Event

Ph.D. candidate Andrea Leone Pizzighella (Graduate School of Education) will share with us her fascinating research conducted in Italy thanks to a Salvatori Research Award assigned by the Center for Italian Studies in 2016-17. Her talk is entitled: "L'interrogazione and the Linguistics of Academic Performance in Italian Secondary Schools."

Here's an abstract of her paper:

The interrogazione (oral exam) is a staple of every liceo classico (classical lyceum) in Italy. Characterized by its stark separation from everyday classroom talk, its rigid format, and its performative requirements, the interrogazione is a ritual that socializes students into a particular way of engaging with school subjects. This talk takes a close look at the language of the interrogazione and draws conclusions about its role in the liceo classico. 

Andrea Leone-Pizzighella is a 5th year Ph.D. candidate in Educational Linguistics at the University of Pennsylvania's Graduate School of Education. Her current research focuses on language ideologies, linguistic performance, and social identities in Italian secondary schools.