Italian as a foreign language: Teaching and acquisition in higher education

This manual focuses on teaching Italian as a foreign language in the academic field, taking into consideration the various subjects and disciplines that can be found in a university course in Italian Studies. Various chapters are included within that range, for example, from Italian phonetics and dialectology to art as a means to deepen elements of the Italian language, to morphology with word formations, and to translation as well as subtitling. The range also covers technology as a tool for telecollaboration, academic writing, and learning Italian through geography or the language of vulgarity. Besides, the manual takes into consideration the use of the Italian press for learning, together with the use of comics and cartoons to teach the Italian language. The contribution aims to be a point of reference both for teachers and students who are focusing on linguistics, philology, didactics, and pedagogy. It lays emphasis on the teaching methodology, the instruments of teaching, and the available resources. It also seeks to deal with the various teaching problems and reflects on the disciplines as well as alternative proposals for teaching.

List of figures and tables
Abbreviations
Contributors
Introduction

Part I. Pedagogical approaches & methodological proposals

Chapter 1 Teaching L2 Italian phonetics and pronunciation in academic courses
Olga Broniś
Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński University in Warsaw
1. Introduction
2. Different approaches towards teaching L2 Italian phonetics at the university
3. The rationale for teaching L2 Italian phonetics at the university
4. Conclusions
References

Chapter 2 Historical linguistics and Italian at university
Josh Brown
The University of Western Australia
1. Introduction
2. Historical linguistics in particular courses
3. Pedagogy and pedagogical issues
4. Conclusion
References

Chapter 3 Telecollaborating in Italian
Stefania Chiapello and Carmen González Royo
University of Alicante
1. Introduction
2. Methodology
3. Results
4. Conclusions
References
Appendix

Chapter 4 Teaching Italian (with) comics
Sara Dallavalle
University of Chicago
1. Introduction
2. Terms and definitions
3. Pedagogical approach
4. Pedagogical applications
5. Further readings
References

Chapter 5 Teaching and understanding Italian through the language of the press
Marta Kaliska
Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń
1. Introduction
2. Theoretical assumptions
3. Italian language teaching: methodological proposals
4. Conclusion
References

Chapter 6 Teaching and learning Italian word-formation patterns
Irene Lami
Lund University
1. Introduction
2. Morphology and word-formation theory
3. Derivation and compounding (but not inflection)
4. Word-formation in Italian
5. Conclusion
References

Chapter 7 Teaching Italian Dialectology
Adam Ledgeway
University of Cambridge
1. Introduction
2. Why teach Italian dialectology?
3. Teaching Italian dialectology
4. Linguistic theory
5. Conclusion
References
Appendix A: selective sources for the study of the dialects
Appendix B: selective sources for the study of regional Italian

Chapter 8 Teaching and learning Italian indecent language
Alberto Regagliolo
UKSW University
1. Introduction
2. Part one: theoretical foundation
3. Part two: educational proposals
4. Conclusion
References

Part II. Italian through projects and case-studies

Chapter 9 Teaching specialist language skills in Italian through History of Art
Cinzia Bacilieri
University of York
1. Introduction
2. Teaching Italian through History of Art
3. Curricula design: embedding general language
skills in a specialist language course
4. Applied teaching methodology
5. Examples of classroom activities
6. Conclusions
References

Chapter 10 For an interdisciplinary approach in language learning: exploring the use of subtitling in the Italian language classroom
Rosalba Biasini
University of Liverpool
Francesca Raffi
University of Macerata
1. Introduction
2. FL teaching and learning through interlingual subtitling
3. The project
4. Preliminary results
5. Conclusion
References
Appendix: an example of subtitling task for summative assessment

Chapter 11 Embodied and experiential immersion into transculturality: learning Italian through ethnography and translation
Eliana Maestri
University of Exeter
1. Introduction
2. Translation and ethnography: a composite, long-standing interrelationship
3. Translation and ethnography: teaching and learning migratory contexts
4. Translation and ethnography: towards an embodied and experiential immersion in language acquisition
5. Translation and ethnography in the classroom as the Third Space
6. Conclusion
Acknowledgement
References

Chapter 12 Learning Italian with cartoons
Stefano Maranzana
Emory University
1. Introduction
2. Captioned video
3. Animated Cartoons in L2 Instruction: Peppa Pig
4. The Role of Humour to Stimulate L2 Learning
5. Peppa Pig for 1st and 2nd semester university-level Italian classes
6. Conclusion
References

Chapter 13 Italian through geography at university level
Leonardo Masi
Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński University in Warsaw
1. Introduction
2. Resources
3. Geography and Language Learning
4. An approach for beginners
5. Conclusion
References

Chapter 14 The teaching of Italian through Process Drama
Ilaria Salonna
University of Warsaw
1. Introduction
2. Process Drama in Glottodidactics
3. The importance of atmosphere and the balance between risk and safety in the dimension of playing
4. Playing with the stereotypical theatricality of the Italian language: Improvisation and Diction
5. Practical indications for a Theatre-Italian laboratory
6. Conclusion
References

Chapter 15 Learning from the essay
Valentina Tibaldo
University of Oxford
1. Introduction
2. Developing self-awareness through the essay
3. Emotions and intercultural competence
4. Essay classes. Two pedagogical applications
5. Conclusion
References

Index

Alberto Regagliolo is an Assistant Professor of Linguistics at UKSW University, a translator, a CELI Instructor, and a graphic designer. He holds a Post-Doc in Italian Linguistics (Universidade de Lisboa) and is qualified to teach Italian, Latin, and Spanish. He holds an MBA in Business Executive; He is an expert in commerce and trade and specialises in Montessori Pedagogy. He collaborates with the Spanish Ministry of Education, Cefire, for the planning of courses for teaching Latin and with the Teledántem-CORINÉI Research Group on the acquisition of the Italian language. His main research interests are teaching and acquisition of the Italian and the Latin language, vulgarity, business Italian, play in education and the creation of language teaching materials. He has published four manuals in the Italian language for advanced university students and one for teaching Latin. He has worked at various centres, including Oxford University, Universidad de Alicante, Italian Cultural Institute in Krakow, Adam Mickiewicz University, High School of Philology in Wrocław, and different schools in Spain and Morocco. He also carried out research at the Universidade de Lisboa and St. Andrews University.

Italian as LS, Higher education, University, Teaching