Il Docente di Conversazione in Lingua Straniera di 

Liri Castaneda Fructuoso

1.   QUADRO NORMATIVO

• L’esperto madrelingua e le sperimentazioni

A partire dagli inizi degli anni novanta nella normativa italiana compaiono riferimenti precisi al docente di conversazione, chiamato indistintamente, esperto madrelingua, assistente, lettore, o altro.

Prima di quel momento, tuttavia, questa figura veniva già impiegata in vari tipi e ordini di scuole in compresenza con un insegnante di lingua o anche autonomamente.

Nel 1973 viene regolamentato il liceo linguistico attivato unicamente nelle scuole non statali.

Il D.M. 31 luglio 1973 - Orari e programmi di insegnamento dei licei linguistici, pubblicato nel supplemento ordinario n. 50 del Bollettino Ufficiale, Parte I del 13-12-1973, stabiliva gli orari e programmi d’insegnamento dei licei linguistici. Si studiavano due lingue dal primo anno e nel triennio, come materia opzionale, anche una terza lingua. Secondo il decreto: “Gli allegati programmi, che hanno valore sperimentale, saranno attuati fino all’entrata in vigore della riforma della Scuola Secondaria Superiore nel biennio a partire dal 1° ottobre 1974.”

Successivamente, in base al Decreto del Presidente della Repubblica del 31 maggio 1974, n. 419, sono state attuate numerose sperimentazioni dell’insegnamento di due lingue straniere nella scuola media e di una o più lingue straniere, a seconda degli indirizzi di studio, per tutta la durata del corso di studi dell’istruzione secondaria superiore.

Un notevole sviluppo hanno avuto gli indirizzi linguistici che si concludevano con il titolo di licenza linguistica in ragione dell’assenza di corsi linguistici nelle scuole di Stato. Erano strutturati sulla base dell’inserimento di tre lingue straniere nel curricolo, di cui la terza generalmente si studiava nel triennio finale.

Nel 1988 fu costituita una Commissione Ministeriale, presieduta dal sottosegretario alla Pubblica Istruzione Beniamino Brocca, con il mandato di revisionare i programmi dei primi due anni della scuola secondaria superiore, in vista del prolungamento dell’istruzione obbligatoria al sedicesimo anno d’età.

 

 

 

 

THE CONVERSATION TEACHER

The  conversation teacher is a teaching position held in Italian State schools since the 1980s. Then, this teaching role was seen as solely a new tool for the Italian teacher of LANGUAGES and the conversation teacher, more or less, a language assistant with no autonomy and no rights as a teacher or freedom in the class activities. This language assistant would assist the teacher in the laboratory. Later, a new role and teachers of conversation in foreign languages were introduced to Commercially oriented schools in such state programmes as ‘Erica’, 'Perito aziendale', 'Corrispondenti esteri', etc. As students in these business courses were involved in much theory, particularly in languages, where mainly the language of commerce was dealt with, as well as business law, it was felt that the teachers of conversation could help improve oral skills in the basic language, much needed however, in the business situation. The mother-tongue teacher had his/her own programme to carry out and was to assess his/her students autonomously. This changed at the beginning of the ‘90s when the mother-tongue teacher was made to share his/her lesson with the Language theory teacher and was to be, only eventually, consulted in the assessment. The MT teacher became involved in different schools where programmes such as the experimental programme ‘Maxi-sperimentazione’ and the 1992 Brocca programme were adopted, but only ever consulted in evaluation periods.With the new law on recruitment n.124 3/5/99, the mother-tongue teacher was given the right to assess his/her students autonomously, and the right to express his/her vote, in the case of overall assessment, at the end of the school year as well as have a voice in all the stages and phases of school decisions. Thus, all teachers in the school system since then have the same rights and duties and are expected to work as a team to improve the service that the school offers the community and to obtain the best results. This applies to the mother-tongue teacher (docente di conversazione in lingua) to the same extent as others. The mother-tongue teacher, however still shares the lesson with the theory teacher, therefore any programming and projects should be carefully discussed and prepared together. The general aims of both the teachers in any teaching situation must be the same even if strategies can be decided individually. In the Brocca programme where the theory teacher has between 100 and 132 teaching hours per class per year, a third of these are shared with the teacher of conversation. This calls for both teachers working closely together and organising their work in such a way that they complement each other. One is not the other’s assistant but deals with the formation of specific skills. This has not changed with the Riforma Gelmini and the new Liceo Linguistico. The syllabus for one year can be broken down into a series of modules, the duration of which should not be longer than two to three months. The teacher’s programme, then, needs to be seen in smaller autonomous units that will be self-sufficient. These smaller units will enable the teacher to evaluate both the learning and the teaching process more immediately and regularly. For the students they will provide higher motivation, as the student knows exactly how, when and where the new skills will be reached. At the same time the teacher can adjust any failing strategies and remedy any problems that students are facing almost immediately when the problem presents itself. The teacher can also cater to student needs and requests more easily by developing the next modules and units based on these necessities. At the moment, the secondary school consists of a five-year study course. The first two years represent an initial phase and the last three years are considered the final phase. The role of the conversation teacher changes according to phase. That is, the conversation teacher's role is not the same in the classes of the first two years as it is in the classes of the final three years.In the first two years or ‘biennio’ the teacher of conversation is required to consolidate the work carried out by the theory teacher and develop activities in which students can practice the functions, grammar, Lexis etc they have dealt with. Sometimes and at a very simple level, the conversation teacher can introduce certain topics of culture from the country whose language is being studied that can interest, stimulate and thus motivate the students into desiring to know more and to use the language. In the ‘triennio’, the last three years of study, there is less consolidation work and more opportunity is given to guided and free production of the oral language in many different topics and areas, some related to the culture of the country, others more general world issues. The main aims of the two teachers are, at this level, to give the students the necessary skills to be able to deal with any kind of situation and topic whether in a literary field or not.The conversation teacher will find that to be able to talk, the students will need to use critical thinking skills which should be developed with all teachers in the 'triennio'. Techniques in speaking are an essential part of the conversation programme as this will develop oral skills for the examination and life long learning skills. If there is not a close planning of syllabus and lessons by the two teachers, any strategies they decide to adopt will be defeated. Clearly, then teaching approaches should necessarily be discussed and a meeting point found if ideas and schools of thought are different.Both roles need to compensate each other. The theory teacher focuses principally on organisation, style, the form of language and grammar points. The conversation teacher focuses more on the content, comprehension and so language used and activates acquisition through activities connected with the text, stimulating oral interaction among the students and with the teacher. It is not necessary for there to be two distinct programmes but one that is clearly connected and decided by both teachers. This can change over the school year depending on student progress and the individuality of a particular class of students.