Gaia VARONE

Gaia VARONE is an academic affiliated with the Department of Asian and North African Studies at Ca' Foscari University of Venice, where she serves as a Lecturer specializing in Japanese language and literature pedagogy. She actively contributes to innovative teaching and research initiatives focused on experiential learning, creative writing, and business communication in Japanese.

Her research interests center on modern Japanese language education, with a strong emphasis on active learning methodologies. Key areas include:

• Teaching Japanese through creative writing and literature
• Developing oral and written production skills via virtual exchange ("virtual ryuugaku")
• Integrating Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) into language teaching
• Using social media and real-world business contexts for language acquisition

Her work reflects a commitment to pedagogical innovation and student engagement in Japanese studies.

Gaia VARONE has secured and contributed to multiple externally funded teaching and research projects, demonstrating strong institutional and industry collaboration.

• Business Experience Workshop 2023/24 & 2nd Edition 2024/25: Lead (LD) on projects funded by Mitsubishi Corporation, focusing on systematizing student business experiences through active learning, with sustainability themes.
• Methods of Teaching Creative Writing in Japanese: Participating Teacher (PT) in a project funded by Juntendo University (2022/23).
• PCTO Experiential Workshops: Lead (LD) and Non-Specific Role (NS) in MIUR PNRR-funded initiatives (2022/23) such as "Unrestrained Japanese!" and "Authentic Japanese: Working in the Language with Social Media?", promoting immersive language use.
• Virtual Ryuugaku 2: Collaborative project supporting online Japanese language teaching during the pandemic, focusing on real interactions and job-hunting skills.

She frequently collaborates with colleagues including Marcella Maria Mariotti, Fabio Marra, Hirofumi Utsumi, and Chiara Alessandrini. Her work is disseminated through project websites and workshops under the NoLBrick initiative, highlighting her role in curriculum innovation and digital pedagogy in Japanese studies.