AMERICAN LANGUAGE

This is a fundamental module in the second-level degree course of American, European and Post-Colonial Languages and cultures and that of Linguistic Sciences, and has as its aim to develop high level skills in the field of European languages, literatures and cultures. Within this context it sets out to provide students with the instruments they need to achieve mastery of the language, in oral production and interaction, as well as in writing skills, through a detailed and variegated study of multiple aspects of the English language today, with a particular emphasis on North-American variants.

Together with the annual ‘lettorato’ course, the module aims to help students progress towards level C2 of the CEFR, particularly with regard to oral production and oral interaction, in a wide-ranging context of research into aspects of English today.

Specific objectives:

1 Knowledge and understanding of the ongoing evolution of the language, particularly with regard to North-American English.

2 Knowledge and understanding of the underlying course theme, ‘Aspects of American English Today’, when applied to researching and making a presentation on a topic identified by the student

3 Making informed judgements in the carrying out of personal research, in choosing between sources of information, in the development of a critical but constructive attitude towards presentations made by peers, and in the ability to evaluate one’s own performances in the language learning process.

4 Communication skills ranging from C1 to C2 on the CEFR, for both oral production and oral interaction, and academic writing.

5 The module has a dual learning focus; it aims at helping the student undertake autonomous research, through individual initiative and also by working in pairs and in groups, while at the same time offering the opportunity to consolidate the refined language skills which are needed to be able to describe and interpret the complexities of today's world.

Level C1 of the Common European Framework.

The module will concentrate on the acquisition of skills in oral production (presentations), and on oral interaction (contributions to the debate in class). The general theme is "Aspects of American English" and will include the development of specific American varieties of English (up to the present day, including such forms as Black English), and the role of the language in various fields (literature, cinema, politics, mass-media, social networks, the development of different dialectal forms...). The lessons will be in seminar form, held by the students, on subjects chosen by them, in agreement with the teacher. They will also be required to provide short written presentations of the argument.
The lessons of the lettorato will focus on the acquisition of academic writing skills.

There are no specific texts for the course; each student must construct his or her own bibliography for the presentation. However, there are certain texts that discuss certain central issues, which it will be helpful to look at.

CBryson, B., 2016. Made in America. Black Swan, 2016.
Crystal, D., 2012. English as a Global Language. Cambridge UP, 2012.
Martin, P., The Dictionary Wars: The American Fight over the English Language. Princeton UP, 2019.
Mencken, H. L., The American Language.

For the form of assessment, please see the document in the "Announcements" on the Moodle platform. Owing to the new situation post-coronavirus, the form of assessment has had to be modified. The document on the Moodle platform provides all the necessary details.

Student-led seminars, based on presentations by the students.

English

written and oral