L’USO DEI PROVERBI NELL’INSEGNAMENTO DELLA LINGUA ITALIANA
THE USE OF PROVERBS IN TEACHING ITALIAN LANGUAGE

Summary/Abstract: Proverbs are an effective rhetorical means of transmitting accumulated knowledge and experiences in a metaphorical, fixed, and memorable form. However, they are rarely used as educational tools in foreign language teaching due to the complexity in defining and analyzing the structure of proverbs. This often discourages teachers and prevents their didactic exploitation as a source of teaching activities. This paper proposes different uses of proverbs in teaching Italian as a foreign language in relation appointed to different phases of the teaching unit. By inserting the repertoire of proverbs gradually with the advancement of knowledge, the learners’ vocabulary is enriched and in such a way they can interpret the an interlocutors’ implicit intentions, to negotiate the implied and ambiguous meanings and to discover cultural and spatio-temporal references along with the values of the target culture.Finally, the mastery of proverbs in a foreign language is a valid and relevant indicator of intercultural competence which is an integral part of communicative competence.

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