Nella parte di produzione comunicativa viene – casi sempre – richiesto agli studenti di descrivere e commentare un’immagine a colori per circa 2 minuti. Commentare un’immagine significa arricchire la semplice descrizione con supposizioni, opinioni o ampliamenti del discorso per analogia o contrasto. Si vuole verificare la capacità dello studente di produrre autonomamente un discorso di una certa lunghezza, anche utilizzando strategie compensatorie laddove manchi, ad esempio, un’adeguata competenza lessicale.
Elementare – B1
It’s a collection of autumn pictures. We can see colourful fallen leaves, delicious autumn fruits and vegetables and there is also a squirrel in the top right-hand corner of the picture. Autumn is a beautiful season, especially the first part of it, when the weather is still nice and warm. This period is called Indian summer. Autumn consists of three months: September, October and November. In this season the leaves fall from the trees and people have to rake them. Autumn is the time of harvest. Lots of fruits are ripe then, e.g. apples, pears, grapes, walnuts. People pick them from the trees and preserve them or just put them in cool and dry places for the winter. Autumn is a season full of colours. The leaves are red, yellow and brown and the fruits are also colourful. The market in autumn is quite a nice sight with the various colours. In November the weather usually gets worse; it is foggy and rainy and it turns cold. The days are shorter and shorter and darkness comes earlier and earlier. Animals – like squirrels – prepare for winter in autumn. They collect nuts, walnuts and acorns and their fur becomes thick. Though it’s not my favourite season, I like autumn very much.
| fallen leaves | foglie cadute |
| squirrel | scoiattolo |
| season | stagione |
| Indian summer | estate di S.Martino |
| to rake | rastrellare |
| harvest | raccolto, raccogliere |
| ripe | maturo, stagionato |
| walnut | noce |
| to pick | raccogliere |
| to preserve | preservare |
| foggy | nebbioso |
| nut | nocciola |
| acorn | ghianda |
| fur | pelliccia |
Intermedio – B2
It’s a set of autumn pictures showing the different aspects of this season. Autumn is a three-month period after summer when the weather gets gradually cooler. By the end of November, the weather is usually so cold that it’s almost like winter, with fog, mist and lots of rain. Sometimes it even snows in November. Autumn rain is steady and difficult to bear, it’s not like the refreshing summer showers. In September and October, the leaves fall from the trees and form a beautiful and colourful leaf-litter on the ground. Children usually enjoy jumping into the fallen leaves that their parents have raked into heaps. The leaves are of different colours – red, yellow and brown. Autumn is the season for harvesting various fruits and vegetables. Pears, grapes, apples, plums, walnuts are ripe for picking as well as carrots, broccolis, pumpkins, potatoes and beetroots.
Autumn is a busy period for people who have a garden. Raking the leaves, cutting the grass, harvesting the crop, preparing the soil for winter, fertilizing and planting certain plants all need to be done. Preserving the autumn fruits and vegetables is also a demanding task. You can make preserves, can store the fruits and vegetables in the cellar or the pantry or you can put some of the crop in the freezer. A pantry prepared for winter with a lot of home-made preserves and pickles on display is a nice sight and is something to be proud of. Home-made food is more delicious and more nutritious than what’s available in shops.
We have a big garden at home. Usually, my parents do the gardening, but I don’t mind working in the garden either. But I prefer going to the woods in autumn weather when the sun is shining to see the incomparable colours nature is so full of. Sometimes I spot squirrels, hedgehogs, rabbits, different birds and owls. After a trip like that, I go home relaxed and refreshed. I must say that autumn is my favourite season, though I know that few people would say that and would mention summer instead. Summer is too hot for me, I prefer cooler temperatures.
| aspect | aspetto |
| gradually | gradualmente |
| steady | continuo |
| shower | acquazzone |
| leaf-litter | fogliame |
| heap | una montagna di |
| pumpkin | zucca |
| beetroot | barbabietola |
| crop | coltivazione |
| soil | terra |
| fertilizing | fertilizzazione |
| preserves | conserva |
| cellar | cantina |
| pantry | dispensa |
| freezer | congelatore |
| pickles | sottaceto |
| nutritious | nutriente |
| incomparable | incomparabile |
| to spot | nottare, scoprire |
| hedgehog | riccio |
| owl | gufo |
| refreshed | rinfrescato |
