La difficolt\ue0 interazionale dei task: definizione operativa e risultati di ricerca

In questo capitolo si cercher\ue0 di definire un costrutto che fino ad ora \ue8 rimasto sostanzialmente inesplorato nelle ricerche sulla seconda lingua. Si tratta della difficolt\ue0 interazionale, che pu\uf2 essere misurata relativamente a qualunque task oral

L’ACQUISIZIONE DELL’ITALIANO IN ITALIA E IN GERMANIA: STRATEGIE LESSICALI PER COSTRUIRE LA REFERENZA

La ricerca mette a confronto il percorso acquisizionale dell’italiano L2 e LS, studiato all’università in Italia e in Germania da apprendenti comparabili per L1, livello linguistico, età, sesso e grado di istruzione. Data la rilevanza della frequenza e salienza delle strutture linguistiche nell’input per l’acquisizione del lessico, le analisi si concentrano sulle risorse lessicali selezionate per costruire la referenza, in particolare sull’uso di parole intensive, dotate di alta definizione semantica, acquisite più tardi rispetto alle parole generiche. Il corpus è composto dalle narrazioni prodotte da 4 apprendenti L2, 4 apprendenti LS, raccolte longitudinalmente in tre elicitazioni, e da 4 italofoni nativi. I risultati mostrano il ruolo del contesto di acquisizione sullo sviluppo delle competenze lessicali in termini di ritmo e velocità di evoluzione dell’interlingua quando l’esposizione all’input è prolungata e significativa.   The acquisition of Italian in Italy and Germany: lexical strategies to build the reference This study compares the acquisitional pattern of Italian SL and FL studied at university in Italy and in Germany by learners comparable for L1, linguistic level, age, sex and level of education. Given the relevance of the frequency and salience of linguistic structures in the input for the acquisition of lexicon, the analyses focus on the lexical resources selected to build the reference, in particular on the use of intensive words, characterized by high-definition semantics, which are acquired later than generic words. The corpus is comprised of the narratives produced by 4 SL learners and 4 FL learners and 4 Italian native speakers, collected longitudinally. The results show the role of the acquisitional context in the development of lexical competences in terms of rhythm and speed of the evolution of interlanguage when the exposure to input is prolonged and significant

La didattica dell’italiano L2 per lo studio per apprendenti cinesi in contesto universitario

The paper proposes a reflection on the challenges of teaching Italian L2 for study purposes to Chinese-speaking university students. Such type of teaching is relatively recent in Italy and is currently object of great interest by researchers, teachers, and course managers, since the population of Chinese-speaking university students constantly grows. Specific courses are provided in order to prepare non-native students to access academic texts and lessons, and to develop learners’ expository and argumentative skills. Peculiar linguistic structures of the language for study purposes are here addressed from both a teaching and learning perspective, by integrating methodological assumptions and comments on students’ data. In particular, the paper focuses on deagentivization strategies, such as passive constructions, which are structures not so frequent in everyday language and quite complex to acquire, but fundamental in the use of language for study purposes

COMPRENDERE I TESTI PER LO STUDIO IN ITALIANO L1 E L2: COMPETENZE E BISOGNI DEGLI STUDENTI UNIVERSITARI

Nell’ambito della crescente attenzione per le politiche di internazionalizzazione degli atenei italiani e nella convinzione che il potenziamento delle competenze nella comunicazione accademica in lingua italiana sia una strategia efficace per aumentare l’attrattività del sistema universitario nazionale, la ricerca indaga le competenze e i bisogni linguistici specifici degli studenti universitari internazionali. Le analisi si concentrano sulle competenze di comprensione di testi per lo studio accademico di 70 studenti italofoni L1 e L2, in modo da aggiungere un tassello al quadro che si sta attualmente delineando sulle competenze di produzione scritta degli studenti universitari nativi e non nativi. I risultati positivi emersi dai dati e le dichiarazioni degli apprendenti sulle difficoltà incontrate nello studio all’università, da un lato, sulle scelte didattiche più utili per superarle, dall’altro, vengono discussi per identificare le priorità formative che possano rendere più mirati ed efficaci i corsi di italiano L2 da offrire agli studenti internazionali presso le nostre università.   Understanding texts for studying in Italian L1 and L2:  competences and needs of university students Due to growing internationalization policies at Italian universities and the belief that enhancing skills in academic communication in Italian is an effective strategy to increase the attractiveness of the national university system, the study investigates the specific language competences and needs of international university students. The analysis focuses on text comprehension competence for academic study of 70 Italian-speaking L1 and L2 students, in order to contribute to the current picture of the written production skills of native and non-native university students. The positive results that emerged from the data and statements made by the learners on the difficulties encountered in studying at university, as well as the most useful teaching strategies to overcome them, are discussed in order to identify training priorities that can make Italian L2 courses for international students at our universities more targeted and effective

PROMOZIONE DEL TERRITORIO E ASPETTI IDENTITARI NELLA DIDATTICA DELL’ITALIANO LINGUA EREDITARIA

Lo studio indaga l’Italiano Lingua Ereditaria (ILE) focalizzandosi su un aspetto che è stato finora poco approfondito dalle sempre più numerose ricerche sul tema: le strategie didattiche più adatte ai parlanti ereditari, per i quali l’italiano fa parte del patrimonio linguistico personale e familiare e ha uno status peculiare rispetto alle altre lingue. Il contributo illustra le potenzialità edulinguistiche dei messaggi pubblicitari che promuovono il territorio italiano nell’insegnamento dell’ILE e sottolinea come questi testi possano coinvolgere in maniera profonda gli studenti che hanno origini italiane e sono legati a specifiche aree dell’Italia per rapporti familiari, conoscenze culturali, esperienze personali e aspetti identitari. In tale prospettiva, si discutono i vantaggi edulinguistici dei messaggi pubblicitari, con particolare riferimento alla promozione turistica, commerciale, relativa alle produzioni locali, e istituzionale del territorio. Si esemplificano, inoltre, pubblicità di diverse aree italiane, come input motivante ed efficace per lo sviluppo tanto di conoscenze culturali e sensibilità interculturale quanto di competenze sociopragmatiche, lessicali e grammaticali.   Promotion of the territory and identity aspects in the teaching of Italian as a hereditary language   The study investigates Italian Heritage Language (IHL) by focusing on an aspect that has so far been little addressed by the increasing research on the topic: which are the most suitable language teaching strategies for heritage speakers, for which Italian is part of personal and familiar linguistic inheritance and displays a peculiar status with respect to the other languages. The paper points out the edulinguistic potential of commercials promoting the Italian territory in the teaching of ILE, emphasizing how these texts can deeply engage learners who have Italian origins and are linked to specific areas of Italy by family relationships, cultural knowledge, personal experiences, and identity features. In this perspective, the edulinguistic advantages of advertisements are discussed, with specific reference to the touristic, commercial, related to local products, and institutional promotion of the territory. Furthermore, ads of different Italian areas are exemplified as engaging and effective input for the development of cultural knowledge and intercultural sensitivity, as well as sociopragmatic, lexical and grammatical competence

IL PROCESSO DI PRODUZIONE SCRITTA: LA COESIONE VERBALE IN TESTI DI SCUOLA PRIMARIA

Una delle principali difficoltà che incontrano i bambini della scuola primaria nella produzione scritta riguarda la coesione verbale, ovvero il mantenimento lungo il testo della dimensione temporale inizialmente selezionata per riportare gli eventi. L’articolo esamina questo specifico tipo di competenza testuale negli alunni di sei classi del secondo ciclo della scuola primaria, tre delle quali hanno partecipato alla sperimentazione educativa sulla produzione di testi scritti “Osservare l’interlingua”. Il confronto fra i dati raccolti all’inizio e alla fine dell’anno scolastico mostra una riduzione dei salti immotivati da un tempo verbale all’altro, definiti shift temporali, nei testi prodotti nelle classi del campione sperimentale in misura maggiore rispetto a quelle di controllo e sottolinea gli effetti positivi, a breve e lungo termine, di una didattica task-based condotta con approccio inclusivo, cooperativo ed attivo.  The process of writing: verb cohesion in primary school textsOne of principal difficulties in producing written texts for primary school pupils concerns verb cohesion, i.e. maintaining the temporal dimension initially chosen for expressing events throughout the text. The paper examines this specific textual competence in pupils from six classes within second cycle of primary school. Three of these classes were involved in the “Observing interlanguage” project focused on written production. The comparison of data collected at the beginning and the end of school year shows a decrease in temporal shifts (transitions from one verb tense to another) in the texts produced by the students involved in the project with regard to the control group. These findings highlight the positive effects, both short-term and long-term, of task-based teaching through an inclusive, cooperative and active approach.

Riflettere sulla grammatica a scuola: una ricerca sul soggetto

The paper discusses some preliminary results of the research project GRASS - Grammar Reflection at School: Syntactic Subject, which involved 444 junior and senior students from lower to higher education grades and 16 teachers. Starting from some general remarks on the current state of grammar teaching in the Italian school system, particularly critical as far as real speech, discourse and metalinguistic awareness are concerned, the paper highlights and discusses three main critical issues: a)the confusion between (con)textual reference and grammatical function, well attested by thediverse and incongruous ways used by the respondents to identify and represent the subject of sentences from a text; b) the pupils’ and students’ grammaticality judgements on verb and subject agreement, especially in cases of semantic/syntactic mismatch; c) the relation between the respondents’ explicit definitions of grammatical subject and the emerging underlying notions that characterize the different stages of Italian education as far as primary vs. secondary schools are concerned. Finally, some conclusions are drawn on the possible outcomes that this type of research can have in terms of teachers’ training and teaching practices.In questo articolo vengono presentati i primi risultati della ricerca GRASS (Riflessione Grammaticale a Scuola: il Soggetto Sintattico), che ha coinvolto 444 tra alunni e studenti dalla scuola primaria al primo anno di università e 16 insegnanti. Muovendo da alcune riflessioni generali sull’insegnamento della grammatica nella scuola italiana, la cui criticità sta, fra l’altro, nella scarsa considerazione degli usi linguistici reali nello sviluppo della riflessione metalinguistica, l’articolo tratta nello specifico alcuni aspetti emersi dalla ricerca. Innanzitutto, la confusione tra funzione grammaticale e referenza, ben testimoniata dalle espressioni incongrue e idiosincratiche usate dagli informanti per esplicitare i soggetti individuati in un testo. Poi, i giudizi di grammaticalità rispetto a frasi dell’italiano contenenti casi problematici di accordo verbo-soggetto. Infine, l’analisi delle definizioni esplicite di soggetto fornite da alunni e studenti, che forniscono indicazioni sulla sottostante nozione di soggetto così come viene appresa nel corso della scolarizzazione. Il saggio si conclude con alcune riflessioni su come ricerche di questo tipo possano avere ricadute in termini di formazione degli insegnanti e di pratiche didattiche

Reflecting on grammar at school: a research on the subject

The paper discusses some preliminary results of the research project GRASS - Grammar Reflection at School: Syntactic Subject, which involved 444 junior and senior students from lower to higher education grades and 16 teachers. Starting from some general remarks on the current state of grammar teaching in the Italian school system, particularly critical as far as real speech, discourse and metalinguistic awareness are concerned, the paper highlights and discusses three main critical issues: a)the confusion between (con)textual reference and grammatical function, well attested by thediverse and incongruous ways used by the respondents to identify and represent the subject of sentences from a text; b) the pupils’ and students’ grammaticality judgements on verb and subject agreement, especially in cases of semantic/syntactic mismatch; c) the relation between the respondents’ explicit definitions of grammatical subject and the emerging underlying notions that characterize the different stages of Italian education as far as primary vs. secondary schools are concerned. Finally, some conclusions are drawn on the possible outcomes that this type of research can have in terms of teachers’ training and teaching practices

Strengths and weaknesses of food eco-labeling: a review

Food labeling is increasingly expanding and adding more information to the food package. There is strong evidence about nutrition labeling effectiveness in driving food choice, especially if displayed in the front of package (FoP). Despite the growing attention to nutrition and sustainable diets, few countries have implemented sustainable labels or eco-labels that could address economic, social and/or environmental concerns. Implementing new techniques of eco-labeling emerges as a consumer-focused solution. However, evidence of the effectiveness of eco-labeling in driving consumers’ choices is heterogeneous and not univocal. Thus, this review aims to summarize the evidence about the effectiveness of FoP eco-labeling in driving food choice and provide a reference framework of the eco-labeling initiatives relative to food package labeling. This narrative review addresses both the potential benefits as well as the main concerns that arise from the use of eco-labels. Although eco-labeling seems to provide a series of sustainability benefits for producers and consumers, the implementation of such policies should take into consideration potential trade-offs and inter-sectorial coordination to obtain bigger impacts, assuming that a policy itself cannot transform the whole food system. Eco-labeling could be encouraged and implemented within a set of policies shaping sustainable food systems