Conference Agenda

Despite the significant presence of Arabic-speaking communities in Italy, comprising 711,309 individuals (14% of the foreign population), there is research a lack of research examining both top-down and bottom-up Language Policies (LP) (Spolsky, 2004) regarding the learning opportunities and the maintenance of Arabic as a Home Language (HL).

This presentation aims to bridge the gap in exploring top-down LP in formal Arabic teaching across all educational levels and family language policies (FLP) for its integrational transmission (King et al., 2008). Employing a mixed methods approach, including questionnaires for 1200 teachers and 200 Arabic-speaking citizens in Italy, along with interviews and focus groups, the study investigates these dynamics. Data analysis involves statistical methods using SPSS and Thematic Analysis with NVivo to comprehensively explore the subject.

The findings highlight the absence of top-down LP addressing the dissemination and instruction of Arabic in Italy. Despite historical interest, formal educational offerings at schools remain nearly nonexistent. While the data seems more promising at the university level, challenges persist in incorporating the teaching of Arabic dialects. The current scenario often focuses on a generic form of Arabic, typically Modern Standard Arabic. This issue becomes even more significant when considering FLP, which emphasize attempts to maintain the HL, represented by the respective dialects. The research underscores the resilience and resourcefulness demonstrated by Arabic-speaking communities in their efforts to maintain the Arabic language(s), in which the informal and non-formal educational contexts (e.g., family environment, cultural associations or mosques) play the most pivotal role.

The research outcomes have both theoretical and practical implications for family and top-down LP, contributing to social inclusion and a democratic culture by promoting the valorization of HL.

King, K.A., Fogle, L., & Logan-Terry, A. (2008). Family Language Policy. Language and Linguistics Compass, 2, 907-922.

Spolsky, B. (2004). Language Policy. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

The research delves into the dynamics between Taiwanese language families and school linguistic ecologies, particularly focusing on the negotiation of family language policies. In Taiwan, the historical legacy of the Mandarin-only policy has established Mandarin Chinese as the lingua franca in educational settings and daily communications across diverse ethnicities. Consequently, younger Taiwanese generations have undergone a process described as "forgetting the mother tongue and remembering the national language" (Mair 2003). Conscious of this linguistic shift, some parents endeavor to engage their children in the Taiwanese language, often reacquainting themselves as new speakers of their native dialect due to periods of disuse. Yet, they face significant challenges, especially during the first couple of their children’s school years.

Situated within the "ecological transition" framework (Bronfenbrenner, 1979), this study recognizes that a child's bilingual growth is influenced by various stakeholders—including teachers, family, and peers—and their respective roles in offering encouragement, support, or even in enforcing linguistic prohibitions and reductions in language exposure. These diverse influences collectively contribute to the equilibrium or disparity in a child's linguistic ecology, particularly concerning their mother tongue.

Through observation and interviews with 12 families who use the Taiwanese language at home, this study investigates the impact of family language policies and language management strategies on preserving and continuing the mother tongue in formal education. By integrating analytical perspectives from language socialization and language management theories, this research provides an in-depth examination of post-schooling language practices among children. Furthermore, it offers nuanced recommendations for Taiwanese language families navigating their children’s linguistic journey throughout their school education.

This study examines the effects of the last 20 years of federal language-in-education policies in Russia on the maintenance of Tuvan, an indigenous language native to the Republic of Tuva in southern Siberia near the Mongolian border. Language policies instituted in the 1990s after the fall of the Soviet Union prioritized Tuvan-medium instruction and Russian-Tuvan bilingual education in Tuva’s schools. However, since the early 2000s, changes in those policies have progressively marginalized non-Russian indigenous languages, including Tuvan, in schools and other sectors of society. How have these changes affected the intergenerational transmission and maintenance of Tuvan? Drawing on language ecologies theory, this study aims to understand the multilingual proficiency, practices and beliefs of three generations of Tuvan-Russian bilinguals. Participants included 17 Tuvan-Russian bilinguals from three generations: teenagers (13-16 years old), parents (30s-40s), and grandparents (60-70s). They completed a language background survey, a week-long language use diary, and an interview about their language attitudes. The data from three sources were triangulated and discourse analysis of interview data was conducted. The findings reveal a clear pattern of language shift among generations away from Tuvan and toward Russian monolingualism, suggesting that the federal language-in-education policies are having the indented effect. While the grandparents are Tuvan dominant, the parents are the most bilingual generation with some reporting higher proficiency and/or use in either Tuvan or Russian. The teenagers, in contrast, report being Russian dominant with some competence in Tuvan, but caution that their younger siblings are largely monolingual in Russian. The older generations report frequent linguistic accommodation to their primarily Russian-speaking younger family members. Participants overwhelmingly identify the policy changes resulting in the removal of Tuvan from primary and secondary schools as the cause of this dramatic language shift and report their desire for bilingual Tuvan-Russian language-in-education policy.

English, globally recognized as a lingua franca, holds a significant role in diverse sectors such as business, education, and tourism (Phillipson 2008). Its international impact continues to grow due to globalization, migration, and the digital transformation in education, spurred by the COVID-19 pandemic. The aim of the study is to investigate the role of English in multilingual families in Cyprus, Estonia, Germany, Israel and Sweden, with a focus on its impact on Family Language Policies (FLP) and the following RQs: (1): What are the beliefs of parents towards English as an L3 in five non-English counties which differ with three circles of English users? (2): Are there differences and similarities in the use of English as an L3 among children in five counties as a lingua academica and a lingua emotiva?

A total of 50 multilingual families, with ten from each country, were under investigation. Researchers used a qualitative approach for data collection and analysis, conducting a series of case studies. The study involved interviews with parents with immigrant and minority backgrounds on their beliefs and investigated the role of English in FLP, online education, its effects on the use and maintenance of HL and MLs, and its impact on (digital) literacy skills development.

The findings suggested that English presence depends on its societal role. Specifically, exogamous families use English for language brokering, serving as a mediation tool for parent-child communication. English usage at home is influenced by schooling. The COVID-19 pandemic and the digital shift in education have increased English-mediated online activities. The study indicated that English has permeated the language environments and practices of multilingual families, especially during the pandemic. Families navigated a multilingual situation, supporting HL, ML, and English.

Reference

Phillipson, R. (2008). Lingua franca or lingua frankensteinia? English in European integration and globalisation. World Englishes, 27(2).