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)

A national survey sought data on fall 1990 enrollments in Italian classes in U.S. colleges and universities, including junior and community colleges, to supplement previous surveys. Findings show that Italian is regularly taught in 370 institutions with a total combined enrollment of 44,102 students. Institution-by-institution data are tabulated.…

It is argued that a course dealing with Italian phonetics should be a part of the Italian teacher's preparation. An outline for such a course is proposed. A bibliography for such a course is appended. (AM)

A brief analysis is made of the teaching of Italian literature in the United States with special reference to course work and language proficiency in the doctoral program. Mention is made of the choice of texts in undergraduate language courses. (Text is in Italian.) (AM)

Examines recent studies of linguistic corpora in Italian, and presents the results of an analysis of "piace" and "piacciono" conducted on a corpus of 3.5 million words of written Italian, accessible at the University of Birmingham in England. Focuses on pedagogical applications of the data and on the inductive methodologies…

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)

A study in three intermediate and advanced Italian second-language classes (n=74 students) analyzes the utility of Internet-based technology in content-area teaching activities. Results indicate that while the technology can be useful, its role as a source of information appears to be its primary one. Available learning activities for Italian were…

Considers the most recently published or re-edited North American textbooks for Italian with a view to discussing the current methodological trends they illustrate. Findings indicate that all except one of the seven textbooks reviewed have been upgraded to reflect an integrated or eclectic approach and that they differ mainly in the authors'…

After surveying the ways in which translation is currently used in teaching Italian in British and U.S. universities, an approach is suggested that focuses on using translation activities that are authentic and allow students to develop not only their linguistic and metalinguistic skills but also their sociocultural competence. (CFM)

Discusses Web-based multimedia course materials for business Italian, delivered to students in a total course management system. Both teacher and students evaluated the experience as positive. (Author/VWL)

Provides results from a survey sent to all North American institutions offering Italian language courses to investigate the internal organization and training procedures for teaching assistants of Italian. (Author/VWL)

Courses in business Italian have an important place in the traditional foreign language curriculum because they expose students to broader cultural areas in which they can exercise their foreign language skills. Guidelines for course development and some classroom activities are described. (CB)

A course in Italian literature is outlined for the advanced high-school and the third-year college level, using a thematic approach. The choice of theme in this case is the city, specifically Rome. (AM)

Discusses the problems faced by teachers of third-year (i.e. advanced) Italian language courses, particularly in developing students' speaking skills. Stresses the importance of "real talk" and discusses relevant student activities such as interviewing native speakers, preparing live radio broadcasts, and videotaping students speeches and…

Discusses the nature of good writing strategies, illustrates principles of correction and evaluation, and describes the elements of a writing curriculum for college students of Italian. The author suggests a series of writing activities and evaluation criteria to assess writing proficiency at beginning and intermediate levels. (26 references) (CK)