Page 70 - Diversity in Action

Martina Irsara, Valentina Gobbett Bamber, and Barbara Caprara

ing environment should provide indirect stimuli for reflection, such as pic-
turebooks, images, and unique objects to observe and stimulate curiosity.
In Montessori schools, the environment is the true teacher, as it is through
its careful preparation that the educator makes the educational plan explicit.
Consequently, the materials prepared for the child play a crucial role: in the
attention with which they are arranged, the scientific accuracy with which
they are designed, the self-correction they encourage, and the concise, pre-
cise language the teacher uses when introducing them.
Building on this conceptual foundation, we will explore the second ele-
ment intertwined with Montessori’s approach to education: language teach-
ing. Montessori’s work does not explicitly refer to a multilingual perspective
on learning, nor does it establish a specific path for foreign language teach-
ing, despite her extensive years of living and working abroad. However, in her
writings, Montessori offers numerous reflections on the study of language
as a key element of the human and social dimension and provides a thor-
ough scientific analysis. For Montessori, language is not merely an individual
phenomenon but is deeply connected to the social dimension of the human
being. It is through language that people can relate to and understand each
other (Consalvo, 2020). In the context of foreign languages, Montessori edu-
cators follow the general principles of the method, such as a prepared envi-
ronment, sensory and self-correcting materials, and the child’s independent
work, while applying them to the content of language teaching. For a more
in-depth exploration of this complex topic, we refer the reader to the text in
the bibliography specifically dedicated to the Montessori approach in multi-
lingual contexts. Maria Montessori’s personal experiences, such as her trav-
elstopromote her educational ideasacrossEurope, the United States, and
India, exposed her to cultures, languages, and religions different from those
in which she had grown up, and fostered a deep respect for the world in its
diversity. This sensitivity inspired both her and her son Mario to develop a
variety of tools, including impressionistic charts, narratives, specialised ma-
terials, and methods for exploring the complexity of the cosmos through its
history of evolution and change. These tools combined a simple yet scientifi-
cally accurate language, providing sensory experiences and interdisciplinary
pathways.
In the light of what we have discussed so far, it is clear how important the
daily use of versatile tools such as picturebooks is, alongside the more tra-
ditional Montessori materials. In Montessori’s view, books serve as a bridge
between children and the world; they are used daily to gather information,
exploretopicsin-depth,andseek answers.Theteacher’sroleisto consciously
select and organise books, ensuring a thoughtful alignment between the
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