CLIL at Pre-primary in Italy: Insights and Experiences

This chapter considers CLIL in relation to Italian early childhood education and care, focusing specifically on the 3–6 years age group and the “scuola dell’infanzia” or pre-primary school. It begins by providing an outline of the municipal tradition of ECEC in Italy and identifying its salient features, before considering these features in relation to the theoretical underpinnings and practices associated with CLIL. Although a brief perusal of Italian ECEC centres and school websites reveals that early childhood educators are engaged with questions of multilingualism and second language education for very young children, and that several CLIL projects have been implemented at pre-primary level and self-documented, there are few formal accounts of CLIL in Italian ECEC settings. This chapter considers Italian legislation relating to CLIL, ECEC teacher education and CLIL and how CLIL at pre-primary level overlaps with other types of early language learning. It also provides examples of CLIL implementation in Italian ECEC as a starting point for educators and school communities that are considering adopting this approach.