Second Language Acquisition

Paper Summary:

This paper examines Marcel Danesi's "Adesso! A Functional Introduction to Italian, Second Edition" in light of current theories in second language acquisition (SLA). The paper also analyzes how the text would function in a general classroom context. The paper relates that if "Adesso!" is evaluated in terms of meeting its stated objectives and in terms of the current theoretical models regarding SLA, then it clearly passes evaluation as a useful classroom textbook. The paper concludes that it can be highly recommended as a textbook for teaching Italian.

Outline:
Introduction
Organization Based on Interesting Topics and Cultural Contexts
Provide Activities for Students to Talk in Open-Ended Exercises
Inputs, Strategies and Tasks
Grammar and Vocabulary
The Question of Culture
Comparison of English and Italian Languages and Cultures
Opportunities for Further Exploration and Assessment
Cumulative Evaluation and Recommendation

From the Paper:

"The organization of chapters and themes around their frequency of usage in everyday Italian speech is, admittedly, a rather arbitrary way of designing a text. After all, it is unclear how Danesi has determined what situations will be most frequent or functional. This being said, the range of everyday situations explored in the text is diverse and there is a level of progression through the text with succeeding chapters building upon, and referencing, previous ones."
"The text does contain some dialogues that allow students to converse with each other. These are sometimes open-ended, comprising of "interviews" in which one student may ask another student questions with no fixed answers (Danesi 82)."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Danesi, Marcel. Adesso! A Functional Introduction to ItalianSecond Edition. New York: Heinle and Heinle, 1997.
• Danesi, Marcel and Mollica, Anthony. "Conceptual Fluency Theoryand Second-Language Teaching." Teaching and LearningLanguages, ed. Anthony Mollica. Welland, ON: Soleil, 1998, 213-234.
• Hadley, Alice Omaggio. Teaching Language in Context Third Edition.Toronto: Thomson Heinle, 2001.

More papers on Second Language Acquisition:

• Essay # 32686 : "Theories of Second Language Acquisition"
• Essay # 83744 : "Second Language Acquisition (SLA) "
• Research Paper # 128200 : "Second Language Acquisition and Metacognition"
• Research Paper # 108133 : "Second Language Acquisition in School Age Children"

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