Although in the Constitution (1946) no reference is made to Italian as the official language of the Republic, but minorities are mentioned and claimed to be preserved, it was only around fifty years later that R/M languages were recognised and protected by law (482/1999). Such recognition has not been ratified in the Council of Europe’s European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages (ECRML). 

In 2010 an Italian test for immigrants requiring long term residency was introduced (D.M. 4/06/2010) and in 2011 competence in the Italian language became one of the key issues for the integration agreement between an immigrant and the State (D.P.R. 14/09/ 2011, n. 179).

With regard to documentation on languages, Italy falls behind some other European countries, with not even the most recent census (2011) including a question regarding languages or dialects. One positive step is reflected in the Multiscopo surveys, among which the most recent, carried out in 2006, has shown the plurality of languages present today and used on a daily basis by Italians (ISTAT, 2007). Overall research on immigrant languages still has to be carried out, apart from data on individual local situations.

Languages offered in pre-primary education

In general, the modest results shown in the pre-primary, primary and secondary education domains show that little attention is given to other languages, whether foreign or immigrant. The results in these domains can be related to the weakness of the competence in foreign languages by many Italians, documented in studies such as Eurobarometer (2006) and Eurydice/Eurostat (2008).

At the same time, the general results bring to light that, from pre-primary to upper secondary school, there is room for improvement with regard to the range of languages offered, organisation of learning; and training for language teachers. Furthermore, it should be noted that English is the language which is taught and encouraged the most among foreign languages at all school levels. 

In pre-primary education, the only languages offered are the R/M, and only in the areas where they are present, thanks to the protection in the law. No offer is provided in any foreign language.

Languages offered in primary education

In primary education English is the only language offered and its strong support at all school levels is justified by the fact that English will be used by pupils in the future, with no consideration of surveys and studies such as ELAN (2006) which highlight that other languages are also important in the work arena. Other languages which are spoken at home by pupils with an immigrant background have entered into schools (they are present in approximately 90% of state schools), but the maintenance of such languages is not part of the educational objectives. The same is true regarding structured support for the learning of Italian as a second language (L2), although this may be introduced into projects by individual schools. Otherwise, the recognition and protection of R/M languages has positive consequences on education, in terms of organisation and teacher training, in the areas where R/M languages are spoken.

In primary education, Italy’s profile is lower than many other countries in terms of both foreign language organisation and teaching. These results are due to the lack of a coherent curriculum, absence of regular monitoring and explicit requirements as to the proficiency level to be achieved. This is linked to other issues that have direct consequences on the linguistic offer throughout education, including: lack of pre- and in-service training for primary teachers of foreign languages; and an absence of a culture of linguistic assessment in Italy (Machetti, 2010), both at the research level and in teacher training. This has a direct impact on schools’ and teachers’ attitudes towards language testing and assessment (Barni, Machetti, 2005). This is true also for the other school levels.

Languages offered in secondary education

Secondary schools show relatively better results. The presence of a second foreign language in lower secondary schools and the offer of R/M languages are factors which contribute to increasing language richness. In higher secondary education, however, English dominates once again. More languages (mainly French, German and Spanish) are offered only in education institutions where the main objective is language learning. 

The effects of the recent introduction of legislation regarding Content and language integrated learning (CLIL) methodology (DD.PP.RR. 87, 88, 89 15/03/2010) in the last year of higher secondary education (starting in language schools from the third year) are not yet possible to predict, also because teacher training for this objective has not yet been activated and furthermore it is supported by a limited budget. The same is true for the recent introduction of MA degrees and pre-service training courses (TFA) for teachers in secondary schools (D.M. 10/09/ 2010, n. 249). 

As in the other school levels, recognition and support for immigrant languages in secondary schools is completely absent.

Languages offered across 3 VET institutions in Italy

Languages offered across 3 higher education institutions in Italy

As in other educational domains, in further education the overall linguistic offer in the three sample cities – Rome, Milan and Trieste – remains more or less linked to European languages, with English well above the others. 

In further education the teaching of Italian stands out due to the number of adult foreigners for which public adult education is the only means to learn the language of the society in which they live and work. In any case, we know that immigrants who invest in language training are low in number compared to the actual number living in Italy. The effects of the Ministerial Decree of 4 June 2010 – which has decreed it compulsory to pass an exam in Italian at level A2 in order to obtain a long term EC residence permit – and the recent integration agreement, which introduces competence in Italian as a requisite for living and working in Italy, cannot yet be calculated.

In the three universities, the range of languages is almost wide, but the languages are mainly present in language faculties and courses.

Languages offered in audiovisual media and press across 3 cities in Italy

The choice of languages in audiovisual media is quantitatively and qualitatively scarce. The practice of dubbing films and television programmes produced abroad does not help in giving contact with other languages. The only language occasionally available is English, but in a very limited way. The other languages offered on Radio are the languages used in the programmes produced by immigrant communities. Slovene, as a R/M language, has a certain presence in Trieste.

Better results are obtained with regards to newspapers. The languages available reflect both the presence of immigrant communities, but also of tourists, with the majority of newspapers being in European languages. We should not forget indeed that Italy is the destination for millions of tourists every year. In 2010 there were 44 million visitors, of which a fifth were from Germany alone. The top five countries (other than Germany these are France, Austria, Switzerland and Great Britain) represent almost 60% of visitors (RTBicocca, 2011). The presence of newspapers for sale in these languages seems to be motivated by the need to satisfy demand from these visitors rather than from Italians approaching these languages. We should also not forget that the average of Italian readers of books and newspapers is well below the European average (ISTAT, 2011; De Mauro, 2011). The newspapers in Slovene, Croatian and Albanian in Trieste represent the geographical and cultural proximity of the countries in which such languages are spoken and the historical opening of this city towards the Balkans.

Languages offered in public services and public spaces across 3 cities in Italy (N ≥ 2)

None of the three cities chosen for the research have significant institutional strategies regarding the promotion of multilingualism. Linguistic competencies are generally not considered an important requirement for employees when being hired, as a career strategy, or as a form of training on site. In public services in Trieste, Slovene is present, both in written and oral communication facilities.

In these last two contexts the general profile of Italy has improved because in city council institutions, especially in services for residents, more attention is being paid to other languages due to the increasing demand from immigrants. This is proven by the informative publicity and mediation services which are mostly in languages such as Chinese, Arabic, Romanian, Russian and Albanian - the languages of the immigrant communities present in Italy.

However, even in these services, European languages are more prevalent, both for their use in tourism as well as their wide use among immigrants (in particular French and Spanish).

Languages other than English offered in business across 24 companies in Italy (N ≥ 2)

In the area of business Italy has obtained comparatively lower results, confirming what has already come to light in other research (ELAN, 2006). There is a lack of awareness on the part of the businesses (especially in the small and medium sized companies, which are key to the Italian economy) of the fact that weak foreign language competence limits the possibility of internationalisation in an ever more global market. The low consideration of the importance of even English, is also surprising, with it seen as being important for only certain categories of employees. The results for Italy are weaker than other countries in both Business English and other languages. The majority of companies surveyed provide branding and marketing, work place documents, the intranet, and their website only in the national language. This decreases the potentiality of reaching international markets, and this is particularly serious in the case of medium and large-sized companies. A consequence of this is the declaration by the businesses surveyed that they do not make much use of internal and external translators. Can we consider this as a sign of the reluctant attitude shown by Italian business towards foreign markets and consequently by foreign business to make investments in Italy? As we know (Land, 2000), the presence and use of different languages plays a key role in persuading companies to consider a place as a business location.

In conclusione, l’indagine conferma che la società italiana, in tutte le sue espressioni, vive una generale ‘questione delle lingue straniere’, una paura dominante nei confronti della diversità linguistica (Vedovelli, 2010). Di conseguenza, è scarsa la competenza nelle lingue straniere, da quelle di grande diffusione internazionale, a quelle meno diffuse, ma ugualmente importanti per la presenza di suoi parlanti nel territorio, per il loro legame con l’Italia e per fare affari nei mercati emergenti.
La causa va ricercata innanzitutto nel monolinguismo che è stato una delle caratteristiche distintive della politica linguistica e educativa dopo l’unificazione italiana e che è stato sostenuto da un rifiuto generale per le lingue degli altri. Secondariamente, è il risultato dell’inefficacia dell’azione istituzionale messa in atto dal nostro Stato, e caratterizzata dalla inadeguatezza delle risorse, dell’organizzazione, di formazione per i docenti, così come dalla mancanza di collegamenti sistemici con il mondo delle imprese. A scuola l’attenzione è solo centrata sull’inglese, che – peraltro – è insegnato in un contesto di limitatezza di risorse che rende spesso inefficace ogni sia pur volenteroso sforzo dei singoli docenti o delle singole scuole. Ancora oggi i giovani che terminano il nostro sistema scolastico sono caratterizzati nella assoluta maggioranza dei casi dalla ‘conoscenza scolastica’ di una lingua straniera e tale espressione è un eufemismo, un modo velato per alludere direttamente alla mancanza di competenza.
Le lingue immigrate presenti oggi in Italia costituiscono un fattore di neo-plurilinguismo che potrebbe potenzialmente contribuire a ridurre la paura di diversità linguistica nel nostro Paese, ma questa opportunità non è tuttora considerata.

L’introduzione della metodologia CLIL nella scuola secondaria di secondo grado, della laurea magistrale e del tirocinio per la formazione per gli insegnanti (TFA) potrebbero potenzialmente essere delle iniziative promettenti, ma non è ancora possibile verificarne gli effetti. La recente introduzione di un anno di Tirocinio Formativo Attivo (TFA, D.M. 249/2010 e D.M. 31/2012) per la formazione dei nuovi insegnanti nella scuola secondaria di II grado prevede l’apertura di corsi per insegnanti di cinese, arabo, giappones, neogreco e sloveno, oltre a quelli di inglese, francese, tedesco, spagnolo e russo, tradizionalmente presenti. Questa ci sembra un’importante iniziativa per la promozione del plurilinguismo e per il riconoscimento delle lingue RM e delle comunità immigrate.
Ci sono varie altre iniziative organizzate dalle singole scuole o anche da singoli insegnanti, che sono le testimonianze della capacità degli insegnanti stessi di mettere in atto risposte creative, in particolare per rispondere alla presenza di studenti che non parlano la lingua nazionale che entrano nelle loro classi. In alcuni casi, tali iniziative sono collegate e documentate a livello regionale, in particolare dalle istituzioni regionali (come la Toscana, la Lombardia, l’Emilia Romagna e il Trentino Alto-Adige) che più si impegnano nel sostegno linguistico. Tuttavia, in molti casi, queste iniziative sono legate all’insegnante o alla scuola, e pertanto nè destinate ad accompagnare il percorso scolastico degli alunni, né replicabili.

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