Teaching practice in pre-service language teacher education: challenges of the transition from face-to-face to online lessons

The paper concerns pre-service teacher training within a post-degree program in teaching Italian as a foreign language at the University for Foreigners of Perugia. As existing literature suggests, coursework alone may lead to theoretical knowledge about teaching, but not to the day-to-day active understandings that teachers use in their classroom. Without the opportunity for practice, teachers may find themselves unprepared for the realities of language teaching. Therefore, the post-degree program traditionally combines theoretical knowledge and practical knowledge in a blended instruction: 7 months interactive online coursework (including an introduction to computer-assisted learning) and 2 months face-to-face training. However, there are cases where face-to-face training experience is difficult or impossible to accomplish (like during the recent Covid-19 outbreak). In this setting the authentic teaching context that allows practice for pre-service teachers can be provided by an online language course. Consequently, teacher education in computer-assisted language learning becomes a central aspect of the training and it can constitute an example of good practice for the present cadre of Italian language teachers in training. The paper describes the evolution of the course through its transition from a face-to-face to online context, the challenges in its planning, preparation and implementation, as well as the first results of the new online edition and suggests innovative solutions for the design and management of similar training courses.