Describes a workshop offered at the Middlebury College Italian School on contemporary Italy. The morning sessions consisted of a discussion by a native Italian scholar of contemporary Italy and of related readings and the afternoon sessions consisted of readings and discussions and hands-on activities in lesson preparation. (SED)

Describes class activities for incorporating and teaching about opera into the Italian language instruction classroom, focusing on the enhancement of cultural knowledge and understanding that opera offers. (CB)

Explores issues related to the successful integration of songs and music into the Italian curriculum and suggests methods for incorporating music to enhance students' speaking, understanding, reading, writing, and cultural awareness skills. (27 references) (CB)

Describes a theatrical workshop developed to teach Italian to third-year students. The aim of the course was to increase students' understanding of Italian language and culture and to enhance their communicative skills and appreciation of literary texts. (Author/VWL)

Examines the conflict between students' focus on learning the grammar and vocabulary of a foreign language instead of considering the culture that lies beneath the target language, in this case, Italian. Suggestions are made for overcoming the practical difficulty of imposing a language as a cultural entity upon the students. (25 references) (CK)