Grammar in the vertical curriculum. Grammar teaching seminars for Comprehensive Institutes - Fifth edition
Lifelong learning course
Package course for primary and lower secondary schools
Scientific Director: Cecilia Poletto
Duration: 16 hours (12 in person, 4 in e-learning) + 9 hours of self-study
Course period: upon request by the school. Upon request, it is possible to arrange for the course to be delivered remotely, in synchronous mode, through the Zoom platform
Package cost: 2500 euro
Objectives: To design the teaching of grammar from a “vertical” perspective, ensuring methodological continuity between primary and secondary school;
To adopt, in primary school, a grammatical model consistent with modern research in linguistics;
To propose innovative strategies for teaching grammar on the basis of concrete scientific and methodological updating;
To develop a heuristic approach to grammatical knowledge, through the analysis of authentic materials;
To develop simple pathways for interlinguistic comparison;
To initiate potential action research pathways;
To foster dialogue between disciplines and among teachers from different school levels;
To promote self-study within schools.
Target participants: Teachers of language subjects (Italian and modern languages) in primary and lower secondary school
Teaching methodologies: The participatory theoretical lesson will be followed by workshop sessions in which teachers will be guided in the production of materials that can be used immediately in teaching practice, also through brief pathways of independent planning and methodological meta-reflection, in the light of a coherent theoretical framework.
Each lesson will be complemented by training activities (individually or in groups) to be carried out in e-learning mode, through the use of free multimedia platforms.
Programme:
MODULE 1. GRAMMAR OF THE MIND AND SCHOOL GRAMMARS
The module will focus on the universal mechanisms underlying the functioning of languages, emphasising the contribution of dialects to the teaching of grammar, with particular attention also to motivational aspects. Elements of language acquisition will be provided, with the aim of motivating the need for a formal approach to grammar teaching.
MODULE 2. SOUNDS, SYLLABLES AND WORDS
The module will provide the basic elements of phonetics and phonology, encouraging the use of the relevant tools for planning teaching units on the analysis of the syllable and the word as primary units for sentence formation. The relationship between phonetics, phonology and orthography will also be addressed.
MODULE 3. HOW WORDS ARE MADE
The module will provide elements of formal morphology, with particular attention to the notion of “head”. Teaching pathways on the “word” as a complex and structured unit, which can be manipulated and “taken apart”, will be proposed, with particular emphasis on its value within the vertical curriculum.
MODULE 4. FROM THE WORD TO THE SENTENCE: POSSIBLE PATHWAYS
The module will provide elements of syntax teaching on a formal basis, adapting the theoretical content to concrete teaching use. Possible pathways will be proposed for the final two years of primary school and lower secondary school, with a view to creating an effective link between the different school levels.
Lecturers: Sabrina Bertollo (researcher, University of Verona), Guido Cavallo (permanent teacher in upper secondary school MIUR, contract lecturer University of Padua)
Purchase procedure: The interested school institution (or school network) may write to amministrazione.disll@unipd.it. A maximum of thirty teachers is envisaged for each package
Teaching and organisational office: For teaching and organisational information: linguistica.didattica@gmail.com
Administrative office: For administrative information: amministrazione.disll@unipd.it, tel. 049 827 9670
Lifelong learning courses