguistic tools essential for the development of critical and informed reflection on the English language through the study of authentic materials to develop the four linguistic skills (writing, reading, listening, and speaking).
The course consists of a six-month module of theoretical/methodological nature and a year-long practical language module. The course targets first year students for whom it represents the opportunity to assess their previous skills and knowledge and aims to provide useful tools for the analysis and description of the English language system. It also aims to consolidate the metalinguistic competence and develop intermediate plus/upper-intermediate language skills in English.
The main objective of the course is the acquisition and consolidation of the phonological, morphological, lexical, and syntactic knowledge of the English language. It will provide the descriptive and metalinguistic tools essential for the development of critical and informed reflection on the English language through the study of authentic materials to develop the four linguistic skills (writing, reading, listening, and speaking).
ABILITY TO APPLY KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING
The course pays both analytical-descriptive and practical attention to the varieties and different contexts of English language usage. The focus on its phonological, morphological, syntactic, and lexical components should enhance students’ analytical skills. The aim is thus to provide 'declarative' knowledge of the English language in its various aspects, with particular attention to the diastratic and diatopic varieties of English, without ignoring the role of English as an international language. In this regard, authentic materials and applicative tools will be used to develop students’ ability to analyze different textual typologies from a linguistic and cultural point of view. Students will also have to acquire linguistic and communicative skills and master the tools necessary for an independent interpretation of English texts. These skills will be essential for the understanding of longer written and oral academic texts, and for the production of written and oral texts appropriate to the communicative and cultural context. The metalinguistic competence expected at the end of the course aims to improve learning autonomy.
FURTHER EXPECTED LEARNING OUTCOMES
Autonomous decision making:
Ability to learn independently, interpret and summarize various and complex texts in English in an autonomous, personal, and effective way. Students should be able to perform a metalinguistic analysis of some specific features of the English language.
Communication skills:
Intermediate plus/upper-intermediate ability to understand and produce audio-oral texts. Students must be able to express themselves in a clear and structured way with few errors. Students will develop all four linguistic skills (reading, listening, writing, and speaking) and understand the main phonological, morpho-syntactic and lexical aspects of the English language. Furthermore, they will become familiar with everyday language through the use of printed, audio and video material of different linguistic varieties.
Learning ability:
Autonomy in understanding different textual types and in producing English oral and written texts for different contexts of use.
Course Prerequisites
Pre-acquired competence
Students must have good reading and comprehension skills in English. The initial linguistic competence of the course is of intermediate level and leads to the achievement of an intermediate plus/upper -intermediate level of the English language.
Teaching Methods
The course is divided into a six-month module of 48 hours of face-to-face lessons held by the lecturer and one-year practical language activities by native English language experts. The program is the same for both attending and non-attending students. Language lessons require active and continuous participation in oral discussions; therefore, regular attendance is encouraged. Students unable to come to lessons are invited to contact the lecturer and the native English language experts (long before the beginning of the exam session) to ask for all the clarifications they need on the use of the study materials. All students, whether attending or not, are invited to register on the University e-learning platform Moodle (available on the CLAOR site), where study materials and updated information on the schedule of the lessons is uploaded.
Assessment Methods
The exam consists of written and oral exams. Students must pass the written test before taking the oral exam.
The written test consists of multiple choice and open questions.
The oral test consists of a discussion of the topics covered during the methodological course.
Language used for the written and oral exam: English.
EVALUATION CRITERIA
The final evaluation is based on the linguistic skills demonstrated during both the written and oral exams.
The written test is prerequisite to the oral exam. The oral exam consists of a discussion, in English, of the topics covered during the methodological course. Both linguistic skills (reading, listening, writing, and speaking) and the ability to analyze authentic texts will be assessed during the exams.
The minimum grade (18/30) is given when the student demonstrates a relatively poor, fragmentary or limited knowledge of the course contents, or demonstrates a level of language competence that does not entirely correspond to the intermediate plus/upper-intermediate level of English language expected at the end of the course.
The maximum grade (30 out of 30) is awarded when the student demonstrates complete and in-depth mastery of the course contents and is able to apply both the theoretical knowledge and the analytical tools presented during the course. The student also demonstrates adequate competence in English, with a level that corresponds to the intermediate plus/upper-intermediate level expected at the end of the course.
30 cum laud is awarded when the student demonstrates complete mastery of the theoretical and methodological contents, the ability to connect the different topics and to discuss them with remarkable communicative skills. It is also granted when students show their willingness to delve deeper into the course contents by selecting texts to discuss at the oral, which are different from those proposed by the teacher during the lessons.
Texts
- Crystal, David, 2018, The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language, 3rd Edition, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press (Part I [CH 1-7]; Part II [CH 8, 9, 10, 11]; Part III [CH 13, 14, 15 e 16]; Part IV [CH 17, 19, 20]).
- Mullany, Louise, & Stockwell, Peter, 2015, Introducing English Language, 2nd ed. Routledge. (Part A, pp. 2-25, 33-45: Part B, pp. 60-81; Part D, pp. 257-262).
- Biber, Douglas, Conrad, Susan & Leech Geoffrey, 2002, Student Grammar of Spoken and Written English. Longman (Chapters 1-8).
- Students are advised to buy a monolingual dictionary.
Contents
Contents
1. Language Components;
2. The Origins of English;
3. Morphology and lexicology;
4. Syntax;
5. Semantics;
6. Fundamentals of Pragmatics;
7. Varieties of discourse;
8. Phonetics and Phonology;
9. Introduction to World Englishes.
Course Language
English Language
More information
The course aims to provide students with the fundamental knowledge and basic skills necessary to cope with and succeed in the subsequent courses of the program.
Attendance is highly recommended.
The course is taught in English.