Corsi di Studio del Dipartimento di Culture, Politica e Società

The course aims to fulfill the learning outcome of the Corso di Laurea in in Scienze internazionali, dello sviluppo e della cooperazione. Students will be able to read and critically understand documents and scientific texts in English. 

The aim of the course is to accompany the students in reaching the following achievements:
1) have achieved intermediate level competence in English (both written and spoken); 
2) be able to read a scientific text in English; 
3) be able to take notes in English; 
4) be able to report and explain a scientific text orally in reasonably proficient spoken English (at least level B2 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages); 
5) be able to make a critical and convincing scientific presentation in reasonably proficient spoken English.

At the end of the teaching and individual study, it is expected that the students will be able to
demonstrate that they have acquired the following learning outcomes:

Learning Outcomes

Knowledge and understanding

The student will be able to demonstrate that s/he possesses and can critically use the language skills acquired, also in fields related to English Linguistics such as the political, geographical, philosophical and social thematic areas. S/he should be able to carry out meaningful, articulate critical discussions of the topics dealt with during lectures as material for examination. The student will also acquire the necessary language skills to understand economic, social and political discourse, as well as the inherent issues and possible solutions, in order to be able to assess their significance and possible interpersonal relations impact. These competences will provide the student with the necessary tools to participate and make a useful contribution in a variety of institutional contexts, public and private, national and international, including the management of political and social conflict in a multicultural environment.

Applying knowledge and understanding

The student will be able to use the disciplinary and methodological tools necessary for analysing linguistic discourse at all levels. The student will be able to understand, using the tools of applied linguistics analysis, the key ideas and theories of seminal texts, as well as the technical discourse of their chosen fields of study.

Communication skills

At the end of the course the student will be able to apply the methods and tools of English Linguistics in order to be able to communicate successfully in public and private, national and international, institutional, business and work settings. S/he will also be able to write texts in the various fields which the course of study is based on. S/he will become proficient in both linguistic and paralinguistic communication so as to be able to interact and exchange ideas confidently and fluently with native speakers. S/he will acquire the ability to produce clear and well-argued written and oral texts on a wide range of topics, notably economic, social and political discourse.

The course analyses semantic, syntactic and pragmatic aspects of the English language in various social contexts. Theoretical tools for analysis will be discussed with reference to different types of texts, both in print and multimodal; particular attention will be devoted to power issues, especially in relation to gender, identity and racism, with the aim to identify the main textual strategies and their potential for manipulation. Part of the course will focus on Ecolinguistics.

Introduction to CDA (Critical Discourse Analysis) and Multimodal Analysis

Introduction to Semiotics

Language and Identity

Metaphors and framing

Nominalisation

Persuasion Strategies

In class, students are invited to critically analyse texts and multimodal resources, discuss and think over in small groups and collectively as a class through the application of the theories presented by the teacher. It is extremely important that students take part in the discussions. Students who are unable to follow lessons regularly and take part in the activities can ask for an alternative programme which is more suitable for individual, independent study. 

WARNING: since a pre-enrollment to the course is requested, all the students regularly enrolled will receive up-to-date messages on the course organisation by means of a specific mailing list at their institutional address at the domain @edu.unito.it.

Pre-enrollment (no later than 15th September 2025) is available ONLY AND EXCLUSIVELY at the course's official page, https://www.didattica-cps.unito.it/, using the "Registrati a questo insegnamento" icon at the bottom of this page.

Through Moodle support material will be provided and all students included.

Written test (lettorato) + oral exam (course).

After a diagnostic evaluation at the beginning of the course, outcomes will be assessed in two phases. The first assessment will be carried out during the course as a non-structured interaction in preparation for the final examination. The second assessment, the actual examination, will be a non-structured oral test in which the candidate's capacities and competences will be judged in terms of knowledge, language and specific abilities in the field of study, including the autonomous elaboration of texts in fields pertaining to the degree course. The result of the written test will be taken into account for the final mark.

Support activities - such as access to the slides of the lessons or to specifically selected videos from freely accessible websites, will be available and announced during the course.

From the current academic year onward, student allocation will no longer be based on the first letter of their surname.
Similarly, all course schedules have been standardised to occur at the same time and on the same days. This adjustment is intended to promote greater heterogeneity in course attendance, allowing students to select based on their individual interests and preferences. Students are encouraged to review each instructor’s published work to better understand their respective research areas.

The procedure requires students to pre-enroll in one of the available courses by September 15, 2025.
Please note: Each student may enroll in only one course. Any student enrolling in multiple courses will be automatically removed from the system.

Initially, each course will have a maximum enrollment cap. Once this limit is reached, students will be required to choose a different course. This process will continue until all courses have reached their respective enrollment quotas.

Changes in course enrollment will still be possible until September 26, 2025, provided that there are still available places in the desired course. Instructors will explain these procedures at the beginning of their respective courses.

REQUIREMENTS: in order to take this exam, students must have passed the intermediate level of the lettorato test.
Students will need an intermediate level of English language knowledge if they want to attend classes. Thus, students will be admitted to attend the course only if they have already passed their lettorato test, at intermediate level, or if they are at the same time attending a lettorato course, at intermediate level. 
As an alternative, students holding a B2 international certificate (as established by the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages) can ask their professor to recognise their certificate and admit them to the course. The certificate will be considered valid if not older than 3 years on the date of the final exam.

Please send your certificate via email, subject line "CERTIFICATO + YOUR SURNAME + SISCO".

IMPORTANT NOTICE: e-mails without signatures and e-mails asking for information that can easily be found online will not receive a reply. Students are reminded that e-mails should not be considered a substitute for office hours.