Self-Directed Study in Italian I (online) (ÍTA003G)

Self-directed study in Italian I is intended both for beginners and those who already have knowledge of Italian language. Learners will be divided into groups according to level. Learners are partly or completely in charge of all the main aspects of the learning process such as objectives, strategies, selection of resources and assessment. Learners work closely with the instructor through interviews to set up an instructional plan and to assess their progress. They participate in weekly workshops in small groups to practice oral and written production. The assessment covers all four language skills: writing, reading, oral comprehension and oral expression. Each skill is assessed in accordance with the learner's objectives. Learners can also choose how many credits they achieve (2, 4 or 6) and the assessment is completed in accordance with the number of credits.

Italian Grammar I (ÍTA119G)

This course, together with Language Usage and Oral Expression I, has the objective of building up all language skills in Italian from the very beginning. Its aim is to introduce the student to the learning of Italian language, providing her/him with the fundamental principles of Italian grammar. The teacher will adopt an eclectic approach, using all available methodologies to improve the learning outcomes and always having the student at the center of the learning process. The course is taught both in Icelandic and Italian.

Language Usage and Oral Expression I (ÍTA120G)

This course, which should be attended together with Italian Grammar I, is intended to build up from scratch the listening and spoken skills of the student. Learning will take place through listening activities, pair work, role-playing, role-taking, role-making, information gap activities, individual or group activities. Students will play an active role in the class. Their active participation is an important component of the course and to their final grade. The course is taught both in English and Italian.

Society, Culture and History (ÍTA324G)

This beginner's course, taught in English, aims at introducing geographical, cultural and social aspects of Italy: its territory, population, languages and ethnic groups, State institutions, political system, education and culture, economy, social problems and criminality, traditions, and cities.

Italian Opera (ÍTA420G)

The objective of this course is to introduce the students to the world of Italian music, and in particular to one of its most successful products: the Opera. In particular, the course will aim to provide some tools and to develop the necessary awareness for an enjoyable fruition of this art form.

The course will start by offering a preliminary and rudimentary foundation of music history and theory, where students will also learn some basic notions of music notation. The course will include an overview on the history of western classical music, to better understand how the Opera came into being. Students will thus become acquainted with the main features of its development.

Pivotal figures in the development of the genre will be presented, along with some of their most significant works, particularly Monteverdi, Mozart, Rossini, Verdi and Puccini.

Listening assignments will be administered weekly and students will become acquainted with a number of fundamental entries of the classical canon and repertoire.

Self-Directed Study in Italian II (ÍTA004G)

Self-directed study in Italian I is intended both for beginners and those who already have knowledge of Italian language. Learners will be divided into groups according to level. Learners are partly or completely in charge of all the main aspects of the learning process such as objectives, strategies, selection of resources and assessment. This course is a continuation of Self-directed studies in Italian  I but as the objectives are determined on an individual basis depending on each participant's needs, it is also open to new learners. Learners work closely with the instructor through interviews to set up an instructional plan and to assess their progress. They participate in weekly workshops in small groups to practice oral and written production. The assessment covers all four language skills: writing, reading, oral comprehension and oral expression. Each skill is assessed in accordance with the learner's objectives. Learners can also choose how many credits they achieve (2, 4 or 6) and the assessment is completed in accordance with the number of credits.

Italian Grammar II (ÍTA249G)

ÍTÖLSK MÁLFRÆÐI II is a course for students at intermediate level of competence. The program of the course integrates Málnotkun og talþjálfun II (Language Use and Oral Expression II). The focus of the course will be on learning basic rules of the Italian grammar. The usual two classes per week will be integrated by an extra applied class (once a week) in the Language Center (located in the Veröld building, second floor).

Language Usage and Oral Expression II (ÍTA250G)

A continuation of the course Language Usage and Oral Expression I. This course is intended to strengthen and improve listening and spoken skills at an (upper-) elementary level. Learning will take place through listening activities, pair work, role-playing, role-taking, role-making, information gap activities, individual or group activities. Students will play an active role in the class. Their active participation is an important component of the course and to their final grade.

Introduction to Italian Literature (ÍTA248G)

Students get familiar with the terminology and the main theories in literature. Students will read whole literary works or excerpts in Italian literature.

The purpose of this course is to introduce the student to a selection of pivotal chapters of the Italian literary history and selected authors from the Middle Ages to modern times. Since the history of literature both reflects and follows political and social history, this course will offer a sound understanding of the growth and development of the Italian tradition, one of the most influential of the Western world. Since Italian literature both influenced and followed the general European currents, it offers an interpretative key not only to the history of Italy as a cultural area, but to western Europe as a whole. A broad but solid understanding of the historical progression, exemplified by authors and some of their works will be the main goal of this course; and it will enable the student to further his/her studies in the humanities with a fuller grasp of how and why (literary) history came to be the way it is. Every lesson will focus on a particular episode of this fascinating history, and one or more authors will be studied, highliting their role in shaping and influencing the canon. Samples of original texts will be provided and analised. The course will be taught in English, although the occasional technical vocabulary item in Italian will be used, which should not cause problems since virtually all the English terms are of Latin origin and can thus be promptly recognised. The texts will be provided in the original, accompanied by a translation and they will be analysed together in class.

The assessment, apart from the final written exam, will be based on attendance and participation, classroom quizzes and a paper which can be submitted in either English, Icelandic, Italian, French, Spanish, Danish, Norwegian or Swedish.

Italian Cinema (ÍTA403G)

The objective of the course is to provide students with a comprehensive overview of Italian cinema from the post-war to the present day. Through a dozen of films of the best known directors of the period, students will gain an understanding of the particular styles and achievements of the protagonists and the body of modern Italian cinema. The course will be comprised of lectures, group discussions and individual critical viewing. Students will play an active role in the discussions. Their participation is an important component of the course and their final grade.