Pixel International Conferences

Digital Library Directory > Innovation in Language Learning 15th Edition 2022
Innovation in Language Learning 15th Edition 2022

The Methodological Sudden Shift Brought About by COVID-19 in the Teaching & Learning of Italian LS in Malta: Perceptions, Reactions & Way Forward

Fiorella Marie Sadowski

Abstract

Online Teaching has been a topic of major interest widely spoken, written and discussed about in the past couple of years, especially recently when the world was hit by the Coronavirus pandemic.  In an era focused primarily on technology as made clear also by Selwyn, multimodality & multimedia: synchronous, asynchronous, blended, the Maltese education system had no other choice than to swiftly adapt, distancing itself from the traditional classroom with face-to-face instruction in favour of distance online learning, leaving educators on their own to experiment, practise and evaluate various teaching techniques and online platforms available for their perusal on the Web.  This paper looks at the perceptions and reactions of Italian LS teachers in secondary schools in Malta as they swiftly shifted their practice to online modes of teaching and learning during the first wave of COVID-19 pandemic. My study focused mainly on data collected through an online questionnaire which captured the views of almost 30% of Italian LS educators in Malta and Gozo, working with learners aged ten to sixteen years.  Using a series of open and closed-ended questions, compelling data was yielded on the techniques language teachers were adopting to deliver learning. Findings indicate teachers used a multimodal approach in most cases. Advantages and limitations of both systems emerged from their feedback.  Moreover, the study also sets light on the inadequate preparation in distance learning as perceived by educators while observing what activities, techniques and methodologies were put into practice.  The results show how much language teachers still feel unskilled technologically speaking yet how much aware and conscious they are about the benefits of a blended approach to language teaching and learning. 

 

References:

  1. Beck G., Tsaryk O. M., Rybina N. V., (2020) “Teaching and assessment strategies in online foreign languages distance learning”, [Internet] (circa 8 pagine), [Internet] in Materials of International Scientific and Practical Conference, No 2, May 2020, (URL:https://ojs.tdmu.edu.ua/index.php/med_osvita/article/view/11139/10608)
  2. Bezzina C. (2002), Rethinking teachers' professional development in Malta: Agenda for the twenty-first century, Journal of In-Service Education, XXVIII 1, pp. 57-78.
  3. Dolci R. (2000), La figura e la formazione dell’insegnante di italiano LS, in R. Dolci e P. Celentin (a cura di), La formazione di base del docente di italiano a stranieri, Roma, Bonacci, pp. 20.
  4. Galdieri M. (2020), Flessibilità e adattamento al cambiamento nella trasposizione didattica a distanza, in Education Sciences & Society-Open Access, XI 1, Milano, Franco Angeli, pp. 477-503.
  5. Neumeier P. (2005), A closer look at blended learning--parameters for designing a blended learning environment for language teaching and learning, in ReCALL: the Journal of EUROCALL, XVII 2, pp. 163-178.
  6. Selwyn N. (2012), Education in a digital world: Global perspectives on technolog and education, New York, Routledge.

Publication date: 2022/11/11
ISBN: 979-12-80225-42-9
Pixel - Via Luigi Lanzi 12 - 50134 Firenze (FI) - VAT IT 05118710481
    Copyright © 2024 - All rights reserved

Privacy Policy

Webmaster: Pinzani.it