Learning objectives
At the end of the course students will have acquired knowledge related to the acquisition of a language, in particular of Italian as a first or second language and competences on teaching Italian or another language to native and non native students.
Knowledge and understanding:
students will develop knowledge and comprehension competence in the field of educational linguistics thanks to the use of different sources (manuals, books and scientific articles, lectures, online learning objects etc.) regarding foundation topics and advanced research in the field of educational linguistics.
Applying knowledge and understanding:
students will be able to apply knowledge and comprehension skills useful for an initial training for L2 and L1 language teachers, as well as for other professional profiles related to the field of school and academic publishing and computer assisted language teaching. In particular, students will develop skills needed both to create and support argumentation and to solve problems in the field of educational linguistics.
Making judgements:
students will be able to collect and interpret data to determine autonomous judgements in in the field of educational linguistics, including cross-cultural and interdisciplinary thinking on cultural and intercultural, scientific and ethical topics connected to the judgements expressed.
Communication skills:
thanks to the specific focus on communication competences and in particular on the development and use of mediation skills, students will be able to convey information, ideas, problems and solutions to specialists and non-specialists.
Learning skills:
thanks to the general scaffolding of the course which puts processes related to language learning and teaching in a social context at the centre, students will develop learning skills useful to fulfil further studies in educational linguistics and more generally speaking as learners in the second cycle or in lifelong learning education.
Prerequisites
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Course unit content
Italian language acquisition and teaching.
The first part of the course is dedicated to the exploration of the mechanisms which rule language acquisition.
The second part deals with language teaching processes.
This course complies with D.M.616.
Full programme
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Bibliography
1. Mezzadri M., I nuovi ferri del mestiere, Bonacci, Roma 2015.
For students who cannot attend the classes (see Section "Teaching Methods" mode 3), the study of the following book is to be added:
2. Mezzadri M., Studiare in italiano all'università, Bonacci, Torino 2016.
Teaching methods
Lectures; interaction with students during lectures; workshops, further work and interaction online.
The course will also be offered in a blended way on the distance learning platform called Elly.
Students can take the course in one of the following 3 ways:
1 Attending the online lessons and participating in the online activities (Path 1)
2 Attending the online lessons (Path 2)
3 Taking the exams only by studying the two books as indicated in the "Reccomended readings" section.
Path 1
It is composed of 3 parts:
a) lessons provided in streaming and available for a week. They are reachable via Elly section “Annunci”.
b) 15 teaching units online which deal with the most relevant aspects of the course and regard the main contents of the lessons.
c) online activities reachable via Elly section “Forum”. Students’ participation in the activities and on-time execution of the assignments will substitute the oral exam. All the activities and assignments will be marked.
In order to participate in Path 1, during Week 1, students are requested to enroll as announced on Elly.
Path 2
It is composed of 2 parts:
a) lessons provided in streaming and available for a week. They are reachable via Elly section “Annunci”.
b) 15 teaching units online which deal with the most relevant aspects of the course and regard the main contents of the lessons.
For the oral exam, see the information provided below.
Assessment methods and criteria
Written and oral exam.
The written part will last one hour. Students will have to give evidence of their knowledge acquired through the studying of a book on language teaching methodology: I nuovi ferri del mestiere (Chapters 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 12, 13. The remaining chapters will be part of the oral exam (Path 2) or of the online activitis (Path 1). See the list of recommended readings). The written exam will be based on a set of 10 items of different kinds (objective and subjective). Students will be allowed to sit for the oral exam only if they reach 18/30 in the written part. The oral exam will be based on a discussion about the written part and of topics dealt with during the classes and through the study of other materials assigned during the classes and the remaining chapters of the manual which will not have been tested in the written exam.
Students enrolled on Path 1will receive a final evaluation determined by the avarage mark between the written exam and the online activities.
A fail is determined by the lack of an understanding of the minimum content of the course, the inability to express oneself adequately, by a lack of autonomous preparation, the inability to solve problems related to information retrieval and the decoding of complex texts, as well as an inability to make independent judgments. A pass (18-23/30) is determined by the student’s possession of the minimum, fundamental contents of the course, an adequate level of autonomous preparation and ability to solve problems related to information retrieval and the decoding of complex texts, as well as an acceptable level of ability in making independent judgments. Middle-range scores (24-27/30) are assigned to the student who produces evidence of a more than sufficient level (24-25/30) or good level (26-27/30) in the evaluation indicators listed above. Higher scores (from 28/30 to 30/30 cum laude) are awarded on the basis of the student’s demonstration of a very good or excellent level in the evaluation indicators listed above.
Students who cannot attend the classes will have to refer to the list of recommended readings and to the section "Teaching Methods" (Path 3).
Other information
Only students enrolled on this course (Didattica dell'italiano) as from the
year 2013-14 are expected to take also the written exam.
The written exam is based only on the book I nuovi ferri del mestiere (see the list of recommended readings).
