This study investigates the processing of long-distance syntactic dependencies by native speakers of Slovenian (L1) who are advanced learners of Italian as a second language (L2), compared with monolingual Italian speakers. Using a self-paced reading task, we compare sensitivity of the early-acquired L2 learners to syntactic anomalies in their L2…

This case study reflects on how Performative Foreign Language and Culture Education: (1) encourages students to be in charge of their learning processes through embodiment; (2) fosters community, sense of belonging, and the disruption of hierarchical norms by unleashing the power of discomfort; (3) brings to light the issue of assessment as a…

Emoticons play a key role in digital written interactions. Since the 1980s research has highlighted their growing relevance, as they allow to convey increasingly rich emotional, social, and pragmatic information. This article contributes to this area of research by providing an analysis of emoticons as structural markers in Twitter interactions.…

The present study looks into the effects of early multilingual education by investigating linguistic knowledge and metalinguistic awareness in young learners at the primary level. The study aims to establish whether children in multilingual education programmes perform higher on a measure of metalinguistic awareness and with regards to their L1…

Due to globalisation and migration, multilingualism has become both a reality and an aim of education systems across Europe, affecting how language education is shaped. To improve the ways in which schools cater for language education in diverse settings, research is required on the potentials of multilingualism in order to design curricula that…

The aim of this article is to explore how drama activities can provide an opportunity for adult migrants to develop their competence in the language of the host community, in this case Italian, in a protected and anxiety-free space. Language anxiety has been classified as a specific feeling of apprehension due to the risks language learners may be…

This article focuses on linguistic and cultural representation in AVT as a medium of intercultural literacy. It has two objectives: it puts to the test increasingly accepted assumptions about AVT modalities' distinctive meaning potential and expressive capacity, with a case study of communicative practices in their representation, via AVT, in…

How are lexical representations retrieved during sign production? Similar to spoken languages, lexical representation in sign language must be accessed through semantics when naming pictures. However, it remains an open issue whether lexical representations in sign language can be accessed via routes that bypass semantics when retrieval is…

Literacy plays such an important role in our lives that being able to know who we are as literate individuals is paramount to live and thrive in a complex literate society in the 21st century. Understanding the relationship between an individual's background (cultural, linguistic, social, political, familial, educational, communal and economic)…

This article looks at the presence of Italian in the linguistic landscape (LL) of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Rather surprisingly, Italian is quite visible, and it might even be the most used European language after English. After a general introduction on the Italian language and Malaysia, including the latter's LL, the article goes on to outline the…

The article sounds the potentials of multilingualism as a resource for geography lessons. In detail, it examines the use of multilingual teaching media and their effect on the comprehension of the content. First, the potentials of multilingualism for geography lessons are theoretically developed. After the development and adaption of the material,…

Purpose: Attempts to cultivate a multilingual mindset in education in South Tyrol find an obstacle in educational norms, structures and policies that divide students into linguistically distinct schools based on their self-identified main language. Education in the region is administered through three separate educational authorities --…

Different words generally have different meanings. However, some words seemingly share similar meanings. An example are null and overt pronouns in Italian, which both refer to an individual in the discourse. Is the interpretation and processing of a form affected by the existence of another form with a similar meaning? With a pupillary response…

Heritage language (HL) speakers seem to diverge from monolingual speakers in the acquisition of syntax-discourse interface phenomena. However, most of the studies reporting this finding do not make any distinction between different types of syntax-discourse interface structures. Therefore, it is an open question whether these structures are…

Using autobiographical experiences as a framework for inquiry, this article sets out to question the often unexamined assumptions that surround the definition of 'proficiency' in second/foreign languages. In so doing, it opens up possibilities of inquiry into the power-laden relationships between speaker agency, cultural belonging and…