On successful completion of this module, students should be able to:
- place selected literary works in their historical context;
- comprehend the content of Italian literary texts of low-medium difficulty;
- apply improved reading techniques, an effective use of the dictionary, and strategies for developing the passive vocabulary;
- evidence their understanding of read passages by answering questions of linguistic and cultural / literary nature.

The module introduces excerpts from 4 texts taken from 19th- and 20th-century Italian literature: Pirandello's play 'Il berretto a sonagli' and his short story 'la carriola', Manzoni's novel 'I promessi sposi', and De Roberto's story 'La paura'. Excerpts are of 5-10 pages for prose works, a longer excerpt for the play. Class work involves reading parts of the texts with a view to developing reading abilities: vocabulary is developed, but even without getting all the words, the structures are highlighted so that students can learn how to come to grips with complex structures, getting the gist without being bogged down by the need to translate everything.

Students taking this module must have some knowledge of Italian, specifically for the reading ability.

• Feedback individually to students, post-assessment
• Group/class feedback, post-assessment

Each of the two class tests is discussed in-depth after being corrected; they are prepared by a mock test, which is also discussed.