The REACH project, funded by the European Union’s NextGenerationEU (PRIN PNRR), is dedicated to improving reading comprehension in children aged 9 to 13, including those with typical development, dyslexia, or Italian as a second language (L2). This project, featuring the collaboration of IUSS Pavia (PI: Matteo Greco) and University of Verona (coordinator: Maria Vender), explores how these groups process complex linguistic structures such as nominalizations, anaphoric expressions, and presuppositions—elements that demand significant cognitive effort.

As the coordinator of the Verona Unit at the University of Verona, my team focuses on analyzing specific morphosyntactic and semantic phenomena, including nominalizations, anaphoric expressions, and focal particles—elements that demand significant cognitive effort and that can notably affect text comprehension. We aim to identify the specific difficulties faced by each group (monolingual Italian children, with and without dyslexia and bilingual L2 Italian children with migrant background) thanks to innovative methodologies like eye-tracking, collecting both online and offline measures.

The Verona Team:

Maria Vender (coordinator),
Serena Dal Maso,
Denis Delfitto,
Chiara Melloni,
Andrea Nardon,
Sabrina Piccinin,
Ilaria Venagli

Results will then inform the design of educational tools and resources that educators can implement to enhance students’ reading and comprehension skills: the REACH project will indeed culminate in a comprehensive practical guide, offering evidence-based strategies for fostering improved reading comprehension in schools.

Our ultimate goal is to contribute to more inclusive educational practices, ensuring that every child—regardless of their linguistic background—can achieve their full potential in reading.