48
Didactics of Modern Languages
UNIVERSITÀ DEGLI STUDI DI NAPOLI "L'ORIENTALE"
Overview
Date/time interval
Syllabus
Course Objectives
EXPECTED LEARNING OUTCOMES
The training objective of the course is the acquisition of knowledge about the spontaneous and guided development of a second language and its use in intercultural contexts. The course also aims to offer tools for understanding the concepts of sustainable development and valuing linguistic diversity, with a careful and critical look at prejudices and stereotypes, toward equitable and inclusive education. With this in mind, the course pays specific attention to the pathway of second language acquisition/maintenance in vulnerable individuals (deafness, stuttering, autism, Alzheimer's, Multiple Sclerosis, Parkinson's and schizophrenia).
Upon completion of the course, students will be able to present the main theories of L2 development; define interlanguage and describe the various internal and external factors that determine its development; analyze sequences of interlanguage and detect phonetic, morphosyntactic, lexical and textual features; present the basic concepts of pragmatics and detect the main phenomena related to interlanguage and intercultural communication; and recognize the difficulties and needs of vulnerable individuals in learning, using and maintaining second languages.
ABILITY TO APPLY KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING
Students will be able to identify and understand problems related to the learning and use of non-native languages. On the basis of the acquired knowledge, students will be able to elaborate personalised analyses and arguments of utterances and interactional sequences of non-native speech.
ADDITIONAL EXPECTED LEARNING OUTCOMES
Autonomy of judgment:
Students will be able to understand and critically discuss the results of scientific studies in the area of acquisitional linguistics and will be able to integrate information from different sources and relate it to the knowledge acquired.
Communication Skills:
The student will be able to communicate clearly and comprehensibly the basics of the discipline, be able to extract and synthesize relevant information, be able to communicate effectively and with the correct terminology both orally and in written form, and be able to summarize and disseminate information.
Learning skills:
The student will be able to understand and comment on a scientific text in acquisitional linguistics and update acquired skills following scientific advances in the field.
Course Prerequisites
A good knowledge of basic concepts of general linguistics is essential.
PROPAEDEUTICITY
Successful completion of the General Linguistics exam is a prerequisite for admission to the Language Learning exam.
Teaching Methods
Frontal lectures characterized by strong interactivity will be used during which the active participation of students is required, as well as in-depth thematic discussions proposed to the students, who individually or in small groups will be expected to discuss, analyze, and present their findings in class.
Assessment Methods
The examination is oral and is conducted in Italian. Grading is in 30ths and is based on:
Adequacy of disciplinary vocabulary and terminological accuracy
Communicative efficiency in exposition
Rigour in the exposition of theories and notions
Correctness of references to scientific literature
Interpretive relevance of contents
Richness and articulation of connections
Relevance in the application of methodologies, techniques, tools
Originality in the elaboration of knowledge
Relevance of personal analysis.
Texts
Bonvino Elisabetta, Cortés Velásques Diego, De Meo Anna, Fiorenza Elisa, Agire in L2. Processi e strumenti nella linguistica educativa, Hoepli, Milano, 2023.
The reading pack on "Second Language Acquisition/Maintaining in Vulnerable Individuals (Deafness, Stuttering, Autism, Alzheimer's, Multiple Sclerosis, Parkinson's and Schizophrenia)" will be provided:
1. Conti A., Pollice S. (2018), “Il progetto di didattica inclusiva bilingue per alunni sordi dell’Istituto Barozzi di Milano: esiti di ricerca sulle competenze linguistiche degli allievi nativi segnanti”, Italian Journal of Special Education for Inclusion 6/2, pp. 65-81.
2. Van Borsel J., Maes E., Foulon S. (2001), “Stuttering and bilingualism. A review”, Journal of Fluency Disorders 26, pp. 179-205.
3. Park S. (2014), “Bilingualism and Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders: Issues, Research, and Implications”, NYS TESOL Journal 1/2, pp. 122-129.
4. Albán Gonzáleza G., Ortega Campoverde T. (2014), “Relationship between bilingualism and Alzheimer’s disease”, Suma de Negocios - Fundación Universitaria Konrad Lorenz 5(11), pp. 126-133.
5. Aveledo F., Higueras Y., Marinis T., Bose A., Pliatsikas C., MeldañaRivera A., Martínez-Ginés M. L., García-Domínguez J. M., Lozano-Ros A., Cuello J. P., Goicochea-Briceño H. (2021), “Multiple sclerosis and bilingualism: some initial findings”, Linguistic Approaches to Bilingualism 11 (4), pp. 551-577.
6. Fabbro F., Zanini S., Tavano A. (2010), “Spontaneous language production in bilingual Parkinson’s disease patients: Evidence of greater phonological, morphological and syntactic impairments in native language”, Brain & Language 113, pp. 84-89.
7. Smirnova D., Walters J., Fine J., Muchnik-Rozanov Y., Paz M., Lerner V., Belmaker R.H., Bersudsky Y. (2015), “Second language as a compensatory resource for maintaining verbal fluency in bilingual immigrants with schizophrenia”, Neuropsychologia 75, pp. 597-606.
Contents
1. Native language, Second language, Foreign language
2. Bilingualism
3. L1 and L2 development
4. Input, output, interaction
5. Comprehension/production in L1 and L2
6. Listening
7. Speaking
8. Writing
9. Reading
10. Vulnerable learners and bilingualism
Course Language
Italian