Teaching Italian XIX: Lingue geniali: creare e collaborare
The Settimana della Lingua Italiana nel Mondo 2026 reminds us that Italian is a lingua geniale – heir to a long and rich history and tradition – and exports to the world the best of its know-how in technology, science, engineering, design, fashion, gastronomy, literature, art, and history. And yet no language exists in isolation: it was and is shaped by the cultures it has touched, and continues to live in connection with other languages and disciplines.
This spirit is at the heart of the 19th edition of Teaching Italian, Lingue geniali: creare e collaborare, to be held at Montclair State on Friday, October 16. We invite educators to move beyond isolated language programs and engage in meaningful collaboration with colleagues across world languages. The goal is to share techniques, activities, and models of practice that bring languages into dialogue with one another, strengthening teaching, learning, and world language programs.
Teaching Italian is seeking co-leaders for three (3) workshops. Each workshop will be 80 minutes and must be co-led by an Italian educator and an educator of another world language. Solo proposals will not be considered. The theme and content of each workshop are open to the co-presenters, but proposals should highlight a successful instructional model they have already used in their schools.
The objectives of the workshop co-leaders are to:
- apply theory to practice in the design and development of instructional materials that reflect cross-linguistic connections and can be adapted across world language programs.
- offer participants engaging and authentic opportunities for discussion, drawing on intercultural competencies to develop critical thinking and demonstrate how collaboration across languages strengthens linguistic and cultural awareness.
- co-construct materials that highlight the interplay between Italian and one other world language, suitable for proficiency-based activities across a range of levels, from elementary to advanced, including AP, and guide participants in adapting those materials so they leave with resources ready to use on the next school day.
For their participation in Teaching Italian, the Coccia Institute will offer an honorarium to workshop co-leaders.
To submit a proposal, please complete the form https://forms.gle/KzC7dV1KqLMGNkAG8 by Friday, May 29, 2026. Accepted proposals will be notified by June 9, 2026.
Browse past editions on the Teaching Italian Symposium website. Questions? Contact Enza Antenos, antenosconfe@montclair.edu.