“I felt as free as a bird!”: Exploring multilingual writing strategies to talk about migration

Abstract

In recent years, research has highlighted the benefits of multilingual education in classrooms, such as developing students’ metalinguistic awareness, positively impacting literacy, and promoting a favourable attitude towards linguistic diversity (Ascenzi Moreno & Espinosa, 2018). Due to various factors, like emergent bilinguals’ linguistic skills and lack of materials (García & Kleifgen, 2020), research has mainly focused on oral activities. Yet, analysing students’ writing practices is crucial, as it reveals how their linguistic repertoire shapes every stage of writing, and it allows for an examination of written texts as social constructions. Drawing from this research gap, this presentation aims to explore the impact of multilingual education on biliteracy, both for children with migratory backgrounds and monolinguals. To do so, we will present the results of a study conducted within the broader AltRoParlante project, a network of Italian schools that, since 2016, has adopted multilingual pedagogies as an integral part of the curriculum (Carbonara & Scibetta, 2021). The data collection process involved gathering written texts on the themes of migration and travel from students aged 10 to 14, as well as conducting focus groups with the same students. Employing a mixed-method approach, the written texts were analysed both from a linguistic perspective using an observation grid and from a thematic perspective. Moreover, the focus groups were explored through a Reflexive Thematic Analysis (Braun & Clarke 2021) in order to identify (multilingual) writing strategies and motivations. Results showed diverse linguistic and stylistic strategies, indicating both a persistent monolingual ideology in written work and the potential of systematic multilingual education to counter this, fostering positive attitudes and producing creative, socially significant texts.