70769 - English Language (Advanced Course)

Learning outcomes

The student is expected to:
- understand the main ideas of complex text on both concrete and abstract topics, including technical discussions in his/her field of specialization.
- interact with a degree of fluency and spontaneity that makes regular interaction with native speakers quite possible without strain for either party.
- produce clear, detailed text on a wide range of subjects and explain a viewpoint on a topical issue giving the advantages and disadvantages of various options.

Course contents

Grammar content (all points specified for level B2+)

• Tenses: present/past/ future (active and passive form)
• Modal verbs
• Conditional tenses
• Relative clauses
• Articles and quantifiers
• Phrasal verbs
• Reported speech
• Morphology: Idiomatic expressions ; Adverbs, adjectives and prepositions

Lexical contents

The topics covered include the analysis of texts about specific fields of study such as: archaeology, art, preservation of cultural heritage, museography, library science, legislation of Cultural Heritage. (Overall general linguistic ability – Level B2+ CEFR LEVELS).

1.Difference between Italian and English sentence structure - grammatical definitions and misunderstandings

2. Translating and / or paraphrasing - structural casts

3. Read to understand the general meaning - summarize and infer

4. Read to identify specific information - scan a text, keywords

5. Collocations and idioms - 'I know my chickens'

6. Formal and informal communication - Register / gender

7. Structure of the text - cohesion and coherence

Listening/Speaking: CAN follow or give a talk on a familiar B2 topic or keep up a conversation on a fairly wide range of topics.In particular Technical Vocabulary through specific reading given by the teachers (see bibliography)

Reading: CAN scan texts for relevant information, and understand detailed instructions or advice.

Writing: CAN take notes while someone is talking or write a letter including non- standard requests.

Readings/Bibliography

Kuehn, Hermann, Conservation and restoration of works of art and antiquities, Vol. 1

Swartzburg, Susan G., Swartzburg, Susan G., Preserving library materials. A manual

Amoroso, Giovanni G. (Giovanni Giuseppe); Fassina, Vasco, Stone decay and conservation: atmospheric pollution, cleaning, consolidation and protection

Harvey, John, Conservation of buildings

John Ashurst,Francis G. Dimes, Conservation of Building and Decorative Stone

Riegl, Alois , "The modern cult of monuments: its character and its origin"

Farneti, Manuela, Glossario tecnico-storico del mosaico. Con una breve storia del mosaico. Ediz. italiana e inglese

E- Dictionaries

- http://www.acronymfinder.com (database internazionale di acronimi, inizialismi e abbreviazioni)

- https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english (dizionario monolingue)

- http://www.macmillandictionary.com/ (dizionario monolingue)

- http://www.merriam-webster.com/ (versione online del dizionario inglese Merriam-Webster, con definizioni, thesaurus, trascrizione fonematica e pronuncia "sonora" dei lemmi
- http://oald8.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com (dizionario monolingue)

- http://www.ozdic.com/ (dizionario delle collocations)

- http://www.thesaurus.com/ (dizionario dei sinonimi)

- http://www.wordreference.com/ (dizionario multilingue online, con trascrizione fonematica e pronuncia "sonora" dei lemmi)

Glossaries:

- https://www.moma.org/learn/moma_learning/glossary/

- https://noma.org/uploads/Glossary_with_images-1419286964.pdf [https://docreader.readspeaker.com/docreader/?cid=cebfg&lang=it_it&url=https%3A%2F%2Fnoma.org%2Fuploads%2FGlossary_with_images-1419286964.pdf]

- https://www.tate.org.uk/art/art-terms

Painting Conservation Glossary of Terms, a cura di SMITHSONIAN MUSEUM CONSERVATION INSTITUTE

Further articles, reports or useful materials will be delivered by lecturer during the lectures 

GRAMMAR TOOLS:

Michael Vince, English Grammar in Context - Advanced, Macmillan, 2014

Iandelli, Zizzo, Humphries, Smith, Smart Grammar, Eli 2016.

Thomson, Martinet, A Practical English Grammar (with keys) + Workbook 1 e 2, Oxford University Press.

Dorothy E. Zemach, Lisa A. Rumisekm, Academic writing, from paragraph to essay, MacMillan, 2010.

Teaching methods

Lectures and e-learning

Assessment methods

Level B2+/C  Written/Oral Text; knowledge of glossary and technical terms.

Teaching tools

Different texts, articles and excerpts from academic books will be given by the teacher; other learning material is available on the university e-learning platform.

Students who are affected by learning disability (DSA) and in need of special strategies to compensate it, are kindly requested to contact the Teacher, in order to be referred to the colleagues in charge and get proper advice and instructions.

Office hours

See the website of Laura Rizzà