- Improve reading, listening and speaking skills
- Expand general and specialised vocabulary
- Understand reading texts and videos from the educational context
- Be able to talk about educational issues, elaborate and give opinions
- Be able to write short sentences, summaries and presentations

The course comprises two lessons per week (total 4 hours).  There will be a mixture of individual, pair and group work. Work will be set to be carried out as preparation for the following week. 
The topics to be covered are:
- Identity
- Diversity/ uniqueness
- Inclusion
- The importance of play
- Technology
- Global education issues 
- Students’ projects
- Exam revision & practice

Students will be encouraged to expand their language undertaking independent study to make them more flexible and creative in their language use.  Further information can be found in the Resources section of Blended Learning.

Learning outcomes

On successful completion of this unit students will:
- improved reading, listening and speaking skills
- have expanded general and specialised vocabulary
- understand reading texts and videos from the educational context
- be able to talk about educational issues, elaborate and give opinions
- be able to write short sentences, summaries and presentations

All the above objectives can be achieved through lesson attendance and practice. 

The teaching material prepared by the lecturer in addition to recommended textbooks (such as for instance slides, lecture notes, exercises, bibliography) and communications from the lecturer specific to the course can be found inside the Moodle platform › blended.uniurb.it

Students are encouraged to attend weekly grammar workshops which serve to consolidate language skills. These are organised in two sessions - one for students following the Infanzia curriculum and the other for sociopedagogy students, as follows:

Sci. Edu. III anno settore servizi per l’infanzia- B1- lunedì 11-13 Aula D6, Palazzo Volponi.
Sci. Edu. III anno settore socio-pedagogico - B1 - mercoledì 14-16 Aula 14 , Palazzo Battiferri

Contact Professor Patricia Barzotti (CEL) - patricia.barzotti@uniurb.it for furtther information.
The general programme is as follows (subject to variation):
1. Present tenses, holidays
2. Past tenses, stages of life
3. Future tenses, the environment
4. Present perfect vs past simple, TV  series
5. Present perfect progressive, town and country
6. Phrasal verbs 
NOTE: the order and choice of topics may vary depending on the needs of each group.

In addition, the Centro Linguistico d'Atteneo (CLA) offers free courses for university students at every level (see cla.uniurb.it).

Teaching

See 'Programme'.

Attendance

Lessons are not mandatory but are highly recommended.  The course is recommended for all third year SDE students of all levels of English and different levels will be taken into account throughout the course.  The exam at the end of the course is mandatory.

Course books

All course materials can be found on Blended Learning.  We recommend supporting the course with a grammar book such as English Grammar in Use by Raymond Murphy (Cambridge University Press).

Assessment

Assessment will be in the form of an oral exam conducted in pairs, lasting approx. 15 mins (+ 10 minutes reading pre-test).  Students will be expected to be autonomous, following instructions independently, without the assistance of the examiner.  The students will be expected to conduct a dialogue, with the examiner adopting the role of observer.
It will consist of reading, listening and speaking components.
You will be given a short text to read individually; you may make notes on key ideas (you will be permitted to bring 2 blank sheets of paper and a pen to the exam).  Subsequently, you will be given several tasks based on the theme of the text.  For example, you may be instructed to write something down individually and then share it with your peer.  Following this you will have a discussion based on prompts or questions.  
You will be marked individually on the following points:
- Interaction ability (speaking and taking turns; being patient and letting your peer speak);
- Intelligibility - use of grammar, pronunciation and vocabulary for communication without strain (we are not looking for 100% accuracy - we are looking for intelligibility)
- Comprehension of the instructions, task and your partner
- Use and pronunciation of specialist/ topical vocabulary
- Communication ability to transmit your ideas
- Ability to elaborate on the content

Topics include all topics listed in the 'Programme' section above. 

For the detailed scoring rubric see blended learning ('Exam' section).
 

Disability and Specific Learning Disorders (SLD)

Students who have registered their disability certification or SLD certification with the Inclusion and Right to Study Office can request to use conceptual maps (for keywords) during exams.

To this end, it is necessary to send the maps, two weeks before the exam date, to the course instructor, who will verify their compliance with the university guidelines and may request modifications.

Teaching

Non-attending students are expected to follow the programme via Blended Learning.  The course objectives may be achieved by attendance and practice during lessons, therefore non-attending students must prepare adequately by organising themselves independently.  

Attendance

Lessons are not mandatory but are highly recommended.  The course is recommended for all third year SDE students of all levels of English and different levels will be taken into account throughout the course.  The assessment at the end of the course is mandatory.

Course books

All course materials can be found on Blended Learning.  We recommend supporting the course with a grammar book such as English Grammar in Use by Raymond Murphy (Cambridge University Press).

Assessment

Assessment will be in the form of an oral exam conducted in pairs, lasting approx. 15 mins (+ 10 minutes reading pre-test).  Students will be expected to be autonomous, following instructions independently, without the assistance of the examiner.  The students will be expected to conduct a dialogue, with the examiner adopting the role of observer.
It will consist of reading, listening and speaking components.
You will be given a short text to read individually; you may make notes on key ideas (you will be permitted to bring 2 blank sheets of paper and a pen to the exam).  Subsequently, you will be given several tasks based on the theme of the text.  For example, you may be instructed to write something down individually and then share it with your peer.  Following this you will have a discussion based on prompts or questions.  
You will be marked individually on the following points:
- Interaction ability (speaking and taking turns; being patient and letting your peer speak);
- Intelligibility - use of grammar, pronunciation and vocabulary for communication without strain (we are not looking for 100% accuracy - we are looking for intelligibility)
- Comprehension of the instructions, task and your partner
- Use and pronunciation of specialist/ topical vocabulary
- Communication ability to transmit your ideas
- Ability to elaborate on the content

Topics include all topics listed in the 'Programme' section above. 

For the detailed scoring rubric see blended learning ('Exam' section).

Disability and Specific Learning Disorders (SLD)

Students who have registered their disability certification or SLD certification with the Inclusion and Right to Study Office can request to use conceptual maps (for keywords) during exams.

To this end, it is necessary to send the maps, two weeks before the exam date, to the course instructor, who will verify their compliance with the university guidelines and may request modifications.

Students with DSA certification are requested to contact the Course Tutor at the beginning of the course, to allow for any necessary adaptations and extra support.