learn all the basic words necessary to speak everyday English. • write clearly and
without undue difficulty reports, essays or speeches laying out issues and.
Class contents and exam requirements
English Language (first language, second year)
Code 30129, Learning Path 1 and 2 Head Teacher: Prof. Dermot COSTELLO
Introduction
pag. 2
Program
pag. 2
Set and recommended textbooks
pag. 3
Exam content and description
pag. 4
Concluding Info
pag. 5
Reference: a.y. 2012/2013/30129/June 2012 Bocconi Language Centre materials are developed solely for self-study and class use. Copyright© June/2012 Università Bocconi – Author: Dermot Costello No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, used in a spreadsheet, or transmitted in any form or by any means – electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise – without the permission of Bocconi Centro Linguistico.
English Course - Code 30129
a.y. 2012/2013/30129/June 2012
ENGLISH AS FIRST FOREIGN LANGUAGE The course is aimed at students who are attending a degree program taught in Italian and have chosen English as their first foreign language and it runs over two years. It is for students who have at least an intermediate (B1 level) knowledge of the language and the exit level is set as B2 (post intermediate) at the end of the second year of their degree course. The second year of the course ends in an exam which, once passed, gives the student three credits and which grade forms part of the overall final degree grade average. Please remind that the class group is run if the minimum number of applicants is reached. Second year course – Path 1 and 2 Program The objective of the course is to give students the knowledge and skills necessary to communicate at B2 level in a social context. In terms of language skills in more detail the objective is to enable students to: • take an active part in formal discussions about everyday or unusual matters • learn all the basic words necessary to speak everyday English • write clearly and without undue difficulty reports, essays or speeches laying out issues and arguing for and against various views by pointing out their strong and weak points • understand texts in general and in detail and communicate naturally in English • achieve an improved grammatical and syntactical sophistication. For English as a first language in the second year, Path 1 and Path 2 have been unified. The syllabus for the second year covers twelve units in the set textbook Language Leader Upperintermediate. In addition to the classroom teaching students are also required to complete a self-study program. The activities in this need to be carried out in conjunction with the class work (up to five hours per week) in order to constantly reinforce the lessons learnt and prepare correctly for the exam. Students who actively participate in the course by attending at least 70% of the lessons and completing on time the self-study program will be awarded two- thirtieths to their final exam grade (See “Concluding info”, p. 5). Topics Unit 1 Communication
Unit 2 Environment
Grammar The continuous Aspect
Present perfect simple and continuous
Unit 3 Sport
Quantifiers Definite and zero articles
Unit 4 Medicine
Future continuous, going to, present continuous Future perfect will
Self-study program Unit 1.1 Great communicators? Unit 1.2 Improving communication Unit 1.3 Who does the talking? Unit 1.4 Flat sharing Unit 1.5 Study and writing skills Unit 2.1 Urban environment Unit 2.2 Changing environment Unit 2.3 Extreme environment Unit 2.4 Sparrow Hill Wind Farm Unit 2.5 Study and writing skills Unit 3.1 The beautiful game Unit 3.2 Martial Arts Unit 3.3 Babe Unit 3.4 Who was the greatest ? Unit 3.5 Study and writing skills A serious man – 2012 Film Festival, shown with a brief introduction made by an English teacher Unit 4.1 Medical breakthroughs Unit 4.2 Malaria Unit 4.3 A new face Unit 4.4 The Dowling Hospital Unit 4.5 Study and writing skills One day – 2012 Film Festival, shown with a brief introduction made by an English teacher
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English Course - Code 30129
Unit 5 Transport
Modal verbs (future) Modal verbs (past)
Unit 6 Literature
Narrative tenses Past perfect continuous
Unit 7 Architecture
The passive (1) The passive (2)
Unit 8 Globalisation
Verbs patterns Have something done
Unit 9 Art
Ungradable adjectives Position of adverbs
Unit 10 Psychology
Relative clauses Reduced relative clauses
Unit 11 Cultures
Reported speech Reported verbs
Unit 12 Technology
Conditionals (1) Conditionals (2)
a.y. 2012/2013/30129/June 2012
Unit 5.1 Getting from A to B Unit 5.2 Improving transport in the future Unit 5.3 Great railway journeys Unit 5.4 Transport. A new plan Unit 5.5 Study and writing skills Limitless – 2012 Film Festival, shown with a brief introduction of an English teacher Unit 6.1 The Nobel Prize Unit 6.2 Characters in danger Unit 6.3 Evil characters Unit 6.4 A book deal Unit 6.5 Study and writing skills Unit 7.1 My favourite building Unit 7.2 Hotels in space Unit 7.3 Building bridges Unit 7.4 On the horizon Unit 7.5 Study and writing skills Unit 8.1 Globalisation – good or bad? Unit 8.2 The power of the internet Unit 8.3 Global role models Unit 8.4 Supermarket superpower Unit 8.5 Study and writing skills Unit 9.1 What is art? Unit 9.2 Photograph Unit 9.3 Contemporary sculptors Unit 9.4 The new exhibition Unit 9.5 Study and writing skills Unit 10.1 Group psychology Unit 10.2 Peer pressure Unit 10.3 Psychology at work Unit 10.4 Ask Vanessa Unit 10.5 Study and writing skills Unit 11.1 Defining culture Unit 11.2 Culture shock Unit 11.3 Understanding culture Unit 11.4 Kaleidoscope Unit 11.5 Study and writing skills Unit 12.1 Devices and gadgets Unit 12.2 Living without technology Unit 12.3 Pro or anti Unit 12.4 Computer crash Unit 12.5 Study and writing skills
Further details about al self-study will be provided in class by the teacher. Students are furthermore advised to do the grammar exercises available on line at: www.pearsonlongman.com/languageleader/upper-int.html. Set Textbook • David Cotton, David Falvey, Simon Kent Language Leader Upper-Intermediate, Coursebook & Workbook, ed. Pearson Longman
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English Course - Code 30129
a.y. 2012/2013/30129/June 2012
Second year exam Knowledge is assessed by one of the following methods, among which students can choose: • international certification from among those recognized by the University (see www.unibocconi.eu > Language Center > Language Certificates ), or • Bocconi exam, which corresponds, like international certificates, to the Common European Framework standards. Students cannot sit the second year exam unless they have passed the first year one (code 30123). The exam consists of a written paper and an oral exam. Both need to be passed for the grade to count towards the final average. In order to take the oral exam, it is necessary to: • pass the written exam (minimum mark 18/30) • have a test score that hasn’t expired, i.e. that is still valid (see Written Exam, Validity) Students can choose to retake the written exam before the taking the oral exam but must remember that handing in their paper annuls any previous grade given. Students must enrol for all exams via the Punto Blu. Written exam The written exam is divided in two parts, the first is listening, the second reading comprehension. The final grade is the total score from the two in thirtieths. Dictionaries are not allowed. Duration of exam: 130 minutes. Contents of exam First part
Listening to messages and news: announcements, surveys, extracts from telephone conversations Objective Check candidates’ ability to identify the subject matter, how it is communicated and the opinion expressed in a brief listening passage 10/30 exam Sentence completion and/or tables; true/false questions; multiple choice answers Second part Checking grammar and vocabulary using one or more texts. Objective Checking that candidates’ have a solid understanding of grammar (declension, conjugation, syntax) and good knowledge of everyday vocabulary. 10/30 Exam Sentence completion, matching, transformation (tenses, modals). Third part: Reading comprehension of one or more authentic texts, possibly also containing graphs, tables, images. Checking candidates’: Objective • ability to understand texts; • ability to write structured texts according to instructions given. 10/30 Exam Writing a text (letter, short report, memorandum). Validity The written exam is valid a limited amount of time: • if passed by 31st May 2013, it is valid for the 3 subsequent oral exams • if passed from 1st June 2013, it is valid for the 3 subsequent oral exams, and it is also valid for the subsequent 12 months but there is a penalty that must be paid (see Oral Exam, Validity)
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English Course - Code 30129
a.y. 2012/2013/30129/June 2012
Oral exam There are two parts to the oral exam: presentation and discussion. The presentation is based on topics contained in the course. It is indispensable that the above-mentioned items are prepared thoroughly for the oral exam and students are advised to prepare themselves well in advance of the date. Details on how to prepare for the exam are to be found on line in the library for each language (Bocconi e-learning platform) or at: www.unibocconi.it/centrolinguistico in Laboratori linguistici > Materiali di autoapprendimento on-line. Duration of exam: 15 minutes. Description of exam stages Presentation
Discussion
Select five main subject areas from the Language Leader Upper-Intermediate course book: choose one article for each topic (from English press or websites) at least 1000-1500 words (10-12 minutes). Discussion of the topic presented led by the examiners using ad hoc questions.
Validity The oral exam can only be taken once you have passed the written exam (see Written Exam). Students will be assessed in terms of their practical ability to communicate. During the oral exam marks can be added to or subtracted from the written exam result in the following way: • by +4 or -4, if the oral exam is passed within the 3 oral exams subsequent to the written exam • by +1 or -4, if the oral exam is passed after the first 3 subsequent oral exams, but still by 12 months subsequent to the written exam (this option is possible only for students who take the written exam after 1st June 2013).
Concluding info The assessment of language skills depends both on the result of the final exam and on marks awarded during the year. All exam grades on or above the pass mark (minimum 18/30) can be given an extra three points by the teacher responsible for the course as follows: • Positive participation in the course and completion of self-study activities. • Second-year exam passed on the first time it is taken. Positive participation in the course and self-study program Following a positive participation in the course, students can be awarded two extra points by the teacher as follows: • 1 thirtieth for attending at least 70% of the classroom lessons; • 1 thirtieth for completing the self-study program. Any additional points are allocated by the teacher at the end of the course depending on students’ attendance and active participation as determined in class and on line in each language’s Library on the Bocconi e-learning platform. These additional points are valid for a limited period only: from June to the following December after the course has ended, including these months mentioned. Second-year exam passed on the first time it is taken In order to reward students who sit for the exam only when really prepared, an extra point will be added to the final grade if students pass both the written and oral exams the first time they are taken (minimum 18/30). Please note that the oral part has to be passed on the first date subsequent to the written exam.
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