Intercomprendersi – a teacher training experience

Abstract

This contribution presents a teacher-training program delivered by the Italian Educational Department in the Autonomous Province of Bolzano (Italy) centred on Intercomprehension theory. It was addressed to teachers in service with the aim of combining both purposes of plurilingual and intercultural education. Considered that linguistic competence is essential for developing knowledge in every school subject, the purpose of this training was to offer practical suggestions to become aware of how interlinguistic, receptive skills and decoding strategies can be applied in combination to facilitate comprehension tout court and to achieve mediation skills and language awareness.The paper offers some considerations about todays language teaching/learning processes in schools and about the changing role of teachers. The third section introduces the concept of Intercomprehension and its value for teacher training. The paper focuses on a description of the phases of the teacher training program conducted in 2017. It illustrates briefly the context, the needs assessment process, the aims and contents. The fourth section provides a summary and analysis of participants feedback, with ideas for future developments and conclusive remarks.