Abstract

Between 1925 and 1993, the Istituto Giulia played an important role for German learning in Milan. Since it was founded and run by German nuns, German was a vehicular language from kindergarten to high school diploma and was taught as if it were the mother tongue. Most pupils being Italian, there were didactic problems partly solved with targeted strategies, especially at the nursery school and in the first primary classes, partly by relying on the initiative of individual teachers. Based on the material of the Congregation’s private archives and on the testimonies of teachers and students, this paper highlights some aspects of the teaching of German.