Teaching Italian and vertical curriculum: proposals for digital natives between school and university

The“Indicazioni nazionali per il curricolo della scuola dell’infanzia e del primo ciclo d’istruzione” (2012) illustrated very specific linguistic aims and goals that students have to attain by the end of their school years. Unfortunately the document didn’t give any glottodidactic hints useful to teachers. Moreover the results of Invalsi and Ocse Pisa linguistic tests of Italian students are not yet adequate to the standard requested. The article offers a review of the various glottodidactic theories and practices which can be successfully used in order to support students during the acquisition of Italian (as L1 or L2) at school. Among these studies Lo Duca 1997, 2018 and Camodeca-De Santis-Sabatini 2011 are good examples of a reflective and meaningful approach to Italian language teaching. It is necessary to build up a good dialogue between researchers and teachers in order to write a new linguistic syllabus. It should guide the students towards an active and reflective competence (oral and written skills) of Italian (which is a highly variable language in all diamesic, diatopic, diastratic, stylistic dimensions), with a gradual approach that could follow the steps of the Common European Framework for languages.