Italian via email: from an online project of learning and teaching towards the development of a multi-cultural discourse community

The project originally started in January 1994 and involved the creation of an email-based interactive Italian-speaking community (ISC) in the form of a discussion list ('Due chiacchiere in amicizia'). It was initially limited to on-campus learners of Italian or 'real' Italians. When the project started, the aims were: • to provide online support for students who needed extra help in the learning process; • to support learning motivation through one-to-one communication with the tutor; • to provide the opportunity for additional language practice; • to encourage students to reflect on both the language process and content; • to provide a 'special niche' where learners from different nationalities, backgrounds and experiences could 'meet' with Italians and have the opportunity to explore the socio-cultural dimension