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A great lesson on Cognitive Grammar

Almost one year passed after my last post, so I figured it was time to write something. I can say that probably I have some excuse. My son was born in November and the new duties as department chair reduce greatly the time for extras. But here I am.

What pushed me to write is that I found an amazing youtube video of the University of Zaragoza, Spain. Dr. Castañeda explains how cognitive grammar can be very useful in class because its great pedagogical value. The explanation is very clear (if you speak Spanish) and it highlight the fact that it is absolutely necessary to "change the chip" (expression borrowed from Jose Ruiz Campillo), when it comes to teaching grammar.

Teaching the grammar that is present in our textbooks is just a waste of time. A fresh view of a grammar that can explain why the native speakers choose certain expressions instead of others and it focuses on the form-meaning connection is imperative. Cognitive grammar can be very useful because it explains in simple terms the meanings associated with the forms, transforming grammar into an operational tool that the learners can use to construct their expressions. I hope you enjoy it!

Italian for Spanish Speakers at MiraCosta College

I have a couple of interesting projects this semester that I think are worth sharing. One is in the Italian 101 and 102 online courses, and one in the Italian 202 f2f course. I will cover this last one in another post.

It is more than one year that I have been following the development of the courses of Italian for Spanish Speakers at Cal State University Long Beach under the direction of Prof. Clorinda Donato, and I really think this could be a great solution for many Community Colleges in California that serve a big hispanic population. MiraCosta College just recently received the status of Hispanic Serving Institution and this is another reason why I would be interested in applying this method. And what I believe is very appealing, especially for this kind of institution, is the motivational aspect and the validation factor that would present for the hispanic population.

In few words, instructors would teach Italian to Spanish speaking students differently than to the English speaking students. Using the similarities of the two languages, with the intercomprehension method Spanish speaking students would develop mastery of the language much faster (some researches suggest even two times faster), with a high level of satisfaction and, if the curriculum allows, saving time in their academic career.

Pedagogically this approach strongly questions some basics of the natural approach, especially the concept that language learner should start as a ¨tabula rasa¨ with no experience at all. Contrary to the natural and the communicative approach, this method does not ostracizes the use of the students first (or second) language. The focal point of this method is actually the exact opposite: the maximum usage of the students previous knowledge.

In order to open a section of Italian dedicated to Spanish speakers, the process would be quite long, and even with the course ready, scheduling issues can arise. Do we have enough students? What time of the day would be the most appropriate?

So, I opted for two different plans of action. First, I started to survey all Italian students enrolled in Italian courses at MiraCosta in order to try to accomplish two goals: to see if the number of Spanish speakers is high enough, and to try to understand if there is a preferred time for them.

At the same time I decided to start trying in on the field, creating a ¨partition¨ in my online classes. I surveyed the students in the online classes and I created two groups, one populated by the English speakers and one by the Spanish speakers. Then, I created new instructional material in Spanish. Now the students are able to choose if they want to receive their instruction in Spanish or English. Of course, grouping the students and teaching them in two different languages is a solution that can be applied only in an online setting, where you can choose the individual piece of information that each student receives. But I think it is a good way for piloting this approach.

So, keep in touch. In future posts I will blog about the results and the implementation of this method.

Isabel Allende a Chapman University

Ieri sera, la grandissima scrittrice cilena Isabel Allende ha ricevuto a Chapman University la sua tredicesima laurea Honoris Causa. L'autrice ha letto alcuni passi dalla sua ultima opera che uscirà a gennaio 2014 e ha risposto alle domande del pubblico. Numerosi i momenti divertenti nei quali la carismatica scrittrice ha riaffermato le sue idee femministe e ha difeso le scelte stilistiche delle ultime opere. Ha anche colto l'occasione per parlare della sua fondazione, alla quale ha dato vita in seguito alla scomparsa di sua figlia Paula ricordando che le fondazioni che si concentrano nell'aiutare le donne ricevono solamente un ventesimo del denaro delle fondazioni che si occupano principalmente degli uomini.
Alla fine dell'evento l'autrice de ¨La casa degli spiriti" ha autografato i libri dei molti fan accorsi.

NCHEA Symposium on World Languages

Yesterday a great event for language instructors took place at Cal State San Marcos. With the support of NCHEA, Kathleen Sheahan of Palomar College, Michael Hughes of CSUSM, and David Detwiler of MirsCosta College organized this great opportunity for exchanging ideas and good practices among the three most important higher education institution in North County San Diego.
The event was very well attended by part-time and full-time instructors of all three colleges. A great contribution was given also by Dr. Michelle Ramos Pellicia who presented a research on Heritage Spanish Speakers in North County that sparked a great conversation and reflection.
Next year the event will be hosted by Palomar College.

Futura - Lucio Dalla

Dopo un anno di assenza ritorno a pubblicare qualcosa su questo blog con l'intenzione, impegni permettendo, di farlo con piu` regolarita` in futuro.

Per ricominciare, quindi, ecco una famosissima #canzone di Lucio Dalla per praticare il #futuro. E` presentata in modo che gli studenti e le studentesse possano prima completare il testo con le forme mancanti del futuro e poi ascoltare per autocorreggersi.

Devo dire che il testo si presterebbe anche a un lavoro sull'imperativo oppure, e questa puo` essere una attivita` aggiuntiva, a un ripasso del passato prossimo e dell'imperfetto parlando della guerra fredda. Ma questa seconda parte la vedrei in una lezione seguente se pensate che gli studenti si possano confondere con troppe forme verbali nella stessa lezione.

Potete accedere al foglio dell'attivita`.

#italian #futuro #song

O' professore - Il primo giorno di scuola

Per il primo post del blog ho creato una piccola attivita` con un video tratto da O'professore, con Sergio Castellitto. L'attivita` e` creata con un google forms che potete usare. Il video e` qui sotto.
Puo` essere usata per il primo giorno di lezione in una classe di livello intermedio e dura una trentina di minuti.
Attivita` in google form.