Get to know Michela Valmori, Visiting Lecturer of Italian, who joined UBC’s Department of French, Hispanic and Italian Studies (FHIS) in January 2024.
“My academic interest covers the linguistic process of learning Italian as a Second or Foreign Language, such as the teaching of phonology and phonetics, the use of educational technologies, the employment of cooperative strategies, and the application of narrative in language courses.”
Career background
I started teaching in 2005 at the Modern Language Centre of the University of Bologna, and throughout my career I taught courses at all levels in the Italian language, of reading and writing, both academic and general, and advanced courses in Italian culture and literature. I have contributed to the development of the study abroad program at both the University of Bologna and the Ministry of Education. In my previous position, I reviewed syllabi, supervised instructors, and organized final exams and external language certifications, such as the Certification in Didactics in Italian as a Foreign Language (DITALS) and the Certificate of the Italian Language (CELI). In the past two years, I was also an Associate Lecturer of Italian at Birkbeck, University of London, where I taught intermediate and advanced courses in Italian language and culture.
Academic expertise
My area of expertise includes the literary production of the Italian-American and Italophone diasporas and the related themes of cultural conflict, crossings, and ethnic identity formation. It extends onto the literary representations of gender violence, such as rape or female discrimination, as seen in the Italian American literary tradition. Moreover, my academic interest covers the linguistic process of learning Italian as a Second Language (L2) or Foreign Language (LS), such as the teaching of phonology and phonetics, the use of educational technologies, the employment of cooperative strategies, and the application of narrative in language courses.
Goals
In my future teaching, I would like to be able to combine my expertise and knowledge in the fields of the Italian language, culture and literature and the Italophone diaspora. I am also very interested in researching the topics of Italian Canadian gender literature; I believe this could not only be a field worth investigating for its intrinsic literary value, but also an extremely powerful area of study deployable for the promotion of Italian culture.
Besides my teaching experience and my specific area of expertise, I hope I will be able to bring to both my future students and my department what I believe are the two most valuable aspects of my teaching personality: a robust enthusiasm for the learning process of the Italian language and a very energetic attitude that translates into positive communication skills.
Fun facts
I love fast walking, eating veggies (I am vegetarian), reading and traveling. My favorite colour is dark purple, my favourite Italian song is “Il ragazzo della via Gluck”, I generally don’t watch TV, and I am an excellent pizza maker.
My husband’s name is Federico (Fede), who has blue eyes and is a problem solver. We have two kids: Sofia (known as “Sofy”), who is 24 years old and lives in the UK where she is completing her medical degree; and Gian Marco (known as “Gimmy”), who is 21 years old and studies in the USA where he is a student athlete.
I feel humbled to be at UBC and a member of FHIS. Please, do let me know, if there is room for collaboration!
