Syllabus Commentary This in the syllabus I used for the spring semester 2014.

It is pretty similar to the one of 2013. As a teaching assistant, the syllabus wasnt made by me so I had to follow the one written by my coordinator, Brain OConnor; by the way, all the TA were pretty free to use their own activities in class, according to the topic. In fact, I used almost all the time original activities which I prepared specifically for my students, according to what they preferred and what they and I were interested in. The syllabus provides a general description of the course, its goals and its requirements. The text book used in class is also mentioned. Then, theres a chart for grading, listing all the activities scheduled during the semester and how many points they are worth. Additional information about the absences policies and the final exam are provided. After that, we find a detailed daily schedule about activities (Grammar, Compositions, Presentations, Quizzes and Tests) for each unit. Every semester we went through 4 different units; during the spring semester we went through Music, Feasts and Traditions, Art and Newspapers. Along with every unit we went through specific grammar topics, so that every cultural activity was very well linked with grammar. The courses goal is to develop writing skills (through Compositions and Presentations) as well as oral skills (through the oral exposition of Presentations and other class activities). If I could change something about the syllabus, I would have given more space for going over grammar or I would have removed some very difficult parts of grammar (like congiuntivo imperfetto e trapassato or comparativi e superlativi irregolari) because I realized that students dont have enough time to get familiar with these difficult topics and they end up forgetting them very quickly.