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Second Language

2009 -

All you need to know about the second language exams, how to prepare for them and enrol for them. (It's then up to you to pass them!)

Students who matriculated in 2004-5 and 2005-6 should  click here

Students who matriculated in 2004-5 and 2005-6 should click here

All students have to pass a second language exam (language laboratory) at level B2 (European Framework) for a total of 4 credits. At present the three languages available are:

Spanish          Laboratorio di lingua spagnola [155113]

German            Laboratorio di lingua tedesca [155114]

French             Laboratorio di lingua francese [155112]

 

ALL MEIS students must reach B2 in one of the above languages.

STUDENTS WHOSE L1 is NOT ITALIAN should note that Italian is NOT considered a second language for the purposes of obtaining the 4 credits of the second language laboratory.  It should also be noted that by the end of the degree course they should have reached a reasonable degree of fluency in Italian (this will be stipulated in the graduation regulations to be published later this year).

 

Second Language Courses

Student numbers do not permit the School to offer courses and exams in these three languages and therefore students should follow courses offered by CIAL. These courses are  free of charge up to the required level (one course per level - if a student fails a level they must pay to repeat that courses). Please note that CIAL cannot always guarantee offering B2 courses in Spanish, German and French if the number of students enrolling on courses is low. If this is the case, SIS students can attend the language support lessons at the Faculty of Arts. However, before they do this they should contact me (catherine.riley@lett.unitn.it) so that I can tell them exactly which lessons to attend and organise this with the Faculty language teachers.

Intensive courses are held each September, January and July. Extensive courses are held in the autumn and spring semesters. Students take the placement test online. It is not possible to enrol for CIAL courses if you have not taken the test or passed the previous level end of course test. Please consult the CIAL website (http://web.unitn.it/cial) for details and dates. CIAL holds 'live' placement tests for its courses early in October for students who are not enrolled at the university and so do not have a UNITN login and password.  This might be the case of students from other universities who have yet to graduate when they start the degree programme.

Students who are starting a language from scratch should be aware that learning a language takes a lot of time and effort,  especially if there is no possibility of going to stay in a country where the chosen language is spoken. Be sure to factor enough time for language learning into your two year study plan!!!

Second Language Exam

The written exam is the CIAL "Prova di conoscenza linguistica - B2". These exams are held every week on a Monday or Tuesday. To find out more about these exams consult the CIAL website at http://www.unitn.it/files/download/5138/mastudi10-11.doc  To enrol for the exam you can access the CIAL online registration from this address http://193.205.206.48:8080/cialweb/web-site/index.jsp using your usual UNITN login and password.

If there are no enrolments for an exam date the exam is automatically cancelled so turning up on the day is NOT an option.

The exam takes place on two different dates. A written exam in the CIAL computer lab (usually on a Monday or Tuesday and an oral exam).  The oral exams are held once a month. You have to take the oral exam with 35 days of taking the written test. You have to pass all three parts of the written part (listening, reading and writing) to be admitted to the oral exam.

Intensive courses are held each September, January and July. Extensive courses are held in the autumn and spring semesters. Students take the placement test online. It is not possible to enrol for CIAL courses if you have not taken the test. Please consult the CIAL website (http://www.unitn.it/cial/index.htm ) for sample tests, details and dates. CIAL holds 'live' placement tests for its courses early in October for the autumn semester for students who are not enrolled at the university (this might be the case of students from other universities who have yet to graduate when they start the degree programme.

 

Recognised Certificates and other forms of recognition

Those in possession of one of the international certificates recognised by CIAL (http://web.unitn.it/cial/462/certificati-linguistici-riconosciuti-livello-internazionale), are not required to take the CIAL 'prova di conoscenza linguistica B2'. The second language requirement is also waived for students who took their high school diploma or graduated in their chosen second language or were awarded a “Doppia Laurea”, or those who are in possession of the “Patentino” di bilinguismo A issued by the Provincia Autonoma di Bolzano. If you are in any doubt as to whether your certificate is valid, come to see me during office hours with the original certificate.

In order to be awarded the second language credits students must bring the original certificate(s)/degree diploma to the School Secretary who will then make a copy and I will officially approve the recognition which will then be sent to the student office.