The ANILS English Network, in collaboration with TRINITY College London, is hosting the webinar: Translanguaging in the English Language Classroom: Practical Strategies for Confident Learners, with Manuela Kelly Calzini.
In many English language classrooms, particularly in primary and lower secondary education, learners understand far more than they feel able to express. This gap between understanding and expression can limit participation and lead learners to rely on simple language, even when they are capable of more complex thinking.
This interactive webinar explores how translanguaging, understood as the purposeful use of learners’ full linguistic repertoires, can support teaching and learning in plurilingual classrooms. Drawing on classroom practice and research, the session shows how Italian and other home languages can be used to activate prior knowledge, support understanding and enable learners to develop more extended responses in English.
Participants will engage in interactive activities, including storytelling and collaborative tasks, and will explore how to balance multilingual learning with sustained use of English, particularly in preparation for assessment. Practical strategies will be shared for supporting confident speaking and classroom interaction across levels.
Manuela Kelly Calzini is Senior Academic for Trinity College London in Italy and Central Europe and Lecturer in Primary Education Sciences at the University of Florence. She specialises in EFL, CLIL, and teacher education, with research interests in Young Learners, communicative skills, storytelling, and Drama. She recently designed the Teaching Speaking course and led a pilot study on teacher self-efficacy and cognitions, focusing on the challenges of teaching speaking and the role of mediation in oral communication. She is a member of EALTA.
Date: Friday 29 May 2026, 4:00-5:30 PM
Attendance is free and open to everyone.
To participate, please register by completing the form at the following link:
https://forms.gle/pApC9B5b5YHbnrxZA
Certificates of attendance will be provided to ANILS members enrolled for the 2026 calendar year.
To become an ANILS member:
https://www.anils.it/wp/diventa-socio/
Contact: inglese@anils.it
