Borbala Gaspar

Interests

Teaching

Italian language and culture courses;General educational courses;Development of inclusive curricula;Development of learning strategies;Supporting and mentoring students' in career choices;Interest in developing courses related to my field of studies such as multiliteracies/ multiculturalism and multilingualism, literacy and teaching methodology;Interest in developing a 100% engagement courses using project-based learning approaches and community outreach

Research

Second Language Acquisition and teaching: Material development and learner engagement/motivationMy research focuses on how (underrepresented) language learners maneuver through social and symbolic power as they gain agency, use their imagination and engage in pedagogies such as project-based learning, task based, (multi)literacies and living literacies. Social justice topics incorporated into course materials

Courses

Scholarly Contributions

Books

• Gaspar, B., & Warner, C. (2024).

  Gaspar B., Warner C., Multilingual making in a second-language poetry club

                                                  A resource guide for teachers. Center for Educational Resources in Culture,

  Language, and Literacy, University of Arizona (open educational resource).

  . https://cercll.arizona.edu/l2poetryclub/: CERCLL.
• Gaspar, B., Bellocchio, L., Cavatorta, G., Fabbri, F., & Meli, M. R. (2021). Italian in Wonderland.

Chapters

• Gaspar, B. (2021). The Effects of Multimodal Communication on the Development of New Types of Learner Imagination. In CALICO Book series Volume "Identity, Multilingualism, and CALL"(p. 30).
• Gaspar, B. (2022). The Effects of Multimodal Communication on the Development of New Types of Learner Imagination. In Identity, Multilingualism and CALL(pp In L. Klimanova (Ed.), Identity, multilingualism and CALL - Responding to new global realities (pp. 328-352). Equinox eBooks Publishing.). doi:10.1558/equinox.43419
• Gaspar, B., & Berti, M. (2020). Gaspar B., & Berti M., (2020). A project-based approach for oral assessment. in: Gorsuch G. (2020). In “Tests that Second Language Teachers Make and Use”. Cambridge Scholars.

Journals/Publications

• Bellocchio, M. L., Cavatorta, B., & Gaspar, B. (2024). Italian in Wonderland, an OER Digital Language and Culture Learning Platform Bridging Lower and Upper Division Levels. Italica, 101(Issue 1). doi:10.5406/23256672.101.1.03
  More info

  This article presents Italian in Wonderland (https://italianin wonderland.arizona.edu/), an open education digital platform designed for basic, intermediate and upper-level Italian courses. This innovative platform, funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities, progresses from easy to challenging ensuring a smooth and continuous learning experience eliminating the disparity between lower and upper division courses. Italian in Wonderland uses a holistic teaching and learning approach integrating Italian language and culture and offering instructors and learners up-to-date materials centered around a variety of cultural topics. In this article we outline the origin of the project and the undertaking of bridging language and upper division courses. We delve into the courses and modules design highlighting the various activities we developed, with a particular emphasis on a learnercentric pedagogy that encourages active participation. By fostering engagement, Italian in Wonderland aims to encourage ongoing learning in upper division levels and equip learners for future professional pursuits.
• Gaspar, B., Warner, C., & Diao, W. (2020). Enterprising or Imagining Multilingual subjects: Beyond Commodity-centered discourses of FL teaching and learning. https://cms.arizona.edu/index.php/multilingual.
• Gaspar, B., & Warner, C. (2021). Project-based Learning as Living Literacy: Imagining Transcultural Subjectivities in the Italian classroom. Second Language Research and Practice, 30.
• Gaspar, B., Timlin, C., & Wang, Y. (2018). Gaspar B., Timlin C., Wang Y., (2018). Technology Use in Collegiate Foreign Language Program;. Journal of Second Language Acquisition and Teaching https://journals.uair.arizona.edu/index.php/AZSLAT/article/view/23108.
• Warner, C. N., & Gaspar, B. (2021). Project-based Learning and the Development of Transcultural Subjectivities: Case Studies from Italian. Journal of Second Language Research and Practice, (27 pgs).
• Warner, C. N., Diao, W., Gaspar, B., Gaspar, B., Diao, W., & Warner, C. N. (2021). Enterprising and Imagining Multilingual Subjects: Beyond Commodity-Centered Discourses for FL Teaching and Learning. Critical Multilingualism Studies, (28 pgs).

Presentations

• Bellocchio, M. L., Gaspar, B., & Cavatorta, G. (2025). The Italian in Wonderland Platform for Language and Culture Learning: Beginners Level. Language OER Conference. Online: The University of Kansas - Open Language Resource Center.
• Bellocchio, M. L., Gaspar, B., & Cavatorta, G. (2025, February, 27-28). Italian in Wonderland: An OER Initiative for Language and Culture Learning – Successes and Lessons Learned. 2025 OERizona Conference. Online: Open Textbooks for Rural Arizona consortium, a collaborative grant-funded initiative supported through the Fund for the Improvement of Post-Secondary Education (FIPSE).
• Bellocchio, M. L., Gaspar, B., & Cavatorta, G. (2024, February 17).

  Italian in Wonderland: An Open Educational Digital Platform to Teach and Learn Italian. 

  . 2024 Language OER Conference. The University of Kansas, Lawrence (KS), (zoom online): The University of Kansas.
• Cavatorta, G., Bellocchio, M. L., & Gaspar, B. (2024, May 3).

  Italian in Wonderland: An Open Educational Digital Platform to Teach and Learn Italian. IMLC/Fullbright Heys Title VI Grand OER Workshop. Baylor University, Waco, Texas (zoom online), May 3, 2024.

  . IMLC/Fullbright Heys Title VI Grand OER Workshop. Baylor University, Waco, Texas (zoom online).
• Gaspar, B. (2023).

  AATI-Catania. Invited Guest-Roundtable: Why study college-level Italian in the U.S.

   

  . AATI.
• Gaspar, B. (2023).  Italian in Wonderland: A Digital Open Education Platform for Italian Courses. ACTFL conference. Chicago-ACTFL.
• Gaspar, B. (2021, January). The Promises and Pitfalls of Inclusivity in Language Teaching Panel:Italian Language Learning as Resistance and Reimagination. MLA 2021.
• Gaspar, B. (2020, February). Gaspar B., “Making learning meaningful: Highlights of two Intermediate Italian learners”. SLAT Roundtable.
• Gaspar, B., Bellocchio, L., & Cavatorta, G. (2020, Spring). Italian Language in Wonderland. AATI conference Tucson (cancelled).

Poster Presentations

• Gaspar, B. (2023).

  AATI-Catania. Title: Using the Multiliteracies Framework to Engage Foreign Language Learners of Italian with Social Justice Topics

  . AATI (American Association of Teachers of Italian. Catania-Sicily.

Case Studies

• Gaspar, B. (2020. Gaspar, B. (2020). Shifting Goals in Italian Learning: Imagination, Multilingualism, and Agency in the Narratives of Underrepresented Foreign Language Learners.(p. 236).

Other Teaching Materials

• Bellocchio, M. L., Gaspar, B., & Cavatorta, G. (2021.

  Italian in Wonderland (Modules 9-10-11-12) (with Letizia Bellocchio & Borbala Gaspar) An Open Source Online Textbook and Workbook for Italian 201.

   

  . University of Arizona.
• Cavatorta, G., Cavatorta, G., Bellocchio, M. L., Bellocchio, M. L., Gaspar, B., & Gaspar, B. (2020.

  Italian in Wonderland (Modules 13-14-15-16) (with Letizia Bellocchio & Borbala Gaspar) An Open Source Online Textbook and Workbook for Italian 202.

  . University of Arizona.