Reading and analysis of the play. The central part of the course will be devoted to the reading and the analysis of the play. Before each lesson, students will read the assigned pages, focusing mainly on vocabulary, idiomatic expressions and grammatical features. In the first part of each lesson, two students will be responsible for submitting, respectively, the vocabulary and the journal of the pages assigned for the day.
The vocabulary will consist of a list, in order of appearance, of words and expressions of particular difficulties. The students will have to provide a translation and the context in which these words are used (see the guidelines and the model proposed in the “Materials” and the sample by the students for Henry IV in the “From Theory to Practice” sections). In the journal, instead, the student must provide a brief synopsis of the assigned part, find the most interesting topics and suggest some personal reflections on the characters and central themes (see the guidelines and the model proposed in the “Materials” and the sample by the students for Henry IV in the “From Theory to Practice” sections). Both the vocabulary and the journal should be written in the target language and sent to the teacher and the assistant preferably the evening before class. This enables the teacher and the assistant to prepare comments for the class. Through the composition of the journal and vocabulary, the students will develop their skills in the target language and enrich their vocabulary with words related both to the theatrical world and to the story of the play. At the end of the course, the teacher and the assistant will collect all the vocabulary material produced by the students reorganizing it in alphabetic order as a useful linguistic tool, as a glossary, for future courses. In addition to reading the assigned pages, the other students will prepare questions for a general discussion on the linguistic, grammatical, historical, social, cultural aspects of the play.
The second part of each lesson will be devoted to a group reading that will focus on the finer aspects of correct pronunciation and intonation. This is a critical part of the course: the teacher and the assistant will pay special attention to the pronunciation of the students in order to eradicate errors or bad habits. Correct pronunciation and right intonation are essential for clearly communicating the meaning of the play. The teacher and the assistant will correct the students during rehearsals. Learning roles and lines necessitate practice outside the class with focus on pronunciation. The students are encouraged to do that in groups to strengthen the team spirit and to record their practices in order to better understand their mistakes and follow their progress. These audio files could be uploaded to a shared server, whereby the teacher and the assistant could give feedback. The last aspect to address during the class time is the translation of the play.