Mastering Italian through Global Debate

Critical engagement with complex global issues that provides an effective approach to promoting linguistic proficiency and social responsibility

Mastering Italian through Global Debate is a one-semester textbook designed for students with Advanced-level Italian language skills, moving toward Superior and above. Over the course of each chapter, students gain linguistic and rhetorical skills as they prepare to debate on broad, timely topics, including environmental consciousness, immigration, wealth distribution, surveillance and privacy, cultural diversity, and education. Discussion of compelling issues promotes not only linguistic proficiency but social responsibility through critical engagement with complex global challenges.

Each chapter includes topic-specific reading texts and position papers, giving students insight into issues being widely discussed—and debated—in Italy today. In addition to pre- and post-reading activities, students benefit from lexical development exercises, rhetorical methods sections, and listening exercises with audio available on the Press website. Online resources for instructors include pedagogical recommendations and an answer key.

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Marie Bertola is Senior Lecturer of Italian at Santa Clara University where she teaches Italian language and culture. She is a certified proficiency tester for Italian. She holds degrees from the Università degli Studi di Torino, Université Paris VII and Université de la Sorbonne Nouvelle. She regularly presents at state and national level conferences and advocates for language education and Italian language programs in K-12.

Sandra Carletti is Professor of Italian at Middlebury College where she teaches courses in Italian language, modern and contemporary literature and culture, and in food studies. She holds degrees from the University of Bologna and The Johns Hopkins University. She has published on Calvino, contemporary Italian theater and satire, Alba de Cèspedes and Natalia Ginzburg.

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