Educare al dialogo internazionale attraverso l’interlinguistica: interdisciplinarità, internazionalizzazione, innovazione, dialogo interculturale

Abstract

This paper describes the experience of the “Esperanto Language and Culture” course launched in the 2024-25 academic year at the Universities of Parma and Rosario as part of the W.I.D.E. (Widening International Didactics and Education) project. Rooted in the University of Parma’s established tradition of inter-linguistic studies, the course served as an innovative model of collaborative international teaching, designed to combine interdisciplinarity, internationalization, and intercultural dialogue. The choice of Esperanto, a planned language with a neutral, international vocation, was driven not only by linguistic considerations but, above all, by values, such as linguistic democracy, inclusion, pluralism, and global communication. The methodological framework employed a blended approach featuring synchronous online lessons, self-study activities on a dedicated platform, and periods of reciprocal mobility between Italy and Argentina, thereby fostering experiential learning. A key feature was the creation of a trilingual classroom (English, Italian, and Spanish) that progressively adopted Esperanto as the target language, stimulating both metalinguistic and metacognitive awareness. Alongside the acquisition of basic linguistic structures (CEFR pre-B1 level), the course explored the historical, cultural, and political aspects of the Esperanto movement. The results highlight significant educational outcomes – linguistic, intercultural, and relational – confirming the effectiveness of the proposed model.