I speak at conferences to advance Multilingualism and Second Language Acquisition.

Through active participation in conferences on Multilingualism and Second Language Acquisition, I share research, exchange teaching strategies, and foster collaborations that enrich my practice and inspire my students.

Upcoming

The Literary Text as Intercultural Bridge Between Italian and Spanish

ACTFL Conference, San Antonio, TE | November 20th - 22nd, 2026

With colleagues Dr. Clorinda Donato (CSULB) and instructor of Italian and French, Joanna Tatro (CSULB) we will present data that show the importance of literary text and specific teaching strategies using Intercomprehension and Translanguaging when teaching in a class of Italian for Heritage Speakers of Spanish.

Designing a Multilingual General Seminar: Languages and Strategies

PAMLA Conference, Seattle, WA | November 12th - 15th, 2026

The presentation will be dedicated to the activities experimented in two years of instruction of the course “Unlocking the Multilingual Multiverse: Mastering the Power of Language Skills” as general seminar in socio-analysis.

Previous

Internship and Cultural Competence in Italian Language Studies in Los Angeles

NEMLA Conference, Pittsburgh, PA | March 5th - 8th, 2026

This presentation focused on the importance of an internship class to help students developed soft skills in a Target Language. The class offered at USC is ITAL 222X and students have the possibility to practice their Italian with Italian companies in Los Angeles.

Speaking Data: Coding Insights and the Write-Aloud Protocol

NATIONAL HERITAGE LANGUAGE RESOURCES CENTER, University of California Los Angles | February 27th and 28th, 2026

This presentation focused on the coding process of the data collected at CSULB between 2023 and 2025 to show the importance of Translanguaging and Write-Aloud Protocol in the language classroom with Heritage Spanish Speakers learning Italian.

Learning Languages in the Digital Age: What Students Say About Gaming and AI

PAMLA Conference, San Francisco | November 20th-23rd 2025

Chaired the panels “Language Teaching and Technology: From Gaming to AI I” and “Language Teaching and Technology: From Gaming to AI II”. Presented the paper titled: “Learning Languages in the Digital Age: What Students Say About Gaming and AI” with Dr. Alberto Calleo.

Intercomprehension and Translation Strategies in Italian Poetry

NeMLA Conference, Boston | March 7th-10th 2024

This research demonstrates that plurilingual students, using strategies like spontaneous translation, can comprehend Dante’s Divine Comedy, highlighting the benefits of intercomprehension in language learning.