Details

ONLINE LANGUAGE COURSE
Intermediate Italian

Course Description:

This course will build on the fundamentals of sentence construction that we learned in Italian for Beginners. We will reinforce the use of the present tense sentence and question construction, in addition to learning more complex grammatical elements like possessive and demonstrative adjectives, the idiomatic use of prepositions, and reflexive verbs. The course will culminate with the study of the past tense, the passato prossimo. Our vocabulary lessons will include a combination of new terms, like family members and household vocabulary, with a review of health and travel vocabulary.

Instructor:

Erin McCarthy King, Ph.D. has been teaching Italian Language and Literature since 2004. Erin earned a combined B.A. and M.A. in Italian Language and Literature from Yale University in 1998 and then her Ph.D. from Yale in 2009. She has taught Italian as a Lector at Yale and as an Instructor at Sacred Heart University, Southern Connecticut State University, Quinnipiac University, The Hopkins School, and is currently an affiliate faculty member at Fairfield University. Erin has published several articles, including “The Voyage of Columbus as a ‘non pensato male’: The Search for Boundaries, Grammar, and Authority in the Aftermath of the New World Discoveries” © 2012, and has presented several conference research papers including “The Logic of the Clock: Dante’s Similes of the Horologe in Paradiso X and XXIV” and most recently, “Language and the Expansion of the Ecumene in the Mondo nuovo of Tommaso Stigliani.” Erin serves as an alumna interviewer for Yale College Admissions and as a member of the Yale Alumni Schools Committee. In her spare time, Erin and her husband are very busy parents to their four children.

Course Objectives:

• VOCABULARY: Practice pronunciation, discuss uses, cognates, homonyms
• GRAMMAR TOPIC: Present the grammar in a PowerPoint and show some practice exercises
• BREAKOUT ROOMS: Students will pair with partners, do one grammar practice and one conversation prompt using the vocabulary
• REVIEW: Review the grammar practice and select a few groups to present their conversations

Virtual Classroom: Full access to an online educational platform with discussion forum, videos of recordings, syllabus, and exercises.

Location: LIVE INTERACTIVE ON-LINE LANGUAGE CLASSES

Complete syllabus will be provided upon registration.

• ALL LECTURES WILL BE RECORDED AND AVAILABLE FOR VIEWING AT YOUR CONVENIENCE IN OUR VIDEO LIBRARY FOR THE DURATION OF THE COURSE

Schedule

WEEK 1

– Thursday, January 6

GRAMMATICA: Verbi riflessivi al tempo presente; Che ore sono?
VOCABOLARIO: Come si prepara per il giorno?

In our first lesson, we will begin with a review of the present tense of -are, -ere, and -ire verbs, which were covered in Italian for Beginners. We will add reflexive verbs to our understanding of the present tense and focus on vocabulary that revolves around getting ready for our day.

WEEK 2

– Thursday, January 13

GRAMMATICA: Aggettivi e pronomi possessivi; preposizioni semplici e articolate
VOCABOLARIO: Membri della famiglia

In Week 2, we will learn about possessive adjectives and pronouns (my, your, his, her, etc.) and how to use simple prepositions. We will also learn how to use the five prepositions that combine with the forms of the definite article, the preposizioni articolate. Students will practice vocabulary relating to family relationships.

WEEK 3

– Thursday, January 20

GRAMMATICA: Aggettivi e pronomi dimostrativi; i verbi irregolari dire, uscire, venire, and bere
VOCABOLARIO: a casa

In Week 3, our vocabulary lesson will focus on items in the household and how to describe where we live. Our grammar lesson will cover demonstrative adjectives and pronouns (this, that, these, and those in English) and we will learn the conjugations of 4 common irregular verbs in the present tense: dire, uscire, venire, and bere.

WEEK 4

– Thursday, January 27

GRAMMATICA: verbi modali / servili: dovere, potere, e volere
VOCABOLARIO: Ripasso: vocabolario della salute

In Week 4, we will expand our ability to express ourselves by learning the three modal verbs in Italian: dovere, potere, and volere. These verbs allow us to express obligations, abilities, and desires beyond the simple declarative sentences of the present tense. We will review the vocabulary of health and wellness and practice using the modal verbs in a medical setting.

WEEK 5

– Thursday, February 3

GRAMMATICA: Passato prossimo con avere
VOCABOLARIO: a scuola

In Week 5, we will learn a new verb tense: the passato prossimo with the auxiliary verb avere. We will practice discussing events in the past and how to recount stories from the past. We will review vocabulary related to school settings and practice the passato prossimo in this context.

WEEK 6

– Thursday, February 10

GRAMMATICA: Passato prossimo con essere
VOCABOLARIO: il viaggio

In the final week of this course, we will continue to practice the passato prossimo with avere and introduce verbs that are conjugated with the other auxiliary verb, essere. We will learn some ways to determine whether a verb uses avere or essere in the past tense and review vocabulary related to travel. By the end of Week 6, you will be able to form sentences that describe who you are, what you are doing presently, what you must, can, and would like to do, and finally, what you have done in the past.

Instructor

Erin McCarthy King, Ph.D. has been teaching Italian Language and Literature since 2004. Erin earned a combined B.A. and M.A. in Italian Language and Literature from Yale University in 1998 and then her Ph.D. from Yale in 2009. She has taught Italian as a Lector at Yale and as an Instructor at Sacred Heart University, Southern Connecticut State University, Quinnipiac University, The Hopkins School, and is currently an affiliate faculty member at Fairfield University. Erin has published several articles, including “The Voyage of Columbus as a ‘non pensato male‘: The Search for Boundaries, Grammar, and Authority in the Aftermath of the New World Discoveries” © 2012, and has presented several conference research papers including “The Logic of the Clock: Dante’s Similes of the Horologe in Paradiso X and XXIV” and most recently, “Language and the Expansion of the Ecumene in the Mondo nuovo of Tommaso Stigliani.” Erin serves as an alumna interviewer for Yale College Admissions and as a member of the Yale Alumni Schools Committee. In her spare time, Erin and her husband are very busy parents to their four children.