An interview with the director Stefano Coppa by Adriano Gelo. Read the interview in Italian here
Bollettino Itals is an online bimonthly Magazine dealing with linguistics and didactics of Italian to foreigners. The Bulletin is aimed at teachers of Italian in Italy and around the world; it offers suggestions that can be translated effectively into the classroom experience.
The Language Research and Didactics Center of the Department of Linguistics and Comparative Cultural Studies of the University “Ca’ Foscari” of Venezia, whose director is Prof. Paolo Balboni, hosts four laboratories that carry out research and training in the field of teaching languages and communication: one of them is ITALS, Italian Second and foreign language.
In the April 2021 session, Adriano Gelo of the Universitá per Stranieri di Siena, interviews Director Stefano Coppa, Founder and CEO, since 2005, of the Instituto Dante Alighieri in Managua, and since 2010 of the Tegucigalpa branch and from 2014 Dante in Linea.
This interview was created to find out how the idea of Dante in Linea as an online school came about, the experiences that have been gained over the years in online teaching and to learn about the success it has had in spreading the Italian language worldwide.
— ABSTRACT
Stefano Coppa is the Founder and CEO, since 2005, of the Instituto Dante Alighieri in Managua, and since 2010 of the Tegucigalpa branch.
In 2014, was created “Dante in Linea”, a project regarding the creation of a platform for the teaching of the Italian language in online mode, initially born to expand the educational offer in the countries where the Instituto Dante Alighieri branches were already present, but over the years has welcomed and continues to welcome students from all parts of the world.
In addition, since 2018 he has been Honorary Consul General for Honduras.
Adriano Gelo: Dear Director Stefano Coppa, we begin our interview with a consideration…
In the last few years, the opportunities offered by the development of technology have had notable importance on the diffusion and use of computer and multimedia tools linked to the field of training and education. In the field of language teaching, this has led to a real revolution since resources such as social networks or e-learning platforms have represented only some of the many resources that teachers can use to build activities and learning paths thanks to technology.
Stefano Coppa: We are facing a Copernican revolution. It is not so important to establish what has caused this acceleration in the growth of online language teaching in recent years because it has frequently happened that external factors take on the task of being the “spark” of revolutions.
What is important is to know that the spread of online language teaching will continue even after the health crisis has been resolved and will run alongside presential teaching until, eventually, it surpasses it. The reasons for this are many:
First and foremost is the breaking down of space/time barriers, which alone is sufficient to explain much of the transition from presential to virtual. In recent months, many projections have been made on the smart working sectors that will remain so even after the emergency.
Here, in my opinion, there is no doubt that much of the work of language teaching belong to this sector. But beyond that, and probably even more than the breaking down of space/time barriers, there is another factor to consider.
If we consider how language teaching theory and practice have been refined in the last fifty years, we cannot fail to consider the possible margins of improvement of online teaching techniques in the coming years, supported by the incredible and continuous growth of technological opportunities offered in this field.
I sincerely believe that reality could exceed any fantasy and prediction. So what are we to do? As every time history confronts us with changes that are in part unforeseen, we have to gear up starting from the places of education, that is, the universities, accepting the challenge that this Copernican revolution proposes to us. As happens and has happened in other fields, hesitancy and conservatism would be fatal.
How and when was the idea of a platform for teaching the Italian language?
About 7 years ago, in Managua at the headquarters of the Dante Alighieri Institute, a group of teachers, assisted by two IT technicians, began the development of a Moodle platform intended to accommodate an entire study program of the Italian language from Level A1 to Level C1 and a virtual salon for online master’s lessons.
After almost seven years of work, we can offer over 800 interactive activities, self-assessment possibilities, forums, and chats for continuous feedback, in addition to the master class given via videoconference, in short, a complete package that now puts us in front of a global challenge for the teaching of our language even in countries that are not part of the Latin American area.
Dante in Linea provides distance learning courses only, or offers blended learning packages?
We began this project by providing what we called “semi-presential attendance,” that is, by offering the opportunity for students who resided far from the schools’ location in Managua or Tegucigalpa to combine distance and presential study.
Today, partly because of the pandemic, our study packages are almost all distance and fully online.
What is the profile of the student taking Dante’s courses online?
We did not make substantial changes to the types of students, if any, and did not expand this type. Apart from descendants of Italians, who still account for 15-20%, university students and young professionals continue to be prevalent, as well as teenagers and children (the latter is expanding).
In the North American linguistic market, from which we are receiving the first students, it is worth underlining the presence of students who study the language for reasons that I would define as cultural, and we should not forget the ever-increasing number of students who are preparing to take the B1 level certification exam, by now a fundamental requirement for obtaining Italian citizenship.
With great pleasure, then, I want to emphasize that in the last twelve months (from March 2020 to February 2021) we have had a notable increase in enrollments with a prevalence of students coming, in order, from Honduras, Nicaragua, Argentina, and the USA. Wide and varied the nationality of students enrolled in our courses in the same period of time: from the United Arab Emirates to Mexico, from Estonia to Canada, and a total of 30 different nationalities.
What are the main motivations that lead these students to take your courses?
The desire to continue their studies in Italy as a final destination is confirmed for the categories of university students and young professionals.
It is interesting to evaluate how this desire is also typical of students who come from already developed countries and with a solid school and university structure.
On average, how long do students take courses?
The most significant change introduced by the increase in demand for Italian language courses thanks to online attendance is the possibility of organizing intensive and semi-intensive courses, which in the present experience was made impossible by the scarcity of candidates for this module.
The groups, normally composed of about 6 people, attend daily programs from Monday to Friday of about an hour and a half each day. This modality allows for an exponential acceleration with respect to traditional courses, making it possible in just a few months, for example, to reach the B1 level necessary for the Citizenship application. This has also led to an increase in average attendance which is around four months.
Let’s now move on to the teachers of Dante in Line. What characteristics must they have? How are they selected?
We have maintained the characteristic that distinguishes us from the beginning of our experience, namely that of hiring only Italian mother tongue teachers, chosen on the basis of the following requirements:
Theoretical and practical skills in teaching Italian to foreigners gained through university studies and familiarity with the main IT tools useful for conducting courses.
Obviously, the possibility of online teaching has allowed us to recruit a workforce directly in Italy, especially among young undergraduates or graduates from Siena, Perugia, and Venice. I’m obviously referring to the two Universities for Foreigners, as well as Ca ‘Foscari.
We maintain a physical presence of teachers (3 in Managua and 5 in Tegucigalpa) for both major coordination with the Didactic Direction for the administration of the CILS Exam Sessions which, even during the acute phase of the pandemic, we managed to maintain, in strict compliance with the biosecurity measures.
What teaching method (s) do the teachers use?
Two premises should be introduced in relation to this theme. The first refers to the average number of learners attending our groups which is between 5 and 6.
The second, is a general method and represents, if I may say so, an old obsession of mine. Teaching as an LS of our language marks every day more relevant differences compared to teaching as L2, I am obviously referring to the way our language is taught in Italy. Without going into details, I will limit myself to expressing my conviction regarding the training of teachers in Italian universities.
After a common general training, a sort of specialization for teaching abroad should be introduced, perhaps accompanied by the obligation of internships outside Italy (like 6 months), furthermore, the trainers should know “on the field” the differences relating to the individual teaching contexts that are gradually materializing and that must be known firsthand in order to be transmitted to the teachers who are being trained.
In your opinion, what are the advantages and disadvantages of learning a foreign language at a distance?
I have always maintained that when teaching our language abroad, lessons must be transformed into permanent language “immersion” laboratories.
I frequently use a football metaphor with my teachers, where language is represented by the ball: either our students “dribble” as much as possible during the lesson (hence the small number of groups is a sine qua non) or we lose the game… (i.e., students leave after experiencing the frustration of not making progress in learning).
In this respect, I do not register any disadvantages to online teaching over presential. We are asked to pay more attention to phonetics, to overcoming phonetic barriers, but in this case, there are plenty of opportunities online, to introduce input positive with respect to this topic.
The approach is always a derivative of the humanistic approach that was used in presential, with that premise “utilitarian” premise that the quality of input is determined only by the success of the output.
In this period, what is the state of health of the Italian language in the countries where you work?
As I mentioned earlier and as far as our direct experience is concerned, after an initial lurch in the first two months following the outbreak of the pandemic, the “transition” from presential to virtual developed smoothly, even widening the range of participation.
has definitively demonstrated that a whole series of prejudices regarding online language teaching are destined to be overcome by practical experience.
What about globally?
It’s a little early, in my opinion, to be able to draw a trend line globally. I can only say that when we expanded our online Italian courses to North America and Northern Europe, we had an immediate response and an adherence that, although initial, seems to promise a lot. If a good day starts in the morning…
What are the main issues facing in the countries where you work?
The main difficulty is, working in underdeveloped countries, the instability of the internet connection. This is true in part for teachers, for whom, however, we are managing to solve the problem, and in part for the students who live in remote areas of these countries and are subject to this problem. this problem. The other problem that is emerging is that of the time slots in which the students live.
It seems clear that in the face of global demand for teaching, we must address the logistical issue both in forming groups and in building a network of teachers who can work the different schedules needed.
What do you think about MAECI’s initiatives concerning the diffusion of the Italian language in the world?
In general, I believe that there has been a lowering of the guard on the subject, after the enthusiasm that was registered in the early 2000s, when the intention was announced to build a real Italian language industry in the world.
To do this, much more effort and more effective measures would have been necessary. I am thinking, for example, of the hypothesis, announced several times and never implemented, of extending the sphere of the Civil Service also to teachers of the Italian language abroad. How many energies could be put into play by a choice of that type, and what a concrete experience it would have for the teachers themselves!
What relationship does Dante in Linea have with Italian language certifications?
Permanent, I would say. Not only regarding the CILS certification exams of the University for Foreigners of Siena, which we have been administering directly in Managua and Tegucigalpa for more than a decade now, but also by offering specific preparation for all the other certifications of the CLIQ Association, so that students can then take the exam in the location closest to them.
Plans for the future?
The future is today… That is to say that the consolidation and expansion of what already exists is the work of every day, without losing sight of all the possible improvements of virtual teaching techniques and teaching materials made available. It is a construction site, that of online language teaching, which in the next five years will experience a tumultuous development and this independently of the pandemic.
