Areas of interest
I am interested in language curriculum design and development; ab initio language learning and teaching; technology-enhanced language learning and teaching; the role of explicit instruction in SLA; language teacher training.
Teaching
I convene and teach language courses across the Italian Studies undergraduate programme in the Department for Languages and Cultures. For students from all programmes in the department, I convene and deliver the Language Skills course at Part 1.
Teaching projects
- 2008-10 Bridging the gap: a multimedia grammar resource pack for Italian students on the Year Abroad
- 2011-12 Language Skills. Revision and redesign of a support course aimed at providing metalinguistic competence and strategic tools to year-1 undergraduate language learners.
- 2010-11 STEP UP. Review and development of the Reading University Languages Ladder (IWLP and DMLES)
- 2010-15 enthusiasm FOR LANGUAGES. Development and integration of independent and active learning principles within language teaching and assessing in DMLES.
- 2010-15 TeachON! Project leader/Module convenor. Creation, development and management of a team-taught module, Introduction to Language Teaching, involving staff from DMLES and the UoR International Study and Language Institute (ISLI) and aimed at training visiting students to deliver conversation classes for students of French, German and Italian within the department and the IWLP.
- 2013-to date OpAL – Open Access to Languages. Project co-leader with Pilar Gray-Carlos (IWLP, UoR). Involving of students as co-creators of Open Educational Resources (OERs) to support language learning at secondary and HE level. OpAL materials available at: http://bit.ly/2gT45XE OpAL first-year report available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yvxVoxtF8f0
Selected publications
Siciliano Verruccio, E. (2011), '
Ab initio language learning in degree programmes in England and Scotland. A mapping survey and a case study' Subject Centre for Language, Linguistics and Area Studies.