Faculty of Education and Language Studies
Faculty of Education and Language Studies > People Profiles > Anna Proudfoot
Anna Proudfoot
Profile
I joined the Department of Languages at the OU in September 2006. I am Head of Italian and Course Team Chair of L195 (‘Andante’) the Italian beginners’ course. Before coming to the OU, I taught Italian in HE and FE institutions in London, Cambridge, Los Angeles and Oxford. In my previous post at Oxford Brookes University (1987 - 2006), I taught on the BA Languages for Business degree and the BA European Culture and Society degree. I also set up and ran Oxford Brookes Language Services, the language training unit. Previous roles include HEFCE subject specialist assessor, external examiner for various UK universities, multilingual blue badge tourist guide in Cambridge and freelance ad hoc interpreter. Until recently I was on the Society for Italian Studies executive with portfolio for Language teaching and the editorial board of Troubadour press and am a regular reviewer for various academic publishers. I have authored or co-authored several Italian language texts aimed at adult learners including Routledge Intensive Italian (Routledge 2004), Routledge Modern Italian Grammar (Routledge 2nd ed. 2005), Teach Yourself Italian Grammar (Hodder, 3rd ed 2003). In 2007 I was made a Cavaliere dell’Ordine della Stella della Solidarietà Italiana, by the Italian Republic, for my services to Italian. I live in Oxford.
Teaching Interests
I am involved in Literalia (an OU tandem learning project set up by a colleague) with a partner institution in Pontedera, Pisa, which allows our students to correspond with Italian learners of English and benefit from the exchange of cultural knowledge as well as language.
Research Interests
My personal research interests are in the language of the Italian media, advertising in Italy and issues of language and identity; my MA thesis was on the use of English in Italian printed advertising and I have given several papers on language in the media at national and international conferences. Previous research included the Golden Age of Naples and its representation in literature and art by English travellers on the ‘Grand Tour’, and on the representation of Mediterranean Identity both inside and outside the Mediterranean area, and I have given related papers at Mediterranean Studies conferences. I am also interested in issues of language and cultural identity, in particular amongst Italians who have relocated to the UK and British people who have relocated to Italy, and I hope this will form the basis of a future research project.
Current Research
I am currently working on two projects based on ‘Andante’: (i) the question of developing intercultural competence in the distance learning environment, and (ii) the use of online tools and activities in a beginners’ language course, in particular the role of the tutor.