Level III Researcher at INVALSI working on English-language assessment, computer-based testing, applied linguistics and second language acquisition. See also my publications and Google Scholar profile.
Current position
Level III Researcher · INVALSI
National Surveys Area (Area 1), English-language working group. Research line: computer-based assessment for primary school.
Academic and research experience
Subject Expert in Language Teaching · Roma Tre University
Support during examination sessions and academic guidance for students preparing dissertations in language teaching.
Research Fellow · Sapienza University of Rome
Research for the PRIN PHRAME project on measures of phraseological complexity in L2 Italian, integrating eye tracking, corpora and computational methods to create resources for second-language learning.
Adjunct Lecturer · University of Cagliari
Theory and History of Translation 2 (30 hours, 6 ECTS), BA in Modern Languages for International Communication, academic years 2020/21 and 2021/22.
Adjunct Lecturer · University of Bergamo
English Language Laboratories I: three laboratories totalling 81 teaching hours in Primary Education.
Adjunct Lecturer · Université Bordeaux Montaigne
Undergraduate and master’s courses in FLE methodology and teaching practice. Supervised a master’s dissertation on teaching French to migrant learners in heterogeneous classes.
Research Collaborator · Roma Tre University
Analysis of video-recorded Italian–English telecollaboration and tandem interactions.
Attachée Temporaire d’Enseignement et de Recherche (ATER) · Université Paris 8
Taught undergraduate and master’s courses in language assessment, classroom observation, first- and second-language acquisition and language teaching. Supervised dissertations, served on the pedagogical admissions committee and represented the master’s programme in Language Teaching.
Adjunct Lecturer · Université Bordeaux Montaigne
Courses in language teaching and in FLE methodology and materials development.
Teaching and professional experience
English Teacher · IC Santa Beatrice
English language and culture in lower-secondary classes; class coordinator.
Consultant and Educational Author · Loescher Editore
Analysis and evaluation of French and English courses for secondary education; scripts for 15 French-language “En vrai” videos and an evaluation framework for language courses.
English Teacher · IC Via Santi Savarino
English Teacher · Liceo Montale
English language and literature; class coordinator.
Italian as a Foreign Language Teacher · Eliot School, Boston
Italian as a Foreign Language Teacher · Lycée Victor Louis, Bordeaux
Italian Language Assistant · Italian Cultural Institute
Erasmus Placement in classroom support, courses for children, administration and teaching experimentation.
Italian as a Second Language Teacher · Bambini+Diritti
Literacy workshop for unaccompanied foreign minors.
Education
Joint International PhD in Foreign Language Teaching
Thesis: Le feedback correctif à l’écrit: techniques, élaboration, acquisition. Étude longitudinale dans l’apprentissage de l’italien langue étrangère chez un public d’adolescents au lycée.
MA in Modern Languages for International Communication
110/110 cum laude.
BA in Foreign Languages and Cultures
110/110.
Research service and memberships
- 2025: Contributed to the revision of ALTE’s Manual for Language Test Development and Examining, on behalf of the Language Policy Programme, Education Department, Council of Europe.
- 2025: Moderator, standard-setting procedure for the alignment of INVALSI Grade 5 English tests with the CEFR.
- 2024: Expert judge, standard-setting procedure for INVALSI Grade 5 English tests.
- 2019–2023: Member, GRAAL Research and Action Group on Language Learning.
- Organising and scientific committee, PHRAME closing conference (2023); organising committees for GSCP (2023), AItLA (2018) and ACEDLE (2017).
- Anonymous reviewer for Instructed Second Language Acquisition.
Recent conference presentations
- 2025 · EDULEARN25: “Automated Item Generation Approaches in Educational Testing: a Systematic Review Protocol and Preliminary Findings” (with R. Marzoli, A. Mastrogiovanni and A. Mattei).
- 2025 · EuroSLA 34: “What Vocabulary for Italian Young EFL Learners? An Analysis of the Wordlists of 5th Grade Primary School Textbooks” (with C. Buonaiuto, C. Cascella and R. Marzoli).
- 2025 · AIBSE: “Le prove INVALSI di Inglese: dentro il test, oltre i numeri” (with R. Marzoli).
- 2025 · ALTE 62nd Meeting and Conference Day: “Digital assessment of students’ receptive skills in a national testing program: The INVALSI experience” (with R. Marzoli, M. Desimoni and S. Giannone).
- 2025 · INTED: “The Use of AI in Educational Standardised Testing: a Scoping Review” (with C. De Santis, R. Marzoli and A. Mastrogiovanni).
- 2024 · IX INVALSI Seminar: “Uso dei dati INVALSI per esplorare la performance di apprendenti principianti di inglese L2 nella lettura per cogliere il senso globale del testo” (with C. Cascella).
- 2024 · Language Testing Forum: “Building on the English Vocabulary Profile to List Words in the Lexical Repertoire of Italian Grade 5 Pupils” (with C. Buonaiuto, C. Cascella and R. Marzoli).
- 2024 · Technology-Enhanced and Corpus-Based Language Learning and Teaching: “Using a Learner Corpus to Design a Phraseological Syllabus and a Test of Italian Verb–Noun Collocations” (with V. D’Alesio).
- 2023: Presentations at the PHRAME closing conference, Journées de Linguistique de Corpus, GSCP, EUROPHRAS and the Gothenburg workshop on profiling second-language vocabulary and grammar.
- 2022: Presentations at the AItLA International Congress and DILLE conference.
- 2021: Invited seminar on written corrective feedback for GRAAL.
Qualifications and awards
- 2023: Lazio regional award for researchers and research fellows.
- 2023: Italian teaching qualification, French language and culture in upper-secondary education (AA24).
- 2022: Italian teaching qualification, English in lower-secondary education (AB25).
- 2021: AItLA Prize for the monograph La correction des erreurs écrites en classe de langue étrangère.
- 2021: French CNU qualification as Maître de conférences, Section 07 (Language Sciences) and Section 14 (Romance Languages and Literatures: Italian).
- 2016: CEDILS certification in teaching Italian to speakers of other languages, Ca’ Foscari University of Venice.
Languages
Italian (native); French (C2); English (C1); Spanish (B1 reading, A2 in listening, writing, spoken production and interaction).