Dr Mattia Zingaretti

Teaching

I teach and assess on a range of linguistics and language acquisition modules for students enrolled on different undergraduate-level courses. I also lead academic tutorials for students at all levels, and supervise dissertation projects that align with my teaching and research expertise.

Modules taught on:

Year 1/Level 4:
LAL4006M Multilingualism

Year 2/Level 5:
LAL5007M Language at Work
LAL5023M TESOL Theories and Methods (Module Lead)

Year 3/Level 6:
LAL6016M TESOL Decision, Dilemmas and Design (Module Lead)
LAL6010M Dissertation

Courses taught on:

• BA (Hons) British Sign Language, Deaf Studies and Linguistics
• BA (Hons) English Language and Linguistics
• BA (Hons) English Language, Linguistics and TESOL
• BA (Hons) Japanese, Intercultural Communication and Linguistics
• BA (Hons) Japanese, TESOL and Linguistics
• BA (Hons) Korean, Intercultural Communication and Linguistics
• BA (Hons) Korean, TESOL and Linguistics

Research

My research to date has sought to investigate the effects of speaking more than one language from a linguistic, cognitive and emotional perspective.

From 2018 to 2022, I carried out my PhD research at the University of Edinburgh through funding from the SGSAH and AHRC. In my doctoral project, I examined the lexical, syntactic and prosodic changes (i.e. ‘attrition’) in the first language of adult second language speakers, under the supervision of Prof Antonella Sorace, Prof Vicky Chondrogianni and Prof D. Robert Ladd. My findings highlight the ubiquity of attrition across language domains of different bilingual populations.

In 2020-21, my colleague Roberta Spelorzi and I, together with Prof Antonella Sorace, secured funding through the School of Philosophy, Psychology, and Language Sciences to investigate the linguistic and cognitive effects of intensive language learning. We thus led the creation of an intensive online course of Italian, and tested the students who participated before and after the course. Our results show significant improvements in the second language and in some attentional skills (i.e. inhibitory control) right after the end of the one-week course; students are able to retain these up to three weeks later.

In 2021-2022, I was also part of the Edinburgh research unit for the Una-Europa-funded project: “A Linguistic Investigation of Hate Speech - ALIHAS”. With Prof A. Sorace, alongside Dr Maria Garraffa from the University of East-Anglia, I probed into the effects of bilingualism on hate speech perception. Our findings shed light on the subtle changes in the way bilingual speakers perceive some emotional aspects of hate words in their first language, and point to the need for further research in this direction.

My research insights have also informed projects focused on teacher education about language learning and multilingualism.

From 2021 to 2023, I was involved in the “Teacher Education about Multilingualism” (TEAM) project. With the support of Erasmus+ funding, I co-created educational resources on different aspects of multilingualism for pre-service and in-service teachers, working alongside Prof A. Sorace and R. Spelorzi at the University of Edinburgh, and Prof Aleksandra Wach from Poznań University.

More recently in 2023, I was also part of the project "Connecting Linguistics Research with English and Modern Foreign Language Teaching", funded through a Knowledge Exchange and Impact grant at the University of Edinburgh. This is a collaborative effort by Dr Christian Ilbury, Prof Jennifer Culbertson and Prof V. Chondrogianni to investigate - and bridge - the gap between linguistics and language learning research and the existing teaching practices in English and Modern Foreign Languages in the UK.

Publications

Book chapters

Zingaretti, M., Garraffa, M. & Sorace, A. (Forthcoming). The impact of bilingualism on hate speech perception and slur appropriation: An initial study of Italian UK residents. In S. Cruschina & C. Gianollo (Eds.), An Investigation of Hate Speech: Use, Identification, and Perception of Aggressive Language in Italian. Helsinki University Press.

Peer-reviewed journal articles

Zingaretti, M. & Spelorzi, R. (2022). One size fits none in international higher education: A UK-based case study on how to foster inclusive participation and active engagement in the classroom. Postgraduate Pedagogies, 2(1), 73-97. https://journals.studentengagement.org.uk/index.php/gtateach/article/view/1149  

Zingaretti, M. & Spelorzi, R. (2021). Bridging the gap between native and non-native English-speaking teachers: Insights from bilingualism research. Spark: Stirling International Journal of Postgraduate Research, 7(1). https://spark.stir.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Zingaretti-and-Spelorzi_final.pdf  

Dissertations

Zingaretti, M. (2022). First language attrition in late bilingualism: Lexical, syntactic and prosodic changes in English-Italian bilinguals [Doctoral dissertation, University of Edinburgh]. Edinburgh Research Archive. https://doi.org/10.7488/era/3187  

Zingaretti, M. (2017). On nativeness and near-nativeness: An analysis of the implications of convergence between L1 attriters and L2 speakers [Master’s dissertation, University of Edinburgh]. ResearchGate. https://doi.org/10.13140/RG.2.2.27585.68960/1  

Zingaretti, M. (2016). Beyond native-speakerism: Teaching and learning criteria in ELF use [Bachelor’s dissertation, Sapienza University of Rome]. ResearchGate. https://doi.org/10.13140/RG.2.2.36393.72805/1

Popular Science

Zingaretti, M. (2021, November 25). Learning and teaching approaches in Higher Education: Promoting deep learning through constructive alignment. Teaching Matters Blog. https://www.teaching-matters-blog.ed.ac.uk/learning-and-teaching-approaches-in-higher-education-promoting-deep-learning-through-constructive-alignment/   

Zingaretti, M. (2020, September 18). The importance of language learning and maintenance amid Brexit and COVID-19: Evidence from successful EAL practice. Bilingualism Matters Blog. https://www.bilingualism-matters.ppls.ed.ac.uk/eal-new-normal/  

Zingaretti, M. (2019, December 13). What’s the point of writing essays?. Forward Thinking. https://forwardthinking.ppls.ed.ac.uk/2019/12/13/whats-the-point-of-writing-essays/  

Zingaretti, M. (2019, November 22). So, do YOU speak a second language? Bilingualism myths and misconceptions. PPLS Student Blogs. https://www.blogs.ppls.ed.ac.uk/2019/11/22/so-do-you-speak-a-second-language-bilingualism-myths-and-misconceptions/  

Zingaretti, M. (2019, May 28). Lost for words – in your native language. Forward Thinking. https://forwardthinking.ppls.ed.ac.uk/2019/05/28/lost-for-words-in-your-native-language/

Media

Spelorzi, R. & Zingaretti, M. [Teacher Education About Multilingualism - TEAM]. (2023, March 14). Attrition in a nutshell: Interview with Prof. Antonella Sorace. [Video]. Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v1167MRETxw&t=549s     

Sorace, A., Spelorzi, R. & Zingaretti, M. [Teacher Education About Multilingualism - TEAM]. (2023, March 14). Issues with the “native” speaker: Implications of attrition in the classroom. [Video]. Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oGQH4IaGt6w&t=1s  

Sorace, A., Spelorzi, R. & Zingaretti, M. [Teacher Education About Multilingualism - TEAM]. (2023, March 14). Issues with the “native” speaker: First language attrition. [Video]. Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0TRJz6kszNA&t=4s    

Spelorzi, R. & Zingaretti, M. (2021, June 1). The effects of two languages in one mind: First language attrition. https://www.slideshare.net/mattiazingaretti/the-effects-of-two-languages-in-one-mind-first-language-attrition. CC BY-SA 4.0 license  

Schnelten, E. M. & Zingaretti, M. (Hosts). (2021, February 11). BYElingual – Prof. Monika Schmid and Attrition (No. 9). [Audio podcast episode]. In Much Language Such Talk. Bilingualism Matters. 

Conferences

Conference talks

Zingaretti, M., Spelorzi, R. & Sorace, A. (2022, October 25). The effects of an intensive online language course: Linguistic and cognitive changes in English learners of Italian [Poster presentation]. Bilingualism Matters Research Symposium 2022, Edinburgh, Scotland. https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/AYUJE   

Zingaretti, M. (2022, August 24). Investigating L1 attrition in late L2 acquisition: A discussion of key methodological issues in the comparison of different language domains [Paper presentation]. The 31st Conference of the European Second Language Association, Fribourg, Switzerland. 

Zingaretti, M., Chondrogianni, V., Ladd, D. R. & Sorace, A. (2022, March 25). The dynamics of late bilingualism: First language change in adult language learners [Paper presentation]. Fourth International Conference on Language Attrition and Bilingualism, New Haven, Connecticut. 

Zingaretti, M., Garraffa, M. & Sorace, A. (2022, March 11). The impact of bilingualism on hate speech perception and slur appropriation: A first study on Italian UK residents [Paper presentation]. Excessive Language in Public Discourse, Helsinki, Finland. 

Zingaretti, M., Garraffa, M. & Sorace, A. (2021, November 12). L’impatto del bilinguismo sulla percezione del linguaggio d’odio e sulla riappropriazione dell’insulto: un primo studio sugli italiani residenti nel Regno Unito [Paper presentation]. Workshop Internazionale ALIHAS - A Linguistic Investigation of Hate Speech, Bologna, Italy. 

Spelorzi, R. & Zingaretti, M. (2021, September 17). A week abroad from the comfort of your home: Preliminary results of an intensive online language course [Paper presentation]. The Third Year Abroad Conference - The Year Abroad: Reimagined, jointly organised online by Keele University and Regent’s University London, London, England. 

Zingaretti, M. & Spelorzi, R. (2021, May 25). The challenges of inclusive education in times of distance learning [Paper presentation]. Learning for Citizenship Conference - Supporting Migrant Students Through the Pandemic, Nottingham, England. 

Zingaretti, M. (2019, September 21). Between acquisition and attrition: First language change in late second language learners [Poster presentation]. Bilingualism Matters Research Symposium 2019, Edinburgh, Scotland. 

Zingaretti, M. (2019, April 16). When a foreign language interferes with your native language: The relationship between L2 acquisition and L1 attrition in English-Italian and Italian-English bilingual adults [Poster presentation]. Experimental Methods in Language Acquisition Research XV, Utrecht, Netherlands. 

Invited Talks

Zingaretti, M. (2023, November 1). The linguistic, cognitive and emotional impact of bilingualism: Perspectives from multiple research approaches. Languages and Linguistics Student Colloquium Series, York St John University, York, England. 

Zingaretti, M. (2022, April 4). The relationship between second language acquisition and first language change across language domains: Discussing data from English learners of Italian. Edinburgh University Bilingualism Research Group, Edinburgh, Scotland. 

Zingaretti, M. (2021, November 3). Can native speakers ‘forget’ their first language? Discussing findings and implications of research on second language acquisition and first language attrition. Edinburgh University Translation Society, Edinburgh, Scotland. 

Zingaretti, M. (2020, October 21). Every translator is bilingual, but is every bilingual a translator? The role of bilingualism in translation. Edinburgh University Translation Society, Edinburgh, Scotland. 

Professional activities

At YSJ, I am the lead coordinator for YESOL (York: English to Speakers of Other Languages), a group that aims to provide quality English language tuition to migrants, asylum seekers and refugees, working with York City Council and Refugee Action York. I also act as a liaison between YSJ student and staff members and the CELTA team.

My peer-review contributions include work with The Language Learning Journal and Narodowe Centrum Nauki.

I am Fellow of Advance HE, and a proud member of Bilingualism Matters, the European Second Language Association, and the UK Advising and Tutoring Association.