La Repubblica

I was originally going to talk about RAI in this entry, which is Italy's Version of BBC, but I am going to post about La Repubblica.  La Repubblica is one of Italy's most popular Italian newspapers.  Repubblica.it is La Repubblica's online version of the newspaper.  Its website is pretty user-friendly, and all commercials, videos, and articles are in Italian.  Access is free.  All videos work on the website, and no additional software needs to be installed to watch them, unlike RAI (which is why I am not talking about it!)

I think that La Repubblica's website is a great tool for both student and teacher to use. By using the website, a teacher can ensure the use of authentic materials that include relevant topics and culture.  It is also good for an Italian teacher to use on his/her own time, to keep up-to-date with what is going on in Italy.  I think that using particular articles and videos would be good to have students practice their reading and listening comprehension (click on Repubblica TV for video clips).  For homework, the teacher can give guided questions that are to be answered about the particular article or video clip that is assigned. (It is important for teachers to review articles beforehand to ensure that the level is appropriate for students).  I'd probably have students also find five words that they didn't know in an article, and find the definitions online.  The next day when students come into class, I would assign groups to talk about the article, and share vocabulary with each other.

What's best about La Repubblica's website, is that it has Repubblica@SCUOLA (The Republic at School), which is geared for students.  Here is an article about Adele, one that students would probably find interesting and not too difficult to read.  I would probably use this website with high school students - from intermediate to advanced level Italian.