Italy and Portugal share many things, including a strong passion for coffee and a Romance language heritage.

This is what Elena Bonetto, an Italian language lecturer at the unibz Language Centre, discovered through a recently launched collaboration with the Polytechnic Institute of Viana do Castelo within the framework of the SUNRISE Alliance.

Elena has developed a short intensive course in Italian language and culture for students from Viana do Castelo, which will run alongside an equally short and intensive course in Portuguese language and culture taught by Maria Brito, her counterpart at the Polytechnic Institute. The course Portuguese Language and Culture for Beginners was launched at the end of June and attracted almost 50 registrations within just a few days. It was a brilliant idea and an unexpected success, which we discussed with Elena.

SUNRISE:

Hi Elena, how did the idea of pairing a Portuguese course with the Italian course come about?

ELENA:

For some time, the Language Centre had wanted to expand its course offerings, and Portuguese had already been considered. However, we encountered difficulties in finding native Portuguese-speaking instructors. Then unibz joined the SUNRISE Alliance, whose nine partners include the Polytechnic Institute of Viana do Castelo (IPVC) in northern Portugal, and we decided to revisit the idea from there.

The SUNRISE Office helped me find the right contact in Maria Brito, and through her we learned that IPVC was about to organise the Blended Intensive Programme “Portuguese for Beginners”, in which I participated.

It was a very positive experience. I met language teachers from other SUNRISE partner institutions, had the opportunity to learn some Portuguese, gain insight into the local culture, and explore the city, immediately putting what I had learned into practice in real-life situations, such as ordering a coffee or interacting in shops and restaurants.

Most importantly, through the BIP I was able to experience Maria’s teaching methods and course management firsthand, and together we were able to design the Italian and Portuguese courses we had envisioned. It was also extremely valuable for me as a teacher to spend a week “on the other side of the desk” and put myself in the shoes of students learning a completely new language from scratch.

SUNRISE:

How will the course work?

ELENA:

The courses “Italian Language and Culture for Beginners” and “Portuguese Language and Culture for Beginners” will run in parallel and at the same time, taking the time difference into account, from 7 to 11 September.

There will be three hours of online classes each morning and a total of five hours of self-study during the afternoons. At the end, we also hope to organise a joint one-hour session between the two groups of learners as a language tandem, allowing them to meet and put into practice what they have learned during the course.

This was our idea, inspired by the long and positive experience we have had with language tandems between participants in the Italian and German courses that we regularly organise at unibz. Our colleagues in Viana do Castelo immediately embraced the concept.

The course will be short but intensive. In just 20 hours, participants will gain an introduction not only to Italian and Portuguese but also to the respective cultures. We are currently preparing the content. I will cover aspects of Italian culture, local South Tyrolean culture, and the city of Bolzano, while Maria Brito will do the same for Portugal, the Alto Minho region, and Viana do Castelo.

The course is also intended to provide an introduction for students considering an Erasmus international mobility experience. In any case, we have already realised how much the two cultures have in common: a passion for food, a deep appreciation for coffee, and the enjoyment of socialising and sharing time together.

SUNRISE:

Who can enrol?

ELENA:

The course is primarily aimed at students, both those planning an Erasmus international mobility experience and those who are simply interested in learning the basics of a new language. However, we have also received requests from several researchers.

Registration has already closed. Interest greatly exceeded our expectations, with applications from students and doctoral candidates from various faculties, and unfortunately we will have to make a selection. The Italian course for students from Viana do Castelo also reached its maximum capacity within just a few days.

This is a very encouraging sign, and we are extremely pleased with the response.

SUNRISE:

How do you view this collaborative experience within SUNRISE?

ELENA:

The collaboration has been extremely positive. Once contact with Maria was established, everything became very easy and straightforward. Maria immediately proved to be open-minded and eager to embark on this new adventure.

Getting to know each other better during the BIP and the Portuguese course helped strengthen our relationship and refine the idea. It was there that we decided to run the courses simultaneously and in parallel. This is yet another demonstration of the added value and enriching impact of in-person international experiences.

For us, this is an additional commitment and an experiment to which we are dedicating considerable effort and enthusiasm because we believe it represents a concrete opportunity for both universities. If it proves successful, it will be easy to extend the model to other Alliance universities, and we may then consider offering short courses in Greek, Swedish, Polish, or Bosnian.

Moreover, SUNRISE is currently working on a virtual language centre that will provide language courses across the entire Alliance, enabling all partners to offer courses to students and staff while mutually enriching the range of learning opportunities available. Our initiative can be regarded as a first pilot experience.

At unibz, we are also working to open our language tandem platform to SUNRISE partners. More broadly, we are bringing our experience in multilingual education to the Alliance, an area in which we possess unique expertise. We will soon also contribute this know-how to FOREU4ALL, the umbrella network of the European University Alliances, creating yet another international opportunity to showcase unibz across Europe.