11th EDiLiC Conference - Plurilingual Literacies in Education: Pluralistic Approaches inside and beyond the classroom

Italian teachers’ beliefs and practices about multilingual education in a course on the integrated didactic approach to languages and pedagogical translanguaging

24 Jul 2025, 12:15

20m

Raum/Room/Salle 213 (Von-Melle-Park 8)

Individual paper / Exposés individuels / Einzelvorträge 2: Students’ and teachers’ education / Formation des étudiants et des enseignants / Erziehung und Bildung von Lehrenden und Lernenden Slot 6

Speaker

Camilla Spaliviero (Ca' Foscari University of Venice)

Description

The growing linguistic and cultural diversity in today’s classrooms underscores the need for a multilingual turn in teacher professionalisation (Putjata et al., 2022). Research has explored the effects of training in multilingual education on teachers’ beliefs and practices (e.g. Gorter & Arocena, 2020; Lorenz, Krulatz & Torgersen, 2021), but limited attention has been given to the teaching of Italian abroad (Cinganotto & Turchetta, 2020). This study investigates the impact of a professional development intervention on multilingual education, focusing on the integrated didactic approach to languages and pedagogical translanguaging, involving 19 in-service Italian teachers at the Dante Alighieri Society in Argentina. The study aims to examine the changes in teachers’ beliefs and practices regarding multilingual education (Borg, 2018). The research adopted a mixed-methods approach and a longitudinal case study design (Yin, 2018). Data collection included pre- and post-training questionnaires, diaries, focus groups, and a researcher’s journal. The results reveal that, despite some persisting monolingual views, by the end of the course teachers reported increased awareness, confidence, and motivation to value students’ entire linguistic repertoires in their teaching practices.

Borg, S. (2018). Evaluating the impact of professional development. RELC Journal, 49(2), 195-216.
Cinganotto, L., & Turchetta, B. (2020). La formazione dei docenti di italiano L2 all’estero: Risultati di un’indagine internazionale. Italiano LinguaDue, 12(2), 20-37.
Gorter, D., & Arocena, E. (2020). Teachers’ beliefs about multilingualism in a course on translanguaging. System, 92, 1-10.
Lorenz, E., Krulatz, A., & Torgersen, E. N. (2020). Embracing linguistic and cultural diversity in multilingual EAL classrooms: The impact of professional development on teacher beliefs and practice. Teaching and Teacher Education, 105, 1-14.
Putjata, G., Brizić, K., Goltsev, E., & Olfert, H. (2022). Introduction: Towards a multilingual turn in teacher professionalization. Language and Education, 36(5), 399-403.
Yin, R. K. (2018). Case study research and applications: Designs and methods. Sage.

References

Borg, S. (2018). Evaluating the impact of professional development. RELC Journal, 49(2), 195-216.
Cinganotto, L., & Turchetta, B. (2020). La formazione dei docenti di italiano L2 all’estero: Risultati di un’indagine internazionale. Italiano LinguaDue, 12(2), 20-37.
Gorter, D., & Arocena, E. (2020). Teachers’ beliefs about multilingualism in a course on translanguaging. System, 92, 1-10.
Lorenz, E., Krulatz, A., & Torgersen, E. N. (2020). Embracing linguistic and cultural diversity in multilingual EAL classrooms: The impact of professional development on teacher beliefs and practice. Teaching and Teacher Education, 105, 1-14.
Putjata, G., Brizić, K., Goltsev, E., & Olfert, H. (2022). Introduction: Towards a multilingual turn in teacher professionalization. Language and Education, 36(5), 399-403.
Yin, R. K. (2018). Case study research and applications: Designs and methods. Sage.

Content/contenu/Inhalt 2

La diversité linguistique et culturelle croissante dans les classes souligne la nécessité d’une tournure multilingue dans la formation des enseignants (Putjata et al., 2022). Nombreuses études ont analysé les effets des formations en éducation multilingue (Gorter & Arocena, 2020 ; Lorenz, Krulatz & Torgersen, 2021), mais peu de recherches concernent l’enseignement de l’italien à l’étranger (Cinganotto & Turchetta, 2020). Cette étude évalue l’impact d’un cours en éducation multilingue, axé sur l’approche didactique intégrée et le translanguaging pédagogique, impliquant 19 enseignants d’italien à la Société Dante Alighieri en Argentine. L’objectif est d’examiner les changements dans les croyances et pratiques des enseignants (Borg, 2018). Une méthodologie mixte et un design d’étude de cas longitudinal (Yin, 2018) ont été adoptés. Les données ont été recueillies via des questionnaires pré- et post-formation, des journaux de bord, des groupes de discussion et un journal de recherche. Les résultats montrent qu’en dépit de certaines perspectives monolingues persistantes, les enseignants ont développé une prise de conscience, une confiance et une motivation accrues pour valoriser les répertoires linguistiques de leurs élèves dans leurs pratiques pédagogiques.