31150 - English Language and Linguistics 2 (A-F)

Learning outcomes

By the end of the course, students should be familiar with the meta-language of various aspects of the descriptive-analytical Functional Grammar model of the English language, and should master all the communicative skills at the B2 level as set by the parameters of the Council of Europe.

Course contents

This course includes the following parts:

a) Lectures. These are taught by the course professors (4 hours per week, during the course of one semester), and focus on Systemic Functional Grammar, adding more information to the first year's course;

b) Workshop (2 or 4 hours per week during the first and second semester);

c) Esercitazioni (practical exercises) taught by mothertongue English teachers (4 hours per week, during the first and second semester). These focus on the four abilities (reading, writing, listening and speaking) and aim the level B2+ according to the Council of Europe.

Readings/Bibliography

Lectures

Thompson, G. (2014). Introducing Functional Grammar. Third Edition. London: Routledge (chapters 9 and 10; in addition, pp. 35-44; 68-90; 128-144; 153-184, 205-207).

Bloor, T. & Bloor, M. (2013). The Functional Analysis of English. London: Routledge, pp. 140-148; pp. 285-295 (in Alma Campus).

In addition, students are asked to download and study the materials posted every other week by the teachers in Alma Campus.

Practical exercises (= Esercitazioni)

Ready for CAE, ed. MacMillan

or (*)

Longman Premium at B2 or C1, ed. Longman.

Additional material will be made available on-line and in local photocopy shops.

(*) Nota bene: Since the textbook used for practical exercises depends on the group that each student is assigned to, students are advised to wait until the beginning of the lessons before they purchase their "Esercitazioni" textbook. The Functional Grammar textbook is the same for all students.

Teaching methods

1) Lectures held by course professors (during the course of one semester, according to the timetable published in the website of the School, under "Studiare"/ "Orario delle lezioni");

2) Workshop led by a tutor, throughout the academic year;

3) Language exercises (=Esercitazioni) with mother-tongue language teachers in English throughout the academic year. Students will be trained in all four language skills: speaking, listening, reading and writing.

Assessment methods

The exam is divided into two parts, one on English linguistics and one on English language, as reflected in the structure of the course and in its name.

The linguistics part of the exam is written, and the language part of the exam is both written and oral; the oral part is called SAT (Speaking Ability Test).

Exam structure

The exam consists of 3 components:

(1) A linguistics written, based on the contents of the lectures held by the teacher of the course. This tests the students' capacity to recognize, understand and analyze the discursive and communicative strategies deployed in a short text in English, by applying their knowledge of Systemic Functional Linguistics. This exam component consists of 25 multiple-choice cloze questions, and 2 open ended questions, one of which on evaluative language. The text type may vary, within the scope of standard British or American English and topics of current general culture. The time allowed is 55 minutes.

(2) A language written, based on the contents of the language classes held by native English language experts. This tests the students' capacity to analyze, understand and use the English language at level B2 (higher threshold) of the Common European Framework for Languages. This exam component is divided into specific sections on (a) Use of English (45 minutes), (b) Reading (50 minutes) and (c) Writing (60 minutes). The final mark is the mean of the scores obtained in the three sections. The text types used for this component of the exam are general interest and popular science texts (e.g. newspaper articles, reviews, interviews).

(3) A SAT, which tests the students' listening and speaking skills, and their capacity to communicate fluently and effectively in English, with a good command of grammar and a wide vocabulary, on a variety of general topics, including complex ones. This component of the exam lasts 10-15 minutes.

The specific skills and knowledge tested in each part of the exam are detailed in a document entitled “Facsimili esame Lingua e Linguistica inglese 2”, available on-line on the website of the School and in local photocopy shops. The material includes exam facsimiles with keys.

Marking criteria and levels

Each part of the exam is evaluated separately. The final mark is calculated as follows: the score obtained in the language written is multiplied by 2, and added to the score obtained in the SAT. This figure is divided by 3, added to the score obtained in the Linguistics written, and finally divided by 2. Students who pass the written exam components with a score of at least 18/30 may not reject their mark and take the exam again. Starting from academic year 2014-2015, marks obtained in written exams remain valid for 4 exam sessions.

The written language exam must be passed before the SAT: only after passing the written language exam can students take the oral.

Written exams take place once for each exam session; SATs are held twice for each exam session, once before and once after the writtens. It is not obligatory to pass the three components of the exam in the same exam session, but it is not possible to register the final mark for this course until all three exam components have been passed. Students enrolled in the degree course in “Foreign Languages and Literatures” must also have passed the preceding year's literature exam.

Students who show a solid (Upper Intermediate - Proficient User) command of the English language and an equally good awareness of its metalinguistic aspects receive an excellent mark. Students with a lesser degree of linguistic competence and metalinguistic awareness receive a lower mark. Students who apply their grammatical knowledge mechanically, without showing an adequate awareness of the connections between grammar, meaning and context, who have not acquired the capacity to analyze a text from the perspective of Appraisal Theory (evaluative language) and whose language level is below the higher B2 threshold of the CEFR do not pass the exam.

Additional information

The exam is the same for:

(1) attenders and non-attenders;

(2) students enrolled according to the old (509) and new (270) ordinamento.

Students who have chosen English as their third language are not obliged to take the SAT, but may do so if they wish.

Students of the old ordinamento “quadriennale”, for whom the exam is called “Lingua e letteratura inglese”, take only the language written and SAT (no linguistics). Their final mark for these students is the mean of the score obtained in their language exam and the one obtained in their literature exam.

Notes

Incoming and outgoing Erasmus students, as well as students from other Departments, must refer to the document published by the School here.

Teaching tools

PowerPoint slides, available from Alma Campus.

Office hours

See the website of Sabrina Fusari