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• Thematic Area A: Language, Identity and Culture
• Thematic Area B: Language Policy and Planning
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In search of multi-competence: Exploring language use and language values among multilingual immigrant students in England, Italy and Austria

(WP8a, 2008–2010)

Summary Results

Multilingualism at Home, but Not at School

The family seems to play a crucial role in helping immigrant students to maintain and value the home language, according to research conducted in the UK, Italy and Austria. Although home languages are very important to these students, they do not often use them at school and in formal contexts, but in some cases exclusively with their family.
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Rationale

Following the theoretical work developed in WP8 on multi-competence and foreign language education (see First and Second WP8 Working Papers), we aim to take this work a step further and develop the notion of multi-competence from a sociolinguistic and educational perspective, as the condition having an extended and integrated linguistic repertoire and exploiting it to develop one's social and congitive skills. This WP will focus on students who already hold a number of linguistic varieties in their repertoire because of a migratory background and/or because of the bilingual community they live in. Our aim is to investigate: a) the way they use these varieties in an integrated multilingual repertoire, in educational settings (formal and informal domains b) the values they hold towards these varieties and c) the way these varieties and, more generally, multilingualism are incorporated and promoted in the current educational context in which they are situated. Research results can be used in a two-fold way. First, to provide empirical data to a better understanding and conceptualization of the theoretical framework of multi-competence. Second, to provide an evaluation of multilingual education in relation to real daily life situations in which multilingualism is a concrete issue.

Objective

The overall objective is to explore multi-competence among teenage multilingual immigrant students in Italy, England and Austria, who are competent in a number of linguistic varieties (home and host language, foreign languages, other dialects). The research will focus on four main areas:

1. language use, both reported by students' self assessment and observed in actual speech;

2. language attitudes towards languages, multilingualism and "legitimate" varieties in education, elicitated by the students;

3. language education policy: the role school as a formal institution plays in promoting / discouraging the notion of multi-competence and the possible tensions that might exist between the way the system promotes the idea of multi-competence and the way students experience this notion.

Description of work

The main approach will be ethnographic work conducted among teenage students in secondary schools in Italy, England and Austria. Specifically, in months 19-24 we will conduct a literature review on multicompetence (Bolzano and Austria) on the experiences of immigrant students in and out of the classroom (England and Bolzano) and on educational language policies towards multilingualism. Additionally, we will start contacting schools for fieldwork, conduct pilot visits and identify the students, their families and the relevant school professionals.

In the second six months (25-30) we will conduct the main fieldwork in Austria, England and Italy. This part of the project will focus on building "life histories" through detailed ethnographic interviews and participant observation of a number of students in order to explore their language environment and social network, both in formal educational contexts and in informal daily situations (e.g.peer group interaction). Techniques such as linguistic diaries, one-to-one interviews and group recording of social or game activities as well as classroom observations of various lessons to observe and record students' linguistic and social behaviour within the formal school context will be used. Additionally, we will examine in a survey format, the effectiveness of national and European directives on the teaching of foreign languages, on enlarging students' future possibilities and on promoting intercultural communication. The research will also focus on how these directives are being perceived by school personnel (school principals and teachers) and by students. Transcription and translation where needed will be done during these months.

In months 31-36 we will agree on a common data analysis framework between the three sites, apply this framework on the whole body of our data and connect it with the theoretical framework. The final report will be completed during these last months.

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