Confronti

 

Project description

 

Confronti is an exchange developed by Nicoletta Marini Maio and Kate McMahon at Penn University in the US. It is based on the famous Cultura project developed at MIT by Furstenberg et al. The students are involved in computer-mediated communication through a variety of on-line tools such as Questionnaires, View and Compare, the Forum, and video-conferencing. The project is set up so as to encourage students to explore their own cultural values, assumptions and beliefs through a process of comparison and contrast with the views of American students. Students discuss their ideas and hypotheses about cultural differences and similarities through an online forum and videoconferences with American students.

 

Universities

University of Padova

Pennsylvania University

Middlebury University

 

Teachers

Francesca Helm

Nicoletta Marini Maio

Silvia Carlorosa

 

Classes

 

2003-4

Italy: 2nd Year English - Lingue e Culture Moderne

US:

 

2004-5

Italy: 2nd Year English - Lingue e Culture Moderne

US:

2006-7

Italy: Inglese I e II (DEC e GAM), Facoltà di Scienze Politiche

US:

 

Technologies

 

Internet (Confronti website)

Group to group video-conferencing

Skype - video, audio and text chat

 

Websites/materials produced:

Confronti: Padova - Penn

VHS video recordings of video conferences

 

Related publications/presentations:

Helm, F. (2005) “The integration of videoconferencing and online tools in a journey of cross-cultural understanding”, in Taylor, C., Taylor Torsello, C., Gotti, M. (a cura di) I Centri Linguistici: approcci, progetti e strumenti per l'apprendimento e la valutazione  (Atti del 3° Convegno AICLU, Trieste, 13-14 giugno 2003, 6° Seminario A.I.C.L.U. Letojanni (Messina), 30-31 ottobre 2003) Trieste, Academic Press, pp. 505-516.

Fratter, I., Helm, F., e Whigham, C. (2005) “Cross-cultural exchanges at the Language Centre of the University of Padua and the issue of language“ in Moravčìková A., Taylor Torsello C., Vogel T. (a cura di) University Language Centres: Broadening Horizons, Expanding Networks (Proceedings of the 8^th Cercles Conference Bratislava, 9-11 September 2004) pp. 177-195.

Helm, F. (2006) “CONFRONTI: different experiences of a cross-cultural exchange”,  in Lo Duca, M.G., Dalziel, F., Griggio, D. (a cura di) Il C.L.A. verso l’Europa: e-learning, testing, portfolio delle lingue (Il C.L.A. per le Lingue Straniere: Esperienze e Prospettive, n° 4), Padova, CLEUP (in corso di stampa).

 

 

 

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