Ateneo - UPO

Main topics: Meaning and meaning relations; phrases, clauses, sentences. Mainly lexicological and textual approach. Text cohesion and coherence: text analysis from a variety of sources (popularizing texts and strategies, scientific writing, lexis in context, etc.), with the aim to highlight the construction of complex meaning/s in context, from text to discourse.

Compulsory texts (all the students): Cornelia Paraskevas, 2020. Exploring Grammar Through Texts: Reading and Writing the Structure of English. London: Routledge. -Jackson, Howard and Etienne Zé Amvela, 2007 (2nd), Words, Meaning, and Vocabulary, London: Bloomsbury. Reading list (compulsory), un testo a scelta tra i seguenti: - Clark, Roy Peter Clark, 2011, The Glamour of Grammar: A Guide to the Magic and Mystery of Practical English. Little, Brown Spark. - Crystal, David, 2011 [2010], A Little Book of Language, Yale. - Crystal, David, 2017, Making Sense. The Glamorous Story of English Grammar, Profile Books. - Okrent, Arika, 2021, Highly Irregular. Why Tough, Through, and Dough don't rhyme, and other oddities of the English Language, OUP. Further readings (optional): - Culpeper, J. et al., 2009, English Language: Description, Variation and Context,.New York, Palgrave MacMillan. - Berry, Roger, 2018 (2nd), English Grammar. A Resource Book for Students, Routledge. - Jonz, Jon, 2014, An Introduction to English Sentence Structure. Clauses, Markers, Missing Elements, Equinox. - Kreidler, Charles W., 2014 (2nd), Introducing English Semantics, Routledge. - Plag, Ingo, Maria Braun, Sabine Lappe, Mareile Schramm, 2009 (2nd), Introduction to English Linguistics. Second revised edition, Mouton de Gruyter. - Tallerman, Maggie, 2015 (4th), Understanding Syntax, Routledge.

The second year English Linguistics A aims at examining and consolidating the main morpho-syntactic structures and their semantic/pragmatic functions, both at a theoretical level (main principles), and at a practical level (encoding/decoding). The aim is the acquisition of 'linguistic awareness': that is, the conceptualisation of language as a complex and dynamic system which provides many possibilities of use, in relation to different needs and contexts. Lexis (building blocks of language), its sense relations (hyponymy, synonymy, meronimy, etc.), pragmatic issues, and textuality are at the core of English Linguistics A. Lexis in context and text analysis. The function of lexical units in the construction of discourse. The approach is metalinguistic. The course general contents and specific topics, language skills and activities, the end-of-course examination, as well as the assessment criteria applied, refer to B2-B2+ level of the CEFR (Common European Framework of Reference).

English Language I (practical classes)

Lectures

The use of handbooks for the theoretical approach will be supported by authentic materials for the analysis. Authentic materials will be drawn from magazines, newspapers, websites, etc. Students with physical disabilities, Learning Disabilities or Special Education Needs can request specific services and tools via the Staff Sviluppo e Coordinamento Carriere e Servizi alle Studentesse e agli Studenti, consulting the University webpage: https://www.uniupo.it/en/services/servicesstudents-physical-or-learning-disabilities Students with disabilities, learning disabilities or special education needs, once they have contacted the University Staff, can refer to the tutor in charge of the course to define the examination modalities, concerning academic aspects.

ORAL EXAM: oral interaction and discussion on the course contents, concepts, notions, texts. On the occasion of the English Linguistics A exam (Laura Tommaso) will also assess oral interaction skills, language competence, and fluency (discourse structure, pronunciation, lexis, morphosyntax, and linguistic appropriateness). With reference to the 'Intended learning objectives' (see below), the following grades correspond to different skills: 18-22/30-sufficient, 23-25/30-satisfying, 26-28/30 good, 29-30 lode-very good.

The discussion on the complex sequences/expressions, both at the lexical and morpho-syntactic level, will foster linguistic awareness, and refine decoding/encoding strategies. Semantic and pragmatic approaches, as well as textuality will help students to deal with complex communicative strategies. Clear-cut boundaries cannot be established between different linguistic levels, though we usually analyse and discuss them as such, one at a time. They co-occur in encoding and decoding spoken/written communication.

KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING. Students will be able to recognise, understand, and discuss the main functions of the linguistic levels analysed, as well as their interaction in the construction of meaning, meaning relations, and pragmatic issues. They will also recognise the methods used in structuring text and discourse, as well as their respective encoding/decoding strategies. APPLIED KNOWLEDGE/SKILLS. Students will be able to analyse and encode simple and complex morpho-syntactic units. They will also be able to select and apply the most relevant communicative strategies to text/discourse, and identify their semantic/pragmatic relevance. Linguistic knowledge and language understanding will be used at a practical level, and applied to the many disciplinary research and professional contexts.