English I

Assessment is carried out on the basis of examinations and projects, including collaborative ones. For attending students, assessment will be carried out prevalently during the course and will include multiple interim tests designed to gradually build the competences required to successfully complete the course, and therefore to be taken in the prescribed order (e.g.: assessment of lexico-grammatical and syntactic skills preliminarily to assessment of skills in writing business-related written materials). For students who will NOT take advantage of the interim tests, a final exam based on the same principles of progression (from lexico-grammar, to genre-based writing, to critical skills) will still be mandatory. In particular, it is necessary to pass the preliminary written test in order to qualify for the final exam, which includes, in addition to other specialized skills tests (see below), the presentation and discussion of an individual project. For students who attend regularly, this project may be replaced by activities, including group activities, carried out during the course.
Formal written tests of vocabulary-grammar and syntax take place at the beginning of each exam period (May, September and January).

Examinations aimed at verifying the specialized skills developed during the course have a dual component, written (other than lexico-grammatical and syntactic competence tested in the formal written tests) and oral. The written component, which is binding for access to the oral, takes place one week (approximately) before the oral component.
The above directions apply primarily to non-attending students and to those who, while availing themselves of opportunities to take the interim tests, should need or wish to repeat them. The dates of the interim tests and the organization of workshop activities reserved for attending students will be communicated on the course website on the MyAriel platform.

WRITTEN TEST (LEXICO-GRAMMATICAL AND SYNTACTIC COMPETENCES):
Test of language proficiency: verification of language skills at grammar and vocabulary level (C1 level, with lexical content related to advanced Business English vocabulary). The test includes cloze tests (10 spaces), sentence transformation and cohesive structures (10) and multiple choice gapfills (10 spaces). The time allowed to complete this test is 45 minutes. The use of dictionaries is not allowed. The test will be administered electronically.
For evaluation purposes, the three parts of the test have different weights.
- Sentence transformation/cohesive structures (10, minimum level C1): weight: 20/30
- Cloze test (10 spaces): weight: 5/30
- Multiple choice gapfill test (10 spaces): weight 5/30
To pass the test, it is necessary to obtain an overall score of 60 percent of the correct answers, while obtaining a score of not less than 50 percent in each part. This results in a score of not less than 18/30 on the three parts, with a score of not less than 10/30 in the sentence transformation exercise, and not less than 5/30 overall between the two components of cloze and gapfill. If the overall score is 18 or higher, but less than 50% in even one of the components, you will need to take the test again. You must pass this test to gain access to the next test. Attending students will have the opportunity to take this test during the course

SPECIALIZED LANGUAGE SKILLS ASSESSMENT (WRITTEN AND ORAL)
You will only be able to progress to this part of the assessment if you have passed the written test of lexico-grammatical and syntactic skills. This part of the assessment includes the following components:

1. Specialized written skills in business/management.
The test consists of writing a professional-quality text belonging to one of the text genres covered in the course (press release, fundraising letter, business proposal, internal report, etc.). Students will be assigned an outline that they must complete, accompanied by commentary, in three hours. The text should be about 450 words in length, while the commentary will be about 600 words. Students will be allowed to use all the tools at their disposal (including the Internet) to produce an appropriate text. Text generation tools based on generative algorithms (ChatGPT and the like) are not allowed; however, these will be used in teaching. Grading will be out of thirty and will reflect the level of professional quality of the test produced, in terms of lexical appropriateness, grammatical correctness, adherence to textual conventions and strategic appropriateness. As indicated above, this test - as well as during the course - is usually administered at least one week before each oral examination.

2. Interactional language skills in professional contexts
Interactional language competences will be assessed on the basis of students' performances in the course of group discussions / presentations / simulated business tasks (typically involving negotiations). Assessment will be based on language and communication skills, with emphasis on syntactic structures, vocabulary, pronunciation and intonation, fluency, naturalness/idiomaticity, and strategic effectiveness. It will be possible to obtain an assessment for this component during the language practice sessions (continuous assessment). Attendance is strongly recommended so that students can hone their interaction skills. Students who do not obtain it during the course must obtain it in the oral examination. The evaluation is expressed with a mark out of thirty.
3. Verification of the critical and practical skills developed in the course
Ideally, the acquisition of specialized skills will be verified during the course, through projects (including group projects) carried out in the second semester. This mode of verification is only suitable for attending students, and is therefore reserved to them. For non-attending students (and for those who do not intend to undergo ongoing assessment), the verification will consist of an interview with one of the official course lecturers. The interview will involve the presentation of a personal project aimed at demonstrating the acquisition of analytical methods and critical sensitivity developed during the course.
Regardless of the form of verification taken, the final grade will be based on the marks obtained in the various parts, but will not represent their purely mathematical average. Communication skills demonstrated in the presentation will also contribute to the determination of the grade.