Florence, Italy

Spring 2006Tony Hanf

Where is Florence?

Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany

Tuscany is known for its landscapes and artistic legacy

Skyline above the Arno River

DuomoPiazza Della Signoria

Uffizi Gallery

Il Ponte Vecchio

Front View

Friends

Looking back…

Where did I live?

• I lived in a flat just north of Santa Maria del Fiore (Il Duomo)

•15 minute walk from the city center (10 if you’re late for class)

•Io vivo su Viale Giacomo Matteotti Venti-Cinque

•I lived with 9 roommates in a 5 bedroom flat

Classes

Beginning ItalianPolitical Theory and

PhilosophyRomanesque and Gothic Art

and ArchitectureHistory of the Roman Empire

Teaching Styles

Courses were taught in English with the exception of Beginning Italian

With the exception of Italian, all courses were taught by direct instruction or lecture style

All classes were taught by native Italian instructors with the exception of Political Theory and Philosophy. Which, strangely enough, was taught by a scholar from Hawaii

Italian Language Class

For my practicum abroad, I want to discuss not only the cultural features of Italy and Florence, but also how language is taught

Professore il nome Matteo (26 yr old)Used English rarely, only to support

comprehensionHis proficiency was around level 3,

so it forced us to use Italian!

Activities

Matteo set up various simulations with question cards Meeting someoneIntroducing someoneGoing grocery shopping (literally)

The course stressed roughly equally grammar and conversational Italian

Used common words a lot: Allura, ciao, buona sera, piacere, andiamo, tutti, ect. With time and repetition, I began to

understand more Italian Learned many verbs and their conjugations

Rote memorization

Approach I would take…

If I were to teach English in Italy, I would use some of the same techniques

However, I would use the following:Communicative Approach

Interaction in target languageAuthentic textsUse prior experience/background knowledge Various Activities

• Role playing, interviews, games, surveys, pair work, and reciprocal teaching

Cont.

ConstructivismGenerate knowledge from experienceLearner centeredConducive environment for motivationVarious Activities

• Brainstorming, problem solving, experiments, debates

TPRS (Total Physical Response Through Storytelling)Comprehensible Input (preview words)Use story accompanied by questions of

increasing difficulty (yes/no – this/that – recall)