(February 6, 2017) It is true that many college students write badly and struggle to compose an articulated sentence, but the interest for the Italian language is growing, especially abroad. Mario Panizza, dean of Roma Tre University that, albeit sharing “the concern that emerges from the open letter of 600 university teachers” to the government and parliament, is confident of that and reports positive news: “For some years now – says Panizza – graduates of Roma Tre, selected by a public tender, are committed to teach Italian abroad”, where the Italian language, among other things, “is increasingly demanded and the trend is growing rapidly because the activities that Italy leads abroad are growing, for example in the fields of art, fashion, design, food and beverage”. Precisely for this reason “it is desirable a greater commitment of university teachers, from all disciplines, to support the correct expressions of our language in the various fields of knowledge,” continued the Roman dean. New graduates are called to teach Italian abroad, thanks to the pilot project launched by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, alongside the teachers who teach Italian language and culture courses abroad. The project involves, in addition to Roma Tre, the Universities for Foreigners of Siena and Perugia. The annual tender, a call for titles, of the pilot project is open to graduates (bachelor and master graduates by no more than 24 months) with specific educational-methodological and language skills for carrying out teaching activities of Italian language abroad. The list is sent by the Foreign Ministry to the managing bodies of the courses, they call the most suitable candidates for their own needs – in relation to the list for the linguistic area of reference, the curriculum and the knowledge of the foreign language required – specifying the duration of assignment, duties, hours of weekly engagement, compensation and any ancillary benefits. The activity is planned for one year, renewable once only. The last call was closed on January 12. (Red)
