ANGLO-AMERICAN LANGUAGE 1

Module: Anglo-American Language: Themes and Issues

The teaching of Anglo-American Language 1 at Ca’ Foscari imagines English as a great space of communication and intellectual creativity. The English that our students learn is intimately connected to the ideas that, flowing from the US, create a global and planetary orbit and invite us to decipher our reality and face the most urgent challenges of our time. We offer our students competences in linguistic structures and cutting-edge theoretical instruments. Our motto is: words and ideas.

The course combines a module, taught by the Professor for a semester, and sessions of language practice, linked to the module and coordinated by the Professor, taught by Language Teaching Assistants (CEL). The format is aimed at enabling students to master a level of written and oral production equivalent to Level C1 of the CEFR. The language of instruction is English.

This semester the module is co-taught with Prof. Gregory Dowling, who will focus on “The English Verb System.” Prof. Dowling and I will alternate each teaching a cluster of 7 to 8 classes.

My part of the course has a double objective: a) introduce basic concepts in linguistics to promote the students’ awareness about their object of study and their self-fashioning as informed and independent language learners; b) encourage the production of a critical text. To this end, the module offers an in-depth knowledge of sentence variety in English with the aim of developing in particular listening, reading and interpretive skills. We will concentrate on the concept of “linguistic subjectivity,” and this core notion in linguistics and language theory will be inflected in terms of gender, with readings by major writers and thinkers of the Anglo-American tradition such as Emily Dickinson, Gloria Anzaldúa, Joan Didion, Susan Sontag. Together, these influential writers raise the question of belonging: “Who belongs to language?” Their vulnerability before language, therefore, will serve as a felicitous metaphor for the condition of the language learner/user who, somehow, finds himself/herself always before a threshold to cross (hence the module's subtitle). The readings will provide intellectual stimulation and a concrete opportunity for activities focused on the capacity to identify, appreciate, and imitate a variety of sentences, with mastery tests on: sentence fragments; Run-ons; Misplaced words; Prounoun reference; agreement and point of view; Pronoun types; Parallelism.

Students will be encouraged to keep a journal to monitor their progress as independent learners. They are also encouraged to create a portfolio which must include the study questions assigned at the end of each class but may also include a selection of the student's best work in the class. There will be a portfolio review at the end of the course.

• Folder review at the end of the module
• Oral exam

Upon successful completion of this course, students should be able to:

1. Knowlege of linguistic structures from reading and understanding complex academic texts, with attention to tone and mood, and the capacity to recognize and build sentences of varying complexity;
2. Applying theoretical knowledge and comprehension skills, understanding complex academic texts, talks and conference presentations on topics linked to the student curriculum, and producing individual responses to academic texts;
3. Know how interpret and summarize the argument of complex texts in English from an individual and thoughtful point of view.
4. Acquire communicative competences equivalent to Level B2+ of the Common European Framework (CEFR), including reception, written production, speaking, and spoken interaction. Students should be able to express themselves clearly, coherently, and as correctly as possible.
5. Learn interpretive skills and how to paraphrase academic texts and summarize their arguments, take notes during a talk or oral delivery summarize the contents of the talk.

Level B2 of the CEFR and an interest for the subject are required.

Contents:

• The intercultural landscape of neighboring languages and the construction of the language learner/user in the Common European Framework of Reference
(2001)
• Saussure and the acoustic tapestry
Ferdinand de Saussure, from Ch. VII, “Phonology,” Course in General Linguistics (pp. 32-33); from Ch. III, “The Object of Linguistics,” Course in General Linguistics (pp. 7-15)
• Linguistic subjectivity
É. Benveniste, “Subjectivity in Language”
Emily Dickinson, “My Soul Selects her Own Society"
• Sentence skills: the four traditional sentence patterns in English
• Sentences as Speech Acts
from J. L. Austin, “Performatives and Constatives”
• Entering language, entering the world, Threshold I:
Gloria Anzaldúa, “Speaking in Tongues: A Letter to the Thirld World Women Writers”
• Entering language, entering the world, Threshold II:
• Joan Didion, “Georgia O’Keeffe”
• Entering language, entering the world, Threshold III:
Susan Sontag, “Certain Mapplethorpes”

Lettorato:

- developing comprehension skills for oral and written texts
- developing the principal skills for oral and written production
- consolidation of overall level of B2 on CEFR

Course Reader (available on Moodle):

J. L. Austin, “Lecture I (Performatives and Constatives).” From How to Do Things with Words.The William James Lectures delivered at Harvard. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1962. pp. 1-12
Émile Benveniste, “The nature of pronouns.” From Problems in General Linguistics. Trans. Mary Elizabeth Meek. Miami: University of Miami Press, 1971. pp. 217-222
——. “Subjectivity in Language.” From Problems in General Linguistics. Trans. Mary Elizabeth Meek. Miami: University of Miami Press, 1971. pp. 223-230.
Ferdinand de Saussure, “Phonology.” From Course in General Linguistics. Edited by Charles Bally and Albert Sechehaye, translated by Wade Baskin. NewYork, Toronto, London: McGraw-Hill Book Company, 1966. pp. 32-33.
——. “The Object of Linguistics.” From Course in General Linguistics. Edited by Charles Bally and Albert Sechehaye, translated by Wade Baskin. NewYork Toronto London: McGraw-Hill Book Company, 1966. pp. 7-15.
Mena Mitrano, “The Speaking Subject.” From Language and Public Culture (Roma: Edizioni Q, 2009) pp. 79-91.
——. “Joan Didion’s Portrait of Georgia O’Keeffe.” From Language and Public Culture.Roma: Edizioni Q, 2009. pp. 193-195.
——. “Susan Sontag’s Self-Portrait.” From Language and Public Culture . Roma: Edizioni Q,
2009. pp. 196-199.
and
Gloria Anzaldúa, “Speaking in Tongues: A Letter to the Thirld World Women Writers.” In The Gloria Anzaldúa Reader. Edited by AnaLouise Keating. Durham: Duke University Press, 2009. pp. 26-35.
Emily Dickinson, “The Soul Selects her Own Society.” Poem #303. In The Complete Poems of Emily Dickinson. Edited by Thomas H. Johnson. Boston, New York, Toronto, London: Little Brown and Company, 1998. p. 143.
Joan Didion, “Georgia O’Keeffe.” In Journalistas: 100 Years of the Best Writing and Reporting by Women Journalists, ed. Eleanor Mills and Kira Cochrane. New York: Carroll & Graf Publishers,2005. pp. 328-331.
Susan Sontag, “Certain Mapplethorpes.” In Where the Stress Falls. New York: Vintage, 2003. pp. 233-237

Professor's lectures (Dispense) on Moodle


Language practice:
Oxenden, Clive; Latham-Koening, Cristina. ENGLISH FILE ADVANCED Student’s book and workbook, fourth edition. OUP, 4th edition

Macmillan ENGLISH GRAMMAR IN CONTEXT Student’s Book with Key + CD-ROM Pack ADVANCED: 9781405070546

Suggested dictionaries:
MERRIAM WEBSTER COLLEGIATE DICTIONARY
F. Picchi, GRANDE DIZIONARIO INGLESE-ITALIANO E ITALIANO-INGLESE. Milano: Hoepli.
MACMILLAN ENGLISH DICTIONARY FOR ADVANCED LEARNERS 2ND EDITION WITH CD-ROM: ISBN: 978 1405 025 263 - Macmillan Education.

The final exam of Anglo-American Language 1 is articulated in two stages:
1. Thematic module with a double focus on the structure of the language and on theoretical questions connected with it;
2. Language exercises

1.Module
The module is co-taught by Profs Dowling and Mitrano.
The final exam at the end of the module consists in:
A) A written part managed by Prof. Dowling (Verb System)
B) A theoretical oral part managed by Prof. Mitrano (Issues in Anglo-American Language)

2) Esercitazioni
In order to accede to the final exam of the module, and so to gain a final mark, the student must achieve a sufficient level in the language skills preparatory to the contents of the module, skills taught by our Language Collaborators, Dott.ssa Cawthra and Dott.ssa Santini. Dott.ssa Cawthra and Santini will decide either on a cumulative assessment at the end of the exercises, or on a gradual portfolio-based assessment.

Evaluation
The evaluation of your final exam in Lingua Anglo-Americana 1 will be a final grade. The final grade will take into account your level in “esercitazioni linguistiche.” You can earn three (3) levels in “esercitazioni linguistiche”: A level, or excellent; B level, or average; C level, sufficient. Only students with a sufficient level (Level C) in “esercitazioni lingusitiche” can take the final exam in Lingua Anglo-Americana 1 and get a final grade. Moreover, students who earn a B Level in “esercitazioni linguistiche” will be entitled to up to 2 additional grades, while students who earn an A Level in “esercitazioni linguistiche” will be entitled to up to 4 additional grades.

Teaching methods
The materials for this scourse are made available by the instructor on moodle.unive.it

Teaching format and tools:

Lecture
Interactive sessions
Study questions (to be collected in a portfolio)
Audiovisual aids

Further information
Some of the course materials contribute to gender awareness and help students promote gender equality.

written and oral

This subject deals with topics related to the macro-area "Poverty and inequalities" and contributes to the achievement of one or more goals of U. N. Agenda for Sustainable Development