This study examines the extent to which the motivation of university students of Italian in Melbourne (Australia) is influenced by the visibility of a local Italian community. The research relies on data collected by open-ended questions and two Likert items from a survey study (n?=?74) as well as in-depth interviews (n?=?5). The findings show…

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…

This article presents the findings of an online survey conducted amongst bi- (English, Italian) and trilingual (English, Italian and dialect) Italo-Australian youth, exploring self-assessed language competence, self-reported language choice in various communicative situations, and attitudes towards heritage languages. These young people appear…

This paper investigates the role of supplementary schools as grassroots educational initiatives whose reach extend beyond individual educational trajectories for minoritized youth. We examine how these schools serve as community forces, emphasizing the importance of resources and relationships. Drawing on the theoretical frameworks of funds of…

The Italian linguistic space has radically changed through the onset of the new millennium due to the presence of innovative multiple linguistic practices that have taken place as a consequence of deterritorialization processes. Furthermore, Latino diaspora in recent years have fostered the appearance of new forms of Global Spanishes (García and…

Bilingual children show a number of advantages in the domain of communication. The aim of the current study was to investigate whether differences in interactions are present before productive language skills emerge. For a duration of 5 minutes, 64 parents and their 14-month-old infants explored a decorated room together. The coordination of their…

This article tells the story of a child immigrant's L2 acquisition process. The narrative demonstrates the effects of social and academic factors on motivation to acquire an L2 and the result of immigration at a young age on cultural identity formation. The article begins by discussing the need for research into sociocultural factors in the second…

Suggests that ethnic American literature might help promote FL study through themes also recurrent in the target group literature and through English usages reminiscent of target language features. Sees these shared characteristics as a potential aid to learning, usually obscured by the emphasis placed on contrastive aspects. (MES)

A brief historical review shows the cultural influence of Italy on England, a cultural climate the colonists brought to America. The attitude of J. Adams, J. Madison, T. Jefferson and B. Franklin towards the Italian language are reported. In particular, Franklin's considerable appreciation for the Italian culture is pointed out. (MS)

A reader on Italians in Rhode Island, which provides ethnic material for Italian language courses at level three of high school or at third semester of college, is presented. Contents are as follows: a history of the Italians in Rhode Island; a profile of the lives of some of the prominent members of the Italian community; and an anthology of…

This article discusses the implications of the present trend towards bilingual education in the United States. Special attention is paid to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, which has established bilingual programs in all of its public schools. Included among the possible effects of the new law are the following points of interest: (1) Students…

This resource guide for teachers of Italian and their students provides the following: (1) a list of awards and scholarships available to students of Italian and/or Italian American students, and the institutions through which the awards and scholarships are available; (2) a list of the sources for 16mm films available both at no cost and for a…

This handbook for teachers of Italian consists of a collection of 16 essays by noted professionals in the field of Italian instruction: (1) "Fundamentals of Language Learning and Language Instruction," by A. Papalia; (2) "Linguistic Methodology and the Teacher of Italian," by R.J. Di Pietro; (3) "Preparation for Language Teaching," by F.J. Bosco;…

A review of historically and sociologically significant cultural interrelations between Italy and its language and the world commences with a historical sketch from the Roman period. The author examines reasons for the rebirth of interest in Italian culture and suggests that the best approach to developing an appreciation of the culture is the…

With reference to the current context of intercultural education in Germany, this paper describes the concept behind a series of specially designed audio-visual media that feature stories and games as the focus of novel forms of presentation. Four audio cassettes and four video films, each with an accompanying explanatory booklet, present Italian…