Integrating translanguaging pedagogy into Italian primary schools: implications for language practices and children's empowerment

ABSTRACT

The present contribution aims at describing the main phases of implementation of a Transformative Action-Research project named ‘L’AltRoparlante’. This project began in school year 2016/2017 and is still being implemented in five Italian multilingual schools. Its main purpose is to acknowledge students’ individual and collective multilingual repertoires through a translanguaging pedagogy. First, we will provide an overview about the current situation of educational and language policy in Italy, mostly focusing on the tension between monolingualism and plurilingualism in schools. After that, the European concept of plurilingualism and translanguaging will be analyzed in relation to the debate regarding ‘named languages’. In the second part, attention will be dedicated to the analysis of 71 focus groups conducted with the children involved in the ‘L’AltRoparlante’ project. The research questions which guided the analysis concern pupils’ language uses and attitudes before and after the integration of translanguaging pedagogy at a curricular level. The results show the emergence of empowerment dynamics among students and the legitimization of more flexible multilingual practices. The main implications are related to the need for a better understanding of inclusivity in the Italian school system.

KEYWORDS:

• Italian schools
• translanguaging pedagogy
• plurilingualism
• multilingual education
• language rights

Acknowledgements

The authors are very grateful to all participants in the project ‘L’AltRoparlante’. We thank Silvia Minardi and Maite Sanchez for their comments on an earlier draft of this paper. This paper is a result of a research project managed collaboratively by both authors. Data collection in School 1 was conducted by Valentina Carbonara. Data collection in School 2 was conducted by Andrea Scibetta. The analysis of the dataset and the methodological choices was carried out jointly. Valentina Carbonara wrote the following sections: ‘Introduction’, ‘‘Monolinguismo o Plurilinguismo?’: the Italian Debate’, ‘Plurilingualism, translanguaging, and named languages’, ‘The ‘L’AltRoparlante’ project’, ‘Contexts’, ‘Stages of project implementation’, ‘Language uses and attitudes at school before the project’ and ‘Conclusions’. Andrea Scibetta wrote the Abstract and the following sections: ‘Participants and data collection’, ‘Analysis’, ‘Impact of the project at a perceptual level and on language uses at school’. The section ‘Impact of the project on the linguistic-communicative dimension and on attitudes’ was written together.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 We will use the term ‘plurilingualism’ in those cases in which the authors of the cited studies adopted the distinction between ‘plurilingualism’ and ‘multilingualism’ described by the Council of Europe. In all the other cases we will use the term ‘multilingualism’ as a hyperonym.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Valentina Carbonara

Valentina Carbonara completed her PhD in Linguistics and second language acquisition in 2017 at the University for Foreigners in Siena. She has taught Italian as a second language in different schools in Italy and abroad. She collaborates with Bilingualism Matters (Siena branch), and with the colleague Andrea Scibetta she coordinates the project: 'L'AltRoparlante: translanguaging educational practices for the management of the superdiversity in class', which was awarded the European Language Label in 2018. Her research interests are: teaching Italian as a second language, early language education, CLIL, bilingualism and translanguaging.

Andrea Scibetta

Andrea Scibetta is a Post-Doc fellow at the University for Foreigners of Siena and a Chinese language lecturer at the University of Florence. In 2017, he completed a PhD in Linguistics and Second Language Acquisition at the University for Foreigners of Siena. With his colleague Valentina Carbonara, he coordinates the project: 'L'AltRoparlante: translanguaging educational practices for the management of the superdiversity in class', which was awarded the European Language Label in 2018. His scientific activity concerns Chinese, L2 Italian teaching to Chinese students, the promotion of Chinese in Italian schools, multilingual education.