"Carmela B. Scala received her Ph.D. in Comparative Literature from the City University of New York. She is the Director of the Italian Language Program at Rutgers University and the Study Abroad Program Director. She is the founder and chief editor of the academic journal 'Language Teaching and Technology' (LTT). She has won an entrepreneurial grant to develop a Professional Development workshop entirely online for Italian teachers and many other small grants to create innovative online language courses. She received the prestigious Rutgers Ernest E. McMahon Class of 1930 Award for the 2019-2020 academic year.Her main field of research is Baroque literature, fairytales, folklore, and dialect literature. She has published a book on Basile's work titled 'Fairytales - A World Between the Imaginary: Metaphors at Play in ""Lo cunto de li cunti"" by Giambattista Basile' (Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2015) and an Italian reader, 'Un viaggio fantastico nella lingua e nella cultura italiana' (Kendall Hunt Publishing Co., 2016). She is also interested in contemporary literature and has published a book on contemporary cinema, 'New Trends in Italian Cinema: ""New"" Neorealism' (Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2013).Her last article, ""Matteo Garrone's The Tale of Tales-Visual Metaphors and Transmedial Storytelling,"" was published in the book entitled 'The Body of Naples: Corporality and Performativity in Baroque Naples' (Lexington Books, 2017). She has recently published a book, 'From Design to Teaching: Granting Our Students An Engaging Learning Experience Online' (Cambridge Scholar Publishing, 2021); an article, ""How to Foster Equality in The Language Classroom,"" in 'Rhetoric and Sociolinguistics in Times of Global Crisis' (IGI Global, 2021); and ""Replacing the 'melting pot' with a 'colorful mixed salad' in the language classroom,"" in 'Global and Transformative Approaches Toward Linguistic Diversity' (IGI Global, 2022). She has also published articles on language acquisition in the NEMLA Italian Studies journal."
"New technologies and emergency circumstances vigorously influence everyday lives and individuals. As a result, undeniable repercussions on the teaching/learning process of a foreign language as SL, require substantial planning and implementation of suitable activities by applying innovative instruments and environments to learners' different levels and providing inclusive teaching and active learning. In this innovative contribution, powerful strategies of linguistic approaches are highlighted: from making or watching short videos and asynchronous lessons to creating 3D maps or puppet shows. Detaching themselves from canonical approaches, the authors emphasise that introducing impactful and challenging cross-curricular and cultural activities aim to strengthen linguistic skills, improve vocabulary and encourage oral production. Cooperative learning and interdisciplinary approaches overtake traditional classes and develop interaction and creativity in more globalized contexts. Moreover, relevant theories, sources and visual aids, through tables or graphs, provide substantial references to the thesis and important information and feedback on the results and future developments. Every chapter presents innovative research, showing how the new integration of technology and Web 2.0 tools in West and East academic courses is an original resource to create a constructive environment for Second Language Acquisition. They clearly prove how authentic language learning experiences can effectively take place, using educational cartoons, 'cortometrajes, ' short films, spaces such as Online Informal Learning of Language, Introducing new pedagogical models, like the 'Kubo Project, ' inspired by the Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) method. Finally, the authors investigate the new technologies' benefits and limits, suggesting creative approaches related to real-world contexts and learners' problems and projects, and offer an enjoyable interpretation of how humour positively affects students' attitude towards learning languages. Dr. Paolo Nitti Professor of Cognitive Linguistics UniversitĂ degli Studi dell'Insubria, Italy The pedagogical book, ""How to actively engage our students in the language classes"" edited by Carmela B. Scala, is very important for the field of teaching and learning [...] [...] [It] will contribute to the field, appealing to language instructors in K-12 and college and universities. Dr. Chiara De Santi Modern Languages Farmingdale State College"