Thoughts on the future of language teaching
LA DOLCE VITA DOESN’T JUST MEAN THE ‘GOOD LIFE’!
Thoughts on the future of language teaching
Introduction
Some time ago, while surfing the net, I came across a video ad for a little Japanese device that promised to translate a sentence into any language whatsoever using a simple voice recording. To prove it, the creator of the video had travelled to various countries around the world and had communicated in different everyday life situations using this simple device, which even ‘spoke’ with the correct accent. And do you know what? Apparently, it worked perfectly! The advert ended with these words: “Of course, in a world with the latest technology, you may no longer need language teachers to be able to communicate in a foreign language.”
Starting a new adventure as a teacher of Business Italian at Excelia, after 15 years of teaching in Italian High Schools, made me think a lot about my personal and professional status as an Italian abroad. The recurring question, while I was preparing the material for my lessons, was… ‘What particular contribution can I make as a native speaker, beyond correct phonetic pronunciation?’
Right from the start, the worrying spectre of that little Japanese device led me to look for an appropriate and motivating pedagogical approach, so as not to be just a simple interpreter of standard formulas. At this point, I encountered a number of difficulties...
Firstly, the studying of a non-typical language, such as Italian, is offered to Excelia students as a collective course, i.e. a course bringing together students from all programmes (MiM, BB, BBA, BTH), with extremely mixed levels of competency, and having very different projects. And secondly, the planning constraints of having to bring together students from all these programmes meant that the first session took place on 7th October and the second on 18th November!
From this point onwards, my main objective was to find the most effective way to ensure that students wouldn’t forget what they had learned from one session to the next, and to turn this difficulty into a pedagogical opportunity. This is where my solid experience as a secondary school teacher helped me. What if I tried to give each of my students confidence in their ability to communicate in Italian by giving them work to do at home?
With the help of Olivier Gautreau, our IT expert, I opened a forum in Italian on the MyLMS platform. My aim was to create an Italian town square, a piazza, where students could discuss interesting, real-life topics and freely share their ideas. As they were working from the comfort of their own home, they had support material to hand, therefore removing the fear of speaking in Italian. For my part, during these discussions I decided not to interrupt the students to correct their language mistakes, waiting until the end of the session to give any linguistic feedback.
Our discussions focussed on the theme Made in Italy, one of the best-known ‘brands’ in the world.
The students had the opportunity to debate on three main areas: the most emblematic sectors, the problem of fake goods and, finally, stereotypes and prejudices about Italians. It must be said that their response was immediate, positive and, contrary to all expectations, they even met the deadlines!
Although the objective of creating a lively discussion in Italian was achieved, I nevertheless realised that their perceptions of Italy and Italians were sometimes very superficial, based more on a kind of image than on actual knowledge.
In fact, when I asked the final question: “To what extent can stereotypes about Italians influence a foreign investor and buyer in their negotiations and in their perceptions of Made in Italy”, students were not always able to understand that behind an image, hides an elaborate and complex identity.
Reflecting on this difficulty, I did some research into the notion of mental representation (a concept derived from social psychology) in the teaching and learning of languages: it is linked to the ideas of “belonging, identity, distinctive positioning in relation to the other, to 'the foreigner' [...] because representations do not only refer to languages and language use, but also, and above all, to the relations between oneself and others, between what is given and what is perceived, between the real and the false”.1
From this perspective, I thought it was more necessary than ever to place emphasis on cultural identity, which is the basis of a foreign language, and not to leave it ‘hidden’ behind the technicality of grammatical formulas.
I therefore found the answer to my initial question, and at the same time, I permanently eradicated the spectre of that little Japanese device. My added value as a native speaker teaching Italian lesson must be to transmit to my students, through the language, this enormous richness of warmth, humanity, flavours, creativity, elegance and complexity, defined as the cultural identity of my language: italianità !
My aim in the future will be to offer an integrated programme which combines language learning with the study of the Italian culture in all its diversity.
Having a full understanding of the Dolce Vita and Made in Italy should be one of the main motivations for learning Italian, and our role as native teachers is to offer an in-depth and more varied vision of a language when we embark on its teaching.
In order to better understand the culture, the mentality and, above all, the very essence of a language being taught, it would be an interesting idea to create Passion Workshops in certain emblematic sectors, such as art, fashion, cuisine or traditions, run by experts who lead students to create their own experiences and, perhaps even develop partnerships with real foreign companies. These 'forays' into areas seemingly unrelated to the business world can teach us to decipher the nuances, the perceptions, and the finer details, (this time ‘real’ and not merely imagined) which are often fundamental in business relationships between countries.
This would help in understanding, for example, that in Italy every business transaction is perceived as a relationship between people, and that empathy is a necessary element in communications. And, that we shouldn't worry if an Italian likes suggesting ad hoc solutions rather than following standard procedures, because it is a test of flexibility, a real necessity in everyday Italian life.
What electronic device, even a Japanese one, can offer all this?
[1] Moore D. (2001) (éd.) « Les représentations des langues et de leur apprentissage. Références, modèles, données et méthodes ». Paris: Didier, p. 9. (Representations of languages and language learning. References, models, data and methods)
