Marta Guarda

Computer-Mediated-Communication and Foreign Language Education

Since the early 1990s, the increasing availability of the computer and the advent of the Internet have led to a new form of communication which helps overcome the limits of time and space, namely that which researchers and scholars refer to as Computer-Mediated-Communication (CMC). The aim of this paper is to provide a brief description of CMC, its distinctive features and its potential benefits for foreign language learning. The paper begins with a brief historic perspective on CMC in relation to Computer-Assisted Language Learning (CALL) practices and Network-Based Language Teaching (NBLT), i.e. language teaching activities carried out by means of local or global communication networks. It then looks at the potential benefits of CMC in foreign language education.

‘I have discovered new teaching pathways’: the link between language shift and teaching practice

ABSTRACT The aim of this paper is to explore how a shift in the language of teaching and learning can lead university lecturers of a range of disciplines to reflect on and innovate their teaching approaches. The paper is based on a case study of a single university in the north of Italy which is gradually becoming a bilingual higher education institute. Through a thematic analysis of questionnaire and interview data gathered from 53 lecturers who attended professional development courses designed to support them in this move, the authors show how for many lecturers this language shift has offered an opportunity to collectively reflect on their pedagogic approach and become more aware of student needs, as well as their own. This study focuses on a single university, but it helps to shed light on the challenges, implications and also the potential that a language shift can bring. The findings suggest that professional development to support lecturers should be designed to address not only language needs but also to offer space for reflection on practice and to raise awareness of the ‘inherent multilingualism’ of higher education (van der Walt, Christa. 2013. Multilingual Higher Education: Beyond English Medium Orientations. Bristol: Multilingual Matters.).

“Improvisation is not allowed in a second language”: A survey of Italian lecturers’ concerns about teaching their subjects through English

Abstract English-medium instruction (EMI) is increasingly being introduced not only in universities in northern Europe but also in central and southern countries, such as Italy. However, the competences and concerns of the lecturers involved are not always considered when such developments are introduced, and support or training may not be offered. This paper reports on a survey on EMI to which 115 lecturers in a public university in northern Italy responded. The survey was carried out by the university’s Language Centre as part of the LEAP (Learning English for Academic Purposes) Project, which was developed to support lecturers in EMI. The survey sought to identify what the lecturers perceived as their strengths and weakness in English, their concerns, and also their evaluations of the experience of teaching through English if they had any. The findings discussed in this paper shed light on the needs of lecturers who are involved in EMI, which relate to methodology as well as language issues. The implications of this for European university language centres intending to support EMI at their universities are discussed in the conclusion.

Managing paradoxes, dilemmas, and change: A case study to apply the Yin Yang wisdom in Western organizational settings

Drawing on Fang’s (2012) Yin Yang theory of culture while taking up the roadmap proposed by Li (2016) for applying the epistemological system of Yin Yang balancing to complex issues in management research, in general, and to paradoxical issues, in particular, the purpose of this paper is to explore how organizations and individuals in the West can balance cultural paradoxes and manage culture dilemmas through the lens of Yin Yang wisdom.,The paper is based on a qualitative case study. Data are gathered through interviews, documents, and field observations in four subsidiaries of an Italian insurance multinational corporation and were analyzed according to the three parameters, i.e., situation, context, and time (Fang, 2012).,The findings show how the integration and learning from seemingly opposite cultures and sets of values lead the organization and individuals to balancing cultural paradox and managing cultural dilemma effectively. With regard to situation, the authors find that both organizations and customers choose the most relevant value(s) to take advantage of specific events or circumstances, and that different value orientations can coexist. As for context, the authors show that organizations can adapt their values either through suppression and/or promotion, which can foster individuals to find new balancing within the paradox. In terms of time, the authors show that the process of learning from other cultures over time can play a role in the shift of people’s and organizations’ choices of attitudes and value orientations.,The paper suggests the relevance and usefulness of adopting Yin Yang wisdom to uncover the dynamic process of cultural learning in Western scenarios.