Learning objectives
Specialist Course of Italian Language’s History will provide the students an approach to the linguistic general questions and to several important texts (most of all being literary), and will promote the use of historical grammatic and dictionary, specialistic bibliography, concordances and online resources.
Italian Teaching Methodology:
At the end of the course students will have acquired knowledge related to
the acquisition of a language, in particular of Italian as a first or second
language and competences on teaching Italian to native and non native
students.
Prerequisites
Basics of Italian Literature and Italian Language History
Course unit content
The course examines the evolution of Manzoni’s thought about the Italian language by the analysis of Promessi sposi critical edition (Fermo e Lucia, Seconda minuta, Promessi sposi 1827), linguistic works, marginale notes, letters, contemporaneous writings by different authors about several linguistic questions. The purpose of this course is focusing on all the steps of Manzoni’s work, starting from the Fermo e Lucia until the first edition of Promessi sposi.
Education:
The first part of the course is dedicated to the exploration of the mechanisms which rule language acquisition.
The second part deals with language teaching processes. Leraning to create teaching materials for learning and teaching Italian as a first, second or foreign language will be the main goal of the second part of the course.
This course complies with D.M.616.
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Full programme
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Bibliography
L. Serianni, Il primo Ottocento, Bologna, il Mulino, 1989
G. Nencioni, La lingua di Manzoni, Bologna, il Mulino, 1993
M. Danzi, Lingua nazionale, lessicografia milanese. Manzoni e Cherubini, Alessandria, Ed. Dell'Orso, 2001.
Italian Teaching Methodology:
1 Balboni P., Le sfide di Babele, Torino, Utet 2015, or Mezzadri M., I nuovi ferri del mestiere, Torino, Bonacci, 2015 (recommended for students who did not take this exam during their first degree).
2 Mezzadri M., Studiare in italiano all'università, Bonacci, Torino 2016.
Teaching methods
The students will be guided to examine separate important texts in addition to the frontal lessons dedicated to the authors and their literary context. Every student will be guided to prepare a presentation that will consist in collection calaloguing, critical analysis of linguistic data. The presentations will be discussed during the final lessons. Attendance is strongly recommended. Non-attending students will have to contact the professor.
Italian Teaching Methodoloy:
Lectures; interaction with students during lectures; workshops.
All the activities will be carried out online.
Students can take the course in one of the following ways:
1 Attending the online lessons and participating in the online activities (Path 1) following the schedule and other information provided on Elly.
During the oral exam, students attending Path 1 won't have to refer to the second reccommended reading (Studiare in italiano all'università).
2 Attending the online lessons (Path 2) and using the online material made available, but without taking part in the activities.
More information available on Elly.
Assessment methods and criteria
Final exam will be an oral interview in wich the student will prove to be able to: 1) know the development of the linguistic issue between the seventeenth and eighteenth century; 2) put the authors and works correctly in the contest of Italian Language History of eighteenth century; 3) identify and remark on the peculiar linguistic features inside the texts using the most appropriate analysis instruments. Oral exam: the evaluation test establishes if students are achieving specific learning goals for the course.
Most relevant criteria for didactic evaluation include:
- Unsatisfactory grade (score <18): lack of basic skills.
- Passing grade (score 18-24): the exam is deemed to be passed with a minimum of 60% of right answers.
- Positive grade (score 24-27): students can certificate a good knowledge of basics; they give good oral exposition and develop critical thinking.
- Excellent grade (score 28-30 cum laude): knowledge of basics and advanced competences. Very good abilities in using specific language; excellent historical knowledge; argumentation consistency.
Nevertheless, interested students can be evaluated by the presentation of a scientific paper. The paper (of no more than 30.000 characters). It must be submitted to the examination board at least one week before the exam.
Italian Teaching Methodology:
Oral exam and written work.
Students will first have to create a teaching material designed for the teaching of a language to foreign learners.
For the creation of the teaching material it is reccomended to use the book Mezzadri M., Studiare in italiano all'università, Bonacci, Torino 2016.
The material will count for 20% of the total mark. Students will be allowed to sit for the oral exam regardless of the performance in the written part. The oral exam will be based on a discussion about the written part and of topics dealt with during the classes and through the study of materials and books assigned.
Other information
If interested in particular research projects, students can also request specific bibliography
