Several studies have explored the linguistic, intercultural, and digital benefits of using literature and digital storytelling in the FL classroom (Hetland, 2016; Trimboli, 2020). Moreover, literary texts by women writers of migrant origin have proved to challenge stereotypes, show the intersections between gender, ethnicity, and discrimination, and portray the plurilingual and multicultural identity of contemporary societies (Kiemle, 2011; Spaliviero, 2022).
Nevertheless, as regards the teaching of Italian as a FL, studies concerning the employ of literature by women writers of migrant origin and digital storytelling from in-service teachers' perspectives are still lacking. Investigations examined both the potential of literature in the FL classroom (Paran, 2008; Diamantidaki, 2018) and teachers' beliefs in this field (Xerri, 2017; Calafato & Paran, 2019), but empirical research on Italian as a FL teacher education connected to the above-mentioned corpus and tools remains underexplored.
The presentation deals with a case study of Italian as a FL teachers' professional development through literary texts by women writers of migrant origin and izi.TRAVEL (a website of city audio guides). The research involved 25 teachers of different Dante Alighieri Societies in Argentina, which is the sixth country in the world for number of students of Italian and the first in South America (MAECI, 2019). The presentation will first consider teachers' beliefs, practices, and needs regarding the use of literature and digital resources in the FL classroom. Next it will describe the main features of a training course concerning the teaching of Italian as a FL through literary texts by women writers of migrant origin and izi.TRAVEL. Finally, it will analyse the impact of course participation on teachers' professional development. Data were collected through questionnaires, teachers' diaries, and teaching materials. The purpose was to contribute to developing didactic practices aimed at promoting students' linguistic, literary, intercultural, and digital skills, starting from teacher training in these issues.
Calafato, R., & Paran, A. (2019). Age as a Factor in Russian EFL Teacher Attitudes towards Literature in Language Education. Teaching and Teacher Education, 79, 28–37.
Diamantidaki, F. (Ed.) (2018). Teaching Literature in Modern Foreign Languages. New York: Bloomsbury.
Hetland, T. (Eds.) (2016). Teaching Literature with Digital Technology. Boston-New York: Bedford/St. Martin's.
Kiemle, C. (2011). Ways of out Babel. Linguistic and Cultural Diversity in Contemporary Literature in Italy. Exploring Multilingualism and the Works of Immigrated Writers. Berlin: Trier.
MAECI (2019). L'italiano nel mondo che cambia. https://www.sitocgie.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Rapporto-diffusione-italiano-2019.pdf
Paran, A. (2008). The Role of Literature in Instructed Foreign Language Learning and Teaching: An Evidence-Based Survey. Language Teaching, 41(4), 465–496.
Spaliviero, C. (2022). Teaching Italian as an L2/FL through Contemporary Italian Literature by Women Writers of Migrant Origin. A Conversation with Sumaya Abdel Qader about Quello che abbiamo in testa. Annali di Ca' Foscari. Serie occidentale, 56, 1–20.
Trimboli, D. (2020). Mediating Multiculturalism. Digital Storytelling and the Everyday Ethnic. London-New York: Anthem.
Xerri, D. (2017). Teachers' Beliefs and Literature Teaching: The Case of Poetry. In B. Schaff, J. Schlegel & C. Surkamp (Eds.), The Institution of English literature: Formation and Mediation. Göttingen: V&R, 207–229.
