On the 26th and 27th of May, the Seminar of the Association of Italian Language Centres (AICLU) took place at the University of Ferrara, organised by the University’s Language Centre (CLA), a member of the COLOURS Unife team. This event, a collaboration between the European University Alliance COLOURS and AICLU, brought together over 130 experts from 28 Italian universities, as well as other associations and stakeholders, including the Italian Association of English Studies (AIA), Cambridge, Oxford, Macmillan, and goFluent. The seminar also featured a COLOURS panel led by linguistic experts from six COLOURS university partners.
The seminar focused on the future of language teaching, addressing critical challenges such as integrating digital tools into daily teaching, overcoming cultural and cognitive barriers, and offering personalised learning paths for each student. It provided concrete insights into revising traditional teaching methodologies and explored the relationship between new technologies and foreign language learning to design new digital and multimedia educational content. A key topic was the role of AI in enhancing learning experiences, not only for language learners but also to boost productivity and support learners in need. The seminar underscored the important role of the COLOURS Alliance in fostering partnerships, sharing experiences, and improving teaching techniques to support learners.
Professor Eleonora Federici, Director of the CLA at the University of Ferrara, remarked, “Hosting the AICLU seminar was a great opportunity to create synergy with the COLOURS Alliance, of which our CLA is an active centre. It is crucial to rethink teaching to adapt to the new challenges of our daily lives through national and international collaboration. This initiative allowed us to reflect on paths that promote more personalised teaching, a holistic view of language learning that places the person at the centre of a complex process.”
Professor Carmen Argondizzo, President of AICLU, stated, “The COLOURS project represents a virtuous model of European collaboration that aligns well with AICLU’s mission: to promote the quality of language teaching through academic networks, multidisciplinary and inclusive approaches. The seminar highlighted the central role of Language Centres within universities, both for methodological innovation and for supporting students and staff.”
The initiative featured contributions from scholars and experts in the linguistic field, with direct involvement from members of the COLOURS Alliance, including the University of Castilla-La Mancha, represented by the Director of the CLA, David Carrascosa Cañego. He emphasised the importance of multilingualism as a key to European cooperation, stating that language centres play a crucial role in translating the values of diversity and inclusivity of European higher education into practice.
The seminar also opened a fruitful dialogue between sector associations and language centres, as highlighted by the participation of Professor Giuseppe Balirano, President of the Italian Association of English Studies (AIA). He noted that working together, sharing experiences, and building common projects between CLAs and academic sector associations is now a strategic necessity.
Further information on CLA:
The University Language Centre is a recognised Oxford centre where students (including Erasmus students who have a Unife email), doctoral candidates, and administrative technical staff at UNIFE can obtain the Oxford Test of English (OTE) certification. The test is available year-round at the University of Ferrara’s Language Centre (CLA), allowing candidates to achieve levels B1, B2, or C1.
Registration is completed by filling out an online form (indicating the chosen exam date and desired level, B1, B2, C1) and paying the registration fee of €120 (the calendar section lists all dates and deadlines for registration and payment).
