Revitalization of the Italian Language in the Slovenian Istria: the case of the position of the Italian language among students as viewed by language teachers

A narrow coastal part of the Slovenian Istria is a bilingual region, where the Italian and the Slovenian language and culture coexist. In the coastal area Italian and Slovenian are offi cial languages and are used for offi cial purposes. Pupils learn both languages in school and can enrol in a primary or secondary school (at the age of 6, for the duration of 12 or 13 years) with the Italian or the Slovenian language of instruction. In both cases they are supposed to be, at least in theory, bilingual individuals when fi nishing school. Th e paper addresses the issue of bilingualism in the Slovenian Istria. It focuses on the possibilities of revitalizing the current position of Italian language especially among pupils. Th e paper presents an overview of the position of bilingualism in the Slovenian Istria focusing on the 80’, when the position of Italian was diff erent and better compared to the present (Kompara 2014). We also present the current position of the Italian language, as seen from the perspective of primary and secondary school teachers and students. Th e paper also focuses on the results of the fi nal state exam (the matura examination) in the Italian language, because the results have been worsening year by year (RIC 2017). Th e paper suggests possible ideas for revitalizing the Italian language in bilingual areas of the Slovenian Istria, focusing mainly on the specifi c areas of revitalization, from primary to secondary school revitalization. Th e process of revitalization is oriented towards the strengthening of the position of Italian in the Slovenian society, towards the establishing of good relations with the Italian minority in Slovenia, and promoting the acquisition of the Italian language. Th e paper presents the general ideas for promoting and preserving bilingualism in the Slovenian Istria.