This paper explores how a transnational approach to university language classes may help develop students' intercultural competence. Researchers have shown that the integration of literature in the language class has the potential to raise intercultural competence (Deardorff, 2006), especially when migrant and travel literatures are used (Matos,…

Migration is a significant life event that usually triggers cross-cultural preparedness and the need for learning, even transformative learning. This exploratory study answers two research questions: How do Nigerian immigrants describe their preparedness for cross-cultural transition in Italy? What are the indications of transformative learning…

Background: The purpose of this research is to analyze the perception of teachers and their thinking about two specific and functional issues which are often deemed to be controversial, that is, the acquisition, by recently arrived migrant students of the host language and the role that the professional services of a cultural mediator may have in…

The study of inclusion models has regained attention in light of recent migratory phenomena. In this context, research in the area of second language (L2) teaching methodologies occupies a central role because it examines the most effective teaching approaches to promote the learning of a language that will be instrumental in the inclusion of the…

The majority of multilinguals immersed in different cultures report feeling different when switching languages. Although the influence of personality on self-perceptions has been investigated, little attention has been paid to acculturation aspects. The present study is based on a mixed-method approach combining questionnaire and interview data.…

In this paper, we present a study of adult asylum seekers learning Italian as a Second Language through Process Drama. Adopting an ecology of language approach, we first set the scene by examining some of the most salient issues regarding the language learning needs of asylum seekers and refugees, including the challenge of fostering both language…

This article reports on an inter-generational inter-cultural pilot project carried out in suburban Melbourne which supports the second-language acquisition of younger people and enhances the social inclusion of older people of migrant background. The article begins with an outline of the multilingual context in which the project is based. The…

This paper reports on a longitudinal ethnographic study of the language socialisation of a group of Moroccan adolescents who migrated to Italy in the late 1990s. The approach is based on the notion of language socialisation, which sees the process of acquiring a language as linked to that of becoming a member of a culture. The participants live in…

Contents of this chronology and fact book include the following: (i) Editor's foreword; (ii) Chronology; (iii) Twenty-one documents, ranging from "Charter granting Christopher Columbus the Prerogatives and Privileges of his Voyage--April 30, 1492," to "On the Care of Migrants," issued by Pope Paul VI on August 22, 1969; Nine appendices, including:…

This paper begins with a very simple theoretical question: Do the cultural heritages of the Old World persist among children and grandchildren of the immigrants from the various European countries? Two ethnic groups--the Irish Catholics and the Italians--about whose country of origin there exists something of an anthropological and sociological…

Until 1947, Australia was considered one of the most monolingual countries in the world. However, now there are more than a million bilingual Australians who regularly use a language other than English when talking with friends and families, or on religious or social occasions. (SL)