ADDITIONAL LANGUAGE SKILLS: ENGLISH LANGUAGE

The learning outcomes common to all qualifications of the same cycle are described by a set of general descriptors, which must reflect the wide range of disciplines and profiles and must be able to summarize the variety of features of each National Higher Education System. After the Ministerial Conference in Prague (2001), a group of experts from different countries drafted a series of descriptors for the three Bologna Process cycles, which will later become known as the Dublin Descriptors.

The Dublin Descriptors

The Dublin Descriptors are general statements about the ordinary outcomes that are achieved by students after completing a curriculum of studies and obtaining a qualification. They are neither meant to be prescriptive rules, nor they represent benchmarks or minimal requirements, since they are not comprehensive. The descriptors are conceived to describe the overall nature of the qualification. Furthermore, they are not to be considered disciplines and they are not limited to specific academic or professional areas.

The Dublin Descriptors consist of the following elements:

• Knowledge and understanding;
• Applying knowledge and understanding;
• Making judgements;
• Communication skills;
• Learning skills.

The learning outcomes of the Italian first and second cycle degree courses are structured according to the Dublin Descriptors.

Qualifications that signify completion of the first cycle are awarded to students who:

• have demonstrated knowledge and understanding in a field of study that builds upon their general secondary education, and is typically at a level that, whilst supported by advanced textbooks, includes some aspects that will be informed by knowledge of the forefront of their field of study;
• can apply their knowledge and understanding in a manner that indicates a professional approach to their work or vocation, and have competences typically demonstrated through devising and sustaining arguments and solving problems within their field of study;
• have the ability to gather and interpret relevant data (usually within their field of study) to inform judgments that include reflection on relevant social, scientific or ethical issues;
• can communicate information, ideas, problems and solutions to both specialist and non-specialist audiences;
• have developed those learning skills that are necessary for them to continue to undertake further study with a high degree of autonomy.

Methodology essentially based on the 4 skills of language learning which are a set of four capabilities that allow an individual to comprehend and produce spoken language for proper and effective interpersonal communication. These skills are Listening, Speaking, Reading, and Writing. When we learn our native language, first we listen, then we speak, then we read and finally we write. Listening, speaking, reading and writing are the four language skills we need to develop for complete communication. Listening and reading are receptive: input, i.e. the exposure you have to authentic language in use. But the hardest skill is speaking. Speaking combines the hard parts of writing and listening: it requires much more in-depth knowledge of the grammar, and it requires you to use this knowledge in real time. CFU 3 h. 21 1st SEMESTER.

ESAMS : WRITTEN TEST > LANGUAGE STRUCTURES+ GEOLOGY .

ORAL TEST (by passing the written test. At least 18/30 based on the number of the questions) LANGUAGE STRUCTURES+GEOLOGY.

The aim of the syllabus is to prepare students to use English for their professional studies in GEOLOGY and consequently for their professional needs in real life and work. This preparatory course will further give the students the opportunity to speak on general topics, to communicate in GEOLOGY and to understand texts on this professional area : in accordance with B1-B2 level.

1. General English

2. Professional (English for Specific Purposes) English

The course aims at developing a wide range of skills:

• Language Development, which involves grammar and extensive vocabulary learning.

• Writing skills, which have a specific focus on short essays, memoranda, notes.

• Reading, which involves study of instructional related texts of topical relevance.

• Listening, which includes comprehension of detailed information.

• Communication skills, which cover communication situations .

Course objectives:

The main objectives of the syllabus are:

• to provide material for the students to learn pronunciation of the English sounds, to learn to read, write, and to know the fundamentals of English grammar and vocabulary;

• to develop the students' reading skills to enable them to skim an adapted text for main idea, to scan an adapted text for specific information, to interpret an adapted text for inferences;

• to develop the students' writing skills to enable them to respond to input applying information to a specified task, to elicit, to select, to summarize information ;

• to develop the students' listening skills to enable them to understand and apply specific information from the input ;

• to develop the students' speaking skills to enable them to use general, social and professional language ;

• to develop the students' general capacity to a level that enables them to use English in their professional and academic environment .

Methods of assessment:

Assessment integrates the following:

• Individual and group oral presentations

• Oral interactions (including pair work)

• Written tests and tasks of various length (memoranda, notes)

• Essays

• Listening/ viewing

• Communicating the gist of simple reading passages

• Translation of simple texts on Chemistry.

Main reading:

This syllabus may be fulfilled on the basis of training materials, original special supplementary materials adapted for this level. The usage of up-to-date adapted materials will help students to obtain the necessary skills in reading, writing, listening and speaking.

1.General English

The students learn to pronounce, read and write. They acquire their knowledge of fundamental grammatical structures and functions (e.g. sentence types, tenses, voice, parts of speech, word order, expressing possibility, obligation, necessity, prohibition, criticism; expressing preferences, making assumptions; asking for/ refusing/giving permission; making offers, sugestions, etc.) They acquire their fundamental vocabulary to fulfill the above mentioned functions in roles, topics and discussions.

The students are taught to be able to converse on different topics regarding GEOLOGY

The students learn to understand spoken language. Listening texts include monologues and interacting speakers.

The students are offered adapted/instructional reading material and are encouraged to learn to use different strategies for different reading purposes: identifying the main points in a text, looking for detail, locating specific information in a text, understanding a text structure, etc.

The students are expected to learn to produce written texts of various types: formal / informal / argumentative essays (expressing opinions, for and against), , memoranda and notes.

2. Professional (ESP) English

The purpose of ESP course is to prepare the students for doing GEOLOGY in English.

Development of the students' restricted knowledge in denstistry terms and topics ,

The students' competence in ESP is measured by their ability to:

• understand and interpret information presented in verbal, numerical or graphical form;

• organize and present ideas and statements in a clear, logical and appropriate form.

The course aims to:

• develop the students' comprehension of GEOLOGY

• develop the students' listening skills in the field of GEOLOGY

• Essay content and structure (patterns of organization, paragraphing, discussion – argument/counter-argument, advantages and disadvantages, topic sentence and supporting ideas, coherence and cohesion, punctuation).

• Functions (generalization, definitions, exemplification, classification, comparison and contrast, cause and effect, process and procedure, interpretation of data).

• Style (passive constructions, avoiding verbosity)

• Punctuation

Listening includes:

• General comprehension (listening for gist, listening for detailed information, evaluating the importance of information).

• Lectures (identifying the topic and main themes, identifying relationships among major ideas, comprehending key information).

Speaking includes:

• Seminar skills (agreeing and disagreeing, clarifying, questioning, concluding).

• Presentation skills (introductions and stating the purpose, signposting, highlighting key points, summaries, conclusions).

The students' competence in skills development is measured by their ability to understand and produce written and spoken language in an educational context, to perform the following academic tasks:

• reading and understanding written academic language;

• writing assignments in an appropriate style for university study;

• listening to and comprehending spoken language ;

• speaking to colleagues and lecturers .

SCIENTIFIC TOPICS : THE STRUCTURE OF THE EARTH.

THE ROCK CYCLE. VOLCANIC ERUPTIONS.

MT. ETNA.

THE 2010 ERUPTION OF THE ICELANDIC VOLCANO.

THE HISTORY OF PLATE TECTONICS.

DIVERGENT BOUNDARIES.

CONVERGENT BOUNDARIES.

OCEANIC-CONTINENTAL CONVERGENCE.

OCEANIC-OCEANIC CONVERGENCE.

CONTINENTAL-CONTINENTAL CONVERGENCE.

TRANSFORM BOUNDARIES.

PLATE-BOUNDARY ZONES.

TSUNAMIS : FACTS ABOUT KILLER WAVES.

ISLAND ARCS.

Concept maps. online scientific magazines ppt. fotocopies to be sent by email. etc.