1) On the homepage find your Italian name and learn how to pronounce it correctly.

2) CLICK THIS LINK to open the page FONETICA.

Follow these directions carefully:

•  REQUIRED: LISTEN TO THE SOUNDFILE  WITH THE PRONUNCIATION OF THE ALPHABET.  REPEAT  ON YOUR OWN UNTIL YOU TONGUE DRIES UP. (alfabeto, lettere straniere, vocali, consonanti.)
   
•  OPTIONAL : scroll down and do all exercises you want, watch the videos etc. It's not going to hurt you. I strongly suggest that you play around with the phonetic conventions and with the pronunciatio of words. "Chi ben comicia e' a meta' dell'opera" (proverbio italiano: google to find the meaning.)
   
•  REQUIRED scroll half way down until you find leggere l'italiano (video). Learn how to break down long words into syllables in order to read/pronounce them smoothly.
   
•  REQUIRED scroll half way down until you find CONSONANTI DOPPIE  DOUBLE CONSONANTS. Practice as if your life depended on it (hint: it does.)
   
•  REQUIRED ALL THE WAY DOWN  until you find: TELEPHONE SPELLING. Listen to the soundfiles. :LEARN how to spell your ITALIAN NAME using the names-of-cities convention.

Expect to be called on in class to perform any of these tasks. ORAL PROFICIENCY is a relevant part of the final grade. Of course I don't expect you to be able to acquire "perfect" pronunciation but the sooner you become comfortable with producing the sounds of Italian, the better. I will explain why in class.