The course aims to introduce students to cognitive processes which are  at the core of foreign language  communicative competence. The main goal is to improve students' capacity to design teaching activities to practice the main linguistic skills in foreign languages. Development strategies for teaching units meeting the learner's learning styles and needs will be studied as well.

The course covers the following topics:

- Theories, methods and techniques in Foreign Language Teaching/Learning

- Cognitive processes and learning styles

- Teaching integrated communicative skills: Listening, Speaking, Reading, Writing, Negotiating

- Planning  foreign language classroom activities

• Knowledge and understanding: students will be able to comprehend and discuss foreign language acquisition processes and teaching strategies.To this end, lectures and interactive activities will be implemented;
• Applying knowledge and understanding: students will be able to develop teaching material whose content and procedures are in line with language acquisition theory. To this end students will be assigned tasks (in pairs or in groups) to reflect on strengths and weaknesses of  FL coursebook teaching units;
• Making judgements: students will gain a critical understanding of  the degree of efficacy of teaching activities and contents used in foreign language learning. To this end they will analyse FL coursebooks during interactive lectures, pairwork and groupwork activities;
• Communication: students will be able to communicate complex ideas in written and oral form . To reach this goal, students will give individual and group presentations  in class and will post comments and ideas, on Moodle, triggering discussion;
• Lifelong learning skills: students will be able to listen attentively and work individually and in groups.   To this end, lectures,  pairwork and groupwork sessions  will be organized.

The teaching material prepared by the lecturer in addition to recommended textbooks (such as for instance slides, lecture notes, exercises, bibliography) and communications from the lecturer specific to the course can be found inside the Moodle platform › blended.uniurb.it

Teaching

·  Teacher-fronted lectures

·  Interactive lectures

·  Groupwork and written assignments

·  Presentations

Course books

Scrivener J. (2011), Learning Teaching, (3rd edition), Macmillan Books for Teachers: London (Chapters 1-2-3-4-5-7-8-9-10-11)  

Assessment

Oral exam. Attending students will be assessed on the basis of their knowledge of the theoretical concepts introduced in the course (10%), their ability to apply their knowledge to the analysis and evaluation of teaching materials (10%), their ability to apply their knowledge to create teaching materials (10%), their subject-specific communication skills (10%), their ability to accomplish specific activities assigned (20%), and their degree of active online class participation (40%).

Disability and Specific Learning Disorders (SLD)

Students who have registered their disability certification or SLD certification with the Inclusion and Right to Study Office can request to use conceptual maps (for keywords) during exams.

To this end, it is necessary to send the maps, two weeks before the exam date, to the course instructor, who will verify their compliance with the university guidelines and may request modifications.

Course books

·  Scrivener J. (2011), Learning Teaching, (3rd edition), Macmillan Books for Teachers: London    (Chapters 1-2-3-4-5-7-8-9-10-11)  

·  Sisti F. (2016),  “CLIL in higher Education: what if…?” in C. Coonan (a cura di),  A journey through the CLIL landscape: problems, prospects, Cambridge Scholars Publishing: Cambridge  

·  Sisti F. (2016), “Narrative thinking and storytelling for primary and early FL/SL education” in  Donna Tatsuki (Ed.), Fictions.  Studi sulla narratività, (n. XV), Fabrizio Serra Editore: Pisa-Roma

Assessment

Oral exam: NON-attending students will be assessed on the basis of their knowledge of the concepts introduced in the reading materials (60%), their ability to apply their knowledge to the analysis and evaluation of practical teaching cases (30%)  and their subject-specific communication skills (10%).

Disability and Specific Learning Disorders (SLD)

Students who have registered their disability certification or SLD certification with the Inclusion and Right to Study Office can request to use conceptual maps (for keywords) during exams.

To this end, it is necessary to send the maps, two weeks before the exam date, to the course instructor, who will verify their compliance with the university guidelines and may request modifications.