ABSTRACT: This case study focuses on the issue of whether the implementation of authentic tasks may generate benefits for university students. The first part examines the theoretical framework — both from an Italian and an international perspective — and then clarifies the characteristics of authentic learning and its intrinsic relationship with the construct of competence. In the second part, there is an illustration of a teacher research project (Borg, 2015), which was carried out to study the outcomes of an English language module for first and second year students on a Bachelor of Education in Pedagogical sciences course at Verona University (2015–2016 academic year). I will then briefly outline the contents of the module, which included an interview with one of the authors to be studied. The data collected shows that the authentic task was effective for the use of English in context and the development of communicative competence. In addition, ICT competences, collaboration and awareness of one’s own learning styles increased.

KEYWORDS: English language, authentic learning, authentic task, motivation, ICT, interview.