Italian in Turkey: intercultural learning in virtual worlds

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PDF (Italian)
Published: Apr 1, 2017
DOI: https://doi.org/10.17471/2499-4324/836
Keywords:
Virtual Worlds, Second Life, Italian Teaching, Interculture, Turkey, Migrant emergency, Educational technology.

Main Article Content

Antonella Elia
Istanbul University

Abstract

This article presents an ongoing experimental pilot project being carried out at the Italian Department of Istanbul University’s Virtual Campus (VC). Following a description of the Turkish context, the potentialities that virtual worlds offer for education are discussed. The focus of the project is specifically on Second Life, a digital environment suitable for intercultural education that offers fluid spaces for meetings, intertwinements and linguistic and cultural contaminations. We have sought to foster a positive attitude towards collaboration and mutual intercultural understanding in the informally relaxed and playful atmosphere of a VC space called ‘’Italian Language Park”. The ongoing project is demonstrating how, and to what extent, the world could be transformed into a global village, a place where immersive technologies are leveraged so that linguistic and cultural diversity become core strengths that make a significant contribution to intercultural dialogue and the peace process.

Article Details

Issue
Vol. 25 No. 1 (2017): The migrant emergency
Section
Articles - Special Issue

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Author Biography

Antonella Elia, Istanbul University

Lector of Italian in the Department of Italian  Language and Literature, Faculty of Letter - Istanbul University

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