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Franca POPPI
Professore Ordinario
Dipartimento di Studi Linguistici e Culturali
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Pubblicazioni
2023
- Can We Reconcile ERT (Emergency Remote Teaching) and Best Practices in Language Learning/Teaching? A Case Study on How to Stimulate Students’ Proactiveness via CMC
[Articolo su rivista]
Poppi, Franca
abstract
The adoption of technological tools as an alternative to or in support of more traditional methods became pressing and inevitable in 2020, because of the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, which marked the closure of on-site face-to-face classes all over the world. All of a sudden, what had so far been considered to be ‘normal’ was destabilized or disrupted by the pandemic. Technology solutions had to be adopted to save the whole education system, as teachers reinvented themselves in a period which catalysed a new era in virtual language learning and teacher professional development (Copeland 2021). In some cases it was possible to move classes effectively to online and distance education platforms because of pre-existing experience, but in others all the involved stakeholders had to strive to cope and manage the ‘new normal’ (Trust and Whalen 2021).The present contribution explores the online practices adopted in a course attended by master students with a view to stimulating the attendees’ proactiveness, and in particular their involvement in tasks which encouraged them to develop a capability for using linguistic resources strategically and knowingly, aware of “how meaning potential encoded in English can be realised as a communicative resource” (Widdowson2003, 177).Keywords:Emergency Remote Teaching, proactiveness, global communicative competencies, strategic awarenesshe term globalisation, which is now recurrent in contemporary rhetoric and a keyword in both academic and popular discourse, refers, in a general sense, to the “quantum-like pace of the international flow of communication, knowledge and money [...] being increasingly available in all parts of the world” (Hirst and Thompson 2011, 19). As the world becomes more and more globalized and connected, technological devices used to accomplish various tasks T
2023
- Introduction to: ICT Affordances and Higher Education: From Face-to-Face to Digital Learning Environments
[Articolo su rivista]
Argondizzo, Carmen; Poppi, Franca
abstract
The use of technological tools as an alternative to or in support of more traditional methods is no longer considered a novelty in the context of language learning (Isaías, Miranda and Pífano 2021; Lai 2017; Li 2017) and its evaluation (Arabaci and Akilli 2021,116; Purpura, Davoodifard and Voss 2021; Zechner and Evanini 2019; Weiner and Hurtz 2017). The potential of using digital tools for project-based learning and teaching has long been known. In fact, by the end of the 1980s several Higher Education (HE) programmes started to implement digital tools in their courses, as well as online communication or telecollaboration projects in their curriculum (Warschauer 2001). In those early stages individuals were mostly supposed to receive input, without being able to express any type of feedback. Indeed, it was only with the new generation of digital tools (Web 2.0),described as “network-centric” (Anderson 2008a, 227), that the user-tool interactions acquired new momentum.
2023
- “A Terrible Beauty Is Born”: Opportunities and New Perspectives for Online Teaching and Assessment
[Articolo su rivista]
Poppi, Franca; Schmied, Josef
abstract
Even though the use of digital tools as an alternative to or in support of more
traditional methods is no longer considered a novelty in the context of language
learning, as a consequence of the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, what used
to be an opportunity was transformed into a pressing and inevitable necessity
that led all the actors involved in the training and evaluation process to radically
change their way of teaching and assessing. Within a matter of days, educators
around the world scrambled to shift their practice from in-person to remote
teaching. The need to maintain social distancing prompted the transition to
Emergency Remote Teaching (ERT). Even though globally the emergency
posed by Covid-19 popularized ERT as a temporary intervention to complete
a higher education academic year, ERT has undoubtedly proved to be a feasible
alternative for “students unconventionally dispersed, either locally or abroad,
when only limited contact to educational facilities and instructional materials
for their learning needs is available” (Nokukhanya et al. 2021, 9). Indeed, since
in remote teaching the participants in the communicative act mainly interact
via a screen, and sometimes even without full access to video facilities, at times
there may be the tendency to de-emphasize person-to-person contact. Therefore,
if we want remote teaching to provide new opportunities and stimuli in
the future, it is essential to draw on the examples of good practice emerged
during the pandemic, bearing in mind that teachers and educators should first
and foremost promote interactive activities at the most efficient and realizable
rate, with a view to encouraging the attendees’ notivation and participation.
2022
- A Look Back at Early Economics Blogs: A Multimodal Analysis of Indexicality and Identity Construction
[Capitolo/Saggio]
Poppi, Franca
abstract
The present contribution focuses on two small corpora of economics blogs published respectively by an Indian and an American economist: Bibek Debroy and Tyler Cowen. By adopting a multimodal approach, the analysis aims to investigate the co-occurrence of the different semiotic resources contributing to the meaning-making process, with a view to shedding light on the forms of belonging and identities favored by the two bloggers. Moreover, in order provide a retrospective overview of how early blogs were designed and conceived in their early stages of existence, and with the purpose to understand how they have now evolved,
it was decided to collect and analyze posts published a few years ago, in 2012.,
2022
- Communication styles at work: How do members of different national cultures deal with information requests and directives when writing emails?
[Articolo su rivista]
Poppi, Franca
abstract
Ever since globalization began changing the world by removing geographical barriers, the exchange of information and knowledge has become easier thanks to the Internet and the use of English as a global lingua franca. In the business arena, one of the most common forms of communication is probably emails, which have replaced traditional communication methods such as by letter, fax, and telephone (Lightfoot 2006). Emails are so cheap, easy to store, retrieve, forward, and send to multiple recipients whenever needed (Crystal 2006; Louhiala-Salminen and Kankaanranta 2005) that even small companies can generate an enormous volume of email traffic to fulfil their daily tasks, with tremendous amounts of data being exchanged (Laclavík and Maynard 2009).
Bearing in mind that different national cultures have an impact on communication styles (Gudykunst, Ting-Toomey and Chua 1988; De Mooij 2014), the present contribution focuses on three corpora of 100 emails each, written by the Japanese, Chinese and Emirati employees of a multinational freight-forwarding company with a view to comparing the communication styles adopted when interacting with colleagues from a different country within the time constraints connected with the common field of operation. In particular, the analysis aims to explore the strategies deployed to tackle potentially face-threatening speech acts like information requests and directives. The results show that cultural differences in email are present and can be explained by Hofstede’s dimensions of power-distance, individualism versus collectivism, uncertainty-avoidance and short- versus long term orientation. In particular, power-distance and short- versus long term orientation have a significant impact on the preference for promptness, task-relatedness, and relationship-relatedness in email communication.
2022
- Virtual exchange. Offering 21st century skills training through interactive online collaboration in Higher Education
[Capitolo/Saggio]
Brautlacht, R. C.; Martins, L. M.; Poppi, F.
abstract
In the European Higher Education Area (EAEA), physical mobility has been
the main driving force in internationalization for the last 30 years. The aim is
to open Europe to students, sta! and higher education institutions by o!ering a variety of mobility schemes. These mobility programs have created a
platform to develop a European identity within the higher educational community and share di!erent learning methodologies to enhance intercultural
skills, develop competencies and provide international exposure and support collaboration. The impact on internationalization in Europe has been
enormous through the di!erent funding schemes of Erasmus+. From 2014
to 2018, two million students and sta! took part in di!erent programs. The
impact study from the European Commission describes the many bene"ts
involved and also highlights several challenges that students must overcome.
The students that participated in Erasmus+ indicated that nearly all were
given European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System (ECTS) credits
(90%). Furthermore, the majority of study abroad programs were tailored
to the students’ degree programs (76%). In addition, students that participated in Erasmus believed they gained valuable knowledge, skills, and competencies. Nearly all students felt they improved their communication and
intercultural competencies. Although these are all very important "ndings,
it still raises many questions about why students are not taking part in these
funding schemes (Erasmus+ Higher Education Impact Study 2019, European
Commission)
2022
- “We have to weather the storm and ensure that we emerge stronger after the crisis”: The Impact of the COVID Pandemic on CEOs’ Letters to Shareholders.
[Capitolo/Saggio]
Poppi, Franca
abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically affected our world and our way of living, bringing along the third and greatest economic, financial and social shock of the 21st century together with 9/11 and the Global Financial Crisis of 2008 (Jackson, Schwarzenberg and Nelson, 2020; Padhan and Prabheeshb, 2021).
Unavoidably, this sudden crisis which has interrupted normal business activities, affecting organizations, as well as their public, products and services, has also hit some sectors more seriously than others.
This is for instance the case of the airline and tourism industry: during the lockdown period airplanes were on the ground, hotels were closed as travel restrictions had been put in place in virtually all countries around the world.
In such dire situation, it was of paramount importance for airline and tourism companies to communicate effectively with their stakeholders to let them know how the company was reacting and was going to react, both during and after the crisis.
Thanks to the evolution of the World Wide Web and the new technologies, the company's corporate website represents a strategic way to disseminate corporate information, enhance the company's corporate image and reputation, while strengthening the relationship with all types of stakeholders. This is particularly important when organizations have to respond to crises and present and promote the company's vision and strategy to their investors.
Presently, the most popular means through which a company is able to communicate its financial performance and initiatives is by issuing the Letters to Shareholders contained within the Annual Report. In critical times, letters to shareholders may prove useful to influence the stakeholders’ perceptions of corporate performance (Săndulescu, 2019), and increase or restore their confidence in the organization by evoking positive scenarios (Yan, Aert and Thewissen, 2019).
The letter to Shareholders allows the business leader to present his/her personal perspective on the company. Through different strategies, managers can “control and manipulate the impression conveyed to the users of accounting information” (Hadro, Klimczak and Pauka, 2017; 306).
This small-scale study focuses on two specialized corpora, which contain 59 Letters to Shareholders written in 2019 and 59 Letters to Shareholders written in 2020 belonging to tourism and travel companies, with a view to uncovering the rhetorical strategies used by corporate executives.
In the first place by uploading the two corpora to a concordancing software, it was possible to identify the most frequently employed metadiscourse markers, among the ones listed by Hyland (2005).
Then, following Hyland’s 1998 study, the different interactive and interactional markers were classified according to the persuasive function they play.
The contrastive analysis of the results reveals an extensive use of interactional markers which outnumber interactive ones. In particular, Corpus-2020 presents a higher frequency of metadiscourse markers, which result in affective and credible appeals and contribute to portraying the companies as responsible and caring and above all able to manage the present economic crisis.
2020
- "Nanotechnologies: Where should they take us?" The popularization of nanosciences on the web: A discourse analytical approach
[Articolo su rivista]
Lazzeretti, Cecilia; Poppi, Franca
abstract
The study investigates a set of web texts dedicated to nanotechnologies with the aim to assess the strategies deployed for the transfer of specialized notions to lay audiences and to evaluate how the controversy potential of the issue on hand is managed by different stakeholders. The texts under scrutiny – EU web pages and web reports issued by the environmental organization Friends of the Earth - show a primary concern, at the lexical level, with the use of nanotechnologies: the use of is in fact, among the most frequent threeword clusters around the lemma nano. In environmentalist texts the topic is often associated with highly emotional topics, i.e. babies and food, while EU web pages underline a more informational and even beneficial view of nanotechnologies, as in the case of those used in medicine, in the workplace, or already present in nature. This is confirmed also by the analysis of the interactional resources of metadiscourse (Hyland, Tse 2004), in particular hedges, boosters, and attitude markers are often called upon to support the writers’ credibility and affective appeals. Coming to the strategies adopted for the purpose of popularizing discourse “to manage its means so as to enable understanding and learning” (Calsamiglia, Van Dijk 2004, p. 17), the corpus of environmentalist reports shows that technical words very frequently used, such as titanium dioxyde, hydroxapatite, triclosan, or in vivo, are never defined, suggesting that a previous knowledge of the reader in the field of chemistry and biology is taken for granted. By contrast, texts in the EU section are characterized by plain language, while technical words are very few and, when present, thoroughly explained.
2020
- Mirror, Mirror on the wall: which strategies can suit them all?
[Capitolo/Saggio]
Poppi, Franca
abstract
English is nowadays the dominant language in the higher education sector in Europe. Not only is it the preferred medium of communication for scholars at international conferences or visiting professors, but it is also the medium of instruction used in a growing number of degree programmes (Gotti 2014). Universities in many non-English-speaking countries are indeed embracing the challenges of internationalization, as they believe that teaching disciplinary subjects in English will make study programmes more accessible and attractive to international students, improve the foreign language skills and employability prospects of local students and enhance the international prestige and mobility of academic staff (Coleman 2006; Dearden 2014). If, on the one hand, this can open up new opportunities, on the other hand, it also poses dilemmas as far as the accreditation and training of teaching staff is concerned. For instance, what language competences and which methodological skills should the teachers deploy in order to teach their subjects through English?
2020
- OVERVIEWING RESEARCH ON BELF COMMUNICATION STRATEGIES From professional practice to ELT materials
[Articolo su rivista]
Facchinetti, Roberta; Vettorel, Paola; Poppi, Franca; Franceschi, Valeria; Caleffi, Paola Maria
abstract
The present paper focuses on the use of English in BELF contexts, bearing in mind both teaching and practice in the professional field. After an overview of the state of the art in ELF and BELF research over the last twenty years, the topic is tackled from three different perspectives, which mirror the studies carried out by the unit of the University of Verona in a three-year-long nationally funded research. Firstly, we will address BELF in professional settings, to shed light on what facilitates success in online interactions, with a special focus on e-mail exchanges. Secondly, still addressing e-mail exchanges, we will suggest a broadening of the notion of BELF communication strategies that goes beyond sheer successful, mutual understanding in the professional field. Finally, bearing the first two steps of our research in mind, we will turn to the teaching environment, overviewing if and to what extent international business ELT coursebooks deal with BELF communication strategies at different levels of competence, so as to provide hints and suggestions for more effective materials in this field.
2020
- “Tiny new ingredients are a big concern”. The popularization of nanotechonologies in environmental organizations’ and institutions’ publications.
[Articolo su rivista]
Poppi, Franca; Sezzi, Annalisa
abstract
The chapter sets out to explore how nanotechnology is popularised in online reports and brochures in English issued by European and American institutions1 and environmental organizations. Nanotechnologies, by manipulating matter at a nanoscale, have a great impact on several disciplines and find applications in sectors such as medicine, engineering, electronics, food, and renewable resources. Given the repercussions on humans’ daily life, many information campaigns have been launched in order to disseminate nanotechnological knowledge to lay people. Different forms and media have been exploited as in other knowledge dissemination processes, with the new media and Web 2.0 playing an important role (Garzone 2007). If knowledge dissemination has been often seen in terms of a “recontextualization” (Calsamiglia, Van Dijk 2004) and a “translation” (Gotti 2013) of specialized information from experts to non-experts as opposed to specialized discourse (Ciapuscio 2003; Calsamiglia, van Dijk 2004; Minelli de Oliveira, Pagano 2006; Kermas, Christiansen 2013; Bongo, Caliendo 2014; Garzone 2014; Gotti 2014; Bathia et al. 2015; Salvi, Bowker 2015), it is nonetheless true that this transfer of information often goes beyond the aim of making exclusive knowledge more comprehensible to the generic public. As a matter of fact, popularized discourse frequently aims “to inform, raise awareness and cause the reader to take action” (Gotti 2014, p. 29). A striking example is for instance health discourse (Cummings 2004, 2005, 2009; Hall 2006). Therefore, this chapter intends to analyse how specialized concepts pertaining to the domain of nanotechnology are popularized in online institutions’ and environmental organizations’ reports and brochures in English and in Italian. With the former emphasizing the advantages and the latter the risks of nanoscience, a common point they share is, however, their concern with the diffusion of nano knowledge and its related vocabulary. More specifically, the analysis, based on Calsamiglia and van Dijk’s classification of five “types of explanation” (2004, p. 372), will identify the discursive strategies adopted.
2020
- “WAITING FOR YOUR INFO” An explanatory look at the communicative strategies deployed to mitigate potentially face-threatening acts in emails
[Articolo su rivista]
Poppi, Franca
abstract
Emails are perhaps the most common form of communication in business contexts. In spite of their prominence they are, however, still a common source of misunderstanding and stress. Drawing upon the integration of linguistic and genre aspects, a previous study (Poppi 2015) showed that in order to be able to decide how to draft an email, it is not possible to refer to structural characteristics and style of language alone, as in business communication the boundaries and expectations of the genre are often overruled by inventiveness and creativity. In particular, inventiveness and creativity may especially prove useful when composing emails containing potentially face-threatening acts like directives or requests. The present contribution focuses on 41 email chains written and received by the employees of companies dealing with car-trading, manufacturing of tights and socks, ICT (Information and Computer Technologies) assistance, transport and logistics, who were in charge of customer services. At first, reference was made to Goldstein and Sabin’s (2006) categorization of email exchanges on the basis of the speech act they entail. Out of the twelve main categories identified by them, it was decided to concentrate on those messages which proved to be the textualization of requests and directives (requesting someone to do something), with a view to disclosing the strategies employed to downgrade or mitigate the directness of these potentially face-threatening speech acts. In order to perform this latter stage of the analysis, it was decided to refer to the adaptation of the studies by Blum-Kulka et al. (1989) and Sifianou (1992) provided by Darics and Koller (2018), as well as to BlumKulka and Olshtain’s classification of levels of directness. The preliminary results of the analysis confirm that email writers are generally aware of the importance of mitigating the directness of face-threatening speech acts like information requests, and especially directives, as shown by the variety of strategies employed in the samples under scrutiny here.
2019
- Children with autism or autistic children? Indexicality in the websites for parents of children with neurological conditions
[Articolo su rivista]
Lazzeretti, Cecilia; Poppi, Franca
abstract
Online resources have a great potential for families of children affected by different kinds of disorders. In fact, acquiring knowledge on a child’s disease is essential for parents and carers so that they may understand and adjust to an initially distressful condition, and also increase their participation in clinical decisions. The present study explores the degree of accuracy, alteration or bias of a corpus of selected web texts appearing in websites dealing with autism, Dravet syndrome, Angelman syndrome and others, which were set up with the aim to provide useful information and support. Special attention is given to the range of expressions used to identify patients and in particular to the use of person-first vs. identity-first language, with a view to assessing their relevance and evaluating whether the person-first language issue is indeed crucial in the process of online dissemination of medical knowledge.
2019
- English as a Lingua Franca in the Academic Context: The Role of University Language Centres
[Articolo su rivista]
Ruth Elisabeth, Long; Poppi, Franca; Radighieri, Sara
abstract
Globalisation and the intensification of worldwide relations have inevitably called to the fore the question of the choice of the language to be used for contacts among people living in widely different places in the world. Lingua francas, that is “contact languages used among people who do not share a first language” (Jenkins/ Cogo/ Dewey, 2011: 281) have been in use for a long time (House, 2014) and Sanskrit, Greek, Latin and other languages were once used with this function. In present times, the task of being a lingua franca that can be used universally has fallen upon English, which has thus become the preferred medium for international com¬munication in many contexts.
As a matter of fact, English is now the dominant language in the higher education sector in Europe, as can be seen from objective indicators such as the growing number of degree programmes which use English as a medium of instruction (Gotti, 2014). Teaching subjects through the medium of English (English Medium Instruction or EMI) is widely considered to be an essential tool in the internationalization policies of universities in many non-English-speaking countries. If on the one hand this has opened up new opportunities for learning the various discourses related to the specialised disciplines taught, on the other hand it has also aroused dilemmas connected with language proficiency and the level of content competence acquired by the students. Moreover, the introduction of EMI in a university also raises a series of questions and challenges as to the accreditation and training of teaching staff. What level of English should teachers have in order to teach their subjects through English at university? What methodological skills are involved in teaching through another language? How can teachers be trained for teaching through English?
University language centres can play a fundamental role in providing answers and custom-tailored solutions for the above mentioned issues, thus preventing the members of the academic staff from feeling pushed towards teaching through English “…in order to survive in the academic environment” (Cots, 2013: 116), without a great deal of training and preparation.
The present contribution reports on the activities implemented by the Language Centre of the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia in order to assist those members of the teaching staff (lecturers) who are confronted with the inherent challenges of teaching through English on a daily basis, and also highlights possible future avenues of research and instances of best practices.
2019
- Introduction as special editors of volume 9
[Articolo su rivista]
Bondi, Marina; Poppi, Franca
abstract
The issue of health literacy has become central in the debate on healthcare communication, particularly when dealing with chronic conditions. In the definition of the World Health Organization, health literacy is identified as “the cognitive and social skills which determine the motivation and ability of individuals to gain access to, understand and use information in ways which promote and maintain good health” 1. Chronic conditions require constant communication and a variety of communicative channels that might provide support for the patients and caregivers, as well as favour adherence to the recommended healthcare practices. While there has been a considerable body of research into doctor-patient discourse, the majority of the studies have focused on oral interaction and on unmediated consultation, exploring the interaction between patient and doctor. The relative scarcity of linguistic studies on other communicative situations highlights the need for further research on the whole range of communicative practices and situations, such as communication with and through caregivers, communication between patients/caregivers themselves, use of print materials or webmediated genres.
2019
- The Training of Business Professionals in ELT Materials: A Focus on Email Writing
[Articolo su rivista]
Caleffi Paola, Maria; Poppi, Franca
abstract
Nowadays, business organizations are faced with the challenge to operate in a global, informational, and highly networked context. The globalization of business and the fast growth in digital technology are having a massive impact both on business structures, with a proliferation of international mergers and acquisitions, and on corporate communication, with most business transactions being carried out via digital media.
In this context, corporate communication needs are rapidly changing too: not only is a common working language required (Galloway and Rose 2015), but there is also the necessity for business professionals to acquire the communicative competence that will enable them to communicate efficiently, effectively and rapidly. As for the language, although “[i]t is undeniable that English […] has now come to represent the main common contact language and lingua franca in an interconnected globalized world” (Vettorel 2014: 1), it is also true that in the field of business there has been a shift from a focus on ‘Business English as a Lingua Franca’ to ‘English as Business Lingua Franca’ (Kankaanranta & Louhiala-Salminen 2013): This means that English is the main, but not the only component of a ‘Business Lingua Franca’ that caters to the ‘super-diversity’ (Cogo 2012) of today’s business contexts. On the communicative competence side, professionals need to acquire the ability to quickly adjust to the immediacy of the communicative event and to adapt to the variable and unpredictable circumstances of business transactions worldwide. This calls to the fore the deployment of a vast array of pragmatic and interactional skills, which until recently have mainly been investigated in spoken interactions (e.g. Firth, 1996; Bjőrkman, 2011) However, in business contexts transactions are also and more often conducted via written interactions, where the lack of social context cues such as certain body messages may pose a barrier to effective communication (Murphy and Levy 2006).
This diachronic study of a set of ten Business-English email writing textbooks published between 2004 and 2017 focuses on the tasks and guidelines provided for the development of email writing skills. By drawing on Louhiala-Salminen and Kankaanranta’s (2011) notion of ‘Global Communicative Competence’, the analysis tries to establish whether ELT materials for the training of business professionals make provisions for the development of pragmatic and interactional skills, and can therefore effectively assist business professionals when attending to the everyday tasks connected with their jobs.
Preliminary findings highlight the need for a less prescriptive approach which moves away from single lexico-grammatical elements and incorporates communicative strategies.
2018
- CSR reports in our globalised era: balancing national culture and global trends
[Capitolo/Saggio]
Poppi, Franca
abstract
Nowadays more and more companies are being proactive in producing CSR reports which can enhance their reputation and image with the general public in the global marketplace. However, the need to engage in cosmopolitan communicative practices makes companies face the inevitable tension between global trends and cultural markedness.
The present analysis has analysed the English version of CSR reports published between 2011 and 2013 on the corporate websites of Delta, Etihad and JAL, with a view to ascertaining how global carriers are currently engaging in global communication while at the same time trying to balance their cultural identity and global appeal.
In the first place, the study has focused on the main semantic areas and key words contained in each corpus of CSR reports in order to highlight similarities and differences in terms of the values underpinning the airlines’ commitment to CSR. Secondly, the co-text and the collocations of the main keywords have been investigated with a view to shedding some light on the interplay between globalization and local culture.
The preliminary findings seem to indicate that airlines still “fly the flag” when communicating globally through the English online version of their CSR reports. In fact, despite some common values underpinning CSR practices, divergences clearly outnumber similarities, particularly in the deployment of the discursive strategies contributing to the persuasiveness of a text.
2017
- . Teacher-learner interaction 2.0: knowledge dissemination in the area of economics in the third millennium.
[Articolo su rivista]
Poppi, Franca
abstract
English has become the dominant language in the higher education sector in Europe, as can be seen from objective indicators such as the growing number of degree programmes which use English as a medium of instruction (Gotti, 2014). As a consequence more than before in the past, the textbooks which are being used and consulted by students are written in English. In addition, besides being available in paper format, these textbooks can also sometimes be accessed on the Internet as ebooks and become available to an ever-increasing number of readers.
The present study focuses on five different editions of one of the most well-known textbooks in the area of economics, P.A. Samuelson’s Economics. By looking at the differences among these five editions the analysis will explore the changes implemented, with a view to establishing how the process of knowledge dissemination has changed over the years. In particular, the revisions of the textbook will be shown to pay increasing attention to the readers’ expectations and needs, as writers deploy different rhetorical strategies in order to engage their addressees and make them accept their claims.
2017
- Conveying Trust in a Globalized Era
[Capitolo/Saggio]
Poppi, Franca
abstract
In present times much of a company’s success depends on the relevant stakeholders’ perception of their reputation and image. It is therefore particularly important for a company to disseminate suitable information about itself and use public-relations instruments as effectively as possible.
More particularly, the belief that a company can “do well by doing good” has been gaining momentum recently, in response to rising public awareness of the social impact of a company’s performance. This has led an increasing number of enterprises to devote greater care and attention to the drafting of their Corporate Social Responsibility reports (CSR), which have thus become important communication instruments.
However, the impact of globalization, which has brought along an increase in international business exchanges and the subsequent need to address a variety of audiences, has also given rise to important and controversial issues for what concerns corporate communication in general. On the one hand, companies are faced with the challenge to reach out to a multicultural audience, but on the other hand, in order to distinguish themselves from their competitors, they cannot but emphasize some traits of their national culture and identity, in an attempt to project a trustworthy and reliable image. This is in line with Hofstede’s principle: ‘Think locally, act globally’ (1998). In fact, several studies (Han and Terpstra, 1988; Ettenson, 1993; Jaffe and Nebenzahl, 2006) have demonstrated that stakeholders often refer to the ‘country-of-origin’ image as a tool to evaluate companies and their services/products.
The present study focuses on the English version of the CSR reports published on the websites of two airlines with different cultural backgrounds: Delta and JAL. The analysis aims at finding out whether or not in our present globalized era the two selected airlines still refer to the typical values of their respective countries to create a positive halo (Tversky and Simonson, 1992) that may influence their stakeholders’ attitudes.
2017
- European Dialogue Project: Collaborating to Improve on the Quality of Learning Environments
[Capitolo/Saggio]
Brautlacht, Regina; Poppi, Franca; Martins, Maria Lurdes; Ducrocq, Csilla
abstract
Telecollaborating and communicating in online contexts using English as a Lingua Franca (ELF) requires students to develop multiple literacies in addition to foreign language skills and intercultural communicative competence. This chapter looks at the intersection of technology and teaching ELF, examining mutual contributions of technologies, more specifically Web 2.0, and ELF to each other, and the challenges in designing and implementing collaboration projects across cultures. Moreover, it looks at how the development of digital competencies in ELF (DELF) can be enhanced through the implementation of Web 2.0 mediated intercultural dialogues. The detail of the research design including internet tools used, participants and tasks are also discussed. Data analysis points to a positive attitude towards telecollaboration, also providing confirmation of some of the problems identified in theoretical framework, such as different levels of personal engagement.
2017
- Introduction [The Many Facets of Remediation in Language Studies]
[Breve Introduzione]
Canepari, Michela; Mansfield, Gillian; Poppi, Franca
abstract
Remediation can relate to both the elaboration of new and hybrid text-types and also to the representations of identity. For instance, politicians have always insisted on the ‘identification-with-the-politician process’ whether in Presidential addresses, political adverts, TV political interviews and so on. However, remediation can also take the form of recontextualisation, reconceptualisation, and intralinguistic translation of exclusive expertise into knowledge that is suitable to the background of the addresse. In these cases we witness a shift from subject-orientation to addressee-/audience-orientation, as the addressee turns into a participant in the communicative situation. As a consequence, this implies a departure from the typical features of Languages for Special Purpose such as lexical precision, textual precision, economy, conciseness, and depersonalisation and objectivation. Typical examples of this process are for instance PILs (Patient Information Leaflets), characterised by omission or reduction of information for prescribers, reduction of technical detail, as well as simplification of terminology, explicitation and reformulation which, in turn, can be defined as typical knowledge dissemination strategies. Along the same vein, but in a somewhat different way, we can list also information books as attesting to the link between remediation and knowledge dissemination. They are one of the essential vehicles for popularising and spreading knowledge among a juvenile audience. Bought and read with the aim of satisfying one’s personal curiosity on a specific topic, thus “for interest or pleasure”, or as parallel resources in classrooms, they compete with and endorse school textbooks or coursebooks by exploiting devices and characteristics of more innovative and “modern” media, disseminating expert discourse. They subscribe to the idea of popularisation as a sort of intralingual translation, which also involves a process of creation and re-elaboration.
2017
- The Cultural and Intercultural Dimensions of English as a Lingua Franca.
[Recensione in Rivista]
Poppi, Franca
abstract
The cultural and intercultural dimensions of English as a Lingua Franca is a challenging collection which questions certain orthodoxies deemed to be counterproductive and of the past, such as the uncritical use of the concept of culture, the obsession with cultural differences and the straitjacketing of individuals. This volume also reminds us that culture is not always congruent with nations or ethnic groups as, “a volatile and mobile, fluid and invisible frontier can separate those who seem near, and unite those whose language and culture seem to separate” (Augé 2010:7 translated). It is therefore necessary to promote a situated understanding, which does not try to simplify and essentialise ‘other’ cultures.
2017
- The Many Facets of Remediation in Language Studies
[Curatela]
Canepari, Michela; Manfield, Gillian; Poppi, Franca
abstract
The notion of remediation can be taken to refer to a series of linguistic, cultural and psychological processes by means of which language and discourse are transformed and refashioned in new forms. Remediation functions via language, that is, the system through which we interpret and construct our understanding of reality, and at the same time the sense of self we perceive and project onto other people. Therefore, remediation can relate to both the elaboration of new and hybrid text-types and also to the representations of identity. The contributions in this volume span a wide spectrum of text genres and subgenres in which remediation is examined in numerous forms of formal and informal communication.
2016
- Balancing Local Identity and Global Audiences: Localized and Globalized Instances of EIL in Corporate Websites
[Capitolo/Saggio]
Poppi, Franca
abstract
As the world becomes more and more globalized and connected, transnational encounters have exponentially risen at a very rapid pace and in a multiplicity of domains: tourism, diplomacy, science, technology, politics and business. These new dynamics are posing significant challenges to global corporations and companies willing to extend their activities beyond their national borders, and have made them aware of the need for a shared language that facilitates exchanges (Louhiala-Salminen & Rogerson-Revell 2010, p. 92). Although business interactions are rarely monolingual events and most companies often mix their strategies of language choice according to the situation (Vandermeeren 1999, p. 276), in the past few decades English has been widely accepted as the principal means of communication in international business settings. This is confirmed by a poll conducted by Reuter/Ipsos in 26 countries in 2012, the results of which show that over two thirds (67 percent) of workers who deal with people beyond their national borders said that English is the language they used most often.
However, it is not enough to claim that English is the most extensively used language in the globalized business world. In fact, it is necessary to determine what kind of English is going to be adopted as the chosen means for addressing international stakeholders and establishing new forms of work and collaboration on a large scale, bearing in mind that the way information is phrased is extremely important, as after all: “language matters” (Louhiala-Salminen, Rogerson-Revell, 2010: 91).
Nowadays, thanks to the Internet and its unique tools, organizations are able to reach an unpredictably wide audience without being subject to time restrictions as in the case of traditional mass media (Insch 2008). Therefore web-mediated documents have come to play a fundamental role for companies. In particular, corporate websites perform the two-fold function of projecting the company’s image and promoting the company’s products. Therefore, when it comes to drafting the English version of their websites, rather than insisting on a ‘monochrome’ native-speaker standard companies should remember that, in view of the present globalisation through English and of English, they will have above all to be intelligible to other non-native speakers, rather than to native speakers only. Accordingly, they should devote particular care and attention to the features of the language employed, if they want their message to be conveyed in a clear and consistent way, so as to create an easily recognizable identity and reinforce the corporation’s vision and values.
Relying mostly on a qualitative approach, the present study analyses a series of texts which should have been posted on the website of the Agency for International Business Promotion of the Modena Chamber of Commerce with a view to showing that it is possible to guide the global stakeholders to better apprehend the agency’s local identity by modifying their linguistic and structural organization.
2016
- Enriching the University ELT Curriculum with Insights from ELF.
[Capitolo/Saggio]
Poppi, Franca
abstract
The worldwide spread of English is one of the many different developments
closely connected with the phenomenon of globalisation. This
term, which is now recurrent in contemporary rhetoric and is a keyword in
both academic and popular discourse on the economy, society, technology
and culture “[…] can be taken to refer to those spatio-temporal processes
of change which underpin a transformation in the organization of human
affairs by linking together and expanding human activity across regions
and continents” (Held and McGrew 2007, 15).
The intensification of worldwide relations inevitably calls to the fore
the question of the choice of the language to be used for contacts among
people living in widely different places in the world. Lingua francas, that is
“contact languages used among people who do not share a first language”
(Jenkins, Cogo, and Dewey 2011, 281) have been in use for a long time
and Sanskrit, Greek, Latin and other languages were once used for this
function. In present times, the task of being a Lingua Franca to be used
universally has fallen upon English.
English has therefore become the dominant language in the higher
education sector in Europe, as can be seen from objective indicators such
as the growing number of degree programmes which use English as a
medium of instruction (Gotti 2014; Dearden 2015). In this way it is easier
to attract foreign students. But equally important is the wish to prepare
students for the global workplace.
As a consequence of observable
2016
- From Business Letters to Emails: How Practitioners Can Shape Their Own Forms of Communication More Efficiently
[Capitolo/Saggio]
Poppi, Franca
abstract
In the sixteenth century knowledge was considered to be synonymous with power. In the twenty-first century it is rather the quick and efficient retrieval and exchange of knowledge that provides parties with an edge in transactions, especially those of a business nature.
Electronic media already create the required conditions for a rapid sharing of business-related information. However, it is also necessary to help the interactants involved in the communication process themselves to better understand the complex workings of how people relate to each other across international and intercultural boundaries. In fact, interactants may not be fully aware of the direct and indirect implications of the way they structure the information they want to convey. They may feel unsure of how to shape their message, especially in the light of the ‘winds’ of genre variability brought about by the combination of new communicative needs (the necessity to exchange information as quickly as possible) and new forms of communication (the widespread use of Computer Mediated Communication),
The objective of the present contribution is to show how a greater awareness of the language strategies that business practitioners employ may contribute to their creative empowerment and therefore make them more efficient and effective communicators.
For the purpose of the present study, the materials were supplied by donors from Italian business companies who provided different sets of documents classified respectively as ‘business letters’ and ‘e-mails’. The resulting corpora consisted of respectively 100 and 200 items .
Based on the evidence provided by these corpora it will be shown how the generic resources of business letters are being recontextualized and in the process lead to different types of emails. The analysis integrates linguistic and social aspects in the context of professional practice and focuses on the most relied upon and successfully employed lexico-grammatical choices and rhetorical structures with a view to establishing whether the socially shared generic norms change according to the medium employed or to any other element.
The obtained results show that - even though the medium can influence the message due to expectations in terms of formal constraints and unmarked conventions – the identification of features which make an ‘e-mail’ an ‘e-mail’ and a ‘business letter’ a ‘business letter’ involve more than structural characteristics and style of language alone. Therefore, there is no a priori reason for banning the use of distinctively polite phraseology in emails, as some experts might recommend. Indeed, in business communication, the boundaries and expectations of the genre are often overruled by inventiveness and creativity and by the specificity of the writer’s intentions and the relationship with the intended audience.
The evidence gathered, it is believed, will help practitioners raise their awareness of how it is possible to start out from one genre but ultimately create another. In the end, it will also help them shape their own communication forms more efficiently and effectively. By making them sensitive to the existence of different available options, depending on their own agendas, rather than having them concentrate on the chosen genre, they may improve their effectiveness. This is exemplified, for instance, by the possibility of choosing between emails which simply draw on the generic potential of business letters on the one hand and emails which expand rather than draw on the established conventions in order to create a novel construct, on the other hand.
2016
- Introduction to Remediating, Rescripting, Remaking. Language and Translation in the New Media
[Breve Introduzione]
Canepari, Michela; Mansfield, Gillian; Poppi, Franca
abstract
The notion of remediation naturally embodies a general idea of transformation and reformulation which, within the field of language studies, opens up a plethora of possible topics of discussion and investigation. The notion of translation, in its broadest meaning, can thus become useful at more than one level of analysis.
Indeed, if we consider language as the very first mediator through which human beings can access reality, we cannot but accept the idea that every act of reading (both real and artistic expressions) necessarily involves (re) interpreting and can therefore be understood in terms of translation.
Clearly, this all-embracing idea of translation does not exhaust the ways in which ‘remediation’ can be realised, for the very fact that more than one process may well be at work at one and the same time and interacting with many others. This is the reason why the papers presented at the Conference dealt with a wide range of topic, including among the others new technologies (media, social networks etc.), linguistic studies and didactic approaches.
2016
- Recensione di Vettorel, Paola (ed.). New Frontiers in Teaching and Learning English.
[Recensione in Rivista]
Poppi, Franca
abstract
This volume originates from the International symposium “New Frontiers in Teaching and Learning English”
held at the University of Verona in 2013 and attended by scholars active in ELF-related studies, well-known
for their operational and practical work in the field. The various chapters provide valuable insights into
different conceptualizations of ELF, as well as into the findings of innovative projects in teacher education
involving pre- and in-service teachers, which pave the way for possible new routes into pluralistic, ELF-aware
and ELF-oriented didactic perspectives.
2016
- Remediating, Rescripting, Remaking. Language and Translation in the New Media
[Curatela]
Canepari, Michela; Mansfield, Gillian; Poppi, Franca
abstract
Taking inspiration from Bolter and Grusin’s pioneering study Remediation:
Understanding New Media (1999), this volume focuses on the notion of remediation
as an embodiment of transformation and reformulation, that is visible
to the analyst’s eye in a wealth of texts and communicative situations. Indeed,
as will be evident from the contributions gathered here, remediation opens up,
within the field of language studies, a plethora of possible topics for discussion
and further investigation.
In Bolter and Grusin’s view, remediation implies a rivalry between media
aiming at “refashion[ing] prior media forms”, and as such it can be regarded as
“an attempt to remediate the deficiencies of another medium”. The fact that
they note not only the interdependence of one act of mediation on another but
also that “Media are continually commenting on, reproducing, and replacing
each other” proves particularly significant for this collection of essays.
Above all, the notion of translation, in its broadest meaning, can become
useful in this sense at more than one level of analysis. Indeed, if we consider
language as the very first mediator through which human beings can access
reality, we cannot but accept the idea that every act of reading (whether real or
artistic expression) necessarily involves a process of (re)interpretation and can
thus be understood in terms of translation.
2014
- Balancing the Territorial and Cooperative Imperatives in Computer-Mediated Communication
[Articolo su rivista]
Poppi, Franca
abstract
This contribution focuses on a small selection of websites for Italian companies specializing in local products. Since these companies have decided to address their international audiences by adopting and adapting the English language, the analysis will explore the problems which tend to arise when one set of native usage conventions comes into contact and into conflict with another. In particular, relying on a qualitative approach, the study will try to determine whether, based on the features of the language displayed on the corporate websites, the texts can be qualified as instances of either localized or globalized EIL.
2014
- English as a Lingua Franca: Negotiating Identity in Cross-cultural Encounters between Native and Non-native Speakers
[Capitolo/Saggio]
Poppi, Franca
abstract
The aim of the present paper is to provide a characterization of how non-native speakers negotiate their own identity and try to establish themselves as language users rather than as language learners, on occasion of cross-cultural encounters. Taking into account a series of interviews and a panel discussion recorded from BBC World and CNN International, the study will claim that, in international encounters, when English constitutes the main or only means of communication and the primary preoccupation is mutual intelligibility, it is advisable to introduce the notion of ELF (English as a Lingua Franca), rather than refer to the yardstick of ENL (English as a Native Language). The evidence collected will show that non-native speakers can engage in conversations that are not only meaningful but also ‘normal’ and ‘ordinary’ (Firth 1996). Even though the corpus of data gathered for the purpose of this work is not very large and cannot claim to provide an exhaustive description of the uses of English as a lingua franca, it can show how non-native speakers successfully negotiate meaning, as well as their own identity, and get their interlocutors (mainly native-speakers) to accept them as ELF speakers rather than EFL learners.
2014
- From Business Letters to E-mails: Balancing Tradition and Change.
[Capitolo/Saggio]
Poppi, Franca
abstract
The extraordinary spread of the English language around the world has made it the primary means of world-wide communication. This implies that most interactions in English occur among non-native speakers in non-native speaking contexts, with English functioning as a “contact language” (Firth 1996), chosen by persons who share neither a mother tongue nor a common culture.
One consequence of the global predominance of English in the last few decades is that today non-native speakers of English far outnumber its native speakers. More precisely, as pointed out by Seidlhofer (2005: 339) only one out of every four users of English in the world is a native speaker of the language: Nonetheless, native speakers are still regarded as custodians over what is acceptable usage, with non-native speakers often being regarded as ‘learners’ forever striving to reach native-speaking proficiency and not granted the status of language users in their own right.
The aim of the present paper is to provide a characterization of how non-native speakers negotiate their own identity and try to establish themselves as language users rather than as language learners, on occasion of cross-cultural encounters. Taking into account a series of interviews and a panel discussion recorded from BBC World and CNN International, the study will claim that, in international encounters, when English constitutes the main or only means of communication and the primary preoccupation is mutual intelligibility, it is advisable to introduce the notion of ELF (English as a Lingua Franca), rather than refer to the yardstick of ENL (English as a Native Language).
The evidence collected will show that non-native speakers can engage in conversations that are not only meaningful but also ‘normal’ and ‘ordinary’ (Firth 1996). Even though the corpus of data gathered for the purpose of this work is not very large and cannot claim to provide an exhaustive description of the uses of English as a lingua franca, it can show how non-native speakers successfully negotiate meaning, as well as their own identity, and get their interlocutors (mainly native-speakers) to accept them as ELF speakers rather than EFL learners.
From a contextual point of view, the paper will first provide some background information on the world-wide spread of the English language, and then focus on some of the main issues prevalent in the ELF debate. After a description of the objectives, methods and materials, preliminary data will be provided from a small-scale case study carried out on a corpus of seven interviews and a panel discussion. Results from this study may serve as a contribution to the current debate on ELF, by offering further insight into several linguacultural backgrounds and different domains.
2014
- Il progetto IBI/BEI nella scuola primaria: Rapporto di monitoraggio
[Monografia/Trattato scientifico]
Cavalieri, Silvia; Bondi, Marina; Poppi, Franca; Stermieri, Anna
abstract
Obiettivo del monitoraggio è quello di fornire un quadro che consenta una riflessione sul progetto e, più ampiamente, sull’istruzione bilingue come componente curricolare e modalità operativa.
L’azione di monitoraggio ha coinvolto tutte le parti interessate: dirigenti, docenti, genitori e bambini. Gli ambiti di indagine sono stati:
a) motivazione ed atteggiamento di alunni, personale e genitori;
b) buone pratiche;
c) competenze acquisite dagli alunni.
Gli strumenti utilizzati per raccogliere le informazioni sono stati molteplici:
a) un questionario rivolto a tutti i docenti del progetto su: motivazioni, modalità di progettazione, modalità di implementazione e impatto dell’esperienza IBI/BEI, nonché esigenze formative del docente1;
b) interviste semi-strutturate/ focus group con i dirigenti scolastici e con un campione rappresentativo di docenti, di bambini e di genitori, per approfondire motivazioni e percezioni presso tutte e sei le scuole coinvolte;
c) analisi di un task comune somministrato a tutti gli alunni, per ottenere una misurazione preliminare dei risultati conseguiti nella lingua inglese.
La relazione documenta le diverse fasi della ricerca ed evidenzia i risultati positivi del progetto.
2014
- Introduction. Changing contexts
[Altro]
Poppi, Franca; Schmied, Josef
abstract
Introduzione
2014
- Preface [Space, place and the discursive construction of identity]
[Prefazione o Postfazione]
Julia, Bamford; Poppi, Franca; Mazzi, Davide
abstract
This book stems from a conference held in Naples in June 2012 and includes a selection of the papers presented on that occasion. As the title suggests, the authors of the various chapters investigate the relationships between how space and place are described and how these contribute to the construction of identity or rather how the interplay between language, spatial practices, dimensions of culture, the discursive construction of place and identity is achieved.
2013
- Introduction [The Three Waves of Globalization]
[Breve Introduzione]
Poppi, Franca
abstract
This volume investigates how generic, rhetorical and linguistic resources are creatively exploited by different Communities of Practice (CofP) in a range of professional, institutional and academic contexts to respond to different socio-cultural scenarios. In particular, it describes the
language and structures specific to genres with a view to ascertaining whether homogenizing or fragmenting forces and trends have been brought about by the three waves of globalization which have swept the world since 1492 (Friedman, 2005).
2013
- Selling Who We Are and/ or What Our Product Is: Self-presentational Strategies in Italian Company Websites and Product Promotion
[Capitolo/Saggio]
G., Mansfield; Poppi, Franca
abstract
With the advent of globalization, companies have started to feel the
overriding need to present themselves not exclusively to the local
marketplace, but to the global world as well. Accordingly, if on the
one hand the intensified flow of capital, goods and technology has
spurred companies to focus on expressing their uniqueness, on the
other it has made them aware of the importance of being part of a
community. This is why the recently coined term ‘glocalization’ is
becoming more and more widely used, since it focuses on the
interplay of the two interdependent concepts of globalization and
localization.
2013
- The Linguistic Construction of Corporate Identity in International Business Communication
[Articolo su rivista]
Poppi, Franca
abstract
Over the years companies have become increasingly aware of the importance of developing and managing a distinct and recognizable corporate identity which, in turn, has to be conveyed to all their stakeholders. Corporate communication functions according to the same mechanisms which apply to interpersonal communication between individuals. A sender, (the company), is supposed to codify a message which will be transferred to an intended receiver. If the company’s message (or in the present study, ‘identity) is clearly perceived by its stakeholders, it will become an essential strategic instrument, differentiating the company within its competitive environment. Nowadays, more and more companies choose English as the lingua franca for corporate communication instead of the headquarters’ language, and use it to convey corporate identity to their multiple stakeholders.
The present analysis focuses on a corpus of texts, retrieved from the on-line news archive of an internationally operating company which has chosen English as the lingua franca for corporate communication. This study will argue that, since language is not a neutral vehicle and has far reaching implications on human perceptions, the analysis of the corporate lingua franca can prove particularly meaningful for the purpose of investigating corporate identity and its impact on the intended stakeholders.
2013
- The Three Waves of Globalization: Winds of Change in Professional, Institutional and Academic Genres
[Curatela]
Poppi, Franca; W., Cheng
abstract
Globalization, often been described in terms of the spatio-temporal processes of change which underpin a transformation in the organization of human affairs by linking together and expanding human activities across regions and continents, is said to have started as long ago as the end of the 15th century. This first wave of globalization was subsequently followed by two more ones and further to the third wave of globalization, that began after 2000, the world has become smaller. In fact, technological innovations have sharply increased the availability of new modes and channels of communication, thus substantially improving the sharing of knowledge and information all around the world, and prompting both the emergence of new ‘globalizing genres’ and the implementation of a series of adaptations to the existing ones, in an attempt to guarantee the success and survival of different genres in an era which celebrates the need for a ‘global reach’.
In order to investigate these ‘winds of change’ in generic studies, the present volume will combine a historical perspective with a detailed survey of different contemporary discourses and genres situated in an array of contexts of interaction. Accordingly, the empirically informed analysis will not only focus on the textual, intertextual and interdiscursive features, but also on the institutional, organizational, professional and socio-cultural settings, namely all those aspects which show how genres reflect changing disciplinary and professional cultures.
As a consequence, and in line with the multi-faceted nature of genre, different reading paths can be identified in the present volume. On the one hand it is possible to make a distinction between professional, institutional and academic contexts. On the other hand, the concept of change will also be investigated by focusing on oral, written and web-mediated genres. All in all, throughout the volume, the different reading paths will aim at highlighting the influence of the three waves of globalization on genre evolution, thus contributing to providing evidence in favour of the homogenization or fragmentation hypothesis, namely as to whether new ‘global genres’ are outnumbering or are outnumbered by the proliferation of a myriad of new, customized genres.
2012
- Bridging the gap between the academic classroom and the professional world through the transfer of knowledge and skills
[Capitolo/Saggio]
G., Mansfield; Poppi, Franca
abstract
Undergraduates reading for degree courses in modern languages often come to the university under the false impression that they only need to learn the language, and fail to realize the essential fact that language is, above all, a social creation, and communication is a social act which does not operate in a social void.Indeed, students need to overcome their initial difficulty in adjusting to an emphasis on a deeper awareness of the classic form-function dichotomy, with the focus on the particular meaning of each form depending on its specific function in the speech context. They must recognise that the illocutionary force of the utterance or expression is not implied in the form itself, (e.g. the imperative that may have the force of a suggestion, threat, invitation, etc) but relayed through contextual and co-textual clues. Hence teachers must set themselves the task of helping students to prepare not only for the final objective of the degree course, but also for the world outside the teaching / learning institution, by bridging the gap between the academic declarative knowledge imparted and the practical skills they will need to operate in the professional world.In other words teachers have to act as stimulators and transferers, shifting the focus from product-oriented teaching, where learners are generally required to complete successfully more demanding tasks at various levels of language competence, to process-oriented teaching, guiding students to become aware of the use-usage dichotomy which, albeit implied in the study of specialised texts, may not always be explicit in the practical activities of the language classroom.Such awareness raising means incorporating into the language learning curriculum a set of activities which can help students become better equipped to operate in their chosen, future professional contexts. Indeed, these activities can involve the consultation of a general corpus, which will provide the students with deeper insights into the multiple meanings of everyday lexical items.
2012
- ELF and corporate identity:
a case study focusing on companies’ websites
[Capitolo/Saggio]
Poppi, Franca
abstract
The unique tools of the Internet allow organizations to reach an unpredictably wide audience. A single common
language, namely English, is often used as a lingua franca, to facilitate the communication process among different
parties who do not share the same mother tongue. The present study focuses on a corpus of web-mediated texts released
by seven European companies which have chosen English as the lingua franca for international communication. The
study integrates corpus linguistics and discourse analysis perspectives, in the attempt to investigate the extent to which
the features of ELF displayed in the companies’ websites can actually contribute to conveying their corporate identity.
The discussion of the findings will eventually show that each company tends to adapt the lingua franca. The adopted
changes include both common patterns employed by most of the companies under scrutiny, as well as individual
features, influenced by the companies’ national languages and cultures.
2012
- Global interactions in English as a Lingua Franca. How written communication is changing under the influence of electronic media
and new contexts of use
[Monografia/Trattato scientifico]
Poppi, Franca
abstract
This volume investigates the changes undergone
by written communication in our globalized
world as English as a Lingua Franca (ELF), which
usually functions as a language for communication
purposes, becomes a language for identification
purposes. The study takes into account
different web-genres: from the replication of
existing genres in other media, to cybergenres
whose key evolutionary force is the progressive
exploitation of the new functionalities afforded
by the new medium. The variety of the contexts
of use has made it possible to consider different
ELF-using communities of practice, whose members
adopt ELF and adapt it to express individual,
national and professional identities in international
interactions. The analysis focuses on
the lexico-grammatical innovations, which inevitably
change in accordance with the different
contexts of use, as well as on the communicative
strategies underpinning these changes.
2012
- LINKD 2012 Workshop - Language(s) In Knowledge Dissemination. Modena, 11-13 October 2012. University of Modena and Reggio Emilia
[Altro]
Bondi, Marina; Cacchiani, Silvia; Seidenari, Corrado; Sezzi, Annalisa; Sorrentino, Daniela; Diani, Giuliana; Poppi, Franca
abstract
Knowledge Dissemination (KD) has become increasingly important in modern society for the socio-economic and cultural development of citizens. The issue of how experts communicate their specialist knowledge to lay-people has been widely discussed in the press and is often tackled in terms of "translating" otherwise exclusive knowledge into more comprehensible language. Comprehensibility can be seen as a matter of simplification, explicitation or formulation in terms that are suitable to the level of knowledge of the addressee. The issue can also be studied in terms of re-contextualizing knowledge. As the applied linguistics literature on popularising is not extensive, useful indications can come from studies on intercultural communication, when looking at KD as "mediation" of knowledge between members of different communities, each with their peculiar cultural and communicative practices. KD can be seen as an example of "inter-discourse communication" i.e. communication that cuts across the boundaries of discourse communities characterized by different types of knowledge.
While the issue of KD has often been studied in relation to sciences that require exclusive expertise - e.g. chemistry or physics, the LINKD workshop would like to consider both "hard" and "soft" sciences.
The objective of the workshop is to explore the language processes involved in KD in a theoretical, descriptive and applied perspective. In particular, it aims to provide a clearer definition of the nature of popularizing discourse, by means of an analysis of its strategies across disciplines and languages, also including the discursive construction of professional identity and intercultural communication, a closer lexical investigation of specific domains, the deployment of lexicographic tools and an investigation of the use of visual elements in popularisation.
Two complementary strands of linguistic investigation - corpus analysis and genre analysis - will be brought together to ascertain how far KD is actually characterized by intense use of metadiscourse, forms of readers' engagement, systematic use of definitions, reformulation, higher degrees of explicitness, careful use of word-image relationship.
The basic strands of analysis concern:
i) intralinguistic analysis of the recontextualization process that leads from a specialized texts to its popularization outside the circle of domain-specific experts;
ii) multilingual analysis of the internal features of knowledge dissemination, aimed at defining its strategies in different genres, media, domains;
iii) thematic exploration of the multiple formats of KD, ranging from introductory readings to scientific reports, travel literature or children's books.
2012
- Space, Place and the Discursive Construction of Identity
[Curatela]
J., Bamford; Poppi, Franca; Mazzi, Davide
abstract
This book stems from a conference held in Naples in June 2012 and includes a selection of the papers presented on that occasion. As the title suggests the authors of the various chapters are concerned here to tease out the relationships between how space and place are described and how these contribute to the construction of identity or rather how the interplay between language, spatial practices, dimensions of culture, the discursive construction of place and identity is achieved.
2012
- The English as a Foreign Language / Lingua Franca Debate:Sensitising Teachers of English as a Foreign Language TowardsTeaching English as a Lingua Franca
[Articolo su rivista]
G., Mansfield; Poppi, Franca
abstract
The function of English as a lingua franca for communication needs rethinking in the teaching ofEnglish as a foreign language classroom as a consequence of globalisation. The present contribution isan empirical study carried out in an Italian university environment which aims to show how teachersshould take on board awareness raising activities in the recognition of other varieties of English which,albeit not exploited as benchmarks for language testing and certification, must nevertheless boast a relevantplace in the global scenario. This can be achieved in practical terms by interrogating an expresslymade corpus of Chinese English news texts and carrying out simple concordance activities.
2011
- Companies' Websites as Vehicles for Expressing Corporate Identity: A Case Study on the Use of English as a Lingua Franca
[Capitolo/Saggio]
Poppi, Franca
abstract
Business communication has recently acquired great importance, since increasing the target audience’s awareness of a company’s activities is perceived as one of the main factors which can help to determine the company’s competitive advantage and success. In addition, the wide spread of the World Wide Web has had a remarkable impact on company communication, in that it has turned the traditional one-to-many communication into a new real-time many-to-many dialogue.As a consequence, companies’ websites have become powerful public relation tools for promoting corporate identities. In fact, they can be used to issue mission statements, identify core values, promote ethical codes, stress social responsibility, allowing stakeholders to play more active roles in corporate governance (Christensen and Cheney, 2000).Nowadays, as more and more companies choose English as the lingua franca for internal and international communications instead of the headquarters’ language, employees and stakeholders alike are confronted with it, whenever corporate identity is transferred by means of corporate communications to a company’s multiple audiences. The present study focuses on corporate identity as it emerges from the analysis of a corpus of web-mediated texts released by several European companies which have chosen English as the lingua franca for international company communications. The decision to concentrate on web-mediated texts relies on the assumption that these texts may prove quite revealing, both for what concerns the features of ELF that are displayed, and the corporate identity which emerges from their analysis. A qualitative analysis will be carried out, focusing on the most relied-upon and successfully employed grammatical constructions and lexical choices, in the attempt to establish whether systematic features of the ELF used can be identified, as well as the extent to which they contribute to shaping the corporate identity.The analysis will eventually prove that the ELF employed in the companies’ websites is subject to manifold influences, which include, for instance, the native mother tongue of the members of the companies, and the implications brought about by the use of the digital medium, but display, nonetheless, a general trend towards adaptation to the specific identity the company is willing convey to its multiple audiences.
2011
- Lingua e identità: La lingua inglese negli articoli dell'Hindustan Times e del China Daily
[Capitolo/Saggio]
Poppi, Franca
abstract
La globalizzazione a livello mondiale ha contribuito ad accrescere la complessità di quella che Norton (2000) definisce “linguistically determined identity”. Infatti, significativi mutamenti ed ampliamenti sono stati apportati alla gamma delle identità disponibili per i singoli individui, come si può verificare prendendo in esame il caso della lingua inglese, che viene utilizzata come lingua nativa (English as a Native Language - ENL) nei paesi dell’ inner circle (Kachru, 1992); come seconda lingua (English as a Second Language ESL) nei paesi dell’ outer circle, laddove ricopre funzioni istituzionalizzate; ed infine come lingua straniera (English as a Foreign Language EFL) nei paesi dell’ expanding circle.Inoltre, in questi ultimi tempi si fa sempre più spesso riferimento ai parlanti di English as an international language, oppure English as a lingua franca. Entrambe le definizioni pongono l’accento sul fatto che una stessa lingua può essere impiegata e di conseguenza anche adattata e modificata da coloro che, pur non essendo parlanti nativi, la utilizzano per scopi comunicativi, (Seidlhofer, 2005). Ciò significa che, mentre le lingue locali, e quindi anche ENL, sono da considerarsi: “[…] the main determinants of identity, […] holding a stake in the collective linguistic-cultural capital that defines the L1 group and its members” (House, 2003: 560), ESL, EIL, EFL e ELF svolgono finalità essenzialmente strumentali e comunicative. Prendendo spunto da queste considerazioni, il presente contributo si propone di mettere in luce i tratti distintivi che caratterizzano la lingua inglese utilizzata negli articoli di due diversi quotidiani, l’ Hindustan Times, pubblicato in un paese dell’ outer circle (Kachru 1992) e il China Daily, pubblicato in un paese che appartiene all’expanding circle.In particolare, dopo essersi brevemente soffermato sulla diffusione dell’inglese a livello globale e nel contesto asiatico, il presente contributo cercherà di individuare le peculiarità lessico-grammaticali presenti negli articoli dell’ Hindustan Times e del China Daily , per mettere in luce il modo in cui ciascuno dei due quotidiani riflette e risolve la tensione tra la propria identità locale e la decisione di usare una lingua di ampia diffusione internazionale.
2011
- Localised and Globalised Forms in the Discourse of the News in English(es)
[Capitolo/Saggio]
Poppi, Franca
abstract
The global spread of English has been viewed as two diasporas, the first involving migrations of substantial numbers of English speakers to Australia, New Zealand and North America and the second, in the colonial contexts of Asia and Africa, entailing transportation of the language, but only to a small extent transportation of English-speaking people. Thus, the language was brought into new socio-cultural contexts by a small number of users. These two diasporas have contributed to making English a language unlike any other, in terms of the extent of its usage and for what concerns the rise of new forms of localized English. A particularly interesting phenomenon is the use of English in newspapers published in different parts of the world.The present study will focus on the contents of a newspaper written in English in a country which belongs to the ‘outer’ circle of Kachru’s model, the Hindustan Times.A comparative analysis of its articles will show that the language employed in this newspaper bears striking resemblances to the language used in newspapers that are published in the countries of Kachru’s ‘inner circle’. However, a close reading will reveal some peculiar, distinctive features. This is particularly the case when it comes to dealing with issues and topics on which the impact of the national culture seems to be more prominent, thus making them strongly imbued with each country’s socio-cultural values. A qualitative analysis will be carried out, focusing on the most relied-upon and successfully employed lexico-grammatical tools, in the attempt to establish whether hypotheses can be set up and tested concerning the systematic features of the ELF used by the members of a particular group or country.The study will first of all highlight some of the limitations of the so called ‘monolithic model’, which advocates the perpetuation of a uniform standard, lest English should diversify and fragment into many mutually unintelligible local forms. Secondly, it will prove that, as more and more textual and linguistic spaces are found within the English language to represent the voices and interests of different speakers, it is worth paying attention to the ways in which English has become locally adapted and institutionalized to create different Englishes around the world.
2011
- Mediating between Local and Global Practices: the Use of English as the Lingua Franca for Internal Company Communications
[Capitolo/Saggio]
Poppi, Franca
abstract
The worldwide spread of English is just one of the many different developments subsumed under the general phenomenon of globalisation. Since the term itself refers to various processes, a universal definition does not exist. Indeed, while it can be argued that globalisation processes already started much earlier and are generally connected to global economy and global communication systems – especially the Internet, it was not until the 1970s that the term really appeared on the scene. Globalisation is furthermore associated with boundless mobility and, of course, with English, as the language of globalisation (Gnutzmann, Intemann, 2008: 9). Therefore, nowadays more and more companies are choosing English as the lingua franca for internal and international communications instead of the headquarters’ language. By adopting the English language, companies also adapt it, giving rise to localized forms, both because of transfer from local languages and because of the new cultural environment and communicative needs (Saghal 1991: 300). The present study focuses on two corpora of e-mails exchanged among the Italian, Chinese and Japanese employees of a highly networked, internationally operating company, which has chosen English as the lingua franca for company communication. A qualitative analysis will be carried out, focusing on the most relied-upon and successfully employed grammatical constructions and lexical choices, in the attempt to establish whether systematic features of the language used can be identified, as well as the extent to which they reflect the adoption of global vs local language practices.
2011
- Tracking Language Change in Specialised and Professional Genres. International conference.
Modena: 24-26 November 2011
University of Modena and Reggio Emilia
[Altro]
Poppi, Franca; Bondi, Marina; Diani, Giuliana; Cavalieri, Silvia
abstract
The nature of genres has always been defined as both static and dynamic, functioning as discursive action within particular social, historical and cultural contexts but open to individual and collective creativity and innovation. Corpora can be powerful tools in tracking this kind of change, as clearly shown by a well-established tradition in historical linguistics, where growing interest has been shown in the diachronic analysis of specialized genres. Elements of change, however, can also be seen at work in contemporary discourse. As a consequence, there is an increasing need for diachronic approaches that may help map changes brought about for example by new technologies or globalization.
Nowadays, with the recession of the traditional constraints of geography on social and cultural arrangements brought about by globalization, new cultural and linguistic interconnections are being established, for example in academic and professional settings. This state of things can account both for the emergence of new ‘globalizing genres’, and for the implementation of a series of adaptations to the existing ones, as possible solutions to guarantee the success and survival of different genres in an era which celebrates the need for a ‘global reach’.
The conference intends to focus on such issues in order to provide a better definition of the methods of investigation of language change, the tools, the approaches, the new perspectives, bringing together two complementary strands of linguistic investigation - corpus analysis and genre analysis. The conference purports to describe the extent to which language resources and generic resources are creatively exploited in discourse, variously responding to or determining new socio-cultural scenarios, with a special interest in technological developments which have radically changed the way specialized knowledge is disseminated.
In particular, contributions are invited, focusing on textual, intertextual, organizational aspects of genres, as well as on interdiscursivity and other aspects which contextualize genres as reflections of changing disciplinary and professional cultures, investigating how their integrity is negotiated and exploited, in the following domains:
Academic
Professional
Institutional
2010
- Il curricolo di lingua inglese nell'Università italiana: lingua straniera oppure lingua franca?
[Articolo su rivista]
Poppi, Franca
abstract
Multimedia facilities can help to promote the development of learners' autonomy both when they are exploited as analytical tools, as channels of communication that connect learners to the outside world, or to provide examples of language use. Nowadays it is of paramount importance for students to become aware of the current changes in the nature of English, employed as an international lingua franca in interactions between speakers who do not share the same mother tongue. This, in turn, warrants a re-evaluation of the ELT curriculum drafting. The present contribution reports on a project carried out at the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, aimed at increasing the students' awareness of the current status of English as a lingua franca, meanwhile sensitising them towards the need to enrich their learning process.
2010
- Investigating ELF group membership: a case study focusing on The Baltic Times
[Capitolo/Saggio]
Poppi, Franca
abstract
The growth of the use of English as the world’s primary language for international communication has obviously been continuing for several decades. The number of speakers keeps expanding, with native speakers’ of the ‘core’ varieties of British and American English far outnumbered by bilingual speakers. Whether such developments are desirable has been much debated, as have the possible consequences of this unprecedented spread of one language. A global language in contact with a notable proportion of the world’s languages cannot remain intact. All speakers, including native speakers will have to accommodate to other emerging varieties through which individuality or nationality can be expressed.
2009
- How stable is the Construction of an Author’s Professional Identity? Variations in Five Editions of P.A. Samuelson’s Economics
[Capitolo/Saggio]
Poppi, Franca
abstract
The focus of this study is the textbook author’s construction of identity as it unfolds in five different versions of a highly successful textbook in the field of economics. Successive editions of P.A. Samuelson’s Economics will be studied with a view to investigating how the features of the writer’s construction of his professional identity have evolved and changed, during the time-span (1948-2001) which separates the first and the seventeenth edition. A qualitative analysis will be carried out, focusing not only on the use of pronouns – which have often been investigated in studies on identity – but on other features, too, which can be considered as relevant markers of identity, in the attempt to get an in-depth insight into the strategies employed by textbook authors for the construction of their professional identities. Revisions of the textbook will be shown to pay increasing attention to the readers’ expectations and needs, as well as to the updating of transactional content. The analysis will therefore highlight that the construction of the author’s professional identity is a multi-faceted phenomenon, which reveals adaptive attitudes and diachronic variations and seems to be deeply influenced by such concerns as changes in readership and the tension between local and global practices.
2009
- Primary language teacher education in Italy: refining syllabus design by listening to learners' voices.
[Articolo su rivista]
Poppi, Franca; M., Bondi
abstract
Decisions concerning syllabus design are generally based on considerations linked with the level of competence which is to be attained by the end of the course itself. The Common European Framework of Reference is one of the many yardsticks against which language competence can be measured. However, the guidelines it provides may need further qualifications, especially when dealing with foreign-language primary school teaching. This paper sets out to examine how the opinions of a group of primary school teachers who have been trained to become English teachers can be exploited for the purpose of refining the design of the syllabus of further training courses.
2009
- Strumenti per la definizione di un profilo linguistico dell’insegnante di L2 nella scuola primaria.
[Relazione in Atti di Convegno]
Bondi, Marina; Poppi, Franca
abstract
Le riflessioni effettuate in seno ad un progetto europeo di ambito linguistico, (Autonomy in Primary Language Teacher Education, finanziato dal programma comunitario Socrates e condotto nel triennio 1998-2001) hanno fornito le basi per procedere successivamente alla formulazione di un profilo specifico del docente di lingua nella scuola primaria e delle sue esigenze professionali. Tale profilo è stato dapprima validato a livello provinciale e successivamente a livello regionale (Bondi e Poppi, 2006).La versione iniziale di tale profilo ha costituito la base di partenza per l’elaborazione di una certificazione che sostituisce l’attestazione generica delle competenze linguistiche richieste dalla normativa con un percorso di certificazione specificamente mirato a riconoscere le abilità specifiche dell’insegnante di lingua straniera nella scuola primaria, il Certificate of English for Primary Teachers (CEPT), sviluppato dai Centri Linguistici d’Ateneo di Modena e Reggio Emilia e di Parma.
2009
- The role of ELP and Self-assessment in Effective Language Learning
[Capitolo/Saggio]
Poppi, Franca; Radighieri, Sara
abstract
The present contribution reports on a project carried out at the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, aimed at sensitising students towards their weaknesses and strengths, encouraging them, meanwhile, to take on responsibility for improving their own learning process, taking advantage of the European Language Portfolio (ELP). The project includes two phases and the present study is to be considered as a sort of sequel to a previous analysis described in Poppi and Radighieri (2007). After a detailed description of the various steps of the second phase of the project, the contribution will show the results of the preliminary survey described in Poppi and Radighieri (2007). A brief discussion will then follow, of some of the issues which are called to the fore when it comes to paving the way towards autonomy and self-evaluation. Finally, the data collected during the second phase of the project will be discussed.
2008
- Squaring the circle: combining freedom with responsibility in EC Directives
[Capitolo/Saggio]
Poppi, Franca
abstract
The paper focuses on the language of the law, which differs from ordinary language because of its specific features, which make it stable and at times hard to understand. Necertheless, as the analysis has proved, the language of the law may also partake of some degrees of flexibility.
2007
- Componenti del profilo linguistico
[Capitolo/Saggio]
Bondi, Marina; Poppi, Franca
abstract
Il profilo dell'insegnante di L2 (lingua inglese) nella scuola primaria è inteso ad identificare il nucleo centrale di conoscenze e abilità linguistiche necessarie per un insegnamento efficace, così come a delineare ulteriori aree di sviluppo professionale. La conoscenza del profilo rappresenta uno degli strumenti utili al formatore per informare il proprio lavoro agli obiettivi finali da fare conseguire ai docenti, programmare le attività di formazione ed eventuali momenti di tirocinio guidato, valutare l'efficacia del percorso formativo posto in essere.
2007
- Devising a language certificate for primary school teachers of English
[Articolo su rivista]
Bondi, Marina; Poppi, Franca
abstract
Quite often the complexity and fluidity of an L2 teacher's interactional work is understated. In fact, the dual nature of language as a subject and vehicle places extreme demands on language teachers. The attempt to devise a tool that might be used to assess the interactionl skills and professionalism of language teachers cannot, therefore, be said to be definite and comprehensive. Therefore, the Certificate of English for Primary Teachers is flexible eough to meet the different needs of a wide range of language teachers operating in manifold contexts. Since it is not possible to separate language, pedagogy and language awareness when considering the role of the primary langauge teacher, the certificate which has been developed highlights and supports these connections.
2007
- Reliable authority? Focus on the English translations of Cityscape texts
[Capitolo/Saggio]
Poppi, Franca
abstract
Genres are embedded in professional or social practices, and hence they tend to call into the fore additional meanings as a result of their association with professional or disciplinary cultures. Therefore, in the process of recontextualization of written discourse, whether in the same language, or in another language, it is important to maintain the generic integrity of the source text, so that one can convey not only the textual meaning, but also the more conventionalised generic meaning of the source text.
2007
- The author's support in textbook-mediated learning: focus on economics and marketing textbooks
[Capitolo/Saggio]
Poppi, Franca
abstract
Textbooks belong to a well-defined genre and are characterised by a set of communictaive purposes identified and mutually understood by the members of the community in which they regularly occur. Most often they are highly structured and conventionalised, with constraints on allowable contributions in terms of their intent, positioning, form and functional value.
2007
- The use of the European Language Portfolio in language learning: a case study
[Capitolo/Saggio]
Poppi, Franca; S., Radighieri
abstract
In recent years there has been a movement in second language acquisition approaches towards increasing the degree of autonomy which learners exercise over their learning. This has resulted in the language learning process becoming increasingly learner-directed rather than teacher-dominated, with the learners taking a major role in planning and negotiating course content and (self) evaluating their own performance.
2006
- L’insegnante di lingua straniera nella scuola primaria: per un profilo e per una certificazione delle competenze
[Capitolo/Saggio]
Bondi, Marina; Poppi, Franca
abstract
Nel corso degli ultimi anni si è assistito, a livello europeo, alla promozione di iniziative finalizzate allo studio delle lingue straniere nell'ambito dell'insegnamento elementare, intese ad aumentare il numero di ore di contatto tra gli insegnanti e gli alunni o a facilitare l'introduzione di una seconda lingua nell'istruzione secondaria.
2006
- Textbooks as sites for interaction: a case study of economics and marketing textbooks
[Capitolo/Saggio]
Poppi, Franca
abstract
Even though textbooks have been considered for some time as a secondary genre, they play a crucial role in the learners' understanding of a subject, as they provide an epistemological map of the disicpline and tend to be organised in such a way as to render their reading at an approriate level for students.
2005
- "PLEASE (Primary Language teacher Education: Autonomy and self-evaluation"
[Capitolo/Saggio]
Poppi, Franca; L., Low; Bondi, Marina
abstract
The last ten years have seen a major Europe-wide initiative to extend the teaching of modern foreign langauges to rpimary age pupils, either to increase the time available for the first foreign language, or to facilitate the introduction of a second or third in the secondary stages of schooling.
2004
- Boosters and hedges: two sides of the same coin? A case study of a small corpus of economics textbooks
[Capitolo/Saggio]
Poppi, Franca
abstract
Academic texts have sometimes been defined as texts providing impersonal and objective records of external realities. Actually, they are the results of actions of socially situated writers who employ social and linguistic conventions in order to engage their readers and persuade them of the claims that are being made.
2004
- Pragmatic Implications of the Use of we as a Receiver-including and Receiver-excluding Pronoun
[Capitolo/Saggio]
Poppi, Franca
abstract
Teaxtbooks play a crucial role in the learners' understanding of a subject, as they porvide an epistemological map of the discipline. They tend to be organised in such a way as to make their reading quite easy for students and, as a consequence, learners are usually able to understand the principles which are being put forward,
2004
- Writer representation and authorial stance: a case study of the introductory chapters in economics textbooks”.
[Capitolo/Saggio]
Poppi, Franca
abstract
Writers do not convey their messages impersonally. They bring to writing a variety of commitment based on their interests, values and beliefs, which are built from their own history and they participate in the construction of their discoursal identity by selecting among the subject positions they feel willing to occupy.
2003
- Focusing statements as instances of different authorial stances
[Articolo su rivista]
Poppi, Franca
abstract
The contribution takes into account two differently phrased kinds of focusing statements. The evidence collected seems to indicate that it is not always possible to refer to the differences between focusing statements featuring 'will' and others featuring 'shall' only in terms of varying degrees of certainty. While the former type of statements turn into propositions, the latter type of statements turn into recommendations. And even though in both types of focusing statements the author adopts a stance of authorial assertiveness, this seems to originate form his belonging to an established tradition ('will') or from his qualifying himself as an expert, able to recommend what should be done ('shall').
2003
- Fostering autonomy: implementing change in teachers' education.
[Capitolo/Saggio]
Poppi, Franca; L., Low; Bondi, Marina
abstract
Few teachers will disagree with the importance of helping language learners become more autonomous, but in spite of widespread agreement on the importance of autonomy and independence, there remains a good deal of uncertainty about their application to language education. For instance, some people believe that autonomy is something that teachers do to their learners; in other words that it is a new methodology. This is not true, but it is not entirely false either, for learners are unlikely to become autonomous without active encouragement from their teachers. Therefore the development of learner autonomy will depend crucially on the initiatives teachers take. The question is, what kinds of initiatives should teachers take? First of all it is necessary for teachers' attitudes to learning and teaching to change.
2003
- La gestione della comunicazione orale in classe
[Capitolo/Saggio]
Poppi, Franca
abstract
Le più aggiornate teorie sull'educazione linguistica sono basate sull'assunto che l'interazione gioca un ruolo di primo piano nei processi di apprendimento. Obiettivo di questo corso è quello di prendere in esame la comunicazione orale in classe, cercando di isolarne le componenti più significative. In questo corso apprenderemo quali sono alcune delle componenti più significative della comunicazione orale in classe, nel tentativo di individuare quali, tra i vari tipi di interazione, sono i più idonei a favorire l’apprendimento. Si cercherà, in altre parole, di trovare una risposta alla domanda: “What kinds of interaction promote L2 learning?”
2003
- Teacher-Learner Interactions in the Written Media. A case study of the introductory chapters in economics textbooks.
[Monografia/Trattato scientifico]
Poppi, Franca
abstract
Teacher-Learner Interaction in the Written Media investigates the dialogue that takes place between the writer and his/her reader. In particular, the book focuses on a corpus made up of the introductory chapters of ten economic textbooks. Starting from register analysis and moving on to discourse and genre analysis, the book looks at how writers succeed in managing the interplay between pedagogical principles and subject knowledge and concentrates on the particular strategies that writers employ to reach their two-fold aim: to teach the basics of the discipline and to make students accept what they are learning.
2002
- The PLEASE website: Primary Language teacher Education: Autonomy and Self-Evaluation
[Software]
Bondi, Marina; L., Low; Poppi, Franca
abstract
Although the letter 'T' for teacher is missing in the PLEASE acronym for the website, the taecher is very much at the heart of the website in terms of the langauge learning pupils undertake at priary school. Moreover, even though the project was addressed to teachers, it was taken for granted it would inevitable influence their teaching and their learners' learning process as a whole.
2002
- The future of classroom learning: A case study in Integrated Learning Systems (ILS)
[Capitolo/Saggio]
Poppi, Franca; Meus, V.
abstract
Electronic technology has, over the past twenty years, entered every area of society and influenced every aspect of our social and cultural lives. As a consequence,students raised in a world of instant information and interactive technologies find themselves confronted with educational practices which may strike them as rigid, inflexible and outmoded.
2002
- The rituals of language: teacher's talk in the language classroom
[Capitolo/Saggio]
Poppi, Franca
abstract
In the context of language education, autonomy and independence are qualities normally expected of learners rather than teachers. But autonomous modes of learning imply a re-evaluation of the roles of both learner and teacher, the relationships between them, and the relationships of both to institutions of learning. These roles and relationships can be complex and are not reducible to simple expectations of behaviour or distributions of power. It is not uncommon for autonomous learning projects to run into problems because of mismatched expectations in the area of learner – teacher roles. Clearly, both learners and teachers need to know who they are, what they can expect from each other and what their respective attitudes are towards the institutional and social context of learning if autonomous learning is to work.
2001
- Learning support systems and learning environments
[Capitolo/Saggio]
Poppi, Franca
abstract
As we enter the new millenniu, the technical realities for CALL have expanded far beyond prior expectations. To attempt the best pedagogical applications for this technology, research on CALL is needed. In particular, a few critical comments about CALL should be kept in mind, whenever a new CALL project is introduced. This paper tries to investigate some of the requirements needed to make CALL beneficial for L2 learning. IN particular it focuses on the role of CALL materials and advising as possible forms of supporting learners in the attempt to shift the focus of attention from the product to the process, so as to enable learners to exercise control over their learning and to assume the responsibility that this entails.
2000
- Auto-apprendimento e procedure di advising
[Capitolo/Saggio]
Poppi, Franca
abstract
Sviluppi nella pedagogia dell'apprendimento delle lingue hanno portato all'elaborazione di nuove prospettive sull'uso dei computer nell'apprendimento linguistico. Il prodotto maggiore di questo movimento è stata la creazione di sistemi di auto-apprendimento dinamici e flessibili che devono essere in grado di rispondere ai cambiamenti nelle caratteristiche dei destinatari. E' importante, tuttavia, non considerare le nuove tecnologie in opposiizone all'intervento umano, ma occorre considerare gli sviluppi tecnologici come una possibilità in più che permette di ottimizzare l'apporto umano.
2000
- Recensione di L. Jottini (a cura di), Le attività dei Centri Linguistici un una dimensione europea
[Recensione in Rivista]
Poppi, Franca
abstract
2000
- The importance of materials in supporting learners' self-motivation in computer-mediated learning
[Capitolo/Saggio]
Poppi, Franca
abstract
Criticism of interactive multimedia programs on Cd-Tom is sometimes trenchant, as some of them are considered unable to explore in an imaginative way the educational potential of new generation computers. It is therefore of paramount importance to porvide a pedagogical framework for computer-assisted instruction and to have the high standards of the hardware matched by software applications, by means of a close co-operation between linguistic and computer experts.
1999
- Fostering autonomy: implementing change in teachers' attitudes
[Capitolo/Saggio]
Poppi, Franca
abstract
Few teachers will disagree with the importance of helping language learners become more autonomous as learners, but in spite of widespread agreement on the importance of autonomy and independence, there remains a good deal of uncertainty about their application to language education. Therefore, the development of learner autonomy will depend crucially on the initiative teachers take. As a consequence, it is necessary for teachers' attitudes to learning and teaching to change. In turn, this will bring about a change in their roles and relationships, as they acquire tutoring skills whch help learners learn more effectively and independently.
1999
- Il dialogo pedagogico tra l'apprendente e l'adviser
[Capitolo/Saggio]
Poppi, Franca
abstract
Il dialogo pedagogico tra l'apprendente e l'adviser si struttura sulla base di un percorso che prevede un'intervista articolata in più punti. Infatti nell'apprendimento autonomo, la responsabilità per tutte le decisioni relative al processo di apprendimento spettano all'apprendente. Da questo punto di vista i labortaori per l'auto-apprendimento sono adatti a promuovere una nuova cultura di apprendimento, perché richiedono ai loro utilizzatori di essere attivamente impegnati nella gestione dei compiti e di accettare la responsabilità per le loro decisioni.
1999
- Laboratorio DIAPASON for Science
[Software]
R., ROSSINI FAVRETTI; Bromwich, William John; A., Greenwood; Poppi, Franca; F., Tamburini; A., Thursfield
abstract
CALL (Computer Assisted Language Learning) thanks to the innovatory powers of the computer, seems to offer teachers an extremely valuable tool. The DIAPASON project includes tasks and activities tailored to the requirements of the students in Science Faculties without being forced to sacrifice quality for glossy content.
1999
- M.I.S.S.I.L.E. (Military Service Special Initiative in Language Education)
[Software]
R., ROSSINI FAVRETTI; Bromwich, William John; A., Greenwood; S., Paci; Poppi, Franca; F., Tamburini
abstract
The MISSILE English courseware has been developed by a team of linguistic and computer experts at the Interfaculty Centre for Theoretical and Applied Linguistics at the University of Bologna for the Italian Defence Ministry. Special consideration was given in the design of the courseware to the particular student type with a low level of educational achievement and motivation and typically not able to use a computer.
1999
- Percorsi assistiti nell'auto-apprendimento
[Curatela]
Poppi, Franca
abstract
Il progetto MISSILE è volto alla formazione linguistica di adulti in ferma breve. Ha portato all'installazione in 150 caserme del territorio nazionale di postazioni informatiche tali da consentire agli apprendenti di ricercare ed utilizzare i materiali didattici opportunamente inseriti in percorsi interattivi e assistiti di auto-apprendimento individualizzato.
1999
- Rethinking teachers' attitudes: the role of the adviser/counsellor
[Capitolo/Saggio]
Poppi, Franca
abstract
In the light of the promotion of autonomous learning it is of paramount importance to rethink teachers' attitudes. In the learner's search for knowledge, the counselling discourse - seen as a discourse-based mode of helping, and systematic exploitation of conversational organisation - can play an important role.
1997
- DIAPASON: A self-access project based on the language learning needs of Science Faculty students
[Capitolo/Saggio]
Poppi, Franca
abstract
Students attending scientific Faculties, where no frontal lessons are available, have to take advantage of multimedia facilities. The DIAPASON projects caters to the needs of students enrolled in Scientific Faculties thanks to a software especially designed to tackle the most important lexico-grammatical structures.
1997
- Difficoltà di lettura in L2: un problema linguistico?
[Articolo su rivista]
Poppi, Franca
abstract
Le difficoltà che i ragazzi incontrano nel processo di lettura in L2 non possono essere affrontate da un punto di vista esclusivamente lingusitico, ma favorendo l'acquisizione delle strategie più adatte.
1996
- Difficoltà di lettura in lingua straniera
[Articolo su rivista]
Poppi, Franca
abstract
La lettura di un testo in lingua straniera comporta certamente delle difficoltà, che spesso derivano da un errato atteggiamento degli studenti nei confronti di tale attività. E' pertanto opportuno che l'insegnante si avvalga dei diversi strumenti dei quali dispone, per indagare l'atteggiamento dei propri allievi nei confronti della lettura, in mododa poter predisporre le attività opportune per aiutarli a migliorare le loro strategie di lettura.
1996
- Le strategie di lettura: dalla L1 alla L2
[Articolo su rivista]
Poppi, Franca
abstract
L'importanza e l'attualità della lettura sono state sottolineate più volte, soprattutto in considerazione della presenza di un elevato numero di variabili coinvolte nel processo di lettura, che è stato a volto sottovalutato e considerato come un processo meramente passivo. Al contrario, il processo di lettura richiede un'attiva partecipazione da parte del soggetto interessato.
1995
- Metacognitive learning strategies in the reading process
[Capitolo/Saggio]
Poppi, Franca
abstract
One of the greatest problems of research into the process of reading lies in the obvious fact that the process is invisible. This could explain why much of existing research has focused on reading comprehension, rather than on the reading process itself, thus contributing to the growing confusion between teaching reading and testing raeding competence.
1993
- Dalla lettura alla scrittura
[Capitolo/Saggio]
Poppi, Franca
abstract
Il contributo si auspica di poter rendere chi legge più consapevole di tutte quelle operazioni che devono essere compiute per poter leggere diversi tipi di testi in lingua inglese. Infatti la lettura è un processo complesso, che alcune persone riescono a portare a termine meglio di altre.
1993
- Esercizi di grammatica
[Capitolo/Saggio]
Poppi, Franca
abstract
Lo scopo di questo volume è quello di fornire una sintetica descrizione della struttura della lingua inglese in relazione alle sue principali funzioni nella comunicazione. L'inglese, come ogni lingua naturale, è un sistema di strategie destinate alla comunicazione tra un emittente e un ricevente attraverso la produzione e la ricezione di mesaggi. Quando comunichiamo qualcosa compiano tre operazioni: selezioniamo un contenuto, troviamo l'espressione che è capace di comunicare questo contenuto, ed eseguiamo un controllo per verificare se l'espressione scelta comunica in modo adeguato il contenuto.
1993
- L'inglese per studenti della Facoltà di Economia - English for Students of Business and Economics
[Monografia/Trattato scientifico]
Bondi, Marina; M. G., Busà; G., Del Lungo; Poppi, Franca
abstract
Il volume contiene un saggio introduttivo sulle caratteristiche dei linguaggi specialistici e dell'inglese dell'economia, in una prospettiva di analisi del discorso. Le linee metodologiche illustrate nel saggio sono poi esemplificate nell'analisi di materiali autentici, con attività rivolte a studenti di economia.
1993
- La lettura di testi specialistici in lingua inglese
[Capitolo/Saggio]
Poppi, Franca
abstract
Il contributo discute alcune delle principali competenze necessarie per fare in modo che un lettore adulto di un testo scritto possa approssimarsi il più possibile al modello di destinatario al quale si rivolge idealmente.