B1.1 (25 hours)
Course Description
Topics – Unit 1: “Do you speak Italian?”; Unit 2: “Living in the City”
Grammar Aspects – Review of previous content; trapassato prossimo (past perfect); prima di + infinitive (before + infinitive); the verb dovere (must) to express a hypothesis; combined pronouns; past conditional; possessive pronouns; ci and ne; some pronominal verbs.
Course Objectives
By the end of this course, the student will be able to:
- Read texts, listen to and understand audiovisual sources dedicated to language learning, cultural differences, historical information about a city, and urban life.
- Invite someone to do something together, borrow something, express doubts, make analogies, talk about cultural misunderstandings, express opinions, agree and disagree on a topic, ask for help, complain, express hope and disagreement, forbid something, insist on something, make plans, and indicate the geographical position of a place.
This course is intended for those who already have a knowledge of Italian sufficient to access this level, or for those who may benefit from a review starting here.
Textbook and materials
Maria Balì and Irene Dei, Nuovo espresso 2. Libro dello studente e esercizi. Corso di italiano A2. Con CD-Audio: A2 (Firenze: Alma, 2017). Units 9-10.
B1.2 (25 hours)
Course Description
Topics – Unit 3: “Made in Italy”; Unit 4: “Words, Words, Words …”; Unit 5: “Invitation to Reading”
Grammar Aspects – Review of previous content; review of the subjunctive; past and imperfect subjunctive; a patto che, purché, a condizione che (provided that/as long as/on condition that); come se + subjunctive (as if …); indirect speech; sequence of tenses and moods; indirect speech (extended practice); passato remoto (remote past); presente storico (historical present).
Course Objectives
By the end of this course, the student will be able to:
- Read texts, listen to and understand audiovisual sources dedicated to Italian manufacturing products “Made in Italy,” their use and characteristics, today’s means of communication, and the role of social media in Italy and abroad.
- Describe objects, products and their materials, talk about their characteristics and use, explain causes, justify someone’s behavior, attribute blame to something or someone, provide explanations, start a phone call, report another person’s words, and transcribe a voicemail message.
This course is intended for those who already have a knowledge of Italian sufficient to access this level, or for those who may benefit from a review starting here.
Textbook and materials
Maria Balì and Irene Dei, Nuovo espresso 3. Libro dello studente e esercizi. Corso di italiano B1. Con CD-Audio: B1 (Firenze: Alma, 2017). Units 3-4-5.
B1.3 (25 hours)
Course Description
Topics – Unit 6: “The Family Changes Face”; Unit 7: “Celebrations and Gifts”
Grammar Aspects – Review of previous content; the adverb mica; sebbene/nonostante/malgrado/benché + subjunctive; anche se + indicative; fare + infinitive; impersonal form of reflexive verbs; second type of hypothetical sentences.
Course Objectives
By the end of this course, the student will be able to:
- Read texts, listen to and understand audiovisual sources dedicated to Italian literature, reading, literary genres, festivities and ways of celebrating Italian traditions, curiosities, and famous Italian historical figures.
- Talk about their preferred literary genres and readings, express their opinion regarding interest or lack of interest in a literary genre, explain their point of view on a specific topic, and describe the pros and cons of a condition.
This course is intended for those who already have a knowledge of Italian sufficient to access this level, or for those who may benefit from a review starting here.
Textbook and materials
Maria Balì and Irene Dei, Nuovo espresso 3. Libro dello studente e esercizi. Corso di italiano B1. Con CD-Audio: B1 (Firenze: Alma, 2017). Units 6-7.
B1.4 (25 hours)
Course Description
Topics – Unit 8: “Italians in History”; Unit 9: “Discovering Italy”; Unit 10: “Italian Today”
Grammar Aspects – Gerund with modal and temporal function; pronoun placement with the gerund; impersonal construction with the third person plural; indirect interrogative sentences; indirect speech with the main clause in the past; passive form with the verb andare; past subjunctive; third type of hypothetical sentences (unreality in the past); past gerund; past infinitive; dopo + past infinitive.
Course Objectives
By the end of this course, the student will be able to:
- Read texts, listen to and understand audiovisual sources related to Italian history.
- Show enthusiasm or lack of enthusiasm toward an event, express disagreement, joke about a situation and use irony, ask indirect questions, and talk about local attractions.
- Express opinions about festivities, express opinions on places of interest in Italy and abroad, give suggestions, make hypotheses about the past, talk about their own behavior in certain circumstances, and reflect on the process of learning a foreign language.
This course is intended for those who already have a knowledge of Italian sufficient to access this level, or for those who may benefit from a review starting here.
Textbook and materials
Maria Balì and Irene Dei, Nuovo espresso 3. Libro dello studente e esercizi. Corso di italiano B1. Con CD-Audio: B1 (Firenze: Alma, 2017). Units 8-9-10.