Giovanna Zaganelli Mauro Pichiassi
Contesti Italiani
Contesti italiani by Mauro Pichiassi and Giovanna Zaganelli is a new, updated edition of the two authors' textbook of the same name, which has gained great popularity among learners and teachers of Italian as a foreign language. It is intended for pupils, students, and adults who are well advanced in their language studies and are aiming for level C of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages. The textbook offers authentic excerpts from Italian language and culture, as well as exercises that can be used as a basis for language teaching.
The texts have been selected on the basis of the broad meaning of the term 'culture'. The choice of literary texts (primarily, but not exclusively) is motivated by the fact that they are documents capable of capturing social and cultural features that transcend the historical moment in which they were created. The relevant literary text was chosen for its communicative potential, preserved even outside its original context.
The second criterion followed in selecting passages from contemporary writers is didactic: the need to offer, in different text genres (from short stories to fairy tales, from novels to newspaper articles, from poetry to news items), different language models and styles, while at the same time presenting a complex range of topics and issues that can be used to explore certain aspects of Italian reality and as a basis for discussion.
The proposed texts are grouped into eight modules, structured around a common theme that is examined from different perspectives. The modular structure of the volume offers the possibility of a flexible teaching approach according to the needs and interests of different groups of students and teachers.
Giovanna Zaganelli
Giovanna Zaganelli is a professor of textual semiotics at the University for Foreigners in Perugia. She has also taught at Roma Tre University. She is a member of the scientific committee of the journals Semiotica, Comparatismi, Poli-femo, and Symbolon. She edits Gentes, a journal for the humanities and social sciences. She is involved in literary criticism, narrative theory, the relationship between visual and verbal languages in literary and artistic textuality, and the history of writing. Her most recent works include: Reading and Writing. A Semantic Map. For a Critical View," published by Fausto Lupetti Editore (2024); "From Gesture to Word. Ippolito de' Medici, Translator of Virgil between Pictorial and Poetic Language" in Studi dellaportiani. Interdisciplinary Journal (2024), and others.
Mauro Pichiassi
Mauro Pichiassi is an associate professor of modern language didactics and teaches Italian linguistics, language instruction, and Italian language didactics at the University for Foreigners in Perugia. His research focuses on in-depth study of topics related to teaching and learning Italian as a foreign language. He is the author of essays, articles, and a number of books on language teaching, language assessment, the use of information technology in teaching, and various aspects of Italian linguistics. The most recent of these are Per filo e per segno (2018) and Nuovi orizzonti di Glottodidattica (2021). He is the author of textbooks for learning Italian as a foreign language, distributed in various countries.
