The research group "Inclusiv-ITA" aims to explore teaching methodologies for inclusive Italian language instruction, with particular attention to plurilingualism and students' cognitive diversity.
Cummins (2024) states that language teaching is undergoing the "cross-linguistic/translanguaging phase" and emphasizes how the contact between languages and modes can provide a productive opportunity both linguistically and cognitively.
The Companion Volume of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (Council of Europe, 2020) delves deeper into the concept of plurilingual and intercultural competence, maintaining continuity with other European documents, such as FREPA/CARAP, Framework of Reference for Pluralistic Approaches to Languages and Cultures (Candelier, 2012).
Plurilingual and intercultural competence implies, on one hand, the ability to engage with otherness, with the goal of promoting an idea of democratic global citizenship, and on the other, the ability to maximize one's linguistic resources, operating within an interconnected repertoire and combining language skills with general competences and various cognitive strategies. Additionally, the new descriptors in the Companion Volume related to mediation allow us to highlight not only the plural dimension in the interdependence between individual speakers and the community, but also the process of meaning-making in interactions through more complex cognitive competences (Piccardo, 2022).
The research lines of the group therefore cover plurilingual teaching, multimodal communication (Kress, 2010), understood as a plurality of semiotic expression, and cognitive diversity, with attention to neurodivergence. The main research context consists of Italian language and culture courses at the Università per Stranieri and the different opportunities for linguistic and intercultural contact within the university's educational community, but also in the urban context of Perugia.
The objectives of the Divers-ITA research group are:
- to implement teaching strategies aimed at developing linguistic competence in Italian, leveraging multimodal communication and assessing its impact in terms of learning
- to outline educational paths focused on the development of plurilingual and intercultural competence, valuing students’ linguistic backgrounds, especially from a metalinguistic perspective, and encounters with otherness, assessing the outcomes in terms of learning
- to identify teaching strategies to support cognitive diversity, applying methodologies such as Universal Design for Learning and supporting students with potential special educational needs and neurodivergence, assessing the outcomes in terms of motivation and inclusion
- to extend the applicability of research results to design teaching materials and peer learning paths, in a perspective of sharing best practices, with immediate impact on Italian language and culture courses.
Roberto Dolci, associate professor GLOT-01/B
Borbala Samu, associate professor GLOT-01/B
Letizia Cinganotto, RtdB researcher GLOT-01/B
Valentina Carbonara, RtdB researcher GLOT-01/B
Marco Filardi, RtdB researcher PSIC-01/A
Cristina Gaggioli, RtdB researcher PAED-02/A
Chiara Bambagioni, native Italian speaker CEL
Maria Chiara Lisi, native Italian speaker CEL
Roberta Scarpocchi, native Italian speaker CEL
Francesca Leonardi, native Italian speaker CEL
Catia Mugnani, native Italian speaker CEL
Andrea Civile, native Italian speaker CEL
Fulvio Bifarini, native Italian speaker CEL
Caterina Calicchio, PhD student (curriculum in Linguistics and Language Teaching), XXXVIII cycle