THE AUGMENTED HORIZON OF LANGUAGE EDUCATION: THEORETICAL, METHODOLOGICAL AND TECHNOLOGICAL SYNERGIES IN THE TEACHING OF ITALIAN AS A FOREIGN LANGUAGE

Abstract

This paper examines the epistemological and pedagogical coordinates that shape the professional practice of university instructors of Italian as a foreign language in contemporary higher education. It argues that effective language teaching requires the integration of three interdependent dimensions: a sound theoretical understanding of language and language acquisition, principled methodological choices, and the critical integration of digital technologies. Drawing on major developments in twentieth-century linguistics—from Saussurean structuralism to Chomskyan generative linguistics—and on constructivist and sociocultural approaches to learning, the article traces the development of language teaching towards inductive, communicative and task-based approaches. Particular attention is devoted to the contribution of Krashen’s Input Hypothesis, Selinker’s theory of interlanguage, Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal Development and Bruner’s concept of scaffolding. Within this theoretical framework, digital technologies and Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) are considered not as inherently disruptive forces, but as pedagogical affordances whose educational value depends on their principled integration into language-learning environments. Their potential lies in supporting differentiated input, extending opportunities for interaction beyond the classroom, facilitating personalised scaffolding and encouraging collaborative and multimodal forms of meaning-making. The final section examines a selection of contemporary digital tools—including AI-based educational platforms, conversational large language models, gamified vocabulary applications and multimodal collaborative environments—in order to illustrate how technological practice can be meaningfully connected to established principles of language education.