The course aims to provide the students with the principle notions of linguistics and sociolinguistic theories useful for the teaching of languages. Particular use will be made of notions relevant to applied linguistics and to the methodologies of language teaching. The objective is to outline the traits on an effective language pedagogy which places at the center of its concerns the communicative needs of the learner. Other topics include language acquisition, linguistics communication, the role of grammar in language teaching, the notion of” linguistic space”, the stratification of Italian lexicon, written language versus spoken language, regarding also the levels of Common European Framework of Reference for languages (CEFR).