First EUniWell BIP: Intercomprehension among 6 languages - registration now open!
Course overview
The Language Center (CLA) at Florence University is offering an intensive course, with two possible streams, of Intercomprehension (IC) among languages of the same family.
Learners will be able to choose one of two paths:
- Intercomprensione tra 6 lingue romanze (português – español – català – français – italiano – română) Capire lingue della stessa famiglia linguistica seguendo lezioni in/su diverse lingue in una classe cosmopolita!
- Intercomprehension between 6 Germanic languages (English - Deutsch - norsk - svenska - dansk - Nederlands) Understand other Germanic languages in a class with students from all over Europe!
The aim is to enable participants to readily and efficiently interact with speakers of other languages, while speaking their own native tongue.
Students will learn to decode tongues from the same linguistic family and master strategies to successfully communicate with people who do not speak a language they know. After a brief introduction to the history of the language family and an IC overview, students will read short texts and listen to brief recordings in the unfamiliar languages. In addition to comprehension questions, activities will focus on comparing vocabulary, grammar, word-building approaches and sound-spelling correlations across the languages. Students generally reach a B1 level in reading and an A2 level of listening in the new languages by the end of the course.
Time and location
The 30-hour course will be held in June 2023. A 6-day, 25-hour, in-person session will take place from 26 June to 1 July. Prior to that, participants will have 5 hours of online training. The one-week intensive programme will be held in Florence, at the Language Center (CLA) of the University of Florence, at Via Alfani 58.
Format
Participants must choose one of two streams: IC among Romance languages or IC among Germanic languages.
The format is the same for both. Initially, there will be five hours of instruction (two 2.5-hour sessions) online. Then, once in Florence, the participants will have 3 hours of morning classes every day (10-1); on 4 days, they will have 2 hours of lessons after lunch, except on Wednesday and Saturday. There may be some homework each day. The final Saturday morning lesson will include a formal assessment of the students’ acquired knowledge, in order to receive credit for the course.
On several days, optional activities are planned to get to know Florence and its surrounding area.
Prerequisites
Students from the EUniWell consortium are welcome to apply! They must be proficient in one language of the target family, and have a B1 or higher competency in at least one of the others within the same family. The teachers are multilingual members of the CLA faculty, who are native speakers of one of the languages being taught and experts in IC. On several days, guest experts in IC from around Europe will conduct activities to provide information about, and insight into, the other languages in the family.
This course will enable participants to travel widely around Europe without language being an insurmountable barrier, so they should come ready to interact with peoples of other backgrounds. Thus, the ideal participant should be curious about other cultures and languages.
How to apply
Students, researchers, professors and staff are welcome to apply. The course is free for EUniWell and BIP partners.
To register, contact CLA at corsi[at]cla.unifi.it. Registration is open now and closes 5 May 2023.
Be quick, there are only 18 places are available per stream!
Further information
For more information, contact your university (International office) or go to: https://www.cla.unifi.it/vp-422-intercomprensione.html
Contact
The University of Florence‘s language centre: corsi[at]cla.unifi.it.
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