Italian

The Pre-A1 Italian language course is the first contact level students have with the language, it is suggested to learners who could have great difficulties because they speak non-European languages or a very different language from Italian. In this level students learn how to communicate in daily routine using fixed expressions. The course consists of discussing communicative functions including introducing oneself and talking about oneself (name, age, university study, nationality, address, place of living, mobile phone number); saying and asking for personal information; greeting and answering greetings; saying thanks and replying; apologizing and replying to apologies; looking for and asking for information in daily life (place to go to, price and cost); asking and saying the time; asking and saying the date; being formal and informal; asking and understanding information about the Italian language: What's the Italian for "x"?, How do you spell "x"?, What does "x" mean?

This course is part of the Laurea Magistrale degree program and is intended for advanced level students. Enrolment is by permission of the instructor. The course provides an overview of the main actors and institutions of the Italian political system. The course analyses the function of major institutions (such as the parliament, government, and constitutional court) and interprets the institutional and political changes of recent decades. The course offers conceptual tools for framing and interpreting the many dimensions of the Italian political system. A first brief history examines the construction of the unified state, and the continuities and discontinuities between the liberal, Fascist, and democratic republican regimes. The course then focuses on the reasons for and consequences of the transition from the first to the second republic. This is followed by study of the electoral arena and evolution of the party system in parallel with discussion of Italian political culture. The latter part of the course, in the form of seminars, is dedicated to the topic of populism and the link between ethnos (community identity) and democratic values.

This Italian language course at the Common European Framework (CEFR) level of B2 is for students who want to reach an advanced intermediate level of Italian. Students at the B2 level learn to understand the main ideas of complex texts on both concrete and abstract topics; learn to understand technical discussions and interact with a certain fluency; and learn to produce a clear and detailed text and to argue. The course reviews how to understand and reliably report the opinions and arguments of others; understand and express the meaning of a text; describe places, people, animals, objects, events, and equipment clearly and precisely; describe the structure and explain the contents of a text, written or oral, and in a course, express different points of view; expose the results of a study or research, showing an understanding of the data and information, and how to make comparisons, clarifications, and examples; express certainty or uncertainty about something with explicit linguistic means; make study projects, planning, and research; and complaining and protesting. Students must have attained the equivalent of the B1 level as a prerequisite. The course is graded pass/no pass only.

The course introduces students to some overarching questions associated with literary, artistic, and intellectual culture in medieval and Renaissance Italy, and will provide them with some of the linguistic and analytical tools and terminology for approaching literary and visual texts from these earlier periods. The course thus develops broader critical skills as well as prepares students for specific medieval and Renaissance cultural studies.

This course is part of the Laurea Magistrale degree program and is intended for advanced level students. Enrolment is by permission of the instructor. At the end of the seminar the student obtains good knowledge of the Italian grammar and good abilities of oral exposure and writing. The student is able to make appropriate linguistic choices in every kind of communicative situation. The student is be able to understand the academic Italian in relation to the degree course and to actively participate during the lessons. The seminar is structured in the following activities: improvement of Italian grammar and language; analysis of literary texts and essays, and reading and analyzing in Italian language; improvement of the oral exposure (comprehension and production); production of "professional" writings (self-presentation; letter of reference; institutional e-mail; presentation of cultural projects; and papers and essays); and comment and analysis of books, movies, shows and art exhibitions. Students must have completed the equivalent of two or more years of university-level Italian language study as a prerequisite for this course.

This is an Italian language course at the Common European Framework (CEFR) level of A2. Students learn to communicate simple and routine activities and describe simple aspects of their experiences and their environment. This course includes topics such as how to communicate in simple activities and in routine situations, such as exchanging information about familiar and common topics; how to describe people, places, aspects of students’ lives and the surrounding environment in simple words; and how to express main needs. The course reviews how to communicative functions and tasks; understand and make simple predictions and programs; understand orders and prohibitions; order or forbid someone to do something in more or less polite ways; understand, seek, and ask for information, clarifications, and explanations of study topics; write (in the form of short notes) information; give and understand simple instructions; describe the space or position an element in the space; briefly explain study topics and answer simple questions; express in words certainty or uncertainty about something (certainly, perhaps, I don't know if...); formulate simple hypotheses (if it rains I won't go out); express moods, feelings, and emotions; express the desire to do something, or disgust; talk about two or more events that happen at the same time; ask or tell about past events; and reporting the words of another person (direct speech). Students must have attained the equivalent of the A1 level as a prerequisite. The course is graded pass/no pass only.

This course is part of the Laurea Magistrale degree program and is intended for advanced level students. Enrolment is by permission of the instructor. This course focuses on the linguistic theory related to the coding of the linguistic message into sounds, particularly the fundamentals of articulatory/acoustic phonetics and segmental/suprasegmental phonology. In particular, students are able to analyze the phonetic and phonological aspects of a language or linguistic variety from different perspectives: synchronic, diachronic, sociolinguistic, and acquisitional. Students analyze phenomena of phonetic and phonological disruption in pathological speech; and set up autonomously theoretical and experimental research in the fields outlined above. Topics include: articulatory phonetics, acoustic phonetics, form and substance of the signifier; and the development of phonetic/phonological competence during childhood.

This course provides students with a sound basis for communicating effectively and accurately in oral and written Italian. Authentic materials (songs, videos, advertisements, and film clips) are used in a communicative-based approach, and emphasis is placed on the four skills of listening, speaking, reading, and writing. Students participate on field trips take them outside the classroom to engage with the city and Romans to reinforce their skills. The course is conducted entirely in Italian.

In this Italian language CEFR A1 level course, students learn to understand and use familiar everyday expressions and very basic phrases aimed at the satisfaction of needs of a concrete type. Students learn how to introduce themselves and others, and to ask and answer questions about personal details such as where they live, people they know, and things they have. The course will review communicative functions including: introducing oneself and saying and asking for personal information; greeting and answering greetings; saying thanks and replying; apologizing and replying to apologies; looking for, asking, and giving information in daily university student life; expressing one’s tastes, needs (physical and non), and interests; asking and saying the time; asking and saying the date; giving and understanding simple instructions; identifying and briefly describing people, objects, and places; asking and understanding information about the Italian language (What's the Italian for "x," How do you spell "x,” What does "x" mean?); and being formal and informal. Topics and vocabular include introducing people, relatives, and friends; description of places and people; study and work; shopping; and food.

This course consists of an Italian theater workshop for international students which meets for two hours twice a week, and is taught by an Italian theater director. Activities include: basic theatrical training, co-creation of an Italian text, rehearsals, and a final performance at the end of the semester. The course is for students with little to no previous background in Italian language.