Additional resources
Additional resources
Italian as a second language with e-LOCAL (Electronically Learning Other Cultures and Languages)
Course description
This beginner’s course, stemming from the European project e-LOCAL (Electronically Learning Other Cultures And Languages), will guide you into the discovery of Italian language and culture. The main characters of the course are Anna and Alex. They are two Erasmus students who arrive in Bologna. Anna and Alex are welcomed in their university town by Lorenzo and Lucia and are helped in their learning process by Elena and Giovanni. The course is divided into 2 parts, part I and part II. In this second part, you will continue to follow Anna and Alex in their adventures and discover the Italian language and culture with them.
Part II is organised in 4 main units, plus an introductory unit and a final assessment unit. In units 5-8 (the numeration continues after Part I) you will find:
- a story with seven situations and a comprehension quiz at the end;
- grammar explanations along with related exercises;
- cultural pills with short tests and everyday information;
- language exercises to fix grammar, lexicon and communicative aspects.
You will also find a unit 0 with preliminary grammar information, and a final unit with the assessment of the course.
In each part of the course, where necessary, you will find a specific glossary, but please remember that you will always have the Overall Glossary at your disposal. This contains all the vocabulary used in the course. You will also be able to download the Overall Grammar, which includes all the grammar explanations of the course. You can find both the Overall Glossary and the Overall Grammar in the Additional Materials.
Total workload of the course: 15 hours
This MOOC is provided by Politecnico di Milano in collaboration with Alma Mater Studiorum - Università di Bologna.
This MOOC stems from the European project E-LOCAL (Electronically Learning Other Cultures And Languages).
E-LOCAL has been funded with support from the European Commission. This course reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.
Intended Learning Outcomes
By actively participating in this MOOC, you will able to:
- express yourself in real-life situations;
- recognise specific Italian traditions and festivities;
- recall Italian grammar and lexicon.
In broad terms, this MOOC helps you develop the Intended Learning Outcomes in the areas of ESCO Skills: Interact verbally in Italian - Understand spoken Italian
Prerequisites
Basic knowledge of English is required, as it is the language of instruction of the course; having taken Part I of the course is not compulsory but it is strongly recommended.
Activities
Over and above consulting the content, in the form of videos and other web-based resources, you will have the opportunity to discuss course topics and to share ideas with your peers in the Forum of this MOOC.
Assessment
The course has several questions. Some of these questions will not be evaluated to complete the course. Instead, the Homework you will find at the end of each Unit and the Final Assessment you will find at the end of the course will be evaluated. The Homework, as a whole, weighs 20% of the final score; the Final Assessment weighs 80% of the final score. Your final grade for the course will be based on the results of your answers to the assessed quizzes. You have an unlimited number of attempts at each quiz, but you must wait 15 minutes before you can try again. You will have successfully completed the course if you score 60% (or higher) in each one of the assessed quizzes. The maximum score possible for each quiz is given at the beginning of the quiz. You can view your score in the quiz on your last attempt or on the 'Grades' page.
Certificate
You can achieve a certificate in the form of an Open Badge for this course, if you reach at least 60% of the total score in each one of the assessed quizzes and fill in the final survey.
Once you have completed the required tasks, you will be able to access ‘Get the Open Badge’ and start issuing the badge. Instructions on how to access the badge will be sent to your e-mail address.
The Badge does not confer any academic credit, grade or degree.
Information about fees and access to materials
You can access the course absolutely free of charge and completely online.
Course faculty
This MOOC is the result of a successful collaboration between Politecnico di Milano and the University of Bologna.
It is based on the Italian course developed within E-LOCAL, a European project coordinated by the University of Bologna. Professor Andrea Ceccherelli is the scientific coordinator of the E-LOCAL project and courses. The E-LOCAL course of Italian language and culture was created by:
- Silvia Baroni, ICTS Rosa Luxemburg, Italy (e-Story; e-Life texts units 1, 3, 6, 7)
- Andrea Ceccherelli, University of Bologna, Italy (e-Story; e-Culture texts unit 2)
- Cristina Donà, ICTS Rosa Luxemburg, Italy (e-Story)
- Elisa Magnani, University of Bologna, Italy (e-Culture texts and exercises units 1, 7, 8; e-Life texts units 2, 8)
- Elisabetta Magni, University of Bologna, Italy (e-Grammar notes; e-culture texts unit 4; e-Life texts unit 4)
- Annalisa Planera, Tóth Árpád Gimnázium, Hungary (e-culture texts units 3, 5, 6; e-Life texts unit 5)
- Katalin Puskas, Tóth Árpád Gimnázium, Hungary (e-culture texts units 3, 5, 6; e-Life texts unit 5)
- Antonella Valva, University of Bologna, Italy (e-Grammar exercises; e-Culture exercises units 2, 3, 4, 5, 6; e-Life exercises; e-Language exercises; supervision)
The production and implementation of this MOOC was curated by Politecnico di Milano – METID, consistently with the competences in pedagogical design of the team and in collaboration with Antonella Valva from the University of Bologna.
Antonella Valva has collaborated with the University of Bologna since 2008 dealing with internationalisation and European projects. She was project manager of the E-LOCAL and the elocALL projects, she is at present project manager of the ILOCALAPP project. She was also tutor of Italian language at the University Language Centre and she is currently attending a PhD in digital humanities.
This MOOC could not exist without the precious support of Andrea Ceccherelli, Paola Salomoni and Alessandra Scagliarini (University of Bologna).
Contact details
If you have any enquiries about the course or if you need technical assistance please contact pok@polimi.it. For further information, see FAQ page.