Innovation in Language Learning

Chev. Prof Mario Pace is an Associate Professor of Italian at the University of Malta. He is the Head of the Department of Languages and Humanities in Education within the Faculty of Education. He is also regularly invited as Visiting Professor to hold lectures and seminars for student teachers and teachers of languages in various Universities and Educational Institutions across Europe.

He is an expert in the training and formation of teachers of Italian as a foreign language as well as in the training of teachers of foreign languages. He is responsible for the pedagogical formation of aspiring future teachers of Italian and foreign languages and member of the Masters in Teaching & Learning (MTL) Dissertations’ Committee within the Faculty of Education. He is also responsible for the teaching practicum of MTL student teachers of Italian. Dr Pace is also advisor to the Ministry of Education in Malta for the teaching/learning of foreign languages where he was entrusted with the design and implementation of a National reform in the teaching and learning of foreign languages in the Maltese Islands. In fact he is responsible for the design and implementation on a National scale of the new programme for the teaching of foreign languages in Malta – the Subject Proficiency Assessment (SPA) programme for Secondary schools as well as of the Foreign Language Awareness Programme (FLAP) for primary school students. He is also Chairperson of a number of Working Groups (WG) on a National scale, among which is the National WG for the promotion of foreign languages in Malta and the National Common European Framework for Reference for Languages (CEFR) – Malta Qualifications Framework (MQF) WG, both of which having the participation of all the major stakeholders on the island.

For more than 20 years, Mario has been Director of Courses at the Societa` Dante Alighieri in Malta. In 2006 Mario was appointed by the Società Dante Alighieri in Rome as the official examiner for the P.L.I.D.A. (Progetto lingua italiana Dante Alighieri) examinations held in Malta. He is also responsible for the development, management and delivery of a number of in-house training courses of ‘Italian for Commercial Purposes’ and “Italian for Call Centres” for various private and public companies across the Maltese Islands.

Mario gave several keynote speeches and was invited in conferences both in Europe and the USA and has published various academic papers in peer reviewed journals. He is also the author of the book entitled Marco Largi ovvero Carlo Magri – drammaturgo maltese (1617 – 1693). Vita e opere, published by Midsea Books Malta in 2018. In May of 2018 he was awarded the title of “Cavaliere dell'Ordine della Stella d'Italia" (OSI) by the President of the Italian Republic Sergio Mattarella in recognition of my significant contribution towards the promotion of the Italian culture in Malta and the strengthening of the relations between Italy and Malta, and especially for the efforts towards the enhancement of the teaching and learning of Italian in Maltese schools and other educational institutions. In January 2020 he was appointed Peer Reviewer and member of the Scientific Committee for the academic journal: Linguistica, Glottodidattica e Intercultura. (Linguistics, Language Education and Intercultural studies), to be published by Libreriauniversitaria.it. for ANVUR (agenzia nazionale di valutazione del sistema universitario e della ricerca).

Area/s of Expertise: Language Teacher Training, Higher Education, School Education, Language Learning, Languages for Specific Purposes, ePortfolios, Reflective Writings, Language Testing, Foreign Language Acquisition, Assessment, Student and Teacher Motivation in Class.