Preservice teacher education in Italy has witnessed over the last few years the implementation of new forms of training programs, modeled on the basis of previous ones.1 Since 2012, the training of teachers has been carried out within university-run courses directed at novice teachers (Tirocinio Formativo Attivo/TFA) as well as teachers with a few years of teaching experience but without any previous formal background preparation (Percorso Abilitante Speciale/PAS). Both programs encompass a general part on pedagogical approaches (18 ECTS2), and a more specific disciplinary one (18 ECTS) dedicated to language and language teaching; TFA novice teachers also have a considerable practicum period (19 ECTS) to complete. A final individual reflective report, which generally includes a sample of a teaching unit, concludes the training path. Both TFA and PAS programs are elective, but are a necessary qualification to teach in state schools: at the end of the course, attendees are required to pass a teaching qualification exam entitling them to become teachers of English in secondary state schools. This chapter will illustrate the implementation of the above-mentioned programs as carried out in two Italian universities, where one or more components of the training courses for prospective English teachers focused on introducing participants to English as an International Language (EIL) and, more specifically, to World Englishes (WE) and English as a lingua franca (ELF), while enhancing their awareness on how to plan and devise their English lessons with a new perspective on the emerging uses of English/es. We will first delineate the experience at the University of Verona, where the initial three out of six units were wholly dedicated to the introduction of WE, ELF and their pedagogical implications. We will then illustrate the experience at Roma Tre University where EIL, WE and ELF were integrated throughout the program components. The potential implications of both approaches for teacher education aimed at fostering a plurilithic, WE- and ELF-informed didactic approach to teaching English today will then be discussed.
WE, EIL/ELF and awareness of their pedagogical implications in teacher education courses in Italy
VETTOREL, Paola;Lopriore, Lucilla
2017-01-01
Abstract
Preservice teacher education in Italy has witnessed over the last few years the implementation of new forms of training programs, modeled on the basis of previous ones.1 Since 2012, the training of teachers has been carried out within university-run courses directed at novice teachers (Tirocinio Formativo Attivo/TFA) as well as teachers with a few years of teaching experience but without any previous formal background preparation (Percorso Abilitante Speciale/PAS). Both programs encompass a general part on pedagogical approaches (18 ECTS2), and a more specific disciplinary one (18 ECTS) dedicated to language and language teaching; TFA novice teachers also have a considerable practicum period (19 ECTS) to complete. A final individual reflective report, which generally includes a sample of a teaching unit, concludes the training path. Both TFA and PAS programs are elective, but are a necessary qualification to teach in state schools: at the end of the course, attendees are required to pass a teaching qualification exam entitling them to become teachers of English in secondary state schools. This chapter will illustrate the implementation of the above-mentioned programs as carried out in two Italian universities, where one or more components of the training courses for prospective English teachers focused on introducing participants to English as an International Language (EIL) and, more specifically, to World Englishes (WE) and English as a lingua franca (ELF), while enhancing their awareness on how to plan and devise their English lessons with a new perspective on the emerging uses of English/es. We will first delineate the experience at the University of Verona, where the initial three out of six units were wholly dedicated to the introduction of WE, ELF and their pedagogical implications. We will then illustrate the experience at Roma Tre University where EIL, WE and ELF were integrated throughout the program components. The potential implications of both approaches for teacher education aimed at fostering a plurilithic, WE- and ELF-informed didactic approach to teaching English today will then be discussed.
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