Successful language learning in bilinguals requires the differentiation of two language systems. The capacity to discriminate rhythmically close languages has been reported in 4-month-olds using auditory-only stimuli. This research offers a novel perspective on early language discrimination using audiovisual material. Monolingual and bilingual…

Intercultural studies have underexplored the issue of children's theatre as a tool for symbolic representations of (new, hybrid) identities. In this paper, I analyze two theatrical productions addressing both Spanish society and Romanian diaspora (first/second generation) to answer these questions: how are diasporic identities re-constructed in…

The present study focuses on email communication in the multilingual university setting. Previous studies dealing with similar settings point to the lack of politeness markers in students' email messages [Bjorge, A. (2007). Power distance in English lingua franca email communication. "International Journal of Applied Linguistics", 17(1),…

Thanks to a wealth of research on college student retention, we have today a good understanding of the factors that facilitate student success. However, actions taken to promote student success are far from always effective. The teaching-learning environments differ between institutions and provide, to a greater or lesser extent, the conditions…

Corsican is a Romance language that belongs to the Italo-Romance group. Corsican has been recognised since 1974 as a regional language in France by the Ministry of National Education. The language is officially recognised by the French Constitution as belonging to the heritage of France. Over the past 25 years, several laws, decrees, regulations,…

Research on the effects of bilingualism on third language (L3) development set in bilingual communities is scarce, outdated, and has provided mixed results. This study investigated the effects of exposure and age of onset of acquisition (AOA) of L3-English, as well as first and second language (L1/L2) skills and use, in the development of…

Using intergroup contact and stigma management communication theories, this work examines the effect of cultural teaching and learning in Spanish language classes on cultural stigma, social distance, and ethnocentrism. Additionally, this study examines how individuals respond to positive and negative messages about foreigners. Survey results…

Although international students often report satisfaction with their studies and view Canada as being tolerant and multicultural, increasing anti-Asian sentiment triggered by the global pandemic has highlighted the importance of exploring whether international students, especially from South and East Asia, experience discrimination. This study…

In Romania most Hungarian-speaking children study in their mother tongue, in Hungarian-language classes. Some of these are organised in 'mixed schools', where parallel Hungarian and Romanian classes coexist in the same institution. Although these institutions seem a good solution for inter-ethnic coexistence, no systematic research has been…

Since educators play a decisive role in the formation of language attitudes, this study analyses perceived competence, habits of language use and attitudes towards three languages in contact harboured by prospective teachers. Our research replicates a 20-year-old study and is comparative, as it parallels two European regions: the Basque Autonomous…

The study investigates the reflections on tempo-aspectual morphology in Italian expressed by undergraduate multilingual learners with previous knowledge of Swedish and a Romance language (N = 22). The reflections of the participants, who were divided into four groups depending on a combination of proficiency in their background Romance language…

This article focuses on the effects of a 21-hour Romance Intercomprehension (RIC) module on the plurilingual competence in Romance languages of no prior knowledge and EFL reading comprehension skills of a group of Italian schoolchildren aged 10-11. Data were collected pre- and post-training through a simple language identification and…

There is a sizable Hungarian minority living in Romania, who have the right to learn in their mother-tongue. While most Hungarians are enrolled in Hungarian medium education, there is a small number of families who opt for mainstream Romanian monolingual schools. According to the Law, the latter group can choose to learn Hungarian in an optional…

This study qualitatively explores how studying abroad in an English as a lingua franca context promotes student-sojourners' intercultural awareness (ICA) taking a longitudinal perspective. A group of Catalan/Spanish bilinguals and Turkish-L1 speakers were interviewed regarding their past ERASMUS experiences in terms of ICA following a stimulated…

The study addresses the research gap of how being a speaker of a Slavic language influences the ability to convey tempo-aspectual meanings in Romance languages by examining personal and impersonal narratives delivered in written and spoken mode by learners of L3 Spanish and L3 Italian with L1 Slovak and L2 English. Narratives are analysed…