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University of Florida

Authentic Communication & Language Practice


UF Faculty: Alessia Colarossi
Department: Languages, Literatures and Cultures
College: College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

Partner Faculty: Angela M. T. Zucchi
Department: Department of Modern Languages (Dept. de Letras Modernas)
Faculdade de Filosofia, Letras e Ciências Humanas
Partner Institution: Universidade de São Paulo
Title: Authentic Communication & Language Practice
Project Description: This project connects learners of Italian in Brazil and the US to collaborate on a project using the target language. The project focuses on the culture and geography of three Italian regions: Lazio, Trentino Alto Adige, and Valle d’Aosta. Students research the regions in groups, participate in discussions with faculty members, and produce a presentation about the region with the resources the groups have shared and discussed. Students in both countries also engage in whole class discussion during synchronous meetings. A final assignment asks the students to plan a trip to one of the regions with their group.
Learning Outcomes:
  • Intercultural awareness
  • Collaboration and exchange of new information related to geography and culture
  • Enhancement and focus on oral production amongst diverse foreign language learners of Italian
Participating Countries: Brazil
Discipline: World Languages
UF Course Code & Name: ITA 1131 - Beginning Italian II
Project Duration: 5 weeks
Activity Type(s):
  • Student-to-Student Dialogue
  • Student-to-Student Project
  • Virtual Guest Speaker
  • Other
Time allotted to each activity:
  • Synchronous Activities: 3 hours
  • Asynchronous Activities: 5 hours
  • Individual Work: 3 hours
Technology Tools:
  • Videoconference: Zoom
  • Messaging Applications: WhatsApp or similar tools chosen by the students
  • Collaborative Authoring Platforms: Google Drive/Docs
Sequence of Activities:
  1. Offline Readings: familiarization with partner school and country and resources about the scope of the virtual exchange.
  2. Introduction and Ice-breaker: Whole group synchronous meeting with students and professors.
  3. Italian Language Practice: small group student-to-student interactions and post meeting individual reflection.
  4. Collaborative Project
    • Part 1: Trentino Alto Adige or Valle d’Aosta
      • Online asynchronous or synchronous (preferable when possible) resource sharing in groups.
      • Whole group synchronous meeting: reporting on progress. Students from different groups volunteer to present and share their resources. Cultural aspects emphasized by faculty during whole group discussion.
    • Part 2: Lazio
      • Online asynchronous resource sharing in groups
      • Whole group synchronous meeting: reporting on progress. Students from different groups volunteer to present and share their resources. Cultural aspects emphasized by faculty during whole group discussion.
    • Final Assignment: Students will imagine and write about a virtual trip taken to one of the regions (with their group).

Activity Details