Advanced Italian

This course is designed for students who master the grammatical structure of the Italian language and are ready to achieve a higher degree of proficiency in the four basic language skills (reading, listening, speaking, and writing). Emphasis will be given to oral and written exercises, practicing with various kinds of texts and genres (reports, historical and literary texts, expositions and data analyses, movies) giving particular attention to their textual type (narrative, descriptive, argumentative). Students are required to write reports, short essays, plot summaries and reaction papers about movies.

The course combines several integrated approaches aimed at developing advanced language skills. Classroom time is devoted mainly to speaking and practicing Italian through a combination of group-based and individual activities, focusing on grammatical structures, language functions and vocabulary. Sessions also address a range of contemporary cultural themes using newspaper articles, advertising material and short film clips. In addition, onsite activities, regular practice and conversation exchanges with peers and locals will give students the opportunity to rapidly implement in real local-community situations their linguistic advances and newly acquired intercultural competences.

Extra-curricular activities, such as public lectures or film nights organized by various local institutions, will be announced at the start of the semester to foster the knowledge of Italy and the Italians, and develop sensitivity towards cultural differences.

Prior to Spring 2023, the course code was ITA 303.