Social sciences and humanities
Subject: ENGLISH LAB. 1 (A.A. 2023/2024)
single-cycle master degrees (5 years) in PRIMARY TEACHER EDUCATION
| Course year | 1 |
|---|---|
| CFU | 3 |
| Teaching units |
Unit LABORATORIO DI INGLESE 1
English language laboratories (laboratory)
|
| Moodle portal | |
| Exam type | written |
| Evaluation | final judgment |
| Teaching language | Italiano |
Teachers
Clare Marie DARBY
Annalisa SEZZI
Overview
Increasing students’ reading comprehension ability with particular reference to texts frequently found in their field, such as explanations on how to carry out extra activities in class with the pupils, often found in the teacher’s guide. Bringing students’ level of English to B1 in reading and writing skills according to the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR).
Admission requirements
A minimum A2 (according to the Common European Framework of Reference, CEFR) is recommended to attend this course. This is certified via an optional Proficiency Test carried out in the months of December and January each year. Students are permitted to sit this test once.
Students who do not reach the B1 level in the Proficiency Test are advised to do extra study using:
• an English course available online at the Centro Linguistico di Ateneo site: https://corsi-online.cla.unimore.it/login/index.php
• their own personal resources
.
Course contents
• reading comprehension - the student will learn to read the teachers’ instructions for typical classroom activities texts for Primary School pupils.
• lexis - the student will learn vocabulary commonly related to the above readings.
• grammar - the student will revise the present, past and future tenses as well as modal verbs and the passive form.
• classroom language - the student will learn typical language used by Primary School teachers during the English lesson
Students may be exempt from Laboratorio I if they have one of the following:
- Proficiency Test (pass) with a B or C result
Students may be exempt from Laboratorio I and Laboratorio II if they are in possession of one of the following:
- Proficiency Test (pass) with a C result
- International B2 Certificates not more than 5 years old: e.g. First Certificate of English (FCE); BEC Vantage; TOEIC (listening + reading min 785, plus speaking + writing min 310); TOEFL iBT (min 72); TOEFL PBT min 500; Trinity College ISE II; Pearson Test of English Academic (scores 59-75); TELC B2; IELTS B2.
Or any of the above listed certificates equivalent to level C1 and C2, according to the CEFR.
(for a full list of accepted certifications please contact the teacher)
Teaching methods
Teacher-centred lessons, pairwork and group activities. In particular, the course includes activities to improve reading and writing language skills as well as grammar and vocabulary expansion activities regarding teaching English in primary schools. Materials are shared on Moodle. Exercises in class with corrected together, as well as exam- preparation exercises.
Assessment methods
The Laboratorio 1 exam is written. The student must demonstrate their ability in reading comprehension, grammar and lexis as well as translate some typical classroom language, used by the teacher, from Italian to English. Students will also be required to write a simple story in English in the past tense.
Learning outcomes
KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING: students will be able to understand texts taken from a typical teacher's guide for teaching English in primary schools, they will also be able to write a simple story in the past tense for primary school-age children; they will develop their English vocabulary and grammatical structures at B1 level.
APPLYING KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING: students will be able to apply classroom management knowledge acquired during the B1 course.
MAKING JUDGEMENTS: the students will learn to self-correct and to assess their own language skills as well as the language skills of primary school pupils.
COMMUNICATION SKILLS: students will be able to converse on familiar topics of personal interest about everyday life; they will be able to describe experiences, briefly explain opinions and plans. and to tell a simple story to primary school children in the past tense.
LEARNING SKILLS: by learning vocabulary and grammatical structures and their application in English language teaching in primary school students will consolidate effective language learning strategies with a view to lifelong learning.
Readings
Dispensa a cura della Dott.ssa Clare Darby disponibile presso Eliografia Spaggiari, Via San Rocco, 14.
Grammatiche consigliate (per autoapprendimento):
• Vince M. & Pallini L. (2001) English Grammar Practice for Italian Students, London, Macmillan. (with key).
• Murphy, R. (2002) English Grammar in Use, Cambridge, CUP (with key).
• Murphy, R. (2002) English Grammar in Use, Cambridge, CUP. (with key).