Description
This course will allow course participants to immerse themselves in the fascinating world of Italian culture, food, people, and traditions through this unique educational experience.
Participants will discover the best of Italy’s most visited cities, including Palermo, Naples, Rome, Milan, and Venice, and learn about the country’s rich history, art, food, and more while improving their teaching skills.
This course focuses on practical examples of creative activities that promote student collaboration and engagement. Participants will learn how to plan and implement captivating lessons that use real-world texts and audiovisual sources, manage individual, pair, group, team, and whole-class participation, and facilitate active interaction and discussion on specific classroom topics.
Throughout the course, participants will explore the Italian way of life and culture, all taught in the English language, allowing them to integrate imaginative lessons based on real-world contexts and relevant content into their own teaching.
By the end of the course, teachers will have obtained important insights into the practice of managing and maintaining an effective classroom atmosphere while gaining new tools and techniques to engage learners.
Learning outcomes
Participants in the course will learn to:
- Design creative and engaging activities using a variety of materials and classroom management techniques;
- Create and find stimulating materials from the real world to improve student interest and motivation;
- Integrate both receptive and productive skills into any school curriculum;
- Establish a safe and inclusive classroom environment to promote students’ active and engaging participation;
- Discover the real Italian lifestyle and culture while learning how to implement collaborative and communicative activities.
Tentative schedule
Day 1 – Palermo
Course introduction
- Introduction to the course, the school, and the external week activities;
- Icebreaker activities.
Getting started with engagement
- Starting in the South, pair work discussion on Palermo, monuments, history, film, important people, culture, and street food.
Day 2 – Naples
- Elicitation about Naples, ordering sequence activity, characters, and traditions, organized crime, notable food items.
Day 3 – Rome
- What about Rome? Timelines, famous people, history, how to spend a day, interviews, reflections on life in Ancient Rome, historical figures, favorite Roman dishes, and how to make them.
Day 4 – Milan
- Heading north to Milan. Monuments, important artworks, famous people, historical timelines, art and artists, beloved dishes, and biographies.
Day 5 – Venice
- Ending in Venice. Important characters, biographies, film, poetry writing, specialties. Explorers, places, history.
Day 6 – Course closure and cultural activities
- Course evaluation round-up of acquired competencies, feedback, and discussion;
- Awarding of the course Certificate of Attendance;
- Excursion and other external cultural activities.