Series | SAIL
Volume 19 | Monograph | The Teaching of Italian to Foreigners

The Teaching of Italian to Foreigners

Some Coordinates for the 2020s

open access

Giuseppe Maugeri - Università degli Studi di Urbino Carlo Bo' - email orcid profile

Aims & Scope

This book develops the theme of teaching Italian abroad, starting from the awareness of the motivations for foreign students to study the Italian language and the different methodological procedures in order to teach it.

For this purpose, the book focuses on the problems concerning the training of teachers of Italian to foreigners and on the many aspects of teaching Italian in order to propose both a methodological reflection on the edulinguistic project and educational solutions aimed at improving the quality of the students’ learning.

Part 1

The first part focuses on edulinguistic teaching vision for the learning of the Italian language as a foreign language based upon the principles of the Humanistic Approach.

1. Teaching Italian Language Abroad: Institutional Language Policy and Strategies

This chapter focuses on the situation of Italian foreign language teaching in the world. It also describes the linguistic policy for the promotion of Italian languages abroad adopted by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the results obtained as the number of students involved in the different geographic areas.

2. Teaching Trainer Courses as a Key Factor to Improve the Quality of Teaching Italian Abroad

In this chapter teaching trainer courses for Italian language teachers are considered as a part of a strategy to increase the students’ motivations and the learning process.

3. Students as a Customer vs Students as a Person

Linguistic education and the Humanistic Approach aim to develop the students’ potential and create an autonomous language personality. Therefore, in this chapter, we outline a teaching perspective that considers the student as a person at the centre of teaching and learning Italian process.

Part 2

In the second part teaching methodologies to improve the quality of teaching and learning Italian language to foreigners are described.

4. Effective Cooperative Learning Strategies to Teach Italian as a Foreign Language

Examples of cooperative learning are given to illustrate how the following teaching methodology is possible in teaching Italian language even if it demands strong research and clear guidance for educators.

5. How to Teach Italian Grammar to Foreigners

This chapter examines the existing research about using a deductive form of teaching grammar versus using an inductive form of teaching it.

6. Teaching Italian Through Literature, Movies and Cartoons

In this chapter, different media and sources to teach Italian are examined. Using both classic and digital tools, students can explore the Italian language and culture from different points of view, developing a strategy to revisit thinking and to collaborate with others during the reading of classic texts or reading a cartoon.

7. Humanistic Testing and Assessment for Italian as a Foreign Language

From a Humanistic point of view, in this chapter, testing and assessment are considered as potential and relevant instruments to measure the progress and performance of individual students of Italian language.

8. How to Plan and Use an Environment to Teach Italian to Foreigners

This chapter focuses on learning space to teach Italian to foreigners. The main aim is to provide practical advice and support to the teachers of Italian language schools that are going to explore how to develop and adapt learning spaces to the teaching activities and the students’ needs.

Keywords Teaching Italian and evaluation system Approach for teaching Italian as a foreign languag Educational Linguistics Promotion of Italian language abroad