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u) Handbook English Language course

Degree course Modern foreign languages - academic year 23/24

ENGLISH PLACEMENT TEST (Only for incoming Bachelor students) and LANGUAGE CERTIFICATION
1. I need information on the English Placement Test, where can I find it?

The English language placement test is a Macmillan English Campus computerized test useful for determining the level of English language proficiency of incoming students. The test does not replace the English language exam, which each student will still have to take according to their study plan and the indications provided by their degree course.

WHO MUST TAKE THE TEST

  • All (and only) students enrolled in the 1st year in 2022-2023 on a three-year Bachelor’s degree (Modern Languages, Humanities, Philosophy and Communication).
  • The test can be carried out independently only once in the month of November 2022. The results will be communicated within a few days from the date of taking it via the ESSE 3 system.
  • Philosophy Master’s/Philology Master’s: test not envisaged: only interview to verify language skills (read below, point 2).
  • Languages, Cultures, and Tourism Master’s: test not envisaged: for English, only admission interview if students arrive from other universities (read below, point 2).

Students of Literature and Philosophy and Communication with a result of zero or less than B1 will have to remedy their educational gap by attending the preparatory online course (made available on the Macmillan English Campus platform in the second semester). The preparatory course includes a mandatory final test which must be passed in order to access the 50-hour English course (the final test of the preparatory course can be repeated). In case of failure, the student is required to repeat the English Placement Test the following year.

Otherwise, for students of Modern Languages there are no remedial courses, but linguistic exercises and basic English linguistics lessons (English Language 1) will begin in the first semester (for further information, contact Prof. Laura Thomas) laura.tommaso@uniupo.it). 

Read points 2. 3. and 9 carefully

 

2. Which language certificates are accepted in lieu of the English Placement Test?
  1. Modern Languages: B2 and above (send to laura.tommaso@uniupo.it)
  2. Humanities/Philosophy and Communication: B2 and above (send to the relevant Chair of degree course
  3. Philology Master’s/Philosophy Master’s: test not envisaged, for these courses there is simply an oral interview to evaluate language skills (for those who choose inglese). The dates will be published in October 2022.
  4. Language, Culture, and Tourism Master’s: test non envisaged. ALL STUDENTS ARRIVING FROM UNIVERSITIES OTHER THAN UPO MUST HAVE an admission interview to verify their language skills (if opting for the English language)*

 

* An interview to assess language skills is also scheduled for all new students who do not come from a Bachelor’s degree in class L-11 or L-12, or who, coming from such courses of study, have obtained a lower degree grade. at 103 points - provided they are not three-year graduates in "Modern Foreign Languages" from the University of Eastern Piedmont. The interview to assess language skills is also scheduled for graduates who have obtained the L-11 or L-12 three-year degree diploma within the five-year period preceding enrolment. The outcome of the interview is not binding; it is not considered a prerequisite for access, and does not imply grade debits.

MASTER’S: Based on the outcome of the interview, the student could be assigned the task of obtaining further credits in foreign languages among the other activities of the study plan if the commission deems it necessary.
The CEFR (Common European Framework of Reference) references (certification results) necessary for exemption from the English Placement Test are (see below, on the right): For English, the English Placement Test is online and applies only to Bachelor degree students. See the information on the dedicated page of the University and the Department. 

 

 

3. Which certifications can be presented in lieu of the English Language 1 exam for students of Modern Languages?

For students of Modern Languages, the exam must be taken in full. It will not be possible to substitute, even partially, parts of the first-year exam (this applies to any certification, of any level).

 

4. Which certifications can replace the English Language 1 exam (Master's Philology and Philosophy students)?

 Only a recent C1-level certification (issued no later than September 2020) can partially replace the English Language 1 exam (Philology and Philosophy students only).

The English Language 1 exam will be recognised only partially for Master’s in Philology and Philosophy students according to a conversion table relating to the score achieved for the valid certification (conversion tables available on the University website).

In any case, even following partial recognition, Master’s in Philology/Philosophy students must take 'Phonetics and Phonology', an integral part of the English Language 1 programme and called 'Basic Linguistics' (read English Language 1 Syllabus). For further information, contact the course teacher Dr. Laura Tommaso.

 

5. Which certifications can be presented in lieu of the THREE-YEAR NON-SPECIALIST ENGLISH LANGUAGE exam (Humanities, Philosophy and Communication)?

See indications for exam/teaching syllabus associated with the course for Humanities, Philosophy and Communication. English speaking non-specialists.

  •  

In this case, the certifications will be sent to the Chair of your degree course. 

As of academic year 2021-2022, the English language courses for non-specialist Bachelor degree students are provided entirely by CLUPO, both the preparatory English language course (from A1-A2 to B1 skills) and the 50-hour curricular course of their study course (to achieve B2 skills). For more information: clupo@uniupo.it

 

 

6. To whom should I send my VALID certificate for Modern Languages?
Certificates should be sent to Prof. Laura Tommaso (laura.tommaso@uniupo.it).
  • For Modern Languages, certificates must be sent no later than October of the academic year of registration (therefore, by October 2022).
  • For Languages, Cultures, and Tourism, no certification can replace the admission interview (for those who have to take it), or parts of the exam. It is therefore not necessary nor possible to send any.

Students who send their certificate must use an institutional address (@uniupo.it) and precisely indicate the name of the degree course in which they are enrolled.

 

 

7. To whom should I send my VALID certificate for the Master's degree in Philology and Philosophy?

The certificates must be sent to your Course Chair by and no later than December 2022. 

 

8. Does the Placement Test have a minimum pass mark?

The English Placement Test does not require a minimum pass mark. It is merely to determine incoming language skills. It has no evaluative nature, nor does it result in a certificate. The result cannot under any circumstances be used for these purposes.

 

9. What level of language skills should incoming students have?
  • MODERN FOREIGN LANGUAGES: B1
  • HUMANITIES, PHILOSOPHY AND COMMUNICATION: 
  

 

COURSES, LESSONS AND EXAMS FOR CREDITS
10. How are the English language courses for Modern Languages structured?
The first year course (English Language 1) is the same for all students

In order to encourage attendance, there are 4 groups (A-B-C-D) of language classes, carried out by expert linguistic collaborators at different times but with the same content and final test.

Students are therefore invited to choose the group according to their lesson timetable. 

Some meetings will instead take place in a 'single group' (A+B+C+D): this is the part of 'Phonetics and Phonology', included in the English Language 1 programme ('Basic Linguistics' in the Syllabus, carried out by Prof. Laura Tommaso, course manager).
The second-year course (English Language 2) consists of English Linguistics A (Prof. Elisabetta Lonati) and English Language A Practice Exercises 2 year. For the language practice part, there are two paths (Business English 2 – Dr. Della Chiara; General English 2 – to be designated) with different programmes and tests.
The third-year course (English Language 3) consists of English Linguistics A (Prof. Elisabetta Lonati) and English Language B Practice Exercises 3 year For the language practice part, there are two paths (Business English 3 – Dr. Della Chiara; General English 3 – Dr. Irina Kalinina) with different programmes and tests.

 

11. How are English language courses for Languages, Cultures and Tourism structured?
 

N.B.:

  1. those who studied in UPO for L11, regularly follow the specialist exercises​​​​​​
  2. those who did not study in UPO but have L11 and L12, regularly follow the specialist exercises
  3. those who studied in UPO but in other degree courses (other than L11) could start following the 2nd year of the Bachelor’s
  4. if from the admission interview skills similar to levels B2/B2+ or higher emerge, then you will be able to move on to the specialist course, otherwise for this course you will remain on the 2nd year L11 (which is expected)
  5. those who have not studied at UPO will have to take the admission interview for English language

 

12. How are the English Language courses for Humanities (1722) and Philosophy and Communication (1724) structured?
As of academic year 2021-2022, students of Humanities, and Philosophy and Communication, must attend English language courses at CLUPO - University Language Centre. Consult the dedicated page.

 

 

13. How are the English language courses for Philology (1779) and Philosophy (1777) structured?

Students of the Master's courses in Modern, Classical and Comparative Philology and Philosophy must attend English Language 1 for Modern Foreign Languages 1st year (code L0176); contact Prof. Laura Tommaso .

For more information, read the UpoBook page and relevant programmes.

 

14. Where can I find the lesson times of the English Language Practice courses?

 

15. Where can I find the programmes of the English language courses?

 

  • Course programme. The programmes can also be accessed directly from the personal UpoBook page of the teachers and/or linguistic expert collaborators
  • For viewing problems, UPORisponde.

 

16. When do the English language exercises start?

The exercise courses are annual (September-June) and will begin at the end of September 2022, according to the timetable published on the website. 

 

17. When will the English Linguistics A and B courses and the Master's English Linguistics courses take place?

FIRST SEMESTER

English linguistics A and B: Elisabetta Lonati

Specialist English Linguistics B LM 37+49: Elisabetta Lonati

SECOND SEMESTER

Specialist English Linguistics A LM 37: Elisabetta Lonati

Specialist English Linguistics A LM 49: Laura Tommaso

 

English Language 1 - Basic English Phonetics and Phonology/Linguistics (for this part all groups A-B-C-D at the same time): Laura Tommaso

 

18. When will the English language workshops take place?

FIRST SEMESTER

SECOND SEMESTER

  • English Historical Linguistics/History of the English Language: prof. Elisabetta Lonati (3rd year Bachelor's Degree and Master's Degree)
  • Introduction to Academic Writing: Laura Tommaso (2nd and 3rd year of the three-year course)

 

19. I have problems registering for the exam session, what can I do?

For assistance with the exam registration procedure, contact UPORisponde.

 

 

INTERNSHIPS AND JOB PLACEMENTS
20. Where can I find information on internships and job placements?

 

I am a student of Modern Languages (or Languages, Culture and Tourism); to whom should I send the authorisation form for an internship or job placement?

  1. To start an internship, it is necessary to contact the University Internship & Job Placement Office.

  2. It is also necessary for the Internship and Job Placement Representative of your course to sign the authorisation before carrying out the internship/job placement.

  • Contact person for stages and internships for the course in Modern Languages: Prof. Laura Tommaso.
  • Contact person for stages and internships for the course in Languages, Culture and Tourism: Prof. Laurence Audéoud.

 

ERASMUS EXCHANGES and LEARNING AGREEMENTS
Who should I contact to define the equivalence of the English language courses to be included in the Learning Agreement before leaving for Erasmus?

prof.ssa Elisabetta Lonati.

 

Last modified 4 January 2024