Simone Torsani’s research while affiliated with University of Genoa and other places

Besides teachers, caregivers also play a key role in the inclusion of SEN (special educational needs) learners, especially in the case of children, for example, by helping them with their homework. Just as it can support teachers, technology can empower caregivers; however, little, if anything, is known about how caregivers do or can use technologies. To begin to fill this gap, this paper reports on the case of a caregiver, Laura, grappling with integrating technology, for instance, text-to-speech or word processing, to help her 10-year dyslexic and ADHD (dyslexia and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) son with his English homework. Findings reveal that her beliefs and knowledge of her son’s condition determine how she uses the different tools and that her attitude is proactive and pragmatic in that she takes from the solutions proposed by the expert what she finds most useful for working on the aspects that interest her. Implications for further research and teaching are discussed, particularly with regard to the role of SEN and technology-savvy teachers in parent training.

The article reports on the design and piloting of the MobIta proficiency test. MobIta was designed as an entry test for a course of Italian for Business Purposes to assess reading and writing skills in the occupational and public domains of the Common European Framework. However, since the course was entirely online, we included in our test a part devoted to assessing language proficiency for online learning. After contextualising linguistic competence for online education, the paper illustrates the development of the test, focusing on the piloting stage. We conclude that language proficiency is an important asset for distance education and, since it can hinder the learners’ participation, must therefore be carefully considered.

Provincial Centres for Adult Education (It. Centri Provinciali per l’Istruzione degli Adulti, CPIA) have in recent years been tasked with teaching Italian to adult migrants. With respect to other educational contexts, language courses in CPIAs exhibit a greater heterogeneity as regards literacy; this fact influences the way learners work with technology. Further, CPIA learners make large use of handheld devices; therefore, mobile assisted language learning constitutes a major issue in this context and teacher education for this technology is of paramount importance today. The chapter reports on a case study about how three CPIA language teachers use mobile technology in their classrooms and how contextual factors influence their work. Based on the findings, a tentative list of issues pertaining to teacher training for mobile assisted language learning (MALL) in this context is discussed.KeywordsMobile assisted language learning (MALL)Migrant language educationItalian as a second languageDigital literacy

The recent pandemic experience has shown the advantages, but also the drawbacks of online language teaching. Given the growing importance of this educational mode, the paper addresses the issue of distance language education by advocating a genre-based approach for the online teaching of written production in the foreign language. It is argued in the paper that, based on its success in different areas of language education, the teaching/learning cycle adopted within a genre-oriented pedagogy has a strong potential with respect to distance learning. This might be especially true when the cycle's stages are allocated between the virtual classroom and autonomous work depending on their nature (e.g., the modelling phase requires a scaffolding action on the part of the teacher and is therefore best accomplished in the virtual classroom). Such genre-based approach to second language writing is being currently used in an online course of Italian language and the paper reports on the first outcomes of an ongoing action-research aimed at assessing and improving. Implications for teaching are discussed.

This article focuses on online informal learning contexts, namely social networks to which learners may resort for their linguistic needs. The distinguishing feature of such platforms is that content is neither provided by an educational institution, nor is it necessarily presented in a formal fashion. While research has extensively focused on the connection between technology and autonomy, the social aspect behind 2.0 tools has been partly neglected. Therefore, we argue that learner training, i.e. preparing language learners for autonomous language study through technology, should be partly rethought and include such skills as communicating in didactic interactions and evaluating information.

The series is the expression of the Center for Research on Teaching of Languages, which in Edizioni Ca’ Foscari also has a magazine, Linguistics Education - Language Education, EL.LE, and a necklace, Intercultural Communication, COMINT, dedicated to this important but overlooked aspect of language mastery. In the series, the volumes of which are approved by three blind referees before publication, are three types of search space: a. studies on the epistemologic nature of the science that studies language education, in the wider meaning that includes Italian mother tongue, second and foreign, modern languages and classical ones; b. operational studies on methods, strategies, language teaching methodologies; c. quantitative and qualitative surveys on particular aspects of language teaching in the various training areas. The collection hosts studies of scholars working both at Ca’ Foscari University and in other institutions.

Learning the language of the host country is one of the most important aspects of social inclusion for adult migrants. Within the migrant population in Italy, it is possible to find a high heterogeneity of language profiles, which differ in level of competence and degree of literacy. This phenomenon is reflected in the composition of the classrooms of the Provincial Centers for Adult Education (CPIA), educational institutions that offer courses of Italian as a second language to adult migrants. To meet the needs identified in a preliminary survey in two CPIAs, a conversational technology was developed: CPIAbot. The system is a multimodal and multi-level chatbot, whose ecosystem is Telegram, to support both the communicative teaching in the classroom and the autonomous learning of CPIA students. For the implementation of the designed innovations, embedded in the technology, an ad-hoc system was developed, integrating a dialog-manager (NaifJs), capable of managing multi-turn dialogues, and other different solutions for the communication with external services, aimed to the management of multi-channel interactions. The contribution, therefore, will describe the technological solutions adopted, insisting on their link with the linguistic needs that have emerged from the context.

— Learning the language of the host country is one of the most important aspects of social inclusion for adult migrants. Within the migrant population in Italy, it is possible to find a high heterogeneity of language profiles, which differ in level of competence and degree of literacy. This phenomenon is reflected in the composition of the classrooms of the Provincial Centers for Adult Education (CPIA), educational institutions that offer courses of Italian as a second language to adult migrants. To meet the needs identified in a preliminary survey in two CPIAs, a conversational technology was developed: CPIAbot. The system is a multimodal and multi-level chatbot, whose ecosystem is Telegram, to support both the communicative teaching in the classroom and the autonomous learning of CPIA students. For the implementation of the designed innovations, embedded in the technology, an ad-hoc system was developed, integrating a dialog-manager (NaifJs), capable of managing multi-turn dialogues, and other different solutions for the communication with external services, aimed to the management of multi-channel interactions. The contribution, therefore, will describe the technological solutions adopted, insisting on their link with the linguistic needs that have emerged from the context.

Language learning is central to the social inclusion pathways of adult migrants. In particular, the composition of the foreign population present in Italy and its training needs introduce important challenges for language education, such as literacy and schooling, which go hand in hand with the learning of communicative competence. In this context, a conversational agent, usable from mobile devices, can play a significant role of integration between formal and informal learning, leveraging interactivity and flexibility of use. In the contribution, we will illustrate how methodological approaches tailored to the needs of poorly or not at all literate migrants have been translated into the functional specifications of a chatbot (CPIAbot) supporting classroom and out-of-class teaching, within the CPIA4 field. The interweaving of specific needs, didactic-methodological approaches and bot architecture will be analysed, highlighting its strengths and critical points in view of a forthcoming experimentation aimed at verifying the effectiveness of CPIAbot in supporting poorly educated migrants in learning Italian L2.

L’apprendimento della lingua è centrale nei percorsi di inclusione sociale degli adulti migranti. In particolare, la composizione della popolazione straniera presente in Italia e i suoi bisogni formativi introducono sfide importanti per l’educazione linguistica, quali l’alfabetizzazione e la scolarizzazione, che si affiancano all’apprendimento della competenza comunicativa. In questo contesto, un agente conversazionale, utilizzabile da dispositivi mobili, può giocare un significativo ruolo di integrazione tra apprendimento formale e informale, facendo leva sull’interattività e sulla flessibilità di utilizzo. Calando la problematica nella realtà dei CPIA , nel contributo si illustrerà come approcci metodologici tagliati sui bisogni di migranti scarsamente o per nulla alfabetizzati, siano stati tradotti nelle specifiche funzionali di un chatbot (CPIAbot) di supporto alla didattica in aula e fuori dall’aula. Si analizzerà l’intreccio fra bisogni specifici, approcci didattico-metodologico e architettura del bot, evidenziandone punti di forza e criticità in vista di una prossima sperimentazione finalizzata a verificare l’efficacia di CPIAbot nel supportare migranti scarsamente scolarizzati nell’apprendimento dell’italiano L2.