La formazione linguistica all’università

Abstract

Since foreign language skills are assuming a pivotal role in the job market, many higher education institutions in Europe are offering compulsory language courses to enhance these skills among undergraduate and postgraduate students. However, Italian universities do not seem to invest sufficiently in foreign language learning. The paper discusses the results of a survey among 3.000 students at Ca’ Foscari University in Venice which aimed at investigating the students’ point of view on this topic by collecting data on three areas: earlier foreign-language educational path, perceived need of foreign language learning, students’ beliefs about language learning.