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ITL 312K | primavera 2009 | Descrizione
del corso
Class is conducted in the language of instruction: ITALIAN. Please
arrange to meet your instructor outside of class if you must speak
to him or her in English.
" The University of Texas at Austin provides upon request appropriate
academic accommodations for qualified students with disabilities.
For more information, contact the Office of the Dean of Students
at 471-6259, 471-4641 TTY."
Texts: REQUIRED
In viaggio: Moving towards Fluency in Italian. Olson,
Edwards, Foerster. Available at the University Co-Op on Guadalupe.
Workbook/Laboratory Manual Part A to Accompany In viaggio.
Olson, Edwards. Available at the University Co-Op on Guadalupe.
THE COVER
IS WHITE AND LIGHT PINK.
NOTE that a
corrected version of the answer key to the Workbook/Lab Manual
is available on BlackBoard: Course
Documents
--> Workbook/Lab Manual Answer Key
We will go
over the exercises from the "Pratica
scritta" sections
of the Workbook/Lab Manual as per the Syllabus. Your instructor
may at times assign exercises from the workbook that are not specifically
listed on the Syllabus and may collect workbook/lab manual pages
that have been assigned and your completion of these exercises
will contribute to your course grade (preparation/class participation).
Completion
of the exercises from the "Pratica orale" sections
is also required. Students will find the audio files on BlackBoard: Assignments
--> Audio Program
Students may
also purchase a CD containing the audio (recorded in mp3 format)
for these exercises from the Liberal Arts Instructional Technology
Media Store
in MEZ 2.302A. Information is available at
http://www.laits.utexas.edu/its/mediastore.html
Our goal is
to spend as little time as possible in class explaining grammar
that you have already encountered
in the first-year courses or that is thoroughly
explained in the "spiegazioni grammaticali" in the back (le pagine
verdi) of In viaggio. But please do not hesitate to let your instructor know
when these grammatical concepts are not clear to you after you have worked on
them in these materials. ITL 312K is
the third course in a two-year sequence:
. . . ITL 506: First-Year Italian Language & Culture I
. . . ITL 507: First-Year Italian Language & Culture II
. . . (ITL 118: Practice in Spoken Italian; may be taken more than
once; prerequisite is ITL 507)
. . . ITL 312K: Second-Year Italian Language & Culture I
. . . ITL 312L: Second-Year Italian Language & Culture II
Students must
receive a grade "C" or above in any of these courses
in order to enroll in the next course in the sequence. If you received a "D" or
a lower grade in ITL 507 or the equivalent, you may not take this course.
In the
first-year courses students were introduced to most of the basic grammatical
structures of the Italian language and acquired a limited, basic vocabulary
with limited time available for speaking practice.
In the second-year courses, students begin moving toward fluency in Italian
by focusing on seven major communicative functions: describing, comparing,
recommending
and expressing opinions, narrating in the past, expressing likes and dislikes,
hypothesizing and talking about the future.
Grammar from
the first-year courses is reviewed, and new grammar points are
presented, always with the intention
of developing and strengthening students' abilities
to use these seven communicative functions. A wide range of cultural topics
is explored in the second-year courses, as each chapter of our
text focuses on a
different region of Italy. IMPORTANTE!
It is the sole responsibility of each student to be aware of
and to meet the various deadlines imposed by the University
and its Schools and Colleges concerning
the adding and dropping of courses, payment of tuition and fees, changing grade
basis (letter grade, credit/nocredit) and withdrawing from the university.
If
you find that personal or family emergencies or illness
prevent you from attending class or from completing a
significant number of required assignments,
you should
DROP THIS COURSE. The method for calculating your course grade will be the
same for all students and under no circumstances will your instructor apply
different
criteria for calculating your course grade. Neither should you expect your
instructor to violate university or departmental policies in assigning your
course grade.
Grading: Your grade in this course will be calculated as follows:
. . . 20% Quizzes
. . . 15% Componimenti (compositions--writing assignments)
. . . 20% Tests (Chapter 1 & 2
Tests)
. . . 15% Attendance / Preparation / Class Participation
. . . 10% Oral Performance
. . . 20% Esame finale (Final examination)
Quizzes: There are no makeups on quizzes for any reason. Seven quizzes will be
given; the best five of your quiz scores will represent 20% of your grade in
the course. The quizzes will contain both written and listening comprehension
exercises. The quizzes will test mastery of the seven main communicative functions,
recently covered grammatical structures and vocabulary, and will feature short
essay questions over readings and other material covered in class. Be very careful
in following instructions on the listening comprehension exercises: you must
write down only your answers; you must not write down any part of the questions
or of the texts over which you may be answering questions. Again, there are no
makeups on quizzes for any reason.
Componimenti (Compositions). There are three writing assignments (componimenti)
to be turned in during the semester. You can always turn in an assignment early,
but only one of these assignments may be turned in late. These assignments must
be typed and double- or triple-spaced. No e-mail submissions are accepted. Your
instructor will mark errors on your first submission of the first two componimenti
that you turn in and will give you a deadline for turning in a second, corrected
draft on which you will receive a somewhat higher grade provided you make appropriate
corrections. Your grade on the componimento will be your grade on the second,
corrected draft. If you fail to turn in the corrections on or before the date
indicated, your grade will be the grade you received on the first draft. When
you turn in your second, corrected draft, you will hand it in together with
the first draft.
The third componimento
will be submitted only once.
Your instructor
will provide you with specific topics and instructions for each
componimento.
Chapter Tests: Chapter tests are given following Chapters 1
and 2 according to the syllabus. Makeups on Chapter Tests are
possible only under extreme circumstances;
please do not request a makeup on a Chapter Test unless you have in fact experienced
a serious emergency. The tests will evaluate mastery of the seven main communicative
functions, recently covered grammatical structures and vocabulary, and will
feature short essay questions over readings and other material
covered in class. Be very
careful in following instructions on the listening comprehension exercises:
you must write down only your answers; you must not write down
any part of the questions
or of the texts over which you may be answering questions.
Attendance / Preparation / Class Participation.
Attendance: Attendance is mandatory. Each absence in excess of four will
result in the loss of points from your final
course grade:
. . . 5th
absence - loss of 1 point
. . . 6th absence - loss of 2
points
. . . 7th absence and each absence
thereafter - loss of 3 points Since we
have built in the possibility of four unpenalized absences, we
do not distinguish between "excused" and "unexcused" absences.
Therefore it is unnecessary to explain your absences.
Students
should attend every class, arriving for class on time and staying
in class for the full fifty minutes. Tardy arrivals (and early
departures) are disruptive
and distracting. Your instructor and your fellow students consider them
rude and annoying.
Preparation and Class Participation. We have only 150 minutes
of class time per week; therefore it is critical that students
arrive in class prepared to participate
in the day’s exercises and activities. Your mere presence in class is not
sufficient to merit a satisfactory grade in this component; the quality as well
as the quantity of your participation will be evaluated.
N.B. Unless
your instructor states otherwise, responses in class are to be
made without reading previously
prepared texts. You may consult notes in class but
we are interested in conversation rather than in reading to each other.
Oral Performance: Your oral performance in this course will
be evaluated on comprehension, pronunciation, use of appropriate
vocabulary, and ability to perform the seven
communicative functions (punti chiave). Oral performance will also be evaluated
on special Oral Performance Evaluation activities. Your instructor will provide
you with information concerning the format and scheduling of these in-class
activities. Students will prepare for these by creating
a scheda di vocabolario (see In viaggio, "To
the Student", page xv, "Parlando del tema") which they may refer
to during the activity. Reading a text prepared ahead of time for this activity
does not qualify for evaluation as "oral performance". Each student
should count on being evaluated twice during the semester on these OPE activities.
The
FINAL EXAMINATION: The Final Examination is a written exam. There is no "oral
part" of the final exam. The final exam for ITL 312K is a “uniform
final,” i.e., all sections of the course have their final exam on the same
date at the same time. If you look up our final exam in the Course Schedule according
to the days and time that the course meets, you will find INCORRECT information.
We have already
requested Thursday 14 May at 7:00 pm as our final examination
time for this course, and typically our requests are honored. Many factors
affect the scheduling of final exams and all of these factors
are dynamic. You should
not have any plans whatsoever to be out of town during the examination period
until the date of the final examination has been confirmed by University Scheduling.
This confirmation will not be made until late in the semester. The Office of
the Registrar states: “The complete schedule of final examinations, including
exam times and places, is available about a month before the end of each long-session
semester.” http://utdirect.utexas.edu/rgexam/getyys.WBX
When it is
announced, please write down the date and time of your final
examination
in more than one place. The final exam
will test mastery of the seven main communicative functions,
all grammatical structures, vocabulary and cultural topics, including
supplemental
readings and video presentations, that have been covered during the semester.
WEB
RESOURCES
The web pages
for ITL 312K are found at
http://geocities.datacellar.net/itl312K/
On these pages
you will find the Course Description (the document you are reading
now), the Syllabus, any necessary addenda or corrections
to the textbook, links
to other sites where you can find additional information about geographical
and cultural topics covered in class, a corrected version of
the answer key to the
Workbook/Lab Manual, and other information. Please consult
with your instructor as to how he or she plans to use BlackBoard in communicating with your class.
The Italian
Club at the University of Texas at Austin is the Circolo italiano,
whose web pages are found at http://geocities.datacellar.net/circolo_italiano/
You can also
find information on our Department's summer Rome Study Program
at
http://geocities.datacellar.net/rome_study_program/ Policy on Scholastic
Dishonesty:
Students who violate University rules on scholastic dishonesty
are subject to disciplinary penalties, including the possibility
of failure in the course and/or
dismissal from the University. Since such dishonesty harms the individual,
all students and the integrity of the University, policies
on scholastic dishonesty
will be strictly enforced. For further information, please visit the Student
Judicial Services web site at http://deanofstudents.utexas.edu/sjs/
Please turn off your phones and other noisemakers before class begins, and please
do not eat your snacks or lunches in class.
If you do find it necessary
to request a makeup on an examination, please remember that you must produce
documentation of your emergency BEFORE your instructor
can make any arrangements for you to take a makeup exam.
Participation in weddings or
family reunions, early departures for holiday travel, late returns
to Austin following holiday travel, attending concerts or other
cultural or entertainment events are NOT considered grounds
for makeup examinations.
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