L'email per imparare l'italiano: aspetti linguistici e contenutistici della comunicazione telematica in italiano L2

The integration of electronic communication into the teaching and learning of languages has opened up new horizons. This paper discusses a project involving the use of email exchanges in the Italian program at the Australian National University. Approximately eighty students participated in the project which consisted of two iterations of a one-to-one email conversation. This article examines the language and content of the messages constructed by students in terms of the following features:• the implications of the physical, psychological and temporal distance inherent in email communication • the differences between email communication of native speakers and learners • the dialogic nature of email communication and its relationship to both written and spoken communication • the importance of “empty” messages • the creativity of expression and the relationship between form and content.