The aim of the course is to provide basic knowledge on the grammatical structures of  Italian language, and on the sociolinguistic reflection of contemporary Italian, in order to provide the analytical tools necessary for a correct use of the Italian language in understanding and producing oral and written texts, and for the didactic use of the subject matter.

The course, designed to meet the needs of prospective primary school teachers, aims to provide a solid foundation in linguistic and pedagogical knowledge essential for teaching Italian. The first part of the course will address key aspects of the history of the Italian language, from its origins to the processes involved in its diffusion. This will be followed by an in-depth examination of democratic language education, with particular attention to metalinguistic awareness and the promotion of multilingualism in schools, including an analysis of the Indicazioni Nazionali per il curricolo (National Curriculum Guidelines). This initial section will also introduce concepts from sociolinguistics, focusing on the variety of contemporary Italian and on reflection regarding grammatical structures of the language—namely phonetics, morphology, lexicon, syntax, and textuality. The second part of the course will be devoted to the study of the language of food, a dynamic example of specialized language, and to the development of teaching tools for the instruction of Italian in primary schools. Particular emphasis will be placed on strategies for fostering oral and written language skills, vocabulary building, and textual competence.

The course, with a total duration of 36 hours, is divided into 18 meetings of two hours each and is divided as follows:

- Minimum notions of the history of the Italian language (2 lectures)

- Democratic language education: linguists and teachers (3 lectures)

- The linguistic repertoire of Italians (3 lectures)

- Notions of phonetics and phonology (2 lectures)

- Morphology, Lexicon and Didactics of Lexicon (3 lectures)

- Elements of text linguistics and textuality education (2 lessons)

- The language of food as a sectional language (2 lectures)

- The language of food in education (1 lesson)

 Knowledge and understanding 

At the end of the course the student will be able to

- know the basic structures of the Italian language;

- know and understand issues related to the variability of the language;

- know and understand the Italian language space;

- know and understand the characteristics of contemporary Italian in relation to communicative situations and types of texts;

- to know the main characteristics of the language of food, understood as a special language, and to know how to trace the most important stages in its history;

- know and understand the importance of the role of language education in the school context and in the broader context of social life;

- reflect independently and critically with respect to the didactics of the Italian language;

- know technical terminology;

Applied knowledge and understanding (applying knowledge and understanding)

By the end of the course the student will have shown:

- to have secure linguistic competence;

- To be able to recognize the varieties and uses of the Italian language;

- Of knowledge of the Italian linguistic space;

- to have metalinguistic analysis skills;

- to be able to describe the main characteristics of the language of food as a special language;

- To have critical knowledge of the main models and tools of language education;

- to apply appropriate teaching strategies within the discipline;

Autonomy of judgements (making judgements):

At the end of the course, the student is expected to demonstrate the ability to

- recognise themes and problems related to the discipline

- critically evaluate cultural phenomena through linguistic analysis;

- independently reapply the methods of descriptive analysis;

- analyse teaching materials suitable for pre-school and primary school;

- reflect on and design a teaching unit aimed at developing the learner's linguistic competence.

Communication skills

By the end of the course, the student should have acquired

- the ability to express the course content clearly;

- mastery of the technical vocabulary of Italian linguistics;

Learning skills

At the end of the course, the student should have acquired:

- the ability to reflect on language as a historical, social and cultural phenomenon;

- the ability to interpret linguistic data with a critical sense;

- the ability to use and autonomously find bibliographic sources for the study and teaching of the Italian language.

The teaching material prepared by the lecturer in addition to recommended textbooks (such as for instance slides, lecture notes, exercises, bibliography) and communications from the lecturer specific to the course can be found inside the Moodle platform › blended.uniurb.it

A formative self-assessment test is planned.

Teaching

Front lessons

Attendance

In order to sit the examination as an attending student, class attendance is mandatory for at least 2/3 of the total number of hours (= 24 hours out of 36).

Course books

-  R. Setti, La scoperta della lingua italiana. Linguistica per insegnare nella scuola dell'infanzia e primaria, Firenze, Cesati, 2019 (ch. II, III, V).

-  R. Cella, Nozioni minime di storia della lingua e della grammatica italiane per insegnanti di scuola primaria, in R. Setti, C. De Santis, R. Cella (a cura di), Per una didattica della parole. Ascoltare, parlare, leggere e scrivere nella scuola primaria, Firenze, Franco Cesati, 2021, pp. 103-17;

- M. G. Lo Duca, Lingua italiana ed educazione linguistica. Tra storia ricerca e didattica, Roma, Carocci, 2019 (nuova ristampa), ch. I, II, III;

- G. Frosini, S. Lubello, L'italiano del cibo, Carocci, Roma, 2023 (in particular chapters I, II, III).

For attending students, the purchase of texts is not compulsory, but recommended. They are recommended as supplementary material for topics covered in the classroom. The slides discussed in class, available on the Moodle platform.

Assessment

The expected learning outcomes will be assessed through a written test consisting of a questionnaire with 12 multiple-choice questions (each correct answer awards 1 point), 2 short open-ended (concise and specific answers, between 5 and 8 lines, each scored between 0 and 5 points) and 1 long open-ended (more extended and detailed answers, between 10 and 15 lines, scored up to 11 points).

For open-ended questions (short and long), the evaluation criteria are as follows: level of formal correctness; relevance and effectiveness of the answers in relation to the program content; adequacy of the disciplinary language used. The final assessment is obtained from the sum of the scores obtained in the individual questions and will be expressed in thirtieths. The time available to answer the proposed questions is 80 minutes.

Disability and Specific Learning Disorders (SLD)

Students who have registered their disability certification or SLD certification with the Inclusion and Right to Study Office can request to use conceptual maps (for keywords) during exams.

To this end, it is necessary to send the maps, two weeks before the exam date, to the course instructor, who will verify their compliance with the university guidelines and may request modifications.

Teaching

Non-attending students must follow bibliographical references listed in the corresponding section below and are encouraged to consult the slides discussed in class, available on the Moodle platform.

Course books

-  R. Setti, La scoperta della lingua italiana. Linguistica per insegnare nella scuola dell'infanzia e primaria, Firenze, Cesati, 2019.

-  R. Cella, Nozioni minime di storia della lingua e della grammatica italiane per insegnanti di scuola primaria, in R. Setti, C. De Santis, R. Cella (a cura di), Per una didattica della parole. Ascoltare, parlare, leggere e scrivere nella scuola primaria, Firenze, Franco Cesati, 2021, pp. 103-17;

- M. G. Lo Duca, Lingua italiana ed educazione linguistica. Tra storia ricerca e didattica, Roma, Carocci, 2019 (nuova ristampa), ch. I, II, III;

- G. Frosini, S. Lubello, L'italiano del cibo, Carocci, Roma, 2023 (in particular chapters I, II, III);

- P. D'Achille, L'italiano contemporaneo, Bologna, il Mulino, 2019 (chapter III only)

Assessment

The expected learning outcomes will be assessed through a written test consisting of a questionnaire with 12 multiple-choice questions (each correct answer awards 1 point), 2 short open-ended (concise and specific answers, between 5 and 8 lines, each scored between 0 and 5 points) and 1 long open-ended (more extended and detailed answers, between 10 and 15 lines, scored up to 11 points).

For open-ended questions (short and long), the evaluation criteria are as follows: level of formal correctness; relevance and effectiveness of the answers in relation to the program content; adequacy of the disciplinary language used. The final assessment is obtained from the sum of the scores obtained in the individual questions and will be expressed in thirtieths. The time available to answer the proposed questions is 80 minutes.

Disability and Specific Learning Disorders (SLD)

Students who have registered their disability certification or SLD certification with the Inclusion and Right to Study Office can request to use conceptual maps (for keywords) during exams.

To this end, it is necessary to send the maps, two weeks before the exam date, to the course instructor, who will verify their compliance with the university guidelines and may request modifications.