ITAL 101
Elementary Italian
General Description
Introduction
ITAL 101 is the first of the three-course elementary/intermediate
Italian language cycle offered by UNC-Chapel Hill’s Self-paced
Courses program. In the three-course cycle (ITAL 101, ITAL 102,
and ITAL 203), you will learn the most important aspects of
Italian grammar and will develop an Italian vocabulary broad
enough to enable you to communicate while traveling in Italy.
In ITAL 101, you will learn how to talk about yourself and
describe your family, your pastimes, and your studies; you will
talk about events in the present and the past; and you will learn
phrases to use when ordering coffee in an Italian bar or food in a
restaurant, when describing clothes in a shop, or when asking for
directions to your favorite attractions in an Italian city. You will
also learn a lot about life in Italy, including the cultures of food,
sports, and education. You will begin to develop the speaking,
reading, and writing skills that will be key to your success if you
go on to ITAL 102 and beyond. In ITAL 101, you will complete
Chapters 1–6 of the textbook, Prego! ITAL 102 and 203 use the
same textbook, so hold onto it!
Required Materials
•
Lazzarino, Dini, and Peccianti. Prego! An Invitation to Italian,
7th Edition, ISBN-13: 9780073535265.
•
Lazzarino and Dini. Workbook to accompany Prego! An
Invitation to Italian, 7th Edition, ISBN-13 9780073266763.
•
A cassette player (regular or mini) and a set of blank
audiocassette tapes to use with it. Do not submit your
recordings on CDs or ask to e-mail them as mp3 files. Your
instructor will record comments and corrections on the same
cassettes before returning them to you.
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General Description
You may purchase the texts from Friday Center Books & Gifts by
using the book order form in this manual or by ordering online at
https://s4.its.unc.edu/HigherGrounds.
You will need a good Italian/English dictionary, such as Webster’s
New World, Harper Collins’, or Cassell’s. If you have Internet
access, you can use the online dictionary, Garzanti
(www.garzantilinguistica.it).
Recommended
Materials
It is recommended that you listen to spoken Italian. If you have
access to the Internet, you can listen (free) to the Prego! Audio
Program via the Online Learning Center,
www.mhhe.com/prego7. You will need to purchase the
Laboratory Manual to work with the Audio Program.
•
Lazzarino and Dini. Laboratory Manual to accompany Prego!
An Invitation to Italian, 7th Edition, ISBN-13
9780073266695.
If you do not have Internet access, you may purchase the Audio
Program on CDs. You will need the Lab Manual also.
•
Organization of
Lessons
Audio CD Program (complete) to accompany Prego! An
Invitation to Italian, 7th Edition, ISBN-13 9780073266633.
There are twenty lessons in this course. Sixteen lessons introduce
new material from your textbook, three lessons are practice tests,
and the last lesson is practice for the final exam. Each lesson
requires the submission of assignments that may include
mechanical grammar exercises, writing activities, recordings,
reading comprehension exercises, and an occasional translation.
Although not required, it is highly recommended that you utilize
the Prego! Audio Program. Do all the listening exercises in the
Lab Manual and check them as you go along. This will strengthen
your listening skills and will give you extra review of the language
(vocabulary and grammar).
Each lesson is organized into the following sections:
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General Description
•
Warmer: Each lesson begins with a warmer, a brief written
exercise that allows you to ease into your Italian mind. The
Warmer touches on the thematic content of the lesson (such as
family, school, or pastimes), and gives you practice with new
vocabulary relevant to the themes. You should not submit
Warmer exercises, but please do them with care; often a
subsequent writing activity (to be submitted) will be based on
the work you did for the Warmer.
•
Introduction: The introduction covers the main grammatical
points of the lesson, offering explanation and study tips meant
to supplement those provided by your textbook. Read both the
textbook pages as well as this section of your course manual in
order to get the best understanding of the new material before
you begin the exercises to be submitted for grading.
•
Written Assignments: These are the assignments you are to
submit for grading. They are in three parts:
o Production: In these exercises, you will test out
your understanding of the new grammatical points
laid out in the Introduction. The format of these
exercises ranges from the mechanical (fill-in-theblank) to more creative and open-ended. Always
write your answers to the exercises in complete
sentences. (If you photocopy or tear out Workbook
exercises for submission, you may simply fill in the
blanks provided.) Not only does this allow your
instructor to evaluate your work more efficiently, it
provides you with extra practice producing Italian
in its full linguistic context.
o Expansion: In this exercise, you will write a short
essay or dialogue relating to the theme of the
lesson. This will give you the opportunity to
assimilate new grammatical and lexical knowledge
with grammar and vocabulary you have learned in
preceding lessons.
o Cultural Brief: In this exercise, you will do a brief
cultural reading (or do some brief research) and
answer questions or offer summaries on what you
have read. Sometimes you will be asked to record a
paragraph of the reading or your response to the
reading onto cassette tape. This will serve as
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General Description
important pronunciation practice, which your
instructor will evaluate (and grade) along with the
rest of the assignments.
How to Approach
this Course
Learning a language independently can be deeply gratifying, but
there are challenges to this endeavor. Below, in bold, are some
tips for good study practices and for achieving a confident attitude
towards your goal of linguistic mastery.
Dedicate yourself to conceptual understanding and
memorization at the same time.
For the most part, Italian grammar is straightforward and easy to
grasp; however, there are a few concepts that are difficult for
English speakers because they function very differently in the two
languages. Read very attentively the explanations of new grammar
offered in both Prego! and this course manual. Pay close attention
to the examples, and if you have any questions, ask your instructor
for clarification.
In any language course, there is a large amount of information that
is not conceptually difficult, but which must be memorized
(vocabulary, verb conjugations, and so on). You should create a
system of memorization that works for you and use it from the
first lesson on. Many students find it helpful to make flashcards,
and that method is highly recommended. Although it might seem
like a big investment of time up front, making and using flash
cards is a great way to streamline your studies in the long run.
Having a little stack of cards that you can peruse while riding the
bus, taking a coffee break, or waiting for dinner will move you
ahead on the learning curve. Whatever method you use for
memorization, do not put it off! Learn the material from one
lesson before moving on to the next.
Use a good dictionary wisely.
Although each chapter in Prego! provides you with a list of words
relevant to mastering its grammatical and thematic content, you
will frequently feel the need to know more: new words that come
up in your reading, or even more commonly, words that you need
in order to express an idea in an exercise. Once you find a good
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General Description
dictionary, use it carefully. It’s always a good idea to look at all
the definitions provided for any one word together with the
examples. This will help you achieve a higher degree of fluency
and will help your instructor understand you.
Keep a vocabulary notebook.
If you prefer not to make and carry flash cards, keep a list of all
the words you learn—those in Prego! and those you find in a
dictionary— in a small journal that you can carry with you and
study regularly. Jotting down new words and expressions will help
you retain them and will enhance your fluency.
Work consistently and don’t rush a deadline.
Think carefully about your timetable for finishing the course
before you begin it. There is a limit to the number of lessons you
may turn in during a two-week period (four). It is also important
to take sufficient time to prepare each assignment carefully.
Most students rely on their books and notes when completing
assignments, which may not provide a fair assessment of mastery
of course content. If you want to get a better sense of your
strengths and weaknesses, try doing a first draft of each
assignment without your books or notes. You can then correct
yourself and submit a clean version for grading.
Given the fact that the final exam is worth so much of your grade
(40 percent) and that passing it is required in order to pass the
course, it is extremely important that you do not take the final
exam before you are ready. Take the time to review all the lessons
and chapters in Prego! Receiving an A on every lesson is no
guarantee of good performance on the final exam!
Keep in touch with your instructor.
Never feel that any question is too easy, difficult, silly, redundant,
or irrelevant. If you are confused by a concept or by the
instructions of an exercise, do not let it delay your progress. Ask
your instructor for clarification, so that you can finish your lesson
and advance towards your goal.
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General Description
Honor Code
Grading
When completing your work, comply with the UNC-Chapel Hill
Honor Code, which prohibits the giving or receiving of
unauthorized aid in all academic processes. This means that when
doing the written assignments, you should work alone. You should
not seek help from friends, classmates, tutors, or online
translators. Any failure to respect this policy will force your
instructor to report the suspected violation of the Honor Code,
which could result in a failing grade and/or other sanctions.
You will receive a letter grade on each lesson assignment that
corresponds roughly to the following numbers:
A+  100
A  95
A–  90
B+  88
B  85
B–  80
C+  78
C  75
C–  70
D+  68
D  65
D–  60
F  below 60
The grades that you receive on your twenty lesson assignments
will be averaged for 60 percent of your final grade. The remaining
40 percent will come from the grade you receive on the final
exam.
Final Exam
The cumulative final examination is a supervised, closed-book
exam. You will not be allowed to refer to the text or any other
materials.
When you are ready, schedule your exam through the Self-paced
Courses office. See the page titled “How to Schedule a Self-paced
Courses Examination” in the back of this manual.
You must pass the final exam in order to pass the course.
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