Home › Research▻People▻Languages, Literatures, & Cultures

Languages, Literatures, & Cultures

Dr Francesca Nicora

BA., MA., MA, PhD

Contact Details

Lecturer Below The Bar
E: FRANCESCA.NICORA@nuigalway.ie
 
researcher
 

Biography

Dr. Francesca Nicora is Lecturer (below the bar) in Italian, Coordinator of the Diploma in Italian Online and Second Arts Coordinator - Italian Discipline - at the University of Galway, Ireland. She is the Coordinator of the first  Italian Summer Camp in Ireland.
She is the HEI Outreach Officer and she is leading the Languages Connect Initiative at the University of Galway (04/2023-04/2026). She holds the role of Academic Integrity Advisor. 

Academic Year 2023-2024 Semester I:
First Year Coordinator
Second Year Coordinator
Erasmus Coordinator
Diploma in Italian On line Coordinator

Academic Year 2023-2024 Semester II:
Second Year Coordinator
Diploma in Italian On line Coordinator

Dr. Francesca Nicora holds a BA in Foreign Languages and Literatures (Bulgarian and Russian) and a MA in Theoretical and Applied Linguistics from Università degli Studi di Pisa (Italy). She completed a MA (Master di II livello) in E-Learning and E-Teaching Italian as a Foreign Language at the Università per Stranieri di Siena (Italy). She also obtained a Postgraduate Degree in Teaching and Learning in Higher Education from the Centre for Excellence in Learning and Teaching (CELT) from the University of Galway, Ireland.

Dr. Nicora has completed her Structured-PhD degree in Italian Studies at the University of Galway, Ireland. She is currently writing a book on the issues and shortcomings of the teaching and learning of foreign language prosody, particularly regarding the role of intonation and its functions in speech communication, both on a theoretical and methodological level. The monograph is based on her PhD dissertation entitled 'Prosodic training in foreign language: A study with Hiberno-English learners of Italian', which was chosen as the winner of the Irish Association for Applied Linguistics (IRAAL) postgraduate award in November 2019, the European Doctorate Award (University of Galway) in April 2020 and the Grant-in-Aid of Publication fund in January 2021 (Moore Institute, University of Galway). 

As a visiting PhD student at the Centro di Ricerca Interdisciplinare sul Linguaggio (CRIL- Università del Salento, Lecce, Italy), she carried out data analysis of the intonational features of La Spezia Italian and Galway Irish-English. This research experience allowed her to gain skills in the application of methods and tools for analysing the phonology of intonation within the Autosegmental Metrical (AM) framework with reference to the Tone and Break Indices (ToBI) system.

She is the PI of the MISTRAL project (winner of the OER grant and funded by Hardiman Library, University of Galway), which aims to maximise students' success in online language learning by creating an open book that supports them in developing appropriate strategies and skills in order to become successful online learners. MISTRAL takes its name from the cold wind which blows strongly into the northern Mediterranean Sea. Similarly, this project will promote a fresh and innovative perspective on e-learning by enhancing students' active participation, motivation, and engagement in learning foreign languages online.
As a research assistant for the LILAC project, she was responsible for content creation, web design, data analysis and dissemination activities. Since January 2020, she has also been involved in the project Tra-balliamo - Italian for secondary schools, which aims to embed language into performing arts experiences thus encouraging TY students to expand their imagination, find joy in self-expression and promote psychological well-being.

In 2021, she was the recipient of the prestigious Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) postdoctoral fellowship, with a project entitled 'Prosody and language learning in Japan: regional linguistic profiles in the spotlight'.

Dr. Nicora has been recipient of fellowships, grants and awards from JSPS (Japan Society for the Promotion for Science), University of Galway, Moore Institute (University of Galway), Hardiman Library (University of Galway), Post Primary Ireland Languages (PPLI), Leargas, Irish Association for Applied Linguistics (IRAAL), Italian Association for Applied Linguistics (AItLA), Italian Association for Speech Science (AISV), The Italian ministry for Education, University and Research (MIUR) and the ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Bulgaria.


Research Interests

Didactics, Linguistics & Applied Linguistics
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3148-539X

Prosody with a special interest in intonation and its interaction with pragmatics (Irish English and Italian varieties)
Crosslinguistic Intonational Pragmatics
Intonational Phonology
Transfer Phenomena and Interlanguage
Corpus Linguistics
Prosody in Second Language Acquisition
Second Language Acquisition and Pedagogy
Didactic Audiovisual Translation
E-learning and e-teaching
Open Educational Resources
Language Teacher Education




Research Projects

  Project Start Date End Date
the MISTRAL project 30-MAY-21 30-SEP-22
Tra-balliamo - Italian for secondary schools 01-JAN-20
LILAC Project https://www.lilac-project.com/ 01-DEC-19 31-MAY-21

Books

  Year Publication
(2023) Prosody training in foreign language: a study on Irish English learners of Italian (working title)[in preparation].
Nicora, F (2023) Prosody training in foreign language: a study on Irish English learners of Italian (working title)[in preparation]. Milano, Italy: Officinaventuno SAS. [Details]
(2023) MISTRAL: an interactive guide for learning languages online.
Nicora, F; Bologna, O; (2023) MISTRAL: an interactive guide for learning languages online. Galway, Ireland: Pressbook, Hardiman Library, University of Galway. [Details]
(2024) MARIN: an interactive guide for teaching languages online.
Bologna, O; Nicora, F; (2024) MARIN: an interactive guide for teaching languages online. Galway, Ireland: Pressbook, Hardiman Library, University of Galway. [Details]

Peer Reviewed Journals

  Year Publication
(2022) 'The Corpus of Irish English Speech'
Nicora, F (2022) 'The Corpus of Irish English Speech'. Journal of the Irish Association for Applied Linguistics, 29 :133-168 [ARAN Link] [Details]
(2022) 'Open educational resources for online language teacher training: conceptual framework and practical implementation'
Nicora, F; Bologna, O; McLoughlin, L. (2022) 'Open educational resources for online language teacher training: conceptual framework and practical implementation'. International Journal on Integrating Technology in Education (IJIte), :1-18 [DOI] [ARAN Link] [Details]
(2022) 'Moving online: Zoom and audiovisual translation tasks to teach foreign languages to children'
Nicora, F (2022) 'Moving online: Zoom and audiovisual translation tasks to teach foreign languages to children'. Revista de Lenguas para Fines Específicos, 28 (2):80-100 [DOI] [ARAN Link] [Details]
(2021) 'Captioning and revoicing activities to learn Italian as a foreign language: A didactic proposal for children'
Nicora, F; Beltramello, A (2021) 'Captioning and revoicing activities to learn Italian as a foreign language: A didactic proposal for children'. The Journal of Language and Teaching Technology, (III):1-23 [ARAN Link] [Details]
(2021) 'Didattica performativa nella promozione della lingua e cultura italiana in Irlanda. Il corpo e la danza come strumenti di apprendimento e ponti tra culture'
Dianetti, M; Nicora, F (2021) 'Didattica performativa nella promozione della lingua e cultura italiana in Irlanda. Il corpo e la danza come strumenti di apprendimento e ponti tra culture'. Italiano LinguaDue, 13 (2):665-680 [ARAN Link] [Details]
(2021) 'Sottotitolaggio e apprendimento del vocabolario aziendale in italiano lingua straniera: uno studio esplorativo'
Nicora, F (2021) 'Sottotitolaggio e apprendimento del vocabolario aziendale in italiano lingua straniera: uno studio esplorativo'. Italiano a stranieri, N.29 :22-27 [ARAN Link] [Details]

Book Chapters

  Year Publication
(2022) 'Higher Education and new trends in the digitalized labour market: broaden language students¿ horizons'
Nicora, F; Bologna, O; McLoughlin, L. (2022) 'Higher Education and new trends in the digitalized labour market: broaden language students¿ horizons' In: Visual Literacy and Digital Communication: The Role Of Media in New Educational Practices. :79-100 Granada, Spain: Editorial Comares. [Details]
(2019) 'La resistenza dei tratti intonativi nell’acquisizione dell’italiano da parte di parlanti anglo celti'
Nicora, F; McLoughlin, L; Gili Fivela, B (2019) 'La resistenza dei tratti intonativi nell’acquisizione dell’italiano da parte di parlanti anglo celti' In: Lingua in Contesto. La prospettiva pragmatica. Milano, Italy: Studi AItLA 9, Officinaventuno. [ARAN Link] [Details]
(2018) 'Intonation in Liguria and Tuscany: checking for similarities across a traditional isogloss boundary'
Gili Fivela, B; Nicora, F (2018) 'Intonation in Liguria and Tuscany: checking for similarities across a traditional isogloss boundary' In: Il Parlato nel Contesto Naturale. Speech in the natural Context, Methods for the analysis of Speech Under Real Communicative Conditions. Milano, Italy: Studi AISV 4, Officinaventuno. [ARAN Link] [Details]

Conference Publications

  Year Publication
(2022) 12th Annual Pronunciation in Second Language Learning and Teaching Conference
Meluzzi, C; Nicora, F; Sbacco, L (2022) Learning Italian phonetics: dental affricates' production by Irish English speakers 12th Annual Pronunciation in Second Language Learning and Teaching Conference [Details]
(2020) 11th International Conference of Experimental Linguistics
Nicora, F; Cenceschi, S; Meluzzi, C (2020) A phonetic comparison of two Irish English varieties 11th International Conference of Experimental Linguistics Athens, Greece, , pp.143-146 [ARAN Link] [Details]
(2018) Challenge and new prospects on prosody. The 9th International Conference on Speech Prosody
Nicora, F; McLoughlin, L; Gili Fivela, B (2018) Impact of prosodic training on Italian as L2 by Hiberno-English speakers: the case of polar questions Challenge and new prospects on prosody. The 9th International Conference on Speech Prosody Poznán, Poland, , pp.970-974 [ARAN Link] [Details]

Conference Contributions

  Year Publication
(2023) SLLC Research Day Mel Boland In Memoriam,
Nicora, F (2023) Session 4: Linguistics and Translation. [Conference Organising Committee Chairperson], SLLC Research Day Mel Boland In Memoriam, Room GO10, Hardiman Research Building, University of Galway, Ireland , 19-APR-23 - 19-APR-23. [Details]
(2023) 9th International Conference on Experimental Phonetics (CIFE),
Meluzzi, C; Nicora, F (2023) Acoustic cues of Italian dental affricates as produced by LS learners. [Oral Presentation], 9th International Conference on Experimental Phonetics (CIFE), University of Vigo, Spain , 21-JUN-23 - 23-JUN-23. [Details]
(2023) TRADIT23 -1st International Conference on Didactic Audiovisual Translation and Media Accessibility,
Nicora, F (2023) Didactic AVT and Foreign Language Vocabulary Acquisition: An experimental Study on Children's Learners of Italian. [Oral Presentation], TRADIT23 -1st International Conference on Didactic Audiovisual Translation and Media Accessibility, Madrid, Spain , 23-MAR-23 - 24-MAR-23. [Details]
(2022) 11th International Conference on Language Variation in Europe (ICLAVE),
Nicora, F; Meluzzi, C (2022) Sociolinguistic variation of the MOUTH diphthong in two Irish English varieties. [Poster Presentation], 11th International Conference on Language Variation in Europe (ICLAVE), University of Vienna, Austria , 12-APR-22 - 14-APR-22. [Details]
(2021) Applying Linguistics in the 21st Century. The 2021 IRAAL Annual Conference,
Nicora, F (2021) The corpus of Irish English Speech (IES). [Poster Presentation], Applying Linguistics in the 21st Century. The 2021 IRAAL Annual Conference, University College, Dublin, Dublin, Ireland , 26-NOV-21 - 27-NOV-21. [Details]
(2021) Applying Linguistics in the 21st Century. The 2021 IRAAL Annual Conference,
Bologna, O; McLoughlin, L; Nicora, F (2021) The Lilac project: helping language teachers and learners to master online environments. [Poster Presentation], Applying Linguistics in the 21st Century. The 2021 IRAAL Annual Conference, University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland , 26-NOV-21 - 27-NOV-21. [Details]
(2021) Teaching and Learning Initiatives,
Bologna, O; Nicora, F; McLoughlin, L (2021) Training the teachers, engaging the learners: the Lilac project. [Oral Presentation], Teaching and Learning Initiatives, School of Languages, Literatures and Cultures, NUI, Galway , 06-JUL-21 - 06-JUL-21. [Details]
(2021) Teaching and Learning Initiatives,
Dianetti, M; Nicora, F; McLoughlin, L (2021) Performative Arts in the promotion of Italian language and culture in Galway city: the TRA-Balliamo project. [Oral Presentation], Teaching and Learning Initiatives, School of Languages, Literatures and Cultures, NUI, Galway , 06-JUL-21 - 06-JUL-21. [Details]
(2021) Teaching and Learning Initiatives,
Nicora, F; Bologna, O; McLoughlin, L (2021) The MISTRAL project: new perspectives on language and education. [Oral Presentation], Teaching and Learning Initiatives, School of Languages, Literatures and Cultures, NUI, Galway , 06-JUL-21 - 06-JUL-21. [Details]
(2021) The Canadian Association for Italian Studies. Annual Conference,
McLoughlin, L; Nicora, F (2021) Insegnare lingue online: sfide pratiche, risvolti teorici e necessità formative. [Oral Presentation], The Canadian Association for Italian Studies. Annual Conference, Ryerson University, Toronto, Canada (Online) , 04-JUN-21 - 05-JUN-21. [Details]
(2021) 12th Annual Pronunciation in Second Language Learning and Teaching Conference,
Meluzzi, C; Nicora, F (2021) Production of Italian dental affricates by Irish English learners. [Poster Presentation], 12th Annual Pronunciation in Second Language Learning and Teaching Conference, Brock University, Ontario, Canada , 18-JUN-21 - 19-JUN-21. [Details]
(2021) EdTech 2021 Shaping Education Post Pandemic: Pockets of Innovation for ‘Building Back Better’,
Nicora, F; Bologna, O; McLoughlin, L (2021) Open Educational Resources (OERs) for online language teacher training: conceptual framework and practical implementation. [Oral Presentation], EdTech 2021 Shaping Education Post Pandemic: Pockets of Innovation for ‘Building Back Better’, Online , 27-MAY-21 - 28-MAY-21. [Details]
(2020) International Conference on visual literacy and digital communication: the role of media in new educational practice VILDIC 20,
Nicora, F (2020) Moving online: using Zoom and audiovisual translation activities to e-teach Italian foreign language to children. [Oral Presentation], International Conference on visual literacy and digital communication: the role of media in new educational practice VILDIC 20, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Madrid, Spain , 18-DEC-20 - 19-DEC-20. [Details]
(2020) International Conference on visual literacy and digital communication: the role of media in new educational practice VILDIC 20,
Nicora, F; Bologna, O; McLoughlin, L (2020) The LILAC project: enhancing students career planning skills through an interactive online module, virtual training and new assessment models. [Oral Presentation], International Conference on visual literacy and digital communication: the role of media in new educational practice VILDIC 20, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Madrid, Spain , 18-DEC-20 - 19-DEC-20. [Details]
(2020) 5th International techLING Congress - Languages, Linguistics and Technology,
Nicora, F; Bologna, O; McLoughlin, L (2020) The LILAC project: Open Educational Resources to train language teachers in online teaching and assessments. [Oral Presentation], 5th International techLING Congress - Languages, Linguistics and Technology, University of Aveiro, Portugal , 15-OCT-20 - 16-OCT-20. [Details]
(2020) 11th International Conference of Experimental Linguistics,
Nicora, F; Cenceschi, S; Meluzzi, C (2020) A phonetic comparison of two Irish English varieties. [Oral Presentation], 11th International Conference of Experimental Linguistics, Athens, Greece , 12-OCT-20 - 14-OCT-20. [Details]
(2019) Threatening Languages in a Global World, IRAAL Annual Conference,
Nicora, F (2019) ‘Prosodic training in L2: a study with Hiberno-English learners of Italian’. [Oral Presentation], Threatening Languages in a Global World, IRAAL Annual Conference, National University of Ireland, Galway (NUIG) , 30-NOV-19. [Details]
(2019) Crossing Boundaries in Language Teaching: Northern Ireland and Beyond LTNI19 Conference,
Nicora, F (2019) 'Designing a subtitling module for students of Italian for specific purposes’. [Oral Presentation], Crossing Boundaries in Language Teaching: Northern Ireland and Beyond LTNI19 Conference, Queen's University, Belfast, United Kingdom (UK) , 03-MAY-19 - 04-MAY-19. [Details]
(2018) Workshop on Accommodation in Speech Communication,
Nicora, F; Gili Fivela, B (2018) ‘Prosodic convergence toward the native model: the effect of explicit prosodic training in L2-Italian’. [Poster Presentation], Workshop on Accommodation in Speech Communication, Zürich, Switzerland , 13-DEC-18. [Details]
(2018) 3rd International techLING Congress - Languages, Linguistics and Technology,
Nicora, F; Beltramello, A (2018) ‘Captioning and re-voicing activities to learn Italian as a foreign language. A didactic proposal for children’. [Oral Presentation], 3rd International techLING Congress - Languages, Linguistics and Technology, Universidade Autonoma de Lisboa, Lisboa, Portugal , 02-OCT-18 - 04-OCT-18. [Details]
(2018) Le tendenze dell’italiano contemporaneo rivisitate, LII Congresso SLI 2018 (Società di linguistica italiana),
Gili Fivela, B; Nicora, F; Avesani, C (2018) ‘La Lunigiana tra Liguria e Toscana: quale situazione linguistica ci offre l’analisi delle caratteristiche intonative?’. [Oral Presentation], Le tendenze dell’italiano contemporaneo rivisitate, LII Congresso SLI 2018 (Società di linguistica italiana), University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland , 06-SEP-18 - 08-SEP-18. [Details]
(2018) Challenge and new prospects on prosody. The 9th International Conference in Speech Prosody,
Nicora, F; McLoughlin, L; Gili Fivela, B (2018) ‘Impact of prosodic training on Italian as L2 by Hiberno-English speakers: the case of polar questions’. [Poster Presentation (Refereed)], Challenge and new prospects on prosody. The 9th International Conference in Speech Prosody, Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznan, Poland , 13-JUN-18 - 16-JUN-18. [Details]
(2018) Language in Context: The Pragmatic Perspective. XVIII International Conference of the Italian Association of Applied Linguistics,
Nicora, F; McLoughlin, L; Gili Fivela, B (2018) ‘La resistenza dei tratti intonativi nell’acquisizione dell’italiano da parte di parlanti anglo celti’. [Oral Presentation], Language in Context: The Pragmatic Perspective. XVIII International Conference of the Italian Association of Applied Linguistics, University of Roma Tre, Rome, Italy , 22-FEB-18 - 24-FEB-18. [Details]
(2018) Speech in the natural Context, Methods for the analysis of Speech Under Real Communicative Conditions. XIV AISV Conference,
Nicora, F; Gili Fivela, B (2018) 'Intonation in Liguria and Tuscany: checking for similarities across a traditional isogloss boundary’. [Oral Presentation], Speech in the natural Context, Methods for the analysis of Speech Under Real Communicative Conditions. XIV AISV Conference, The Free University of Bozen/Bolzano, Italy , 25-JAN-18 - 27-JAN-18. [Details]

Blog

  Year Publication
(2021) The LILAC website.
Nicora, F; Bologna, O; McLoughlin, L (2021) The LILAC website. Blog [Details]
(2020) Tra-balliamo - Italian for secondary schools.
Dianetti, M; Nicora, F; McLoughlin, L (2020) Tra-balliamo - Italian for secondary schools. Blog [Details]

Database

  Year Publication
(2021) The IES (Irish English Speech) corpus.
Nicora, F (2021) The IES (Irish English Speech) corpus. Database [Details]
(2019) STRINA - Corpus of Italian spoken in La Spezia.
Nicora, F (2019) STRINA - Corpus of Italian spoken in La Spezia. Database [Details]
(2018) PIC - Prosodic Italian Corpus of Irish English learners.
Nicora, F (2018) PIC - Prosodic Italian Corpus of Irish English learners. Database [Details]

Guest Lectures

  Year Publication
(2021) The Mistral project: Open Educational Resources for language learning made by students for students.
Nicora, F; Bologna, O (2021) The Mistral project: Open Educational Resources for language learning made by students for students. NUIG Library: Guest Lectures [Details]
(2021) I vantaggi dei testi multimediali: la traduzione audiovisiva nelle classi di lingua; Settimana delle Lingue, ANILS.
McLoughlin, L; Nicora, F (2021) I vantaggi dei testi multimediali: la traduzione audiovisiva nelle classi di lingua; Settimana delle Lingue, ANILS. Guest Lectures [Details]
(2020) Prosody and Didactic Practices: The role of the contrastive phonological analysis of two languages varieties (L1 and FL) for pedagogical purposes.
Nicora, F (2020) Prosody and Didactic Practices: The role of the contrastive phonological analysis of two languages varieties (L1 and FL) for pedagogical purposes. Università degli Studi di Pavia, Italy: Guest Lectures [Details]
(2016) Le politiche linguistiche in epoca fascista.
Nicora, F (2016) Le politiche linguistiche in epoca fascista. Guest Lectures [Details]

Invited Seminars

  Year Publication
(2022) Acquisizione della prosodia delle lingue straniere.
Nicora, F (2022) Acquisizione della prosodia delle lingue straniere. Università degli studi di Milano, Italy: Invited Seminars [Details]
(2022) Contrastive phonological analysis and language learning: exploring polar questions in Irish English and Italian varieties.
Nicora, F (2022) Contrastive phonological analysis and language learning: exploring polar questions in Irish English and Italian varieties. Graduate School of International Studies, Kobe University, Japan: Invited Seminars [Details]
(2022) Audiovisual activities for children: new insights into language learning.
Nicora, F (2022) Audiovisual activities for children: new insights into language learning. Summer School in Speech Prosody, The Japan Foundation Kansai Center, Osaka, Japan: Invited Seminars [Details]
(2022) Prosody and language learning: the case of Irish English learners of Italian.
Nicora, F (2022) Prosody and language learning: the case of Irish English learners of Italian. Graduate School of International Studies, Kobe University, Japan: Invited Seminars [Details]
(2021) Prosody and Language Acquisition.
Nicora, F (2021) Prosody and Language Acquisition. The Centre for Applied Linguistics and Multilingualism (CALM), NUI, Galway: Invited Seminars [Details]
(2020) The effectiveness of explicit prosodic training in Italian as a foreign language.
Nicora, F (2020) The effectiveness of explicit prosodic training in Italian as a foreign language. Universitat de Barcelona, Grup d'Estudis de Pròsodia: Invited Seminars [Details]
(2020) Using Open Educational Resources (OER) to enhance foreign language learning and teaching in an online environment.
Nicora, F; Bologna, O (2020) Using Open Educational Resources (OER) to enhance foreign language learning and teaching in an online environment. National University of Ireland, Galway: Invited Seminars [Details]
(2020) Virtual seminar: An interactive introduction to language learning.
Nicora, F; Bologna, O (2020) Virtual seminar: An interactive introduction to language learning. National University of Ireland, Galway: Invited Seminars [Details]

Thesis

  Year Publication
(2019) Prosodic training in foreign language: a study with Hiberno-English learners of Italian.
Nicora, F (2019) Prosodic training in foreign language: a study with Hiberno-English learners of Italian. NUI, Galway: Thesis [Details]
(2014) Online learning: dal web al mobile.
Nicora, F (2014) Online learning: dal web al mobile. Università per stranieri di Siena, Italy: Thesis [Details]
(2012) Cenni sulla storia dell'ortografia bulgara.
Nicora, F (2012) Cenni sulla storia dell'ortografia bulgara. Università degli studi di Pisa, Italy: Thesis [Details]
(2008) Il 'Don Giovanni' di Georgi Gospodinov, traduzione e commento.
Nicora, F (2008) Il 'Don Giovanni' di Georgi Gospodinov, traduzione e commento. Università degli studi di Pisa, Italy: Thesis [Details]

Translation

  Year Publication
(2008) Il 'Don Giovanni' di Georgi Gospodinov, traduzione e commento.
Nicora, F (2008) Il 'Don Giovanni' di Georgi Gospodinov, traduzione e commento. Università degli studi di Pisa, Italy: Translation [Details]

Workshops

  Year Publication
(2020) Workshop for Children: using Aegisub to subtitle Italian cartoons.
Nicora, F (2020) Workshop for Children: using Aegisub to subtitle Italian cartoons. Workshops [Details]
(2020) Workshop for undergraduate and postgraduate students: use H5P to design and create interactive language activities.
Nicora, F; Bologna, O (2020) Workshop for undergraduate and postgraduate students: use H5P to design and create interactive language activities. Workshops [Details]
(2018) Workshop for Children: Learning Italian as Foreign Language with ClipFlair Studio.
Nicora, F (2018) Workshop for Children: Learning Italian as Foreign Language with ClipFlair Studio. Workshops [Details]
(2017) ClipFlair. Foreign Language Learning through Interactive Revoicing and Captioning Activities.
Nicora, F (2017) ClipFlair. Foreign Language Learning through Interactive Revoicing and Captioning Activities. Workshops [Details]
(2016) Using PRAAT to Improve Foreign Language Intonation.
Nicora, F (2016) Using PRAAT to Improve Foreign Language Intonation. Workshops [Details]

Honours and Awards

  Year Title Awarding Body
2023 Italian Summer Camp (Italian Discipline) Languages Connect
2023 HEI Funding PPLI - Languages Connect
2022 Research Support Allowance Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS)
2022 Best Poster Award The 11th International Conference on Language Variation in Europe (ICLaVE), Best Poster Award, 2nd place, "Sociolinguistic variation of the MOUTH dyphthong in two Irish English varieties"
2021 PostDoc Fellowship at Kobe University (Japan) Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS)
2021 Grant-in-Aid for Publication Fund Moore Institute, University of Galway
2020 Open Educational Resources Fund Hardiman Library, University of Galway
2020 European Doctorate Award NUI Galway
2019 IRAAL Postgraduate Award IRAAL (Irish Association for Applied Linguistics)
2019 “Learning Italian as a foreign language by captioning and revoicing cartoons” project- shortlisted for the European Language Label Award Leargas
2019 Write-Up Bursary NUI Galway
2018 'Andrea Paoloni' Grant AISV (Associazione Italiana Scienze per la Voce)
2018 AItLA Grant AItLA (Associazione Italiana di Linguistica Applicata)
2017 Research Travel Bursaries NUI Galway
2016 'Andrea Paoloni' Grant AISV (Associazione Italiana Scienze per la Voce)
2016 Research Travel Bursaries NUI Galway
2015 Research Travel Bursaries NUI Galway
2014 Galway Doctoral Research Fellowship NUI Galway
2011 Erasmus Programme Grant The Italian Ministry for Education, University and Research (MIUR)
2010 Financial Grant for the Summer Seminar on Bulgarian language and culture The Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Bulgaria

Professional Associations

  Association Function From / To
CALM - Centre for Applied Linguistics and Multilingualism Member /
IRAAL - Irish Association for Applied Linguistics Member /
IrEN - Irish English Network member /
ESIST - European Association for Studies in Screen Translation member /
FILTA - Film in Language Teaching Association Member /
AISV - Associazione Italiana Scienze per la Voce Member /
AItLA - Associazione Italiana di Linguistica Applicata Member /

Committees

  Committee Function From / To
Italian Studies discipline meeting member 02-SEP-19 /
Teaching and Learning Committee School of Languages Literatures and Cultures member 01-MAR-23 /
Standing committee for the implementation of the Extenuating Circumstances policy member 02-JAN-23 /

Reviews

  Journal Role
Lingue e Linguaggi Reviewer
Italiano a stranieri Reviewer
Estudios de Fonética Experimental (Journal of Experimental Phonetics) Reviewer
Quaderns d'Italià Reviewer

Education

  Year Institution Qualification Subject
2022 UNED Abierta, Madrid, Spain Professional Development Course 'La traducción audiovisual y el aprendizaje de lenguas'
2021 Centre for Excellence in Learning and Teaching (CELT), University of Galway, Ireland Postgraduate Certification in Teaching and Learning in Higher Education Teaching and Learning in Higher Education
2021 Center of Advanced Studies in Humanities, CeASUm, University of Trento, Italy Secondo Corso di Alta Specializzazione di Fonologia Secondo Corso di Alta Specializzazione di Fonologia
2021 Federal University of Minas Gerais, Public university in Belo Horizonte, Brazil Professional Development Course on Prosody, Variation and Contact, Luso-Brazilian Association of Speech Sciences
2019 Università Telematica Pegaso, Naples, Italy 24ECTS - anthropology, psychology, pedagogy pedagogy and teaching methodology and technology. Education program for teachers - Italian as a second language in secondary schools in Italy
2019 University of Galway, Ireland Structured-Phd in Italian Studies [VIVA-December 2019; Virtual Conferring-April 2020] Prosodic training in foreign language: a study with Hiberno-English learners of Italian
2017 Centro di Ricerca Interdisciplinare sul Linguaggio (CRIL), Università del Salento, Lecce, Italy Visiting PhD Researcher under the Supervision of Dr. Barbara Gili Fivela •Phonology of Intonation, Tone and Break Indices (ToBI); Introduction to statistics • Data analysis: PRAAT
2016 Aix-Marseille University, Aix-Marseille, France Summer School Aix Summer School on Prosody. Methods in Prosody and Intonation Research: Data, Theories and Transcription
2014 Università per Stranieri di Siena, Italy Master's Degree, First-class honours E-Learning and E-Teaching Italian as Foreign Language
2012 Università degli Studi di Pisa, Italy Master's Degree, First-class honours Theoretical and Applied Linguistics
2011 Sofia University 'St.Kliment Ohridski', Sofia, Bulgaria Erasmus Student Slavistics
2008 Università degli Studi di Pisa, Italy Bachelor's Degree, First-class honours Foreign Languages and Literatures (Bulgarian & Russian)

Employment

  Employer Position From / To
University of Galway, Ireland Lecturer (below the bar) in Italian 02-JAN-23 /
Kobe University, Japan JSPS PostDoc Fellow 30-JUN-22 / 30-DEC-22
University of Galway, Ireland Part-Time Teaching Assistant & E-Tutor 01-SEP-19 / 30-JUN-22
University of Galway, Ireland Research Assistant/ Lilac project 01-DEC-19 / 31-MAY-21
Youth Academy - University of Galway, Ireland Italian Language Instructor "Impariamo con i cartoni: learning Italian by captioning and re-voicing cartoons" 01-SEP-17 /
University of Galway, Ireland Italian Language Assistant 01-SEP-14 / 01-SEP-18
Youth Academy - University of Galway, Ireland Italian Language Assistant 01-SEP-14 / 01-APR-16
Centro FAST (Università per Stranieri di Siena, Italy) Online Italian Tutor 01-JAN-14 / 30-JUN-14

Languages

  Language
Italian
English
Bulgarian
Russian

Community Engagement

  Title Type From / To
Outreach Threesis - Talk: 'Prosodic training in FL: a study with Hiberno-English learners of Italian' 15-NOV-19 /
Outreach Development and delivery of short 'taster' courses of Italian culture and language for secondary schools https://traballiamo.wordpress.com 01-FEB-20 / 07-MAY-21
Outreach ‘Italian Day’ at NUIG 16-MAR-18 /
Outreach "Gli irlandesi parleranno con l’intonazione spezzina" by Doris Fresco (Gazzetta della Spezia) 21-FEB-17 /
Outreach ‘Italian Food Culture meets the Atlantic Way’ 07-APR-16 /
Outreach Italian Movie Nights at NUIG 01-OCT-15 / 30-APR-16
Outreach Social media management: creating and constant updating the 'Italian Academy at NUIG' page on Facebook 01-OCT-14 / 31-OCT-18
Outreach Development and delivery of short 'taster' courses and workshops focused on Italian culture and language for secondary school students 01-SEP-14 / 31-MAY-18

Other Activities

  Description

Dr Nicora is leading the Languages Connect Initiative and she is the Outreach Officer - School of Languages, Literatures and Cultureas - at the University of Galway.

Teaching Interests

Italian as a Foreign Language
Prosody in Foreign Language Acquisition
Explicit Prosodic-Pragmatic Training
Didactic Audiovisual Translation (Captioning and Revoicing)
Geoprosodic Variation and Audiovisual Translation
Subtitling for Italian business communication
Learning and Teaching Languages Online

Since 2014 I have taught Italian as a foreign language at University of Galway to students of all years, at all levels and of different age groups (children, young adults and adults), initially as a part of my doctoral studies and afterwards as a teaching assistant. I also actively contributed to evening diploma and online diploma classes in Italian. To date, I have successfully delivered a total of 43 modules.

I have a very strong interest in the prosodic aspects of speech and throughout my doctoral studies, I designed a new didactic experience on the use of intonation patterns in the Italian language by integrating computer tools and the speech visualisation called PRAAT into teaching practice. In addition, I am very involved in exploring cutting-edge software and designing audiovisual translation activities and modules (subtitling and revoicing) in both online and blended learning environments. Of particular note is the first course I designed on ‘'Combining captioning and revoicing activities to teach Italian as foreign language to children'’ (Youth Academy, University of Galway), which was shortlisted for the European Language Label for Innovation and Creativity (Leargas) in 2019.

As a researcher, content creator and Web developer for the LILAC project, I have experience in creating Open Educational Resources (OERs) using WordPress software, H5p and innovative educational tools, such as Canva for Education, Genially and Mentimeter.

I designed and developed the course 'Traballiamo: Italian for secondary schools' to promote and embed performative arts in foreign language education. The project involves delivery of classes and presentations, a final project/reflective work, and the creation and maintenance of a blog. 

In conclusion, I have been teaching Italian in various secondary and primary schools in Galway city and county. I devised short "taster" courses and workshops for transition year students and monitored a team of language assistants by planning required training sessions. Furthermore, I have been promoting Italian language and culture in Galway and in the West of Ireland by organising events for the Italian Department ("Italian Food Culture meets the Atlantic Way" –7th of April in 2016, and "Italian Day" – 16th of March in 2018).



Modules Taught

  Term/Year Module Title Module Code Subject / Desc
2014-2017 Discovering Italy: Italian language and Italian Genius Youth Academy Italian for children
since 2017 / ongoing Impariamo con i cartoni: learning Italian by captioning and revoicing cartoons Youth Academy Italian for children
2023-2024 FL Prosody Acquisition & AVT techniques IT235 Language Laboratory Second Year BA
2023-2024 Intermediate Italian Language II IT236 Second Year BA
2023-2024 Intermediate Italian Language I IT235 Second Year BA
2023-2024 Creative Subtitling IT324 Final Year BA
2023-2024 Audiovisual Translation (Italian) IT562 MA in Advanced Language Skills
2023-2024 Introduction to Audiovisual Translation GL1101 BA Global Languages
2022-2023 An Introduction to Audiovisual Translation IT563 MA in Advanced Language Skills
2022-2023 Subtitling & Made in Italy IT236 Second Year BA
2022-2023 Italian Language I IT1100 First Year BA
2021-2022 Learning and teaching languages online GL3100 MSc Applied Multilingualism
2021-2022 Italian Language III IT324 Final Year (Arts) in Italian
2021-2022 Oral, Presentation and Transferable Skills IT346 Italian Language and Communication Final Year (Arts) in Italian
2021-2022 Italian Language Skills 1, Part 1 IT128 Diploma in Italian Online
2021-2022 Italian Language Skills 1, Part 2 IT129 Diploma in Italian Online
2021-2022 Italian Language I IT1100 First Year BA
2021-2022 Intermediate Language I Grammar IT235 Second Year BA
2021-2022 Italian Language Skills 2, Part 1 IT245 Diploma in Italian Online
2021-2022 Italian Language Skills 2, Part 2 IT246 Diploma in Italian Online
2020-2021 Learning and teaching languages online GL3100 BA in Global Languages
2020-2021 Italian Language Skills 2, Part 1 IT245 Diploma in Italian Online
2020-2021 Italian Language Skills 2, Part 2 IT246 Diploma in Italian Online
2020-2021 Intermediate Language I - Grammar IT236 Second Year BA
2020-2021 Intermediate Language I - Grammar IT235 Second Year BA
2020-2021 Intermediate Language I Laboratory IT235 Second Year BA
2020-2021 Italian Language Skills 1, Part 1 IT128 Diploma in Italian Online
2020-2021 Italian Language Skills 1, Part 2 IT129 Diploma in Italian Online
2019-2020 Italian Language, Level 2, Part 1 IT228 Evening Diploma in Italian
2019-2020 Italian Language, Level 2, Part 2 IT229 Evening Diploma in Italian
2019-2020 Italian Language Skills 1, Part 1 IT128 Diploma in Italian Online
2019-2020 Italian Language Skills 1, Part 2 IT129 Diploma in Italian Online
2019-2020 Italian Language 1 IT1100 First Year BA
2019-2020 Applied Language Skills: Intercultural Studies IT237 Second Year BA
2019-2020 Explicit Prosodic-Pragmatic Training - Language Laboratory IT235 Second Year BA
2019-2020 Explicit Prosodic-Pragmatic Training - Language Laboratory IT236 Second Year BA
2019-2020 Oral, Presentation and Transferable Skills IT346 Final Year BA
2019-2020 Geoprosodic Variation and Audiovisual Translation IT324 Final Year BA
2017-2018 Italian Language Skills 1, Part 2 IT229 Evening Diploma in Italian
2017-2018 Explicit Prosodic-Pragmatic Training - Language Laboratory IT235 Second Year BA
2017-2018 Subtitling for Italian business communication IT251 Second Year BA (Commerce&Law)
2017-2018 Italian Language Skills 1, Part 1 IT228 Evening Diploma in Italian
2017-2018 Community Based Learning: Language Teaching IT345 Final Year BA
2016-2017 Italian Language Skills 1, Part 2 IT229 Evening Diploma in Italian
2016-2017 Italian Language Skills 1, Part 1 IT228 Evening Diploma in Italian
2016-2017 Prosody & Emotions in SLA - Language Laboratory IT235 Second Year BA
2016-2017 Subtitling for Italian business communication IT251 Second Year BA (Commerce&Law)
2016-2017 Italian Communication Skills IT8101 Diploma in Italian Online
2016-2017 Italian Communication Skills IT8100 Diploma in Italian -Online

Internal Collaborators

  Name Description of Collaboration
Prof. Laura McLoughlin
Joint participation in Lilac project; Joint authoring of Mistral project.
Ms Oriana Bologna
Joint participation in Lilac and Mistral projects; Joint creation of Open Educational Resources; Joint authoring for Mistral project.

External Collaborators

  Name Organisation / Institute Country Description of Collaboration
Prof. Barbara Gili Fivela Università del Salento (Lecce)/ Centro di Ricerche Interdisciplinare sul Linguaggio (CRIL) ITALY
Prosody - Italian varieties & Italian FL acquisition
Dr. Chiara Meluzzi Università degli Studi di Milano ITALY
Experimental Phonetics&Phonology and Foreign Language Acquisition
Dr. Jennifer Lertola Università del Piemonte Orientale ITALY
Experimental Studies on Audiovisual Translation: Captioning & Revoicing - Combined audiovisual translation tasks for Irish children learners of Italian as a foreign language