Contrastive Grammar as an Intercultural Laboratory in the Italian School
Marina De Rossi, Francesca Favino, Barbara Cinel
This article explores the role of Contrastive Grammar (CG) in language teaching and learning, highlighting its first practical application in Italy with regard to the Italian-English combination and the related pedagogical implications, both observed and future ones. In a school context of increasing cultural and linguistic superdiversity (Vertovec, 2007), contrastive practices could support the development of a «more inclusive curriculum» (Santipolo, 2020), yet recent insights on the morphological aspects of such practices are still limited (Cognini, 2022). Therefore, starting from an analysis of the existing literature, this study identifies some research gaps and aims to contribute to filling them through a qualitative exploratory case study (Yin, 2018), involving two teachers and 44 students from an upper secondary school. Semi-structured interviews and focus groups were the means for collecting participants’ perceptions at the end of an experimental CG course, while spreadsheets and QDA Miner Lite software were used for coding. The interview data were triangulated with document analysis from summative assessments administered to one of the two classes involved. The results, although limited to a single school, indicate that CG can promote awareness, critical thinking, and the ability to learn independently. Metacognitive reflection on language as fostered by CG may help all students succeed, especially those with fewer opportunities. Finally, the study outlines the possible applications of CG in the Italian educational context, also in view of potential future research.
Keywords
Intercultural Education, Contrastive Grammar, Language Teaching & Learning, Focus on Form, Metacognition.
