Further Language Learning in Linguistic and Cultural Diverse Contexts: A Mixed Methods Research in a European Border Region

Further Language Learning in Linguistic and Cultural Diverse Contexts deals with the interdisciplinary area of multilingual and intercultural education and the increasing interest in sociolinguistic and sociocultural aspects of further language learning. It presents the individual, family, scholastic, and extra-scholastic circumstances that promote or limit language learning and its outcomes among young learners of a further language.

The intertwined, dynamic interrelationship between intercultural and language learning at primary school is shown by means of the European border region South Tyrol that is characteristic for its linguistic and cultural diversity and serves to demonstrate authentic benefits, challenges, and difficulties in hyper complex and super-diverse contexts. The book analyzes experiences and perceptions as reported by primary school teachers, children, and parents, considering the impact of many factors on further language learning, including school organization, extra curricular activities, and self-initiated encounter pedagogy.

Further Language Learning in Linguistic and Cultural Diverse Contexts will be vital reading for academics, researchers, and post-graduate students in the fields of education, language learning, sociolinguistics, interculturalism, and super-diversity.

Barbara Gross is a Researcher and Lecturer at the Faculty of Education at the Free University of Bozen-Bolzano, Italy. Her current research activities focus mainly on linguistic and cultural diversity in educational settings.