Lingua Franca

By Dr. Anna Rocca

Under the auspices of the Consulate General of Italy in Boston, starting in Fall 2010, the Network of Autonomous Schools of the Lombardy region in Italy will sponsor one Salem State student per year who would like to become a future teacher of Italian in the US to study and teach in Italy. With the assistance of both the Consulate General of Italy’s Education Office and the Department of Italian at Dickinson College, the Network organizes a program of study, training and intercultural experiences in the secondary schools of the Lombardy region.

The study abroad/internship program, which comes in three month and eight month versions–either 300 or 500 hours—is open to undergraduate students or recent graduates (within the past 18 months) whose native language is English, who are registered at universities in North America. Applicants should be proficient in Italian, and preference will be given to students who have taken advanced Italian courses at Salem State as part of their undergraduate program.

Dr. Anna Rocca, Dr. Giuseppe Strada and Dr. Carlo Cipollone signing the Memorandum of Understanding at Sturbridge, MA October 30, 2009.

The Future Teachers program provides at least 25 hours per week of training in the Network schools, of which 12 hours will be in the classroom, as English language assistants, and 13 will be for preparation, according to the training models agreed upon with the Lombardy region. A monthly study scholarship of 600 Euros (the amount is in reference to the 2008-2009 academic year) will be granted to the selected student. In addition, the Network offers students the opportunity to take courses at the local university and provide exam session for the CELI (Certificate of Knowledge of the Italian Language) certification, accredited by the Perugia University for Foreigners. Salem State will transfer the appropriate number of credits according to the hours completed in Italy. This is a great opportunity that will certainly change some students’ lives!

From left to right: Dr. Elizabeth Blood, Chair of the Department of Foreign Languages, Dr. Giuseppe Strada, Coordinator of the Network, Dr. Anna Rocca, Assistant Professor of French & Italian, and Dr. Carlo Cipollone, Director of the Education Office at the Consulate General of Italy in Boston.

For information contact Dr. Anna Rocca.