Education and Training Science

The English language course aims to develop and/or consolidate the four language skills (reading, speaking, listening and writing) at the B2 level (upper intermediate) of the Common European Framework of Reference for languages (CEFR). Students who successfully complete the course will have acquired at least the grammar, lexis and syntax in general English at the threshold level of the CEFR as well as the technical-scientific terminology of the education and training field in order to be able to interact effectively in various everyday life situations (so-called “survival English”) and to use their knowledge of the language in a practical manner in the education and training field.

There are no prerequisites: the English course starts from scratch at the zero beginner level with basic notions of grammar, vocabulary and syntax of the language

There are no compulsory textbooks for the course. The students can use the teacher’s own materials in the form of handouts based on texts in English taken from documentation of the education and training field. The handouts can be downloaded from the supporting e-learning page, “Lingua Inglese per SEF” (on the Faculty’s Moodle platform), where students will also find information on the lessons carried out (the language functions dealt with, the relative grammar, syntax and vocabulary elements, the links to websites for further reading etc., and indications on homework for the next lesson). An important feature of the course is the e-learning component (blended learning), with distance-learning possibilities even for non-attenders. This component envisages interactive English language courses, freely available online, as well as various websites containing didactic materials for English learning and/or specific texts of the education and training field. The use of a good bilingual dictionary (e.g. Ragazzini, G., Dizionario Inglese-Italiano/Italiano-Inglese, Zanichelli, Bologna) is recommended, as well as a good English grammar book (e.g. R. Murphy, Essential Grammar in Use, Italian version, Cambridge University Press). These two texts are useful in the learning phase but cannot be used in the examination itself.

The course employs a combination of teaching methods. As well as traditional lectures the course envisages individual activities, pair work, group work, simulations, role-play and self-directed learning in the classroom. These activities are combined with supporting out-of-class multimedia activities (blended learning) also for the benefit of non-attending students.

In presence

The final examination aims to assess the students’ knowledge of English grammar, vocabulary and syntax, their ability to glean specific information from authentic texts of the education and training field, translate short sentences from Italian into English, and take part in a short conversation in English. The examination consists of a written test and a subsequent oral test. The written test lasts one hour and the candidate is required to do some simple exercises relating to texts taken from authentic documents written in English and pertaining to the education and training field. The exercises have a closed answer structure and assess reading comprehension, the capacity to translate semi-technical sentences from Italian into English on the topic dealt with in one of the texts, and knowledge of the proper pronunciation of specific sector terminology. Students passing the written test can take the oral test which consists of a short conversation in English on one of the topics dealt with during the course. The final evaluation is based on the results of both written and oral tests, and the successful candidate is awarded a “pass” in this language proficiency examination.

lectures, in-presence and online discussion groups (elearning), laboratory activities