Section 1

Section 1 (Programme for “Marco Polo” students)

Level A0 → A1 (120)

- introduction to the course and to the Italian context. Familiarisation with welcoming procedures;

- entrance test and assignment to various classes;

- socialisation and basic language training;

- general language (basic structures for communication);

- oral comprehension and pronunciation;

- reflection on the language and work on texts;

- contents of Italian culture;

- conversation and guided self-study activities;

- tests.

In this section of the course, which has been specifically designed for native speakers of Chinese, the students are gradually introduced to the elements of the language being studied, by teachers with highly developed skills in Chinese. This comes about both through familiarisation with text types and basic structures, and through the mediation of implicit elements and socio-cultural aspects that will help students to gradually become part of the social tissue in a constructive and harmonious way. The students will be trained to develop basic abilities, in particular regarding oral comprehension, and aspects of Italian culture that are immediately relevant to their daily lives will be introduced and compared with those of Chinese culture, also bearing in mind basic communication requirements. A particular focus will be put on phonological and morphological objectives relative to basic communication, which will be attained through specific comparative work.

At the end of the section, the students will reach the A1 level of the CEFR, that is:

- recognise very simple familiar words and expressions referring to themselves, their family and their environment, as long as people speak to them slowly and clearly.

- understand (orally and in the written form) the main information of simple texts and that associated with the needs of social life, such as announcements, catalogues, posters, directions etc…

- be capable of producing brief descriptions of themselves, familiar persons and environments, communicate orally to express daily needs and basic functions.

- be capable of writing short personal texts, filling out forms and other essential documents.