‘Too Much Workload in Technical Schools!’ : Luigi Pavia and the Teaching of English in Italian Technical Schools on the Threshold of the Twentieth Century

Abstract

This chapter illustrates the work of Luigi Pavia by examining the pamphlet Le Lingue straniere negli istituti tecnici e l’eccessivo lavoro scolastico, published in two editions: 1888 and 1906. Pavia discussed the role and mission of the state school teacher, and, in particular, the difficult task of matching the official requirements of the curricula and everyday classroom practice. Excessive hours spent at school and the eclecticism of the curriculum did not allow for in-depth learning, but could only provide a general, broad understanding of the mechanisms of English grammar. Pavia had a holistic view of education and testified to the difficulties encountered by a teacher facing teenagers at the beginning of the new century.