NILI UK - 4th Annual Event 

We are delighted to invite you to the 4th NILI-UK annual event that will be hosted at the University of Sheffield on Friday 12th June 2026.

This year’s theme is ‘Innovative Pedagogies and Emotional Wellbeing in the Italian Classroom,’ and we are particularly interested in contributions related to the following subthemes:

• Emotional wellbeing and assessment  

• Class participation and emotional wellbeing  

• Fostering joy in the language classroom  

• Language learning and identity 

• Technology-enhanced pedagogies and wellbeing  

• Emotional wellbeing and language teaching  

• Compassionate teaching

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Other sub-themes related to the main theme will be considered.

This will be a hybrid event with the possibility to attend in person or online.

Contributions can be in person or online and either in Italian or English. We will be looking for 20-minute presentations and more informal 10-minute contributions related to in-class practices and other scholarship work-in-progress.

PROGRAMME AND TIMINGS

Date and time: June 12th 10am-4pm

Location: University of Sheffield, The Diamond - Workroom 2 (and online)  

Cost: £20 (only applicable to those attending in person to cover lunch and refreshments)

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Structure of the day: 

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10:00–10:20 — Registration and coffee

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10:20–10:30 — Welcome

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10:30–10:55 — Presentation 1: Beatrice Lombardi (King’s College, London) “Correction to

Compassion: A Three-Step AI-Enhanced Feedback Cycle for Emotional Wellbeing in the Italian Classroom”

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10:55–11:20 — Presentation 2: Mario Valori (Università di Pisa)

“Ma che vuol dire?” — Generative AI as a Clarification-Seeking Interlocutor in the Italian Classroom

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11:20–11:45 — Presentation 3: Martina Amontagna (Independent Researcher) and    Andrea Peressini (Università di Torino)

“L'IA generativa e l'ingegneria dei prompt per una didattica inclusiva dell'italiano L2”

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11:45–11:55 — Break

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11:55–12:20 — Presentation 4: Giuseppe Fazzari and Beatrice Leonello (Centro Interculturale della Città di Torino)

“Il potere del linguaggio nella scoperta emotiva e identitaria del sé. Una sperimentazione nella classe di italiano”

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12:20–12:45 — Presentation 5: Anna Mantovani (DiSLL, Università di Padova)

“Raccontarsi in italiano L2: il genere e-mail in un intervento CLIL con adolescenti neoarrivati”

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12:45–13:45 — Lunch and Networking

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13:45–14:45 — Shorter Contributions 

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• Federica Colleoni, MIM, Istituto Superiore Mamoli, Bergamo , “Peer Education and Bilingual Mediation in the Italian L2 Classroom: Outcomes of an Inclusive and Collaborative Practice”

• Monica Oriani, University of Warwick “Developing a personal voice in Italian: reflective and digital practices for emotional wellbeing in the Italian classroom”

• Rosa Nazzaro, University of Warwick , “Introducing Wiki to enhance collaborative knowledge construction in an asynchronous environment”

• Carmela Esposito Faraone, University of Bath, “Using Escape Rooms to Foster Engagement and Well-being in Italian Learning”

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14:45–15:30 — Group Discussions:  Considerations and Takeaways in Our Contexts

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15:30–16:00 — Reflections, Networking & Closing

If you have any queries regarding this event please contact Alessia Brighi (A.brighi@sheffield.ac.uk)

The NILI-UK Team

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​You can find the final programme comprising of speakers and abstracts HERE.