ETHNODIDACTICS: APPLYING ANTHROPOLOGY TO THE TEACHING OF A FOREIGN LANGUAGE IN MIGRATORY CONTEXTS

The article presents an experimental educational approach called ethnodidactic. The term derives from the fusion of two concepts: ethnography and didactics, with specific reference to language teaching. The experimentation was carried out during the 2024/2025 school year at a Centre for Adult Education (CPIA) in a class composed of adult migrant learners with varying levels of schooling (A1 and Pre-A1). In this initial phase, the authors primarily focused on developing listening, oral production, and oral interaction skills in the target language, considered preparatory abilities for the natural acquisition of reading, writing, and written interaction skills. Ethnodidactics employs the ethnographic method both as a research tool and as a didactic posture adopted by the teacher-ethnographer, drawing inspiration from the principles of the communicative approach to language teaching. It involves learners autonomously producing multimodal materials (images, videos) to communicate personal experiences, which are subsequently translated into the target language. This process activates authentic communicative needs and transforms the classroom into an intercultural laboratory where the teacher assumes the role of ethnographer-mediator. The results show a significant lowering of affective filters, the formation of a cohesive learning community, and effectiveness with low-schooled learners, as it values forms of situated learning. The positive outcome of this first experimentation places the authors in the position to further develop the ethnodidactic approach by identifying suitable strategies and educational tools for the development of all language skills outlined by the Common European Framework of Reference. The challenge lies in extending the effectiveness of the approach while keeping the learner’s participatory and autobiographical dimension at the center, so that each competence may be developed in authentic and meaningful communicative contexts.