Learning Language through Narrative In the Italian Classroom – In-person, Los Angeles
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Italian Beyond Italian – An in-person professional development opportunity for Italian teachers presented by Loris Giuriatti e Paolo Malaguti
Saturday, October 5th, 2024
University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)
10:30 am – 13:45
Royce Hall 236
The teaching of Italian, like that of any other foreign language, has in recent years been confronted with the challenges posed by new technologies, in particular the increasingly rapid and accurate use of simultaneous translation applications. It is important to show students that language is not a simple, inert tool, but one of the deepest manifestations of a community’s culture, and as such is in perpetual motion, is stratified, often contradictory. Through examples taken from dialects, micro-languages, pidgins, and by playing with the etymologies of certain words that reveal ancestry and sometimes seemingly inexplicable contacts with other languages and other cultures, this workshop aims to show some possible paths that, starting from lesser-known linguistic systems, arrive at a territory, a page of history, a particular aspect of the culture and landscape of Italy. The assumption underlying this choice is the conviction that narrative (especially when it is acted out rather than received) is for students a highly effective tool (above all because it is creative) for rooting and developing knowledge in general, and linguistic knowledge and skills in particular. This method will be illustrated through the writing experiences of Loris Giuriatti and Paolo Malaguti, who, in their historical novels, have often been confronted with linguistic systems of unexpected richness and depth, which have contributed to restoring verisimilitude and expressiveness to the pages of their novels. In addition, the workshop will propose the construction of short narrative texts starting from a few words: the theory behind this choice, as stated at the beginning, is that a language is not only a tool at the service of communication, it is much more and can become a true engine of imagination and narrative creation.
Must RSVP by September 23, 2024.
