A.A. 2006-2007 Lingua e Traduzione Inglese I Corso di Laurea in Comunicazione Linguistica Interculturale / Lingue e Letterature Euromediterranee

Self-Study Worksheet 2: British Culure(s) page 1 of 5

Worksheet 2:British Culture(s)

Comparing the United Kingdom with Italy

(For individual study and for Student Portfolio)

  • Fill in the work sheet below,
  • Attach any extra sheets that you need to.
  • In the bibliography section, put the details of any books and sources (articles, web pages) that you have consulted.

Before assigning it to your portfolio hand it in to Dr Thomas Christiansen to be assessed and signed.

Fill in the form legibly please

Signature of Docente ______

Name of Student (1. Given Name 2. Surname) / Matricola:
Date of Birth / Signature:
United Kingdom / Italy
Geography / Land & Climate (brief description) / A peninsula in the central Mediterranean Sea.
Total area = 301, 230 sq km.
Mostly mountainous; coastal lowlands and plains.
Climate: mostly Mediterranean; Alpine in far north; hot and dry in south.
People / Population / 60.7 million (ISTAT, 2011).
Largest cities: Rome (capital), Milan, Turin, and Naples.
Long-established ethnic communities (300+ years) / Ethnic Italians include small long-established communities of German-, French-, and Slovene-Italians in the north and Albanian-Italians and Greek-Italians in the south.
Recently-established communities / E.g. South Asians (from 1960s) / Total 2011 = 4,570,317 (ISTAT) = 7.5% total population. Top 5 largest groups: Albanian (482,627), Moroccan (452,424), Romanian (968,576), Chinese (209,934), and Ukrainian (200,730).
Religion / Faith Groups / (Roman) Catholic = 87.8%, Other Christian (Eastern Orthodox, Protestant and other) = 2.9%. Jews = 0.007%; Muslims = 1.4%; Buddhists = 0.2%, Sikhs and Hindus = 0.1%.
System of Government / Central (National) / 17 March 1861 (Kingdom of Italy proclaimed; Italy unified in 1870)
Republic (1946 – present).
Head of State: President Sergio MATTERELLA (since February 2015)
Head of Government: Prime Minister (officially, President of the Council of Ministers) Carlo Cottarelli (since May 2018).
Bicameral Parliament.
1) Upper House = Senate (315 seats, proportional representation based on regions).
2) Lower House = Chamber of Deputies (630 seats; each elected by popular vote).
Elections for each house every 5 years.
Regional / 21 regions (5 autonomous*): Abruzzo, Basilicata, Calabria, Campania, Emilia-Romagna, Friuli-Venezia Giulia*, Lazio, Liguria, Lombardia, Marche, Molise, Piemonte, Apulia, Sardinia*, Sicily*, Tuscany, Trentino-Alto Adige*, Umbria, Valle d'Aosta*, Veneto.
110 provinces. 8101 communes.
International Organisations: / NATO (1949 - founder member)
United Nations (1955)
European Union (1957 – founder member)
European Monetary Union (1990 -founder member), Adopted Euro as currency in 1999.
Education / School (Compulsory) / Under control of Ministero dell’Istruzione dell’Università della Ricerca.System comprehensiblyreformed in 2003.
Education is compulsory up to the age of 18.
1) Primary Education (age 6-11) Scuola primaria(Primary School).
2) Middle School(age 11-14) Scuola secondaria di primo grado.
Up this level the curriculum is common to all schools. At next level, schools specialise in different areas.
3) Secondary School (age 14 – 19) Scuola secondaria di secondo grado.
Divided into vocational Istituti Technichi and Professionali (Technical / Professional Institutes) and academically oriented Licei (Lyceums).
Various kinds of Liceo include:
Liceo Classico (traditional curriculum including classics and philosophy)
Liceo Scientifico (Sciences)
Liceo Linguistico (Languages)
Liceo Artistico(Art and Design)
etc.
School leaving certificate = "Esame di Stato conclusivo del corso di studio di Istruzione Secondaria Superiore" (formerly, Maturità).
Higher Education (e.g. University) / All under control of Ministero dell’Istruzione dell’Università della Ricerca.
In 2000-2001, the university system included 776 university institutions (52 state universities, 3 technical universities, 13 non-state legally-recognized universities, 3 state university institutes, 14 non-state legally-recognized university institutes, 2 universities for foreigners, 3 higher schools regulated by special legislation).
Since 2001-2002, Degree programmes, are structured in credits (crediti formativi universitari-CFU).
A university credit corresponds to 25 hours of work per students, time for personal study included. The average annual workload of a full-time student is conventionally fixed at 60 credits.
First level degree courses (Corsi di Laurea), Bachelor's degree, lasting three years and correspond to 180 credits.
Second level degree course (Corsi di Laurea Magistrale) Master's degree, lasting 2 years, corresponds to a total of 300 credits, including (max 180) form the first degree.
Other (e.g. sport; family life; social class; economy; cuisine, folklore, etc.)
(If necessary add extra sheets)
Bibliography: e.g: (add a further sheet if necessary)
Websites visited_