Luisa is Australian-Italian and has been teaching languages since the age of 12 when she first moved to Italy from Melbourne with her family in the ‘70’s! Luisa holds a BA in Politics, Russian and Spanish from Monash University (AUS), a Laurea Magistrale in Languages and Teaching from the University of Pisa (IT) and a PhD in Modern Languages from the University of Hull (UK). Luisa also holds a Postgraduate Certificate in Research Training.
Luisa has worked in the field of university education and adult training for over 25 years and likes to push buttons to see what happens. This has led her to play around with technology and to experiment with different teaching approaches. In 2000, Luisa introduced Tandem language learning within the university where she works.
As part of her academic career, Luisa has published in the fields of CALL (Computer Assisted Language Learning) and E-learning, Language Awareness and Learner Advising. Luisa’s PhD explores language-learner participation in virtual worlds and makes use of Exploratory Practice and Reflexivity as its two main research approaches.
Luisa has held leadership, development and management roles in two EU funded projects on the use of virtual worlds and reality in education. Luisa is also a translator and works as a freelance language consultant. Luisa is the co-author of a text-book on English in Economics and Business and has of late developed an interest in Italian Corporate Governance issues.
Luisa has recently taken up singing lessons to help her voice and inner self re-emerge after 5 years of asceticism while working on her PhD in the remote sunny hills of Tuscany. On Sundays Luisa loves to curl up on the sofa with her Sicilian rescue dog and catch up on sleep!
