Formare i docenti di lingua: è possibile capovolgere lo schema?

In-service training for language teachers faces two critical issues: the model based on expert instruction has proven ineffective in ensuring significant increases in student achievement; yet, the demand for training has been increasing for years, the supply has not. This essay suggests the possibility of addressing the above two issues by flipping the traditional teacher training model. The traditional model is linear, having only one direction, from those who know to those who do not know or know less; the flipped model is circular, that is, it is based on two circles. Circle 1: The starting point is a school (or a network of schools, or a teachers’ association, etc.) where a teacher, trained to be a mentor, organizes the training. First, the trainees share their experience on the topic of the training module, then the tutor provides scientific input through videos, and finally guides the creation and testing of teaching materials to be used at school, thus completing Circle 1, “school to school”. Circle 2 is about the interaction between the tutor and research in educational linguistics. The circle begins when a good tutor contacts university departments, research centers, etc., to be trained; the research center provides video lessons for use in Circle 1; the tutor’s feedback, along with his or her articles in teacher journals and research questions for further research, completes Circle 2, ‘from research to research’. Five circle training projects are described.