In this article, we present a multidimensional school climate questionnaire, based on an adaptation and validation of the Socio-Educational Environment Questionnaire, which is an instrument developed in Canada, assessing several dimensions of school climate. In particular, the aim of this research was to create a Multidimensional School Climate…

There is a general recognition that learning of foreign languages is in decline in Australia. This paper uses the social constructivist theory as a conceptual framework to report on a project where university language students supported their high school peers in the learning of their specialist language in New South Wales, Australia. The project…

In this article, we present an analysis of individual factors that influence how well a person can read and understand a text in an unfamiliar, but closely related language--the basis of the so-called teaching of intercomprehension. Our work analyzes these relations from two normally separate perspectives. The first perspective focuses on how…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the validation of the Organizational Justice Index (OJI) by Hoy and Tarter (2004), a self-report questionnaire for teachers' perceptions of fairness in the operation and administration of schools. Design/methodology/approach: In two studies the authors validated the Italian version of the OJI.…

This paper explores the role of mediated intergroup contact in improving intergroup attitudes between Italian speakers and German speakers in South Tyrol, Italy. Specifically, we examine how German-language television consumption affects attitudes towards the German-speaking group among Italian- speaking youth. The data ("N" = 229) were…

Web-based video is one of the technologies which can support meaningful learning from practice--in addition to practical benefits such as accessibility of practices, flexibility in updating information, and incorporating video into multimedia resources. A multiple case study was set up on the use of a web-based video learning environment in two…

This article addresses the issue of teacher codeswitching in the teaching of Italian in Malta. The analysis of teacher codeswitching shows that the learners' first language (L1), Maltese, is used as a pedagogical tool to enhance language learning. Teachers frequently resort to Maltese to provide more learner-friendly explanations of grammatical…

The Assessment of Language Competence (ALC) certificates is an annual, international testing program developed by the Australian Council for Educational Research to test the listening and reading comprehension skills of lower to middle year levels of secondary school. The tests are developed for three levels in French, German, Italian and…