Abstract
Italian and its status in education in Slovenia
In the Slovene Littoral, Slovene and Italian are official languages and thus they share equal status in public and private life. Learners in this region attend schools either with Slovene as the medium of instruction or with Italian as the medium of instruction, from pre-school to upper secondary education, and receive additional compulsory education in Italian as a second language (L2; Slovene schools) or Slovene L2 (Italian schools). Enrolment is open to all learners, regardless of their linguistic and cultural origin. In Slovenia, Italian is offered as a first language (L1) and L2 in the bilingual areas in the Slovene Littoral and as a foreign language in the rest of the national territory.
Italian in educational research
Educational research on Italian is conducted by the Department of Italian Studies and Faculty of Education at the University of Primorska, the Science and Research Centre in Koper, the Department of Italian and Faculty of Education at the University of Ljubljana, and the National Education Institute. The University of Primorska and the Science and Research Centre in Koper are the only institutions that conduct research specifically on Italian as L1 and L2. The Department of Italian Studies at the University of Primorska offers a doctoral study programme in Italian L1 literature, L1 and L2 linguistics, and didactics.
Prospects for Italian in Slovenia
The institutional support for bilingualism, enshrined in the Constitution and legislation of Slovenia, requires continuous monitoring due to the ever-changing social context. The major challenges today are to enhance motivation for learning Italian in school and to ensure constant exposure to the language outside school. To achieve this aim, more systematic solutions are required if schools are to continue to carry out the role of supporting the maintenance and further development of plurilingualism and interculturality in the coastal bilingual area.
In the Slovene Littoral, Slovene and Italian are official languages and thus they share equal status in public and private life. Learners in this region attend schools either with Slovene as the medium of instruction or with Italian as the medium of instruction, from pre-school to upper secondary education, and receive additional compulsory education in Italian as a second language (L2; Slovene schools) or Slovene L2 (Italian schools). Enrolment is open to all learners, regardless of their linguistic and cultural origin. In Slovenia, Italian is offered as a first language (L1) and L2 in the bilingual areas in the Slovene Littoral and as a foreign language in the rest of the national territory.
Italian in educational research
Educational research on Italian is conducted by the Department of Italian Studies and Faculty of Education at the University of Primorska, the Science and Research Centre in Koper, the Department of Italian and Faculty of Education at the University of Ljubljana, and the National Education Institute. The University of Primorska and the Science and Research Centre in Koper are the only institutions that conduct research specifically on Italian as L1 and L2. The Department of Italian Studies at the University of Primorska offers a doctoral study programme in Italian L1 literature, L1 and L2 linguistics, and didactics.
Prospects for Italian in Slovenia
The institutional support for bilingualism, enshrined in the Constitution and legislation of Slovenia, requires continuous monitoring due to the ever-changing social context. The major challenges today are to enhance motivation for learning Italian in school and to ensure constant exposure to the language outside school. To achieve this aim, more systematic solutions are required if schools are to continue to carry out the role of supporting the maintenance and further development of plurilingualism and interculturality in the coastal bilingual area.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Place of Publication | Ljouwert/Leeuwarden |
| Publisher | Mercator European Research Centre on Multilingualism and Language Learning |
| Number of pages | 82 |
| Edition | 2nd |
| Publication status | Published - 04 Sept 2023 |
Publication series
| Name | Regional Dossier series |
|---|---|
| Publisher | Mercator European Research Centre on Multilingualism and Language Learning |
| ISSN (Print) | 1570-1239 |
Keywords
- Italian
- Slovenia
- language education
- minority languages
- multilingual education
- multilingualism
- multilingualism in education