The focus of the course is on communication and the function of the language and the aim is to develop communicative competence in English so as to be understood without strain, as well as to develop specialist lexis relevant to Education Science.

The course starts on Wednesday 6th October 2021 and consists of four hours per week, Wednesdays and Thursdays from 2-4pm in Sala Raffaello, Piazza della Repubblica.

At the beginning of the course you will be requested to carry out two tasks: do a Placement Test and complete a short student questionnaire.  The purpose of the Placement Test is to give you an indication of your level - it is not to assess your eligibility for this course.  The course is recommended for all first year SDE students of all levels of English and different levels will be taken into account throughout the course.  Students with a good knowledge of English will find the course a good opportunity to revise and practise with a mother-tongue speaker.  Students with a limited knowledge of the English language will hopefully find the course methods encouraging and motivating, resulting in adoption of a sound method personal study.  The purpose of the questionnaire is to communicate preferences - personal and study - to allow the course organiser to make the course as useful and relevant to students as possible.

The course follows a multi-track functional-notional syllabus, with lexical, grammar, skills, and task-based strands incorporated into the programme.  Language will be taught as a means for communication with the focus lying on the teaching of practical language that can be employed in the real-world.

The skills strand enables the programme to concentrate on what the students want most: speaking and listening.  The inclusion of tasks has the aim of increasing motivation, creativity, and therefore learning and are deemed useful as they enable students to develop and reinforce language that they already know.  This also allows for a more learner-based, innovative approach.

The grammar strand is included so students can recognise the function of grammar to express meaning and will be delivered in the form of knowledge video clips on blended learning.

Lexis will be taught in word ‘chunks’ formed by collocations and fixed phrases,

The first session will be on study skills.

The course programme includes:

- All about me - Presenting yourself
- Introducing others
- My uni or hometown
- Exploring different educational settings
- Inventing and presenting nursery concept
- Everyone is unique and special - special educational needs and inclusion

Innovative methods will be used to engage and motivate, for example, creation of blogs, videos and development of concepts for websites and posters, as well as traditional methods like role play and short videos.  A high concentration of pair and group work provides for a learner-centred approach and allows students to practise before entering the real world and share knowledge and skills of other group members.

Students will be expected to carry out lesson preparation (knowledge clip videos, word study & research) before the lesson.

Students will be encouraged to expand their language undertaking independent study to make them more flexible and creative in their language use.

By the end of the course you will:
- understand the importance and methods of studying English autonomously.
- have developed a basic lexis (general and specialised) and be able to use the language in a correct context, forming short, simple sentences.
- understand how grammar is used to convey meaning .
- be able to introduce yourself and others, talk briefly about yourself and describe places, for example, your university or hometown, educational settings, etc., so as to be understood without strain.
- be able to formulate questions and answers correctly.
- be able to explain and discuss different concepts for nurseries.
- be able to create and present short presentations and videos.

All the above objectives can be achieved through lesson attendance and practice. 

The teaching material prepared by the lecturer in addition to recommended textbooks (such as for instance slides, lecture notes, exercises, bibliography) and communications from the lecturer specific to the course can be found inside the Moodle platform › blended.uniurb.it

Students are encouraged to attend workshops which serve to consolidate language skills (in particular reading, listening and speaking) held by Professor Patricia Barzotti on a weekly basis (TBC). The starting date will be communicated via the Blended Learning Forum.  The Centro Linguistico d'Atteneo (CLA) offers free courses for university students at every level (see cla.uniurb.it).

Teaching

See 'Programme'.

Attendance

Lessons are not mandatory but are highly recommended.  As mentioned above, students with a good knowledge of English will find the course a good opportunity to revise and practise with a mother-tongue speaker, while students with a limited knowledge of the English language will hopefully find the course methods encouraging and motivating. 

The assessment at the end of the course is mandatory.

Course books

All course materials can be found on Blended Learning.  We recommend supporting the course with a grammar book such as English Grammar in Use by Raymond Murphy (Cambridge University Press) or The Complete English Grammar for Italian Students by Jon Hird (Oxford University Press).

Assessment

The assessment will be in the form of an oral exam (approx. 15 minutes), where you will be expected to present yourself and talk briefly about yourself, formulate questions and answers correctly based on a given text, describe a picture and talk about a topic from the educational sector that is of personal interest to you and be able to respond to questions to the subject, using simple sentences.  

For precise instructions and an explanation of the marking system please consult the file on Blended Learning.  

Disability and Specific Learning Disorders (SLD)

Students who have registered their disability certification or SLD certification with the Inclusion and Right to Study Office can request to use conceptual maps (for keywords) during exams.

To this end, it is necessary to send the maps, two weeks before the exam date, to the course instructor, who will verify their compliance with the university guidelines and may request modifications.

Teaching

Non-attending students are expected to follow the programme via Blended Learning.  The course objectives may be achieved by attendance and practice during lessons, therefore non-attending students must prepare adequately by organising themselves independently.  

Attendance

Lesson attendance is not compulsory but is highly recommended.  The assessment at the end of the course is mandatory.  

Course books

All course materials can be found on Blended Learning.  We recommend supporting the course with a grammar book such as English Grammar in Use by Raymond Murphy (Cambridge University Press) or The Complete English Grammar for Italian Students by Jon Hird (Oxford University Press).

Assessment

The assessment will be in the form of an oral exam (approx. 15 minutes), where you will be expected to present yourself and talk briefly about yourself, formulate questions and answers correctly based on a given text, describe a picture and talk about a topic from the educational sector that is of personal interest to you and be able to respond to questions to the subject, using simple sentences.  

For precise instructions and an explanation of the marking system please consult the file on Blended Learning.  

Disability and Specific Learning Disorders (SLD)

Students who have registered their disability certification or SLD certification with the Inclusion and Right to Study Office can request to use conceptual maps (for keywords) during exams.

To this end, it is necessary to send the maps, two weeks before the exam date, to the course instructor, who will verify their compliance with the university guidelines and may request modifications.

Students with DSA certification are requested to contact the Course Tutor at the beginning of the course, to allow for any necessary adaptations and extra support.