1. Reading Economics texts
Hugo Bowles

2. WELCOME TO LINGUA INGLESE
What do we want from you this year?
What does the exam consist of?
What is the course programme?

3. Language skills 4 language skills: Reading Writing Listening Speaking
Which one do we concentrate on here?

4. Language skills 4 language skills: READING Writing Listening Speaking
Which one do we concentrate on here?

5. What do we want from you ?
Students need to be able to read economics texts in English
This skill is particularly needed for your degree thesis
B2 specialised reading

6. EXAM
1° year exam
prova di idoneità
no mark – pass or fail
6 credits

7. EXAM RULES Written exam – 60 minutes
Economics texts, taken from “The Economist” or other economics journals/newspapers
Types of question:
- reading comprehension
- vocabulary and grammar
- genres (blog, comment, editorial)
- translation (50%)

8. EXAM DATES Winter session January 2018; February 2018 Summer session
June 2018; July 2018
Autumn session
September 2018
You may do the exam on only one date of each session

9. EXEMPTIONS
NONE !
International exams (PET; Cambridge First Certificate) are tests of general english. They do not test your specialist reading of economics texts.

10. LESSONS HOURS 36 hours 18 lessons total 4 hrs per week for 9 weeks
TIMETABLE
Thursday – practice lesson
Friday – main lesson
Weekly homework

11. PREPARING THE EXAM CLASSES 18 lessons in semester 1
5 more practice sessions in semester 2 (non idonei)
OUTSIDE CLASS
Reading material from The Guardian and The Economist websites
Material on the webpage of the course
Material in the language laboratory of the faculty

12. BIBLIOGRAPHY READING MATERIAL online: www.economist.it
GRAMMAR
English Grammar in Use (Murphy)
DICTIONARY (not allowed at the exam !)
Oxford Advanced Learners Dictionary
and other online resources

13. Why online reading material?
because most of your reading now takes place online
because the material is authentic
because it enables you to practice constantly
because it is often presented in an interesting way and tends to be more interactive
because there is more choice and it is more motivating
because it does not cost much

14. Student subscription www.economist.com

15. Other sources FREE The Guardian http://www.theguardian.com/uk/business
SUBSCRIPTION
Financial Times

16. COMMUNICATION Email bowles@lettere.uniroma2.it Ricevimento
9-11, venerdi, studio 23, 2° piano Fac. Lettere
Webpage
please enrol on the course webpage
Material
download material from the webpage at the weekend
homework each week

17. BEYOND THE EXAM
Passing my exam is not enough

18. English at school
If you measure the level of English reached at age 18 in 29 European countries, where does Italy stand ?
Which countries are better or worse than Italy?

19. English in Europe
Italy is 24th in Europe for the level of English achieved at school.
But it’s better than Russia !

20. What is your level ? How do you measure your level of English?
Council of Europe levels

21. 1 year students Economics 2012-13

22. Level of my English examB1 B2 C1 C2
READING
SPECIALIST READING
LISTENING
SPEAKING
WRITING

23. JOBS IN BUSINESS + FINANCE
What level of English is required?
What skills are required?
What kind of English is required?

24. Working in business and finance
READING
LISTENING
SPOKEN INTERACTION
SPOKEN PRODUCTION
WRITING

25. What does the faculty offer?
My course – aimed at the exam
English courses aimed at preparing the international exam IELTS (paid courses with discount for students)
Laboratorio linguistico

26. IELTS International English Language Testing System
International English language test
score corresponds to Council of Europe levels
valid for universities abroad

27. LESSON 1 – “COGNATE” WORDS
How much of a text do we understand immediately?

28. Approaching an economics text : what words do you understand immediately?
Mario Draghi gave an impassioned defence of the European Central Bank’s role in the eurozone crisis as
Anti-austerity protestors took to the streets of Naples blaming the central bank for economic misery. The ECB’s president rejected the suggestion that the bank had been an agent of doom for the people of Italy and the wider economic bloc because of its role in pushing spending cuts and tax rises in some of the worst hit countries in the region. Speaking after the October meeting of the ECB’s governing council in Naples, he insisted the it had instead taken radical steps in recent months to breathe some life into the eurozone’s flagging economy.

29. LESSON 1 – “COGNATE” WORDS
Reading a scientific text in English is made easier by the fact that 50% of the text contains words that are easily understood by an Italian student.
What are these words and why are they easily understood?

30. The influence of Latin
about 50% of scientific texts contains words of Latin origin
Latin is the common root between English and Italian
Words with a common root are called “cognate”
You need to use this correspondence between English and Italian when you are reading in English

31. Identify the cognate words
Mario Draghi gave an impassioned defence of the European Central Bank’s role in the eurozone crisis as
Anti-austerity protestors took to the streets of Naples blaming the central bank for economic misery. The ECB’s president rejected the suggestion that the bank had been an agent of doom for the people of Italy and the wider economic bloc because of its role in pushing spending cuts and tax rises in some of the worst hit countries in the region. Speaking after the October meeting of the ECB’s governing council in Naples, he insisted the it had instead taken radical steps in recent months to breathe some life into the eurozone’s flagging economy.

32. Cognate words
Mario Draghi gave an impassioned defence of the European Central Bank’s role in the eurozone crisis as
anti-austerity protestors took to the streets of Naples blaming the central bank for economic misery. The ECB’s president rejected the suggestion that the bank had been an agent of doom for the people of Italy and the wider economic bloc because of its role in pushing spending cuts and tax rises in some of the worst hit countries in the region. Speaking after the October meeting of the ECB’s governing council in Naples, he insisted the it had instead taken radical steps in recent months to breathe some life into the eurozone’s flagging economy.

33. If a pigeon can learn to read, then so can you