TOWARDS A CONSTRUCTIONIST APPROACH TO ITALIAN L2 PEDAGOGY: A CASE-STUDY ON LIGHT VERB CONSTRUCTIONS
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.54103/2037-3597/32000Abstract
This paper advocates for an acquisitionally informed, communicatively oriented Pedagogical Construction Grammar approach to teaching Italian as a second language. Drawing on Construction Grammar, Constructicography, and the emerging Italian Constructicon (ItCon) resource, we present the results of a corpus-based case study on light verb constructions (LVCs) in L2 Italian. Using the CELI learner corpus (B1-C2 levels), compared with the CORIS reference corpus, we analyzed verb-noun LVCs with five frequent light verbs (avere ‘have’, fare ‘do’, dare ‘give’, prendere ‘take’, mettere ‘put’). Results concerning the distribution of LVCs construction across proficiency levels point to a specific acquisitional sequence (avere + N > fare + N > dare + N > prendere + N > mettere + N). Based on these findings, the article proposes a B2-level Teaching Unit that integrates the instruction of selected LVCs identified through the corpus-based study within a communicative pedagogical framework. The example illustrates how a construction-based approach can be effectively combined with usage-oriented pedagogical practice, in line with the natural developmental sequences of language learning evidenced by authentic data.
Verso un approccio costruzionista alla didattica dell’italiano L2: Uno studio di caso su costruzioni con verbo supporto
Questo articolo applica l’approccio della Pedagogical Construction Grammar e una metodologia corpus-based all’insegnamento dell’italiano L2. Inserito nel quadro del più ampio progetto di creazione dell’Italian Constructicon (ItCon), questo studio di caso si concentra sulle costruzioni con verbo supporto (light verb constructions, LVC) nell’italiano L2. L’analisi si basa sul corpus di apprendenti CELI (livelli B1-C2), usando il CORIS come corpus di riferimento, e prende in esame costruzioni V+N con cinque verbi supporto molto frequenti (avere, fare, dare, prendere, mettere). I risultati relativi alla distribuzione delle costruzioni LVC nei diversi livelli di competenza suggeriscono l’esistenza di una specifica sequenza acquisizionale (avere + N > fare + N > dare + N > prendere + N > mettere + N). Sulla base di questi risultati, l’articolo propone un’Unità Didattica di livello B2 che integra l’insegnamento di alcune LVC identificate dallo studio corpus-based all’interno di una matrice didattica comunicativa. L’esempio mostra come un approccio construction-based possa essere efficacemente coniugato a una pratica didattica orientata all’uso linguistico, nel rispetto delle sequenze di sviluppo naturale dell’apprendimento linguistico evidenziate da dati reali e autentici.
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