Identity Trajectories of Adult Second Language Learners : Learning Italian in Australia

This book explores the motivations of adult second language (L2) learners to learn Italian in continuing education settings in Australia. It focuses on their motivational drives, learning trajectories and related dynamics of identity development triggered by the learning process. Central to the study are adult L2 learners, who are still a largely under-researched and growing group of learners, and readers will gain a better understanding of the learning process of this specific group of learners and ideas for sustaining L2 adult learning motivation in continuing education settings. Furthermore, the book discusses the role played by the Italian migrant community in Australia in making Italian a sought-after language to learn. It explores how a migrant community may influence motivation, and highlights and expands on the notion of L2 learning contexts, showing the existence of sociocultural environments where second language learning trajectories are affected by the presence of migrant groups.

Cristiana Palmieri is a research affiliate within the Department of Italian Studies, School of Languages and Cultures at the University of Sydney, Australia. Her research interests lie in adult education, lifelong learning and sociolinguistics, with a focus on adult second language learning motivation and identity.