The author focuses his attention on the importance of the quantity of the linguistic input for the teaching of a foreign language in underprivileged contexts at an infrastructural level. The aim of the analysis is to show the necessity of increasing the potential input of the learners of foreign languages in contexts defined as ‘marginal’ since they present difficult environmental conditions, with the aim of raising the number of opportunities of developing a communicative competence, which is the main objective of the learning of a foreign language. Starting from a teaching experience of the Italian language in Cameroon, and aware of the fact that the quantity of the linguistic input is not the only parameter that is responsible for the acquisition of a language, the author proposes some strategies in order to reduce the difficulties that originate from difficult environmental conditions and to guide the learners towards the desired level of communicative competence. Even though they follow a specific context, these palliative strategies could be applied to other realities that possess similar characteristics.