Iniziare prima, imparare meglio: il cinese nelle scuole superiori

This main purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of issues regarding the development of the teaching of Chinese as a foreign language in Italian high schools, a topic that was also thoroughly discussed in the latest meeting of the Italian Association of Chinese Studies, held in Rome in February 2007. After a brief introduction of the many aspects involved, as government regulations, the specificity of language teaching and learning in high school compared to university courses, the aims and perspectives of students, families and teachers, etc., the Author proposes a more structural and organized involvement of Italian University, Ministry od Education and Regional Committees in order to give a positive response to the demand of a very new opening to Asian languages and cultures in high schools’ programs and curricula. An overall confrontation is also recommended among many different experimental activities that have been undergone all over the Country in the past four years, where a meaningfully large number of high school students have been enthusiastically committed to such a demanding learning task.