34-year-old, from Rimini area (North East of Italy) Myself 34-year-old, from Rimini area (North East of Italy) Teacher of italian, history, geography and citizenship education ☺ “con abilitazione”: a post-degree specialization for teachers precarious: a teacher which has a nine-month contract as much, depending on his/her position in a very long and complex national list

Head of the school library My job Place of work: “Scuola Media” (students aged 11-13) – Istituto Comprensivo di Verucchio (Rimini, Italy) Head of the school library Main interests and projects I manage in my school: cinema, reading, theatre, TIC's, intercultural education, DSA* * this font is for you!

My school: Istituto Comprensivo Verucchio www.icverucchio.it

Italian education and training system This diagram is not taken from Organisation of the education system in Italy 2009/2010, Eurybase Italy,,http://www.indire.it/eurydice because of a mistake: the diagrams showed in that document represent IRELAND! This diagram is taken from The structure of the European education systems 2011/12: schematical diagrams, same website

Some key aspects of Italian school Negative natural population movement and increasing aging process Steady increase in birth rate because of immigration Since 2007 length of compulsory education extended from 8 up to 10 years, (16 years of age). Debate about up to 18 Debate about enrol children aged less than 3 and 6 to pre- primary and primary schools About 711.000 students (8%) are immigrants* (2011) * in 2011 the increase of immigrants students has been lowest than in the past, but there's been a significant increase of the so called “G2”: students born in Italy from immigrant parents

Pupils (n° and %) with non-Italian nationality, their country of origin and school level, school year 2010/2011. Source: Miur – Ismu foundation

Plurilingualism in Italian school 12 minority languages officially recognized, acknowledged and safeguarded* ''Special statute regions” recognize their minorities as co- official languages ''Protected'' languages as teaching instruments on request of pupils' families in preprimary, primary and lower secondary schools (a political use?) Foreign languages study is fundamental ...AND IMMIGRANTS? * Protection of minority languages and cultures is provided for in the Constitution and in Law no.482/1999. Minority languages are: Albanian, Catalan, German, Greek, Slovenian, Croatian, French, Provençal, Occitan, Friulan, Ladin, Sardinian.

Interculturality in Italian school Law n°40/1998: school welcomes linguistic and cultural differences as values which help granting mutual respect, exchange among cultures and tolerance 'Immigrant students' = various situations as newly- arrived, migrant or immigrant background (3rd increasing) Legal status of students and families Cultural and linguistic mediators Italian L2 teachers

Something to think about... Plurilingualism as a structural condition of present and future classes (even if not expressed) Interculture is NOT ONLY integration Interculture as a key competence for teachers (whatever the subject) Needs of new strategies and good practices to count on Need to think all languages different&equal

Involving the families Challenges Interculture is NOT: a curriculum, a content, a project, an activity (a difficult achievment even for teachers!) Involving the families Mother tongue as a real positive heritage, to protect and empower Integration of language and content... and interculture ?!

Good practices and innovations Integrated work of local authorities, associations and organisations at territorial level Italian L2 teacher: a new job In&out the classroom Dissemination of new projects through both formal and non formal ways

Italian L2 courses for foreign students (different levels) I.C. Verucchio projects Incoming assesment of foreign students (European Framework for languages) Italian L2 courses for foreign students (different levels) Intercultural workshop with the class-group Intercultural mediators (welcome, relationship with families, reading of previous experiences, …) New project: welcome activities and first Italian learning through sports (in collaboration with Ca' Foscari University)

Further information about me Previous experience as head of teachers in “commissione intercultura” (a group of teachers in charge of foreing students and intercultural projects) Previous long experience in teaching italian L2 to adults and young migrants; committed in intercultural and youth associations; travels and co-operation Actual president of an intercultural association working in information, education and social work with migrants

Bibliographical references and websites Structures of education and training systems in Europe- Italy, 2009/2010 Organisation of the education system in Italy 2009/2010 Key data on teaching languages at school in Europe, 2008 Integrating immigrant children into schools in Europe, 2009 all from http://www.indire.it/eurydice/ Data about immigrant students in Italy from MIUR http://www.istruzione.it Istituto Comprensivo di Verucchio website: http://www.icverucchio.it

Thanks you for your attention! ayquebandida@gmail.com