DiM Project consists in a multilingual dictionary on line for foreigner students and teachers of school and organization that deals with language training for foreign students. It was designed by CPIA of AVELLINO. CPIAs (Provincial Centers for Adult Education) are schools set up by the Ministry of Education which offer services and activities for adult education as a contribution to personal, cultural, social and economic growth of all citizens. They are located throughout the Italian territory. DiM (Multilingual Dictionary) was born to support the teaching and the learning of Italian language for foreigner students. Mostly of our students are immigrants especially from African countries facing many problems such as low literacy or illiteracy. DiM was conceived as a work in progress and it can be suitable for learning and teaching any language. The first objective of DiM is to create an online open multilingual dictionary through an open source platform containing at least seven foreign languages spoken by students of our institutions for the level A1 level (according to the Common European Framework of References for Languages) translated in each European language used by all the partners involved. Every partner will work on a language to collect the necessary data and will help to implement the online platform. The dictionary will be a didactic tool, usable by teachers in their lessons and by students in autonomy. It will be an instrument to implement the autonomy of the students, learning how to learn. It will help all the institutions involved in teaching a second language to improve the welcoming of students with low literacy level also in their mother-tongue. Every institution will disseminate the project to reach a higher number of users and to stimulate more people to come to school. We will use social network and the European platform such as Epale and create in a final multiply event with our partners. It will by a duty for every involved institution to do any effort to disseminate the project inside and otside the institution by creating meetings and using all the channel that we will construct. The second objective is the valorization of the sociolinguistic heritage of our students. On that purpose, every institution will try to involve a congruous number of students in the realization of the dictionary and also create internal workshops on different languages giving centrality to languages less known on the territory creating an intercultural exchange and a more wider vision on sociolinguistic heritage. We would like to show the beauty of language in all its linguistic and cultural aspects through linguistic workshops that include both purely linguistic and lexicographical aspects and the cultural and artistic aspects (as regards alphabets, for example) of the various languages. DiM will be disseminated in other schools and countries to promote the integration between different cultures and languages and the social inclusion of immigrant adult students against any kind of social, cultural or linguistic discrimination. It is a way to preserve and give dignity to the languages of origin of foreign immigrant students. In this project our students, as native speakers, collaborate actively to its realization and promote the knowledge of their cultures through their languages. DiM consists of 4 stages each following one another which are: planning of the dictionary; collection of the entries; writing and producing. In the first stage the reference point as such as the starting point is the A1 Level lexical list, published in the Profilo della Lingua Italiana according to the Common European Framework of References for Languages. In this way, many of the problems related to words selection, the first step of the second stage, have been solved. The second step dealing with the collection of the entries (words) is carried out by students who complete a form with the translation of the words in their own language. The teacher will then record the translated words with student’s collaboration. In the writing stage we take care first to study the characteristics of the different alphabets and then, if necessary, reproduce the transliteration of the words in the Latin alphabet. At the end DiM will be published on a web platform on which all the languages collected can be visualized and used by anyone who want to use it for didactic or cultural purposes. The result for each word consists of: a schematic drawing for each word; a brief description in Italian/any other language; the translation of the word into the different languages involved; audio for pronunciation in the different languages involved as it can be seen from the attached example. The creation of a free and open multilingual online dictionary could be the basis for further activities to be implemented later, such as, for example, a linguistic and cultural database of the various countries and a multicultural online library.
DiM Project, designed by CPIA AVELLINO to support the teaching and learning of the Italian language, consists of an online multilingual dictionary for students and teachers of schools and organizations engaged in language teaching for foreign students. Its main objectives include the creation of an online multilingual dictionary based on the most widely spoken languages among students of partner institutions at A1 level (set by the CEFR), hosted on a free platform. Designed to enhance the sociolinguistic heritage of foreign students and to promote active participation of schools and pupils, it emphasizes linguistic and social inclusion as a means of integration. DiM was created in collaboration with 6 partners: CPIA Benevento, which until 2016 was part of CPIA Avellino; CPIA Ravenna, a keen supporter of DiM since the project was first presented at a CPIAs’ interregional seminar; Active Citizens Partnership, an NGO based in Greece experienced in working with migrants and refugees; Future Focus Ltd, an adult training centre in Malta which offers lifelong learning opportunities; IMS Research & Development Center, a private school located in Cyprus that places emphasis on issues of gender equality and social inclusion, attracting students of different nationalities; 36.6 Competence Centre, located in Scotland, with experience in training programs for adults facing problems in acquiring the language of the host country. Each partner collected linguistic data for 2 languages: their own and another language chosen from among the most widely spoken by their students. In addition, profiles were created for each of the languages and countries represented. CPIA Avellino coordinated the various phases and activities of the project; established the format for the collection of linguistic data; processed the data by creating the database of the online dictionary and designed the DiM Project website. The project resulted in: 1. the creation of an online multilingual dictionary (dictionary.dimproject.net), mounted on a digital platform and made available free of charge. Eleven languages are included: Bambara, Bengali, Farsi, Russian, Tagalog, Tigrinya, Wolof, Italian, Greek, English and Maltese. The interface is very simple, can be accessed from any device and is designed to be used by all, including those with low literacy levels. It allows embedding, so the dictionary can be included in any other website. Each headword (500 entries per language) includes audio; a schematic drawing (where possible); transliteration in the Latin alphabet; a definition of the word and its grammatical description. Drawings were made by students for some languages; also included are semantic lists, linguistic profiles containing descriptions of the main characteristics of each language and examples of activities. 2. The building of the project website (dimproject.net). The DiM project afforded great opportunities for human and professional enrichment resulting from the exchange of experiences between the different partners, as well as between students and teachers from several countries. During the data revision phase, language experts from the “Università degli Studi di Napoli L'Orientale” were consulted. The project, deemed a valid tool by this group of academics, aroused their interest and led them to offer us advice and guidance. In addition, they also introduced us to several other experts from different universities. The DiM Multiplier Event, held on 7 November 2020, provided an opportunity to share the project’s findings, to demonstrate the dictionary’s uses and to reflect and exchange views on current practices relating to the welcoming and inclusion of migrants. The participants included representatives from government institutions, civil society and the Secondary and Higher Education sectors, teachers, students, cultural mediators and people working with migrants. The result was a webinar in which topics such as the complex relationships between oral and written languages in developing countries, as well as the importance of documenting and preserving minority and often endangered languages were touched upon. Some schools, cultural associations and organizations have already requested the dictionary for use within their own institutions. Emanating from the multiplier event was Prof Ilaria Micheli’s proposal to discuss and reflect on the same themes but from an academic perspective, aiming to collect a number of extended and more in-depth versions of the webinar presentations to be brought together as a book published by the EUT (Edizioni Università di Trieste) in the series ATrA - African Transition. The project also resulted in a fruitful collaboration between school teachers and academics, in particular in the domain of adult education. Key players involved in the project were enriched by the exchange, resulting in the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the University of Naples L’ Orientale and CPIA Avellino.