BERGAMO
Overview
Date/time interval
Syllabus
Course Objectives
1) Disciplinary goals (official course taught by the lecturer)
Acquire theoretical knowledge and operational skills for the analysis of contemporary German phraseology, with particular attention to pragmatic, usage and functional approaches, partly from a contrastive perspective (German–Italian language pair). For students on the curriculum "Mediazione linguistica per l’impresa e il terzo settore", the course also focuses on developing specific skills for the contrastive analysis of recurring formulas and communicative routines in professional, institutional and intercultural texts.
2) Instrumental goals (exercises/AAL)
At the end of the course, students will also have acquired, deepened and improved their instrumental competence in the four communicative skills at B2 CEFR level with regard to the German language, as well as their skills in comparing languages (German–Italian). To reach this goal, it is essential (although not formally compulsory) to attend the dedicated language learning activities (AAL).
Course Prerequisites
Knowledge of German at level B1 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR).
Prerequisites: Students enrolled in the Modern Foreign Languages and Literatures degree programme (Corso di Studio in Lingue e Letterature Straniere Moderne) must pass the exam of German Language I - Linguistics and Translation (Lingua tedesca I - Linguistica e traduzione) and the exam of German Literature I (Letteratura tedesca I) or equivalent, if included in the study plan, before they can take this exam.
Teaching Methods
1) With regard to disciplinary skills (official course taught by the lecturer)
Lectures in German, with possible brief summaries in Italian; empirical work and group discussions. All links and materials used during the lectures will be uploaded on the e-learning platform (Moodle) as the course progresses.
2) With regard to instrumental skills (exercises/AAL)
For information about the language courses (AAL) as well as instructions and schedule for the related assessment tests, please visit the CLA website.
Assessment Methods
The exam consists of two parts: three partial written tests (instrumental competence; PART 1) and an oral exam conducted exclusively in German (disciplinary competence; PART 2). To be admitted to the oral exam, students must have passed all partial written tests.
PART 1
Three partial tests:
(a) Computerised test (see Grammar/Vocabulary and Comprehension AAL).
(b) Written expression (see relevant AAL).
(c) German–Italian translation (version) (see relevant AAL).
All three partial tests must be taken at the first exam session chosen. The results of this written part will be published on the official course Moodle page and will remain valid for 18 months.
PART 2
The oral exam covers the content of the official course and consists of:
(a) Recognition and classification of phraseologisms in a short text at level B1+/B2 (15 minutes, at the beginning of each oral exam session).
(b) An oral interview immediately afterward, conducted in German. The interview includes: (i) critical commentary/reflection on examples taken from the analysed short text; (ii) presentation of one course topic chosen by the lecturer; (iii) detailed discussion with the lecturer on specific phraseologisms, categories of analysis, theoretical concepts, translation techniques, etc., possibly supported by linguistic materials; (iv) for students of the course of 12 CFU/credits, the interview also includes a question on the phraseological and pragmatic analysis of text passages relating to professional, institutional and intercultural contexts.
Assessment and evaluation criteria are the same for both attending and non-attending students.
ASSESSMENT CRITERIA
The assessment will consider the level of knowledge and skills acquired during the course, particularly linguistic correctness (lexical, morphosyntactic, pragmatic, and phonological aspects), terminological accuracy, adequacy relative to the tasks, mastery of linguistic analysis tools and reflection.
PART 1 accounts for one-third of the final grade (33.3%), while PART 2 accounts for two-thirds (66.6%).
Grading scale (out of 30):
Excellent (30 e lode): complete skills applied with precision and autonomy; no errors.
Very Good (27–30): strong skills applied correctly; minor and non-recurring errors.
Good (24–26): adequate skills with some inaccuracies; errors are neither serious nor systematic.
Sufficient (18–23): basic skills with evident errors but sufficient comprehension.
Insufficient (<18): incomplete skills with numerous errors that compromise performance.
Contents
1) Disciplinary content (official course taught by the lecturer)
For all degree curricula. Introduction to the phraseology of contemporary German, with a focus on the following dimensions: formal classifications, functional classifications and uses, dimensions and forms of variation and modification, semantics and idiomaticity, schematic constructions. The topics will be approached both from a theoretical and from an empirical point of view, examining language data from various text types and corpora of written and spoken German (sometimes parallel ones with Italian). Some linguistic data will also be analysed from a comparative perspective (German–Italian).
For the curriculum "Mediazione linguistica per l’impresa e il terzo settore" (12 CFU/credits instead of 9 CFU/credits). In-depth study of phraseology in professional, institutional and intercultural contexts, with particular attention to recurrent formulae, communicative routines, metaphors and discourse strategies. These topics will be addressed through contributions devoted to phraseology, metaphor, and specialist and institutional communication from a German-Italian contrastive perspective, accompanied by practical analytical exercises on authentic online texts.
2) Instrumental content (exercises/AAL)
For information about the language courses (AAL) as well as instructions and schedule for the related assessment tests, please visit the CLA website.
Online Resources
More information
EXAM TEXTS
The list of exam texts for the official course is definitive and contains the titles that must be studied in order to prepare for the exam.
The list is available online (under Online resources – Leganto – Exam texts), by the end of September 2026 at the latest.
FURTHER INFORMATION
If you have any questions or require further information, please contact the lecturer by email (tiziana.roncoroni@unibg.it).
Erasmus and non-attending students are requested to contact the lecturer by email (tiziana.roncoroni@unibg.it).
The lecturer reserves the right to request a supplementary oral assessment after the written examinations have taken place should this be necessary in order to verify that students have effectively acquired the knowledge and skills set out in the course instrumental goals and to ensure that marks are awarded correctly.