COLOURS | AICLU Seminar May 2025 - a collaboration between COLOURS and AICLU
On 26th and 27th May, the University of Ferrara hosted the Seminar of the Association of Italian Language Centres (AICLU), organised by the University's Language Centre (CLA), a key member of the COLOURS Unife team. This event, a collaboration between the European University Alliance COLOURS and AICLU, gathered over 130 experts from 28 Italian universities, along with other associations and stakeholders, such as the Italian Association of English Studies (AIA), Cambridge, Oxford, Macmillan, and goFluent. The seminar also included a COLOURS panel featuring linguistic experts from six COLOURS university partners.
The seminar addressed the future of language teaching, focusing on critical challenges like integrating digital tools into everyday teaching, overcoming cultural and cognitive barriers, and providing personalised learning paths for each student. It offered practical insights into revising traditional teaching methodologies and explored the relationship between new technologies and foreign language learning to create new digital and multimedia educational content. A significant 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 highlighted the vital 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, noted that hosting the AICLU seminar was a valuable opportunity to create synergy with the COLOURS Alliance, of which the CLA is an active centre. She emphasised the importance of rethinking teaching to adapt to the new challenges of daily life through national and international collaboration, allowing for more personalised teaching and a holistic view of language learning.
Professor Carmen Argondizzo, President of AICLU, praised the COLOURS project as a model of European collaboration that aligns well with AICLU's mission to promote quality language teaching through academic networks and multidisciplinary, inclusive approaches. The seminar underscored the central role of Language Centres within universities for both methodological innovation and support for 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 highlighted the importance of multilingualism as a key to European cooperation, noting that language centres play a crucial role in translating the values of diversity and inclusivity of European higher education into practice.
The seminar also facilitated a productive 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 emphasised 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 with 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).