S.S.I.S.
– UNICAL
Scuola
di Specializzazione all’Insegnamento Secondario
Lingua
Straniera – Inglese (Classe 46/A)
Modulo:
AOS
Prof. Pietro Gentile
Dott. ssa Adelina Cataldo
Matr. 1639
MODULE:
LIFE IN
THE U.S.A.
Previous
and following modules:
·
1st
module: Grammar review (12
hours)
·
2nd module: Life in the U.K. (27 hours)
·
3rd
module: Life in the USA
(24hours)
·
4th
module: Other English
Speaking countries (33
hours)
ADDRESSEES:
2nd year Liceo
Scientifico
LANGUAGE
LEVEL:
B1
MODULE
NUMBER:
3rd
HOURS:
24
TEACHING
UNITS:
1)
Who
are the Americans? (3 hours)
2)
The
U.S.A. (4 hours)
3)
Who
were first? American Indians (3 hours)
4)
Columbus
Day (2 hours)
5)
Thanksgiving
(2 hours)
6)
Indipendence Day (3
hours)
7)
New York (4 hours)
6) Revision (3
hours) - dedicated to assessment.
PRE-REQUISITES:
Grammar:
Knowledge
of basic grammar
Vocabulary: Vocabulary
referred to places, people, habits.
Functions: talking
about everyday life; describing people, places and situations; talking about the
past
Communicative
Activities (can do statements)
·
Can
understand and extract the essential information from short recorded passages
dealing with predictable everyday matters which are delivered slowly and
clearly
·
Can
understand short, simple texts containing the highest frequency
vocabulary
·
Can
identify specific information in simple written material
·
Can
communicate inside routine tasks requiring a simple and direct exchange of
information
·
Can
give a simple description or presentation of people, living conditions and daily
routines
·
Can
give short, basic descriptions of events and activities
·
Can
take part in conversations on familiar topics, expressing personal opinions and
exchanging information
·
Can
express opinions on more abstract, cultural
topics
·
Can
describe him/herself, his/her surroundings, people and places in simple
terms
·
Can
write a series of simple phrases and sentences linked with connectors, such as:
“and”, “but” and “because”
·
Can
write short, basic descriptions of events, past activities and personal
experiences
·
Can
write about everyday aspects of his/her environment
GENERAL
AIMS:
·
To
find the differences between aspects of the American way of life and the Italian
one, in order to get to know one’s civilization better
·
To
find links with other subjects such as history, geography,
etc.
·
Capability
to work in team.
OBJECTIVES:
Grammar:
Consolidation of: prepositions
of time and place; comparatives and superlatives; the simple past tense
(regular/irregular verbs); “used to”/would
Vocabulary:
Adjectives
for describing and expressing opinions. Words used in geographical descriptions.
Words referring to institutions, sports, events. Typical American products: fast
food, clothes movies, etc.
Functions:
Describing
places and events; making comparisons; expressing opinions; talking about past
events.
Communicative
Activities:
-
Overall
Listening Comprehension:
-
Identifying
both general messages and specific details, in both reading and listening activities.
-
Understanding
the main points when listening to simple audio material about familiar subjects
delivered relatively slowly and clearly.
-
Reading
factual texts on subjects related to a familiar field with a satisfactory level
of comprehension
-
Finding
and understanding relevant information in authentic material, such as letters,
web pages and short official documents
-
Reading
texts in order to locate specific information
-
Gathering
information from different texts in order to fulfil a specific
task
-
Taking
part in conversations of familiar topics, expressing personal opinions and
exchanging information.
-
Asking
for further details and explanations
-
Summarizing
an article, or other types of oral or written texts
-
Conveying
written information and ideas on abstract and concrete topics
-
Delivering
a fluent description of one of the subjects within his/her field of
interest
-
Writing
clear texts on familiar subjects, by linking a series of shorter discrete
elements into a linear sequence
-
Writing
brief reports which pass on factual information
-
Summarizing
and reporting one’s opinion on accumulated factual
information
COMPETENCES
INVOLVED:
General
competences:
·
Declarative
knowledge (savoir)
·
Knowledge
of the major geographical and political aspects of the
country.
·
Knowledge
of aspects of everyday life in the USA
·
Knowledge
of some traditions, history, national identity and social
change
·
Existential
knowledge (savoir-ętre)
·
Openness
towards, and interest in, other people, ideas, societies and
cultures.
Pragmatic
competences:
·
Expressing
notions and ideas comprehensibly, using a discrete range of simple language,
both in oral and written form.
·
Interacting
on the topic expressing his/her own opinion
·
Linking
separate elements into a linear sequence of points
Linguistic
competence
·
Communicating
with reasonable accuracy in familiar contexts.
Sociolinguistic
Competences
·
Choosing
the right language register in conversations, according to the context.
·
Recognizing
different accents, and being able to understand slightly different expressions
or pronunciations.
TEXTS:
Spoken:
Interviews
Written:
Articles,
extracts from books, essays, web pages
TASKS:
Key-word
searching; skimming and scanning activities; listening activities; comprehension
questions; fill in the chart; searching for information (also on the net);
sharing information; summarizing; discussing.
STRATEGIES:
Reception:
Identifying cues; inferring;
Production
strategies: Building
on previous knowledge; self-correction
Interaction
Strategies:
Asking for clarification
REMEDIAL
WORK:
Must
be defined according to the outcomes.
It
may include: extra texts; clozes, multiple choice questions, scrambled order
exercises, questionnaires, etc.
AIDS:
Books,
dictionaries, newspapers, magazines, handouts, transparencies, cassettes, tape
recorder, OHP, computers.
ASSESSMENT
TOOLS:
Written:
Writing
a letter to an American friend asking more about some aspects of American life
and making comparisons with one’s own country.
oral:
Taking
part in a debate on some aspects of life in the U.S.A.
CRITERIA
FOR CREDIT GRANTING:
Students
will be assessed through 2 grids, one for the written work and another for the
oral:
ORAL
TEST
CONTENT |
0-2 |
|
Absent |
0 |
|
Incomplete/Insufficient |
0.50 |
|
Sufficient |
1 |
|
Almost
complete |
1.50 |
|
Complete
and articulated |
2 |
GRAMMATICAL
CORRECTNESS |
0-2 |
|
Too
many mistakes: the message does not get through |
0 |
|
Some
mistakes, but the message gets through |
1 |
|
Very
few mistakes |
1.50 |
|
Accurate |
2 |
LEXIS |
0-2 |
|
Inadequate |
0 |
|
Simple,
with some mistakes |
1 |
|
Simple,
but correct |
1.50 |
|
Accurate.
Use of complex, specific words |
2 |
COMMUNICATION |
0-2 |
No
interaction |
0 |
|
Insufficient
interaction |
0.50 |
|
Interaction
on a very simple level |
1 |
|
Interaction
on a more complex level |
1.50
|
|
Proficient |
2 |
PRONUNCIATION |
0-2 |
|
Incorrect:
prevents understanding |
0 |
|
Sufficienty
clear |
1 |
|
Accurate |
2 |
tot.
........./10
WRITTEN
WORK
CONTENT |
0-2 |
|
Absent |
0 |
|
Incomplete/Insufficient |
0.50 |
|
Sufficient |
1 |
|
Almost
complete |
1.50 |
|
Complete
and articulated |
2 |
GRAMMATICAL
CORRECTNESS |
0-2 |
|
Too
many mistakes: the message does not get through |
0 |
|
Some
mistakes, but the message gets through |
1 |
|
Very
few mistakes |
1.50 |
|
Accurate |
2 |
LEXIS |
0-2 |
|
Inadequate |
0 |
|
Simple,
with some mistakes |
1 |
|
Simple,
but correct |
1.50 |
|
Accurate.
Use of complex, specific words |
2 |
COHERENCE
AND COHESION |
0-2 |
Separate
sentences. No use of linkers. |
0.50 |
|
Some
logical sequence and use of linkers. |
1 |
|
Acceptable
sequentiality and use of linkers. |
1.50 |
|
Perfectly
coherent and cohesive. |
2 |
SPELLING
AND PUNCTUATION |
0-2 |
|
Incorrect:
prevents understanding. |
0 |
|
Sufficienty
clear. |
1 |
|
Accurate |
2 |
|
TOT./10 |
|