Course Syllabus
Course: ITAL 2950
Division: Humanities
Department: Languages & Linguistics
Title: Undergraduate Tutoring
Semester Approved: Fall 2023
Five-Year Review Semester: Summer 2028
End Semester: Summer 2029
Catalog Description: This course is for native or more proficient speakers of Italian who will help beginning students review, strengthen, and apply language skills taught in all Italian courses at Snow College. This includes both conversation practice and grammar instruction. Tutors may be asked to proofread documents, grade quizzes or homework, provide feedback, and perform other small tasks as directed by the instructor. Tutors receive training and support from the instructor.
Semesters Offered: Fall, Spring
Credit/Time Requirement: Credit: 1-2; Lecture: 0; Lab: 3-6
Repeatable: Yes.
Prerequisites: Instructor approval and advanced proficiency in Italian.
Corequisites: None.
Justification: This course provides students with native or advanced proficiency in Italian the opportunity to continue to use and refine their language skills while providing a valuable service for their fellow students.
Student Learning Outcomes:
Interpretive Listening: Students apply their listening comprehension abilities at the native or advanced proficiency level to speaking practice, training sessions, and oral tasks that they complete as tutors with other students. They will demonstrate this by evaluating students on their oral tasks. (The instructor will see their written feedback to the students they assist to know whether they are tutoring successfully.)
Interpretive Reading: Students apply their knowledge of the written Italian language at the native or advanced proficiency level in an effort to understand the needs of language students who work with them. They will demonstrate this by evaluating students on their oral tasks. (The instructor will see their written feedback to the students they assist to know whether they are tutoring successfully.)
Interpersonal Spoken: Students use native or advanced fluency in spoken Italian to interact with those they help by assisting them with words, phrases, and memorized expressions. They will be able to answer questions on very familiar topics. They will demonstrate this by interacting with students on their oral tasks and providing conversation practice to each student who comes into the lab for assistance. (The instructor will see their written feedback to the students on their oral exams, as well as the students' record of conversation practice to know whether they are tutoring successfully.)
Content:
The topics covered in Italian 2950 are dependent on the content presented in beginning and intermediate Italian courses and will vary from one student to another. They include, but are not limited to: Basic interactions like greetings, asking and answering questions, describing people and things, expressing preferences, inviting, accepting, refusing, making purchases, giving directions, requesting information, telling time, and recounting past events; interpretation of basic or simplified texts (e.g., calendars, biographical information, menus, cultural information, poems/songs, maps, advertisements, film reviews, instructions, schedules, websites, surveys); basic expressions and vocabulary (e.g., greetings, school, home, family, possessions, numbers, days, months, public buildings, food, weather, sports); regular and irregular verb forms in present and past; agreement (e.g., subject-verb, adjective-noun); cultural practices and products of Italy (e.g., food, music, transportation, film, housing, media); cultural perspectives in Italy; diversity in Italy; regional identities; and daily life in Italy.
Key Performance Indicators:
The following assessments will be used:
Attendance During Assigned Hours 70 to 85%
Instructor Evaluation of Tutor Professionalism 15 to 30%
Representative Text and/or Supplies:
Prego! An invitation to Italian. Lazzarino et al.
Scholarly articles about diversity and inclusion in foreign language teaching
Pedagogy Statement:
Students enrolled in the course will have the opportunity to explore teaching by working in the Snow College Foreign Languages Lab. This experience will allow them to make informed decisions about future academic and professional pursuits. Tutors will be encouraged to use methods that motivate students to utilize appropriate and effective communication strategies. They will consult with the instructor on the use of language teaching techniques that are appropriate for people from a variety of backgrounds (e.g., race, ethnicity, gender, class, etc.) and abilities.
Instructional Mediums:
Lab
Maximum Class Size: 15
Optimum Class Size: 12
