The voice of appraisal in English hard news reports on-line

In this paper the evaluative language of hard news reporting in English and Italian is studied in order to highlight the differences and objectives of this text type within the realm of functional linguistics and appraisal theory. The comparison of the electronic versions of the English "The Sun" and the Italian "Tirreno" and "La Nazione" shows that the authorial voice is present even in factual reports in the process of building the social identity of ideal readers. While English journalists define their ideal readers as belonging to a well defined social class sharing the same feelings and values, the Italian journalists are apparently less interested in delimiting their audience. They are instead more concerned in stressing aspects of public utility

Learning L2 English in tandem-partnerships on-line

Tandem learning via email and computer-mediated communication activities flanked standard frontal English lessons for Italian adult learners in Italy. It is here suggested that the combination of tandem learning, various communication activities performed on-line, and standard courses help mature students to boost their self-esteem, give them more autonomy, and enhance their motivation. Tandem learning, which is based on the principles of reciprocity and autonomy, is ideally suited for adult students. It helps overcome the problems connected to the affective reactions of adults, and at the same time, being content driven, offers a more natural setting to learn an L2 (second language) on a mutual supportive basis

Learning Maths through English and English through Maths: A CLIL Project

The fact that Foreign Language learning also takes place indirectly while communicating content has been generally acknowledged and was both the starting point and the main goal of those who developed the CLIL practice (the acronym for Content and Language Integrated Learning) in a classroom. Although the CLIL method is believed to have the dual-focused aim to promote the learning of a foreign language and, simultaneously, a content, the fact that the learning of a non-language subject may even be facilitated if taught in a foreign language has not been studied so far and it is not a straightforward matter. The latter topic is the objective of an Italian experimental project on CLIL practice in secondary schools since its results will strongly affect the decision of the schools and the teachers on whether to start a CLIL practice or to follow a standard curriculum. Notably, the project, which follows on from a previous European project, aims at investigating the advantages of learning mathematics in a CLIL classroom. One of the project hypotheses is that the foreign language (namely, English) employed to teach mathematics displays features that might help symbolic and schematic representations, being more “controlled” and structurally “simpler” than the native language. Some data of the previous European project have been analysed as a pilot study for the new experimental project