MARIA ROCCAFORTE

Course: Applied linguistics (Linguistica educativa)
This course is intended for students enrolled in the Master's degree program in Linguistics.
First semester, Academic Year 2025–26, starting October 1, 2024.
Classes will take place on Tuesday and Friday from 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM (room to be determined), Faculty of Lettere e Filosofia – Main Campus.
Google Classroom Code: dtxjs7g5
The course will present the basic concepts of language didactics with particular focus on the neuro-psycholinguistic implications of language acquisition and learning, classroom approaches and techniques, and the role of grammar in teaching Italian as both L1 and L2.
The course will be organized into six modules:

1. Introduction to the discipline – Total: 8 hours
2. Neuro-psycholinguistic implications in language education – Total: 6 hours
3. Approaches, methods, and techniques in the language classroom – Total: 6 hours
4. The role of grammar in language teaching – Total: 6 hours
5. Language didactics, technologies, and artificial intelligence – Total: 6 hours
6. Guided use of teaching materials, corpora, and linguistic data lab – Total: 6 hours

An additional 4 hours will be dedicated to exercises and ongoing assessment.
The course syllabus is the same for both attending and non-attending students. Non-attending students are therefore encouraged to enroll in the Google Classroom to access study materials.

Course: Language teaching 1A (Didattica delle lingue 1A)
This course is intended for students enrolled in the Bachelor's degree program in "Lettere moderne"
Second semester
Classes will be held on Mondays from 4:00 PM to 6:00 PM and Fridays from 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM in the Geography Classroom, located on the second floor of the Faculty of Arts and Humanities – Central Campus.
Google Classroom Code: hisg4bv
The course will introduce the foundational concepts of language didactics, with particular attention to the implications that each of the four language skills (listening, speaking, writing, and reading) entails in the acquisition of the mother tongue and in the learning of additional languages.

Exams
Students attending the Educational Linguistics course may take a written exam at the end of the semester and register the grade, or they may choose to take an oral exam.
All exam-related information is available on Infostud.

Office Hours
To be arranged via email: maria.roccaforte@uniroma1.it

Directions to the office:
Take the elevator and press button 4. Upon exiting the elevator, turn left and enter the corridor of the Department of Modern Literature and Cultures. Proceed to the end of the corridor and then turn right. The office is the third-to-last door on the right-hand wall, marked with the letter F above the door.

Bachelor’s Thesis – Assignment Guidelines
To graduate in Language Didactics with Prof. Roccaforte, the thesis must be requested at least 8 months before the scheduled graduation date.
At the time of the request, an appointment must be arranged to define the topic and the graduation session in which availability is confirmed. Students must fill out the following form:
https://forms.gle/JiY7kEWig82xB431A
The thesis must be completed at least one month before the scheduled graduation period, or the defense will be postponed to the next session.
According to University regulations, remote meetings are not allowed, therefore all meetings, submissions, and revisions of thesis chapters must take place in person.

Master’s Thesis – Assignment Guidelines
To graduate in Modern Language Didactics with Prof. Roccaforte, students must have completed at least 12 ECTS credits in the Master’s program (mandatory course + optional course), must know at least one additional language, and be able to read academic texts in English, since much of the reference bibliography is in English.
The thesis must be requested at least 10 months before the intended graduation date.
Upon submitting the request (through the same form as above: https://forms.gle/JiY7kEWig82xB431A), students must schedule a meeting via email with the professor to define the topic and the graduation session. Students are expected to have preliminary bibliographic knowledge of the proposed topic; the professor will provide more specific guidance during the in-person meeting.
For the writing of the Master's thesis, students must strictly adhere to the APA editorial guidelines, available here:
chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://dipfilosofia.web.uniroma1.it/sites/default/files/documenti/Norme%20redazioni%20tesi%20versione%2011%20dicembre.pdf
The thesis must be completed at least one month before the scheduled defense period, or the defense will be postponed to the next session.
As per University policy, remote meetings are not permitted: all meetings, submissions, and revisions must be conducted in person.

Maria Roccaforte è Professore associato in Linguistica educativa SSD L-LIN/02 ora GLOT-01/B presso il dipartimento di Lettere e culture moderne della Sapienza di Roma. Laureata in Linguistica, ha conseguito il titolo di dottore di ricerca in Scienze documentarie linguistiche e letterarie nel 2016.
Referente in materia di disabilità e DSA per la Facoltà di Lettere e Filosofia, è attualmente responsabile scientifico del progetto FIS LIS-A (LIS assessment) finanziato dal Ministero dell'Università e della Ricerca, vòlto alla costruzione di un profilo linguistico della Lingua dei segni italiana a scopi valutativi e certificatori.
Dal 2023 è responsabile del progetto triennale MEMOLIS - MEthodologies and MOdels for LIS and spoken languages teaching.
Dal 2019 al 2023 è stata responsabile dell'Unità Sapienza per il Progetto PRIN - PHRAME- Phraseological Complexity Measures in learner Italian. Integrating eye tracking, computational and learner corpus methods to develop second language pedagogical resources.
Tra il 2018 e il 2021 è stata responsabile del progetto dal titolo Tracciare la comprensione. Il cloze test come strumento per indagare la comprensione linguistica in parlanti non nativi di lingua italiana e inglese: una ricerca condotta con Eye-Tracker.
Dal 2009 al 2012 ha partecipato in qualità di giovane ricercatrice al progetto FIRB – VISEL: "Elaborazione di linee guida per la didattica dell’Italiano a persone sorde" presso l’Istituto di Scienze e Tecnologie della Cognizione del CNR di Roma (laboratorio LaCAM – Language and Communication across modalities).
Assegnista di ricerca 2012 al 2014 con un progetto finalizzato all’adattamento dell’approccio nozionale-funzionale alla didattica delle lingue vocali e segnate, dal 2011 al 2018 è stata coordinatrice dei corsi di lingua della Sapienza organizzati per tutti gli studenti Erasmus in mobilità dell'Ateno: Incoming (corsi di Italiano) che outgoing (corsi di Inglese, francese, Tedesco e Spagnolo). Dal 2018 collabora attivamente con il CLA Centro Linguistico di ateneo Sapienza per le attività che ruotano attorno all'insegnamento dell'italiano come L2 e della LIS.
I suoi interessi di ricerca sono focalizzati sul versante neuro-psicolinguistico dell'apprendimento linguistico e includono l’utilizzo del tracciatore oculare nella ricerca linguistica applicata; si occupa di processi di apprendimento/insegnamento dell’Italiano a persone sorde, di processi di apprendimento/insegnamento della lingua dei segni e di linguistica della LIS.
Ha partecipato come relatrice a numerosi convegni, simposi, lezioni su invito e seminari, ha pubblicato volumi e articoli scientifici sul tema della comprensione linguistica indagata con eye-tracker, della didattica ad apprendenti sordi e della descrizione linguistica insegnamento della LIS.