ENGLISH LANGUAGE

This course forms part of the common degree syllabus for all Letters, History and Philosophy degrees, and aims to provide students with the basic tools for linguistic analysis and cross-linguistic comparison. Specifically, the course prepares students for study and professional activities in an international context by developing reading, comprehension and translation skills, oral presentation and discussion regarding specialised texts, together with both academic and professional writing.

The English Language course (Letters, History & Philosophy) is in 3 parts:

1) The lecture course, taught by Prof. Raffaella Picello in the 3rd period, which comprises 3 weekly lessons, total 30 hours.

2) 15 hours of ‘reading and discussion’ tutorial courses: students may choose between English for the Arts and English for History & Philosophy (until full capacity is reached – numbers are limited).

3) 15 hours of ‘writing’ tutorial courses: students may choose between Professional Writing and Academic Writing (until full capacity is reached – numbers are limited).

The ‘reading’ and ‘writing’ tutorial courses are held both in the 3rd and the 4th periods. Students may choose (subject to the availability of places) to attend in either period).

- Knowledge and comprehension of English terminology, phraseological and grammatical aspects of oral and written English within specific academic and professional contexts related to humanities subjects

- The ability to understand and analyse specialized English-language texts in both phraseological and grammatical terms

- The ability to translate short specialized, and particularly academic, texts, from English to Italian
- Knowledge and comprehension of English terminology, phraseological and grammatical aspects of oral and written English within specific academic and professional contexts related to humanities subjects

- The ability to understand and analyse specialized English-language texts in both phraseological and grammatical terms

- The ability to translate short specialized, and particularly academic, texts, from English to Italian


Communication skills
• the ability to present and discuss orally, in English, the contents of a specialised text
• the ability to recognise and produce a written academic text (chronological, descriptive)
• the ability to write texts which are useful for study and for working abroad (CV, formal letter, email, etc.)

Passing the B1 test is compulsory prior to sitting the English Language exam.
The test is managed by the University Language Centre (CLA). For further information concerning the organisation of the test contact the CLA (https://www.unive.it/pag/30211/ ).

It is not necessary to have passed the B1 test to attend courses.

The course aims to provide students with language skills and terminological knowledge useful for understanding, reading and discussing authentic philosophy texts.
In fact, the course aims to refine comprehension skills in reading and listening to the scientific text. Participants will become familiar with the organization and structure of the scientific exhibition in English, writing tools and formal presentation that will accompany them in the vast world of publications in the language. Finally, particular attention will be dedicated to the oral production and to the reinforcement of the grammatical forms included in the program.
The teaching content is explicitly matched to the language, practices and study needs of the students of Philosophy and will include the following topics:

The goals and methods of Philosophy
Major British Philosophers:
Anselm of Canterbury
John Duns Scotus
William of Ockham
Thomas More
Francis Bacon
Thomas Hobbes
Isaac Newton
John Locke
David Hume
Adam Smith
Mary Wollstonecraft
Jeremy Bentham
John Stuart Mill
Lord Shaftesbury
Edmund Burke
George Berkeley
Charles Darwin
Herbert Spencer
Karl Marx in London
George E. Moore
Bertrand Russell
John Maynard Keynes

The study of grammar (during lessons and for self-study) includes areas such as:

- present simple and continuous
- past simple and continuous
- present perfect simple and continuous
- past perfect simple and continuous
- future tenses
- articles
- comparative and superlative adjectives
- adverbs
- linkers
- modals and semi-modals: can, could, should, must, have to, may, might, need to
- conditionals
- relative clauses
- reported speech
- -ing forms and infinitives.

In both reading and listening, special attention will be drawn to specific language skills such as understanding key concepts in an academic text, distinguishing the main ideas from supporting detail, recognising unsupported claims and claims supported by evidence.

(a) R. Picello, English for Philosophy, Libreria Universitaria, 2023.

For individual study:
Murphy, Raymond, English Grammar in Use Upper intermediate, 5th edition, Cambridge University Press, 2019.
Un dizionario monolingue a scelta, es. Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary

The exam comprises three parts, which must be passed in the following order:

1) written exam on general grammar, punctuation and lexis with a guided writing exercise which entails the production of an academic text or a covering letter;

2) oral exam involving the comprehension and discussion in English of six chosen texts from one of the books used in the 'reading' tutorials;

3) written exam assessing comprehensio, analysis and translation of texts studied during the lecture course.

Students who attend the tutorials will have a reduced exam (end-of-course test for 'writing', in-class assessment for 'reading and discussion'.

Tutorial course marks last for 18 months (however, we strongly recommend completing the exam within 12 months).

Lectures, individual and small group activities, guided debate, use of authentic printed, audio and video materials.

Attendance is strongly recommended.
Students who attend the tutorials will have a reduced examination programme, both written and oral.
Students who sit an English Language exam for anything other than 6 credits must contact me to agree an exam programme.

Students are advised to consult my personal page regularly.

Office hours:
Tuesdays and Wednesdays at 5pm by appointment at Auditorium di S. Margherita

written and oral