Abstract:
This research project shows the benefits of using literary texts and hypertexts in language classes as sources of authentic inputs which allow a dynamic involvement of the learner¿s personality, with his/her emotions and sensorial attitudes. Thanks to an affective response while reading a literary text and a sensorial one while exploring the hypertext, the student is holistically involved in the learning process, something which maximises the possibilities of acquisition of the target language. The two types of texts should be connected to each other by the topic. The main hypothesis presented is that some of the peculiar features of a literary text and a hypertexts are complementary to each other even if different. This complementarity enhances the benefits of the activation of the cognitive and affective processes involved in the act of reading these two types of texts. The interaction with the two texts involves a negotiation of meaning through the target language, while working implicitly on the grammar, also stimulates the recalling of personal and sensorial experiences during the reading activity. This different negotiation with the two types of texts potentially optimizes the acquisition of the grammatical structures of the foreign language, especially if led through activities inspired to a task-based approach. Four main research questions have been developed to confirm the hypothesis. The data collected from an experimental grammar course of Italian, taught using authentic literary texts and hypertexts to intermediate-advanced level students, have shown a relevant improvement in using complex verbal structures, in particular the periodo ipotetico (if clauses), at the end of the course. Creative composition activities, strictly related to the literary texts¿ content, were required during the course. The work on the hypertext was developed through participation to the Forum discussions, the publication on a Wiki and two reading activities on the internet.
