TEACHING OF ITALIAN AS A SECOND LANGUAGE AND MOTHER
cod. 1006944

Academic year 2020/21
1° year of course - First semester
Professor responsible for the course unit
Marco MEZZADRI
integrated course unit
12 credits
hub: PARMA
course unit
in ITALIAN

Course unit structured in the following modules:

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 and other modern
languages 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.
Competences acquired in the first cycle will be strengthened and
expanded allowing students to elaborate and apply original ideas.
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.
Comprehension and problem solving skills will be reinforced and applied
to new or unfamiliar topics, belonging to wider or interdisciplinary
contexts related to their field of study.
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.
Students will be able to integrate their knowledge, manage complexity
and make judgements based on limited or incomplete data.
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.
Students can make conclusions clearly and through the support of their
knowledge. They will also be able to explain the reasons for their
conclusions.
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 continue studying
autonomously and in a self-directed way in lifelong learning education.

Prerequisites

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Course unit content

This combined course originates from the need for a more complete preparation of students in the field of Educational Linguistics and Language teaghing Methodology. To reach the above mentioned aim, two courses have been put together: Teaching Italian offered for the Laurea Magistrale in Lettere Classiche e Moderne and for the Laurea in Lingue e Civiltà straniere moderne.
The latter constitutes the first module of the course in which the first part is dedicated to the exploration of the mechanisms which rule language acquisition.
The second part deals with language teaching processes.

The first part of the second module is dedicated to the expansion of the exploration of the
mechanisms which rule language acquisition.
The second part deals with language teaching processes. Leraning to
create teaching materials for learning and teaching Italian as a first,
second or foreign language will be the main goal of the second part of the
course. Italian language learning and teaching will be taken as an
example of what happens when learning a modern language for
academic/study purposes.
Part of the course will be dedicated to CLIL.

This course complies with D.M.616.

Full programme

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Bibliography

First part
1. Mezzadri M., I nuovi ferri del mestiere, Bonacci, Roma 2015.
2. Online teaching Units available on the e-learning platform Elly.

Second part
1 Balboni P., Le sfide di Babele, Torino, Utet 2015.
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 first part of the course will also be offered in a blended way on the distance learning platform called Elly.

Assessment methods and criteria

First part
written and oral exam.
The written part will last one hour and thirty minutes. 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, 8, 9, 12, 13. The remaining chapters will be part of the oral exam. See the list of recommended readings). The written exam will be based on a set of about 15
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 who cannot attend the classes regularly will have to refer to the list of recommended readings.
Second part
Oral exam and written work.
Students will first have to create a teaching material designed for the teaching of a language to foreign learners.
For the creation of the teaching material it is reccomended to use the book Mezzadri M., Studiare in italiano all'università, Bonacci, Torino 2016.
The material will count for 20% of the total mark. Students will be allowed to sit for the oral exam regardless of the performance 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 materials and books assigned.

Other information

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2030 agenda goals for sustainable development

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