Les L1 en classe de L2: considérations linguistiques et didactiques dans des classes plurilingues en Italie

In this essay we will discuss the role of first languages (L1) in managing a heterogeneous group of learners. We will focus on the Italian school context, which is characterized by the coexistence, in the same classes, of a large variety of L1. Our goal is to examine which role institutions and teachers grant to the students' languages and cultures, as well as to their individual language repertoire. Our argument will follow three complementary points of view: the normative point of view, to highlight the role of the learners' L1 in the national and European recommendations; the linguistic point of view, to stress the importance of plurilingualism and the role of the L1 as a bridge that connects the languages in the repertoire; the didactic point of view to introduce some approaches to value that language repertoires.