Students accessing the course should possess a language level beyond the B2 from the CEFR, which in particular involves grammar competence requirements, and knowledge of rules focused on modal verbs, passive voice, relative clauses. These notions are crucial to the comprehension of specialized texts, which are meant to represent the core of the teaching.

This teaching is mainly focused on the analysis of specialized texts (legal and economic), such as technical texts from the EU institutions, since they are taken to represent controversial instances of specialized meanings in the light of the ever-growing audience of non-native speakers of English.

The analysis will mainly involve specialized genres in the legal field (i.e., with concern on Immigration and political asylum). Other relevant linguistic aspects will be based on practices of comparative analysis, especially within an intra-lingual perspective.

Knowledge and understanding: At the end of the course, students will be able to resolve problems of technical text-analysis, which are aligned with the C1 level of CEFR, in particular by applying a meta-textual process of reflection.

Applying Knowledge and Understanding : The aim of the course will be to enable students to apply acquired competences to new contexts (i.e, finding out similarities  with actual case studies within their choice) and illustrate motivations for text selection.

· Making Judgements: Recognizing/evaluating accessibility levels of the text.

· Communication: Evaluating/ expressing technical comments on the validity of a text (within an International setting).

Learning Skills: students will be able to use and apply linguistic skills in the oral and written interactions.

• Furthermore, technical skills will be developed related to the abilities of summarization of texts from different sources.

Frontal teaching.

Texts and materials reading.

• Use the online system (the VOL system) for exam registration.

1. Written test (accertamento competenze linguistiche).

 2. Oral exam. Ability to analyse /reformulate a specialized text through English will be tested, also with reference to theories.

As for the written test, refer to Dr. Sarah Scott’s online page.

The Course will explore theoretical and practical aspects of the analysis of specialized texts, with particular reference to modern linguistic theories.

Exercises of reformulation through English will be practised, as exemplifications /applications of the theories illustrated.

M. Provenzano, 2021. Accessibility Issues in Specialized Legal Genres on Immigration and Political Asylum. An ELF-based model. (Chapters of the book), Alessandria: Edizioni Dell’Orso.

Hand-outs.