Some basic information for first year students

Information for First Year Students 2015-2016

Chris Young – Primo Anno, group A6 (N-R) and group A7 (S-Z)

The course aims to improve students’ listening, speaking, reading and writing skills to B1 level and beyond (particularly reading to B1+). The course is based on New English File Intermediate Digital (3^rd edition, published 2013), authors  –  C. Oxenden and C. Latham- Koenig, English Grammar in Use by R. Murphy and Extra 1 (dispensa). Students should aim to attend at least 75% of the lessons and be prepared to do at least 2 hours self-study for every hour in class (4 with me, 8 hours self-study). Students must choose a book (fiction or non-fiction, but not simplified) in standard, modern English (to be approved by their teacher). They will read this book during the year, taking notes on the vocabulary. At the oral exam they will bring the book and their notes with them and they will be asked to talk briefly about themselves and then about the book they have read in terms of content and vocabulary (explaining or translating words or expressions selected by the teacher as within the target vocabulary range for the level).

Details regarding the admission to and organization of exams will be published soon.

My email:
cphr_young@yahoo.co.uk

and:

christopher.young@uniroma1.it

The department website

seai.uniroma1.it

My blog:

www.lett1.blogspot.com

 

During the lessons we will suggest lots of work for you to do as self-study at home. Obviously the more you study the more you will learn.

Attending Lessons – If you can’t attend lessons speak to one of the teachers and we can indicate the correct programme for you to study. If you miss a lesson find out from other students what we have done and study it. Try to participate actively in the lessons.

Listening Comprehension – Unfortunately we do not have enough time to do extensive listening activities. So it is very important for you to do independent listening  activities. In the language lab there are various listening materials, including the cassettes which accompany English File. We also recommend you watch as many DVDs in English and as much English language TV (e.g. the BBC, Sky TV) as possible. If you use subtitles it becomes a reading activity not a listening activity, so we recommend you watch mainly without subtitles and use the subtitles only to check your comprehension later.. Organize your time and organize your learning. Organized notes are easier to refer to and to revise from. Beyond the book you are asked to read it is your responsibility to find more things to read: English newspapers, magazines etc. are good sources of short articles.

The Internet is a fabulous resource for both listening and reading material, so use it! I strongly recommend this site, particularly for listening:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish/ new site

http://www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish/english/features/6-minute-english listening

http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/general/  old site

http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/general/sixminute/2011/10/111027_6min_english_bones_page.shtml   more listening

 

You need to listen and read widely! If you need any help, do come and speak to us before or after the lessons or during our office hours. University is very different to school. It is up to you now to organize your studies and measure your progress.

You will also need a contemporary book of your own choice in modern, standard English (and a DVD if you are willing to do more) which you have to read and take notes on during the year. The book can be fiction or non-fiction but not simplified English. It should be the kind of book you would read in your own language. As you read you should take notes on the vocabulary (concentrating on common words and expressions) which you will be asked to talk about during the oral. You should bring both the book and your notes to the oral exam. You will also need to bring your ‘Libretto di Anglistica’ to the oral (available from the copisteria).

First year exam

The exam lasts 2 hours and 50 minutes and is based on your general knowledge of English. The level is Intermediate/Upper Intermediate or B1+ on the European scale. As regards the grammar the exam is based on New English File Intermediate Digital Student’s Book and Workbook (with key) by C. Oxenden and C. Latham- Koenig (Oxford University Press). If you studied English at school you should already be at, beyond or near this level (!).

There are 3 sections in the exam.

First there is a grammar section with 2 exercises. One has 15 sentences and you have to decide if they are right or wrong and correct the ones that are wrong. There may be more than one mistake in each sentence. The second is a text with 15 spaces and you have to put one word in each space.

The second section is reading comprehension with a text from a newspaper, a synonym exercise based on words underlined in the text, and then questions about what the text says and the meaning.

The third section is a writing section. You have to write a short composition on a general topic or a letter.

Each section is worth 30 points and you have to pass all the sections with at least 18 points. Later there is an oral exam in which you will be asked to talk first briefly about yourself and your life, and then about a book that you have read in English and comment on any language items the teacher asks you about.  You can explain the items in English, suggest a synonym or translate the context sentence into Italian.

There are two ways to do the exam:

1. You can do the FULL exam (written and oral) in June of this academic year, or September or January/February of the next academic year.

2. You can do the exam in 2 parts, PART 1 written at the end of the first semester and PART 2 written (+ the oral) at the end of the second semester. If you do not pass PART 1 at the end of the first semester (or if you do not want to accept the mark) you do not do PART 2 at the end of the second semester. You have to do the FULL EXAM. The content of the exams is the same (although the two-parts option has slightly more grammar). Prior to the exams we will do exam practice in class.