L2 textbook design for intercultural learning in semester study abroad

Research in the field of language learning in study abroad contexts has demonstrated that international experience alone is often not enough for students to reach higher levels of L2 proficiency and intercultural sensitivity. To optimize the potential of study abroad it is essential to provide specific curriculum, methodology and language teaching materials that allow both foreign language acquisition and personal development. In this article we describe our recent experience of creating tailor made teaching materials for beginners—while attempting to reconcile the Italian sillabo and the American syllabus, or rather the European and North American approaches to creating a linguistic program—including activities that empower students to immerse themselves in the host community, to learn how to do things with language in a way appropriate for the given social situation, to increase their intercultural competence through critical reflections about the encounter with the foreign language and the new culture.