Bilingual education and the linguistic heritage of Italian students in the United Kingdom: a case study exploring identity

Thesis

This thesis aims to explore family and learner perceptions of bilingualism and the impact of bilingual education on adolescent heritage language learners’ (HLLs) identities. The focus demographics are Italian HLLs, living in the United Kingdom. The segmented Italian national identity, characterised by the lack of inter-regional mutual intelligibility, poses an interesting and unique context to this study. Therefore, it also explores the interaction of this context on the bilingual identities of heritage learner children. The theoretical framework for this study will be Norton Pierce’s theory of identity (1995) which represented learner identity with three characteristics central to Second Language Acquisition (SLA): multiple, a site of struggle, and subject to change (Norton and McKinney, 2011; Norton and Toohey, 2011). The research procedures followed a qualitative design using a multi-case study approach involving three adolescent participants and their parents. The students’ Italian education was extra-curricular, provided by complementary schools, self-taught online programmes and taught by parents. It reports language learning experiences to extract themes about identity formation in bilingual education. The data collection was split into two main steps and answered two research questions. Firstly, parents were asked to complete a questionnaire which was used to select participants and understand the student’s background and previous language learning experiences. Secondly Students were asked to complete a questionnaire to self-rate their Italian proficiency and to complete linguistic portraits which constituted the primary research tool for providing visual insight into their association between language and identity. These portraits were then used as stimuli during semi-structured interviews which were coded and analysed through NVivo. The data revealed that positive perceptions of bilingualism were associated with social and linguistic capital, however students were aware of the hierarchy of languages and public opinions led to negative views of their heritage language (HL). Generally, bilingual education seemed to support their national identity formation by creating a safe environment where they could express their bilingual identities. Finally, the study also documented aspects of the fragmentation of the Italian community living abroad and the influence of regional identities within this context.

Authors: Taffarello, M

• DOI: 10.5287/ora-xqvedekkx
• Type of award: MSc taught course
• Level of award: Masters
• Awarding institution: University of Oxford
• Language: English
• Keywords: ALSLA; ALSLA2024; identity; Italian community; bilingual education; heritage language
• Subjects: Education, Bilingual; Group identity; Applied linguistics; Heritage language speakers