Acceso usuarios
Roland Verra
The multilingual education in the Ladin area, Italy, presents an interesting case of multilingualism. Almost all inhabitants are at least trilingual speakers. The more prestigious languages are Italian and German, which are the main school languages in a balanced bilingual model. Ladin as the minority language is the mother tongue of most pupils, but after preschool Ladin is taught only as a subject for a limited number of hours. In teaching religion, all three languages are used. Later on, English is also taught as an additional language. The results for German and Italian competence of the schoolchildren are comparable to other areas in Italy and the results for Ladin are also very positive. The strong influence of Italian and German on the proficiency in Ladin and the increased use and perceived importance of English in this tourist area are challenges for the future teaching of four languages in the Ladin schools.
