RESEARCH LINE 1: ACQUISITION AND LEARNING OF ITALIAN AS A FOREIGN LANGUAGE
Research project 1:
Italian teaching and learning contexts in Brazil
Starting year: 2015
Description: This project aims to research the teaching and learning/acquisition of Italian by Brazilians in different contexts and at the interface with other disciplines. More specifically, it includes studies that focus on teaching and learning strategies, the role of the competences and the different interpretations of communicative competence, the assessment and production of teaching materials, the relationship between mother tongue and foreign language and between spontaneous and guided learning, interlanguage and the cognitive processes involved in language learning/acquisition.
Professors: Olga Alejandra Mordente (coordinator); Angela Maria Tenorio Zucchi; Fernanda Ortale; Maria Cecilia Casini.
Research project 2:
Professional development of teachers of Italian as a foreign language and as a heritage language
Starting year: 2015
Description: This project aims to investigate teachers’ professional development and practice in the contexts of Italian as a foreign language and as a heritage language. The analysis is focused on the problems encountered in teaching and teachers’ professional development, from the initial planning stage to the final implementation stage of Italian courses for different types of public. Based on Postmethod Pedagogy, the project will help identify distinguishing features of teachers’ education in the context of Italian as a heritage language and in the hybrid context of online and face-to-face learning.
Professors: Fernanda Ortale (coordinator); Giliola Maggio; Angela Maria Tenorio Zucchi; Paola Giustina Baccin.
Research project 3:
Educational materials for teaching Italian as a foreign language in Brazil
Starting year: 2015
Description: This project aims to investigate issues related to the analysis and development of materials for teaching Italian as a foreign language in Brazil, with special emphasis on the use of technology and online dissemination. Also, in this context, there are also studies on the development of learners’ autonomy and on teaching problems encountered in using this type of material.
Professors: Paola Giustina Baccin (coordinator); Fernanda Ortale; Giliola Maggio.
Research project 4:
Discursive competence in Italian L2: teaching/learning and assessing
Starting year: 2017
Description: Based on different theoretical and methodological approaches, this project aims to investigate the construction of interactional competence in the linguistic repertoire of native and non-native speakers in symmetrical and asymmetrical conversations. More specifically, the project encompasses studies that will contribute to interlanguage analysis as well as to the assessment and development of pedagogical material specially designed to teach/learn discursive competence in Italian as a foreign language. Furthermore, comparisons between Italian and Brazilian speakers will be carried out.
Professors: Roberta Ferroni (coordinator); Elisabetta Santoro.