At the University of Calabria, the II level master’s degree in Teaching Italian as an L2 continues successfully, directed by Professor Anna De Marco, professor of Language Teaching at the Department of Humanistic Studies and recognized expert in linguistic pragmatics. “The Master – explains a note – has consolidated itself as a point of reference at a national and international level for the training and specialization of teachers involved in teaching Italian to speakers of other languages. The training course, delivered in synchronous online mode, has for years combined high teaching quality, methodological innovation and organizational flexibility, allowing the participation of students from all over Italy and promoting the creation of dynamic, inclusive and collaborative learning communities. Thanks to an interdisciplinary approach and a teaching staff with proven academic and professional, the Master offers complete training that can be used in different educational and intercultural contexts”.
Testifying to the impact of the training course is Martina Avolio, a former student of the 2021/2022 edition, now a teacher between Italy and Spain: “A teacher affects for eternity; he can never say where his influence stops”, wrote Henry Brooks Adams. To date – Avolio tells AGI – I still can’t say where the impact that the Unical Master’s degree has had on my life stops. Initially hesitant about online teaching, I instead found myself in a stimulating group, followed by teachers of the highest level. The internship, carried out between the University of Calabria and the CPIA, proved to be a fundamental training experience. That year it triggered a virtuous circle that continues today: in the wake of the enthusiasm for teaching Italian to foreign students, I won the call for language assistants in Spain, I obtained the DITALS II certification and attended a new Máster de Profesorado. Now I have returned to Calabria and I look forward to teaching class A023 with renewed energy. The Unical Master was the starting point, and Professor De Marco, director of the Master, was the real driving force behind this path”.
“The Master – adds Avolio – therefore represents not only a specialization, but a catalyst for international opportunities, a bridge between academic training and increasingly multicultural scholastic realities”.
“In light of the growing demand for Italian L2 teachers – in particular in lower secondary schools, where from this year the A023 competition classes (Italian for foreign language learners) have been activated in the province of Cosenza – enrollments in the Master’s program at the University of Calabria – it should be noted – are constantly increasing. The Master’s degree, for which it is still possible to enroll until 17 November, represents a concrete training opportunity for those who wish to undertake a professional path in teaching Italian as second language, both in Italy and abroad”.