Football as a universal language and as a key to discovering Italian: this is the heart of the seminar “Italian FOOTBALL – A playground to learn Italian!”, who returns in May with his second edition.
The initiative is promoted by Department of Italian Studies of the National University of Rosario in collaboration with the Consulate General of Italy, and sees the Neapolitan sports journalist in the chair – on Zoom Nico Erbaggio and the teacher and photojournalist from Rosario Ramiro Ortega.
A friendship born in 2017 on a real football field, when Erbaggio was in Rosario for an AISEC project and Ortega worked in the field of Italian teaching and collaborated with the press office of the Newell's Old Boys. «On that occasion – Erbaggio says – I visited the stadium, the locker rooms, the field. It all started there. A seed that, after years of ideas, finally took shape."
In 2022, the bond was strengthened when Ortega came to Naples. The idea of the seminar was proposed to the University of Rosary, who immediately embraced the originality of the project. The first edition was a success, fueled by a shared passion: that for football and Italian culture. «The students – says Erbaggio – they were hungry, not only for football but for Italianness. It was beautiful to see them so involved."
The seminar, entirely online and free, aims to teach the Italian language through football terminology, transforming sport into a powerful teaching tool. But the project does not stop there: the two creators are already working on a version in Spanish for Italians, dedicated to Argentine football fans. A further demonstration that football not only unites, but educates.
Article published on 17 April 2025 - 12:05
This seminar seems very interesting and useful to learn Italian, but I don't know if football is really the best way to teach the language. Maybe there are other more effective methods to consider.