143513-LLP-1-2008-1-IT-KA2-KA2NW

MERIDIUM – Multilingualism in Europe as a Resource for Immigration Dialogue Initiative among the Universities of the Mediterranean

Final Report Public Part

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Project information

Project acronym: MERIDIUM

Project title: Multilingualism in Europe as a Resource for

Immigration Dialogue Initiative among the

Universities of the Mediterranean

Project number: 143513-LLP-1-2008-1-IT-KA2-KA2NW

Sub-programme or KA: KA2

Project website: http://meridium.unistrapg.it/

Reporting period: From 01/01/2009

To 31/12/2011

Report version: 1

Date of preparation: 20/02/2012

Beneficiary organisation: University for Foreigners of Perugia

Project coordinator: Valentina Seri

Project coordinator organisation: University for Foreigners of Perugia

Project coordinator telephone number: +39.075.5746320

Project coordinator email address: valentina.seri@unistrapg.it

This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication [communication] reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein. © 2008 Copyright Education, Audiovisual & Culture Executive Agency. The document may be freely copied and distributed provided that no modifications are made, that the source is acknowledged and that this copyright notice is included.

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Executive Summary

MERIDIUM (Multilingualism in Europe as a Resource for Immigration Dialogue Initiative among the Universities of the Mediterranean) is a network project aimed at actively supporting the European policies promoting the pluri-/multilingualism in South-European countries, namely focusing on the development of strategies to verify and enhance the awareness of institutions and civil society on the linguistic diversity and its value.

The geographical area covered by the network (Italy, Republic of Malta, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia and Spain) is characterized by a comparatively very recent tradition of immigration than other European countries. The specific features of this area and the most appropriate strategies in order to effectively promote linguistic diversity within this context are the subject of interest of the MERIDIUM project. These include promoting multilingualism as a resource for social cohesion and as a fundamental condition in the formation of a true “European citizenship”, that is a common heritage of those who have been living in Europe for generations, as well as of those who migrated to Europe.

Project activities reached 57 schools in 46 different municipalities, for a total amount of 2070 children and 1805 parents. Information on the project reached almost 600 experts among the academic world and associations. Further activities were implemented with 9 schools, 12 classes, 234 pupils and 17 teachers. To reach its objectives the network based its actions on the integration of two different levels: - Documentation and research pertaining all concerned countries, to study the correlation between linguistic and educational strategies and the development/diffusion of awareness towards multilingualism and linguistic diversity. The main result in this field is represented by the sociolinguistic research that raises the interests of the scientific community and experts involved in consulting services for integration projects. From a methodological point of view, a triangulation approach has been applied considering the integration of data gathered through different methods. - Dissemination and discussion of the information coming out in the different contexts with school authorities, teachers, institutional representatives, NGOs and migrants associations so to enable the creation of common patterns for targeted actions. Key product of this stage is the Study and Documentation Centre on Multilingualism in the Mediterranean Europe, established at the University for Foreigners of Perugia. The tools disseminated thanks to the Centre were highly appreciated by teachers and school managers helping them implementing intercultural activities in primary school classes. We can say that pupils can be considered as end beneficiaries of these actions. The most important imprint that MERIDIUM leaves is a network of contacts and activities realized with schools that are still ongoing and that certainly represent the sustainable element and the future of the project. Indeed, several training initiatives are still implemented and requested by school teachers and authorities; pupils in class are going on using MERIDIUM tools for their intercultural activities. For any further information please visit our website: http://meridium.unistrapg.it/

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Table of Contents

1. PROJECT OBJECTIVES .................................................................................... 5

2. PROJECT APPROACH ...................................................................................... 6

3. PROJECT OUTCOMES & RESULTS ................................................................. 7

4. PARTNERSHIPS .............................................................................................. 10

5. PLANS FOR THE FUTURE .............................................................................. 12

6. CONTRIBUTION TO EU POLICIES ................................................................. 14

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1. Project Objectives

The project aims to support the policies on the promotion of multilingualism and linguistic integration of immigrants. MERIDIUM specific objectives are: - to analyze, through a field research, the sociolinguistic context and the school culture in areas of high migration pressure (incoming and outgoing movements) in the partner countries. This is carried out in the light of general and specific references to the enhancement of collective and individual language repertoires which could be brought about as a result of migratory flows in the region. - to propose initiatives and activities in favour of a wider diffusion of plurilingual and intercultural awareness both at the institutional and civil society levels, starting from the specific context of primary education (pupils, teachers, school authorities, families). The objective of contributing to the creation of a positive condition to linguistic diversity among the main actors involved in the management of educational systems (school authorities, teachers, pupils, families) within the countries of southern Europe lies at the base of network experience during the years of the project. The main actors at all levels of the educational system have been involved in the project from the very beginning, both as a source of data for the research and as end users of its results. That is to say, meetings and contacts with school managers and local authorities, teachers training initiatives, involvement of young students in interactive and intercultural activities. The relevant impact on this target is that MERIDIUM operates in the concerned countries in those fields that are perceived as urgent and demanding by schools that at the same time can’t hire the required expertise and above all they can’t set up specific funds to cover the related expenses. Consequently, the initiatives that highlights the value and richness of cultural and linguistic diversity and facilitate social integration are left to personal initiative of people that not always have the required tools to act in the better form. The area that concerns MERIDIUM has yet no rich research based information available, neither on migration nor on the migration induced linguistic diversity in the area. Therefore, the field research is mainly addressed to the community of researchers and experts in the field that can benefit from its results for further studies and projects. They have been principally reached during the last part of the project when tangible results could be presented and discussed. The majority of them are PhD candidates, directors of PhD schools, research project coordinators on linguistics, sociolinguistics and migration issues, sociologists, glottologists and linguists.

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2. Project Approach

MERIDIUM adopted different methodologies according to the specific project objectives they were focused on. As far as the field research is concerned a specific scientific criterion was used, the research was divided into different steps, starting from a general overview and concluding with a focus on specific areas and targets. The Research Handbook adopted by the network was the permanent tool of this in-depth perspective, leading all project activities and steps. MERIDIUM began its research with country reports to obtain information on “background elements” concerning each country of the network, than we passed to the context analysis in order to select the sampling centers. The sampling procedures were discussed among the partners during a project meeting, each country was categorized with respect to its extension and administration structure so to establish for each category quantitative limits on number of questionnaires to be administrated and schools to be surveyed. Schools were identified primarily on the basis of data provided by local education authorities. Several preliminary meetings were held in selected schools with school managers and teachers responsible for classes involved in the research, followed by final meetings aimed at discussing the results of the survey. The questionnaires administration to pupils of the fifth and sixth grade of the primary schools and their families (questionnaires A and B) was held under the guidance of a MERIDIUM researcher according to specific guidelines and procedures previously shared by all partners. The matrix for database and data entry were based on both questionnaires so to obtain different databases (A – pupils; B – parents; AB combination of both). Furthermore, it is worth mentioning some features of this specific methodology that may represent an added value: - Why we chose primary school? It represents for children and their families the first opportunity to know the culture on language education and its evaluation in the specific institution. - The sampling centers were selected excluding those with predominantly mono-ethnic characterization and avoiding the big cities. - The more effective way to reach the adult population was found to be the mediation of children, they represent a bridge between the culture of the host country and their own one, in many cases, the adults integration passes by their sons, above all in cases of unemployment the interaction with their children and the school is relevant for their migration experience.

As far as the objective concerning the activities in favour of a wider diffusion of plurilingual and intercultural awareness are concerned, a Study and Documentation Centre on Multilingualism in the Mediterranean Europe was created both as a tool of dissemination and best practices promotion.

An external quality control board composed by three international experts in multilingualism was appointed to ensure the quality of research and project milestones. They collaborated throughout the length of the project.

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3. Project Outcomes & Results

The first meeting of the project was aimed at sharing a common plan among the partners on both specific objectives. The result was a Research Handbook that allowed a coherent implementation of the activities during all the project life cycle. As far as the first specific objective of the project is concerned, in each country of the consortium the following outcomes have been produced:

- Country reports containing information on the demographic and sociolinguistic profile of each partner country, on language policies, on migration flows and on the measures taken to promote the integration of foreign citizens and their families.

- Sociolinguistic survey carried out by questionnaires administration in geographical areas with high rates of either incoming or outgoing migration. For the survey specific questionnaires have been produced according to two types of selected samples: fifth-grade (10 year-old) pupils; parents of the pupils interviewed. A matrix for the data has been created in order to obtain an on-line database shared by all partners containing all the questionnaires results. The survey revealed data on the linguistic repertoire and awareness of the interviewees, their opinions on and attitudes towards language diversity experienced in their daily life.

- Analysis of the territorial micro-contexts where the sociolinguistic survey was carried out.

- Research report, for each country, describing analytically the questionnaires results and outlining the hypotheses to be checked. The second specific objective concerning activities to raise the awareness of multilingualism have been reached through different results: - a Study and Documentation Centre on Multilingualism in the Mediterranean Europe has been established with the aim to conduct activities and offer consultation on multilingualism and linguistic diversity to institutions and private enterprises in the partner countries. Currently the main activities of the Centre consist in the collection and publication of information and of examples of good practice through a bi-monthly newsletter. - Informative materials on the results of the data collected, addressed principally to national and local institutions (CD-Rom containing a synthesis of the project and its results; brochure containing an initial summary of the data collected by means of a field survey pertaining to a first sample of 1446 adult interviewees, parents of children attending primary schools).

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- Teaching tools aimed at helping pupils to reflect about linguistic diversity and to develop positive attitudes towards languages and language acquisition.

- National seminars as a dissemination tool of these materials have been held in the partner countries of the MERIDIUM network, they were addressed to representatives from educational institutions, local associations, the tertiary sector, industry, migrant associations and political representatives. Due to the interest shown especially by those involved in the educational sphere, additional activities are still taking place in some countries of the network, including the organization of training courses for school staff. Furthermore, the research results pertaining some of the partner countries have been included in different publications:

Soliño Pazó, María Mar (2011): "MERIDIUM: El Multilingüismo en Europa com recurso para el estudio de la emigración". In: Ramos, Ana Margarida / Mociño González, Isabel (eds.), Crítica e investigación en Literatura Infantil y Juvenil. Asociación Nacional de Literatura Infantil y Juvenil / Centro de Investigaçao em Estudos da Criança; pp. 337-344. Instituto de Educaçao - Universidade do Minho. ISBN: 978-972-8952-17-4.

Lucija Čok, Maja Zadel: Slovenska Iistra med politiko sožitja in priseljeništvom /The Slovenian Istria between coexistence policy and immigration issue. Univerzitetna založba Annales, Annales Editor House. Koper - Capodistria. 2012. ISBN 978-961-6862-14-1.

- MERIDIUM final International Conference “Multilingualism and migration in Mediterranean Europe” held at the University for Foreigners of Perugia, from 23rd to 25th November 2011, focused on the discussion of the MERIDIUM project results

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according to the qualitative and quantitative data on national and local language policies supporting linguistic diversity and on perceptions and social attitudes related to multilingualism. A special attention has been paid to “new linguistic minorities” connected to recent and still ongoing migration flows in the area. In addition to MERIDIUM research groups, many invited speakers took part in the Conference, in order to discuss a wide range of issues related to multilingual societies.

A common milestone of both objectives is the Conference Proceedings, that collect the contributions of the invited speakers and the ones of the research teams drafted on the basis of the research paper.

The project website is the main way to obtain information concerning the project:

- the past editions of the newsletter are available at the following link http://meridium.unistrapg.it/?q=it/meridium-newsletter-january-2012 - the updated bibliography section can be easily consulted http://meridium.unistrapg.it/?q=it/bibliografia The Study and Documentation Centre is open to the public and it is possible to consult there a collection of books and essays on multilingualism. To ask for an appointment and to receive the informative materials, the teaching tools and the proceedings, please send an e-mail to: meridium@unistrapg.it

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4. Partnerships

Over the last two decades, the percentage of the total immigrant population in the southern European countries has risen from 2.9% to 9.5%, (source: UNPD 2009), changing them into migration receptor countries. This fast transition called for the need of adjustment with an unprecedented urgency particularly in terms of education policies.

It is worth mentioning that many countries of the Southern Europe still suffer from limitations related on the one hand to the lack of teacher training in multilingual and intercultural education and, on the other one, to the insufficient awareness of school authorities and society as a whole about the extent and value of language skills possessed by immigrant children in their native languages.

Based on these considerations, from 2008, seven universities in six countries (Italy, Malta, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia and Spain) have joined MERIDIUM network:

- Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Portugal - Universidad de Salamanca,Spain - Università per Stranieri di Perugia, Italy (coordinator) - Univerza naPrimorskem, Slovenia - Università ta’ Malta, Malta - UniversitateaTransylvania in Brasov, Romania - UniversitateaBabes-Bolyai, Cluj-Napoca, Romania

The network expertise is based on research and teaching activities in the fields of Applied Linguistics, Sociolinguistics, Sociology and Intercultural Communication. Their skills guarantee to contribute to language planning and teaching with a global and interdisciplinary approach supported by experience in these fields.

The participation of two Romanian universities is a particularly distinguishing characteristic of the network. That makes it possible a direct exchange of information and experience within the network between countries that for several years were characterised by high emigration (IOM 2008) and countries - Italy and Spain, especially - to which the outgoing migration flows are directed to and from where, in many cases, immigrants are returning home after a period of stay. Not only the Romanian children constitute one of the more numerous groups in the Italian and Spanish schools, but many of them have returned or are returning with their families to their country of origin, because of the 2009 global financial crisis that has gradually reduced the employment opportunities in the countries of emigration.

This situation constitutes a very significant scenario about the utility of building networks that support the maintenance of L1 during migration and favour at the same time the maintenance and further acquisition of skills in the L2 after the return to the Country of origin.

In a broader perspective the composition of migratory groups significantly differs from country to country of this area as it may be more or less homogeneous in terms of nationality and / or language, and the different socio-demographic characteristics of the hosting societies highly contribute to the unique conditions of MERIDIUM area as

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well. The initiation of dialogue and networking among emergent immigration countries, as those of MERIDUM network are, especially if focused on the similarities they show beyond phenomenological differences at first sight, can contribute positively to the development of policies and practice in the respective countries that avoid ignoring the experience and knowledge that are gathered when dealing with similar problems in other areas. During the project the network benefited from direct links to stakeholders and target users not officially included in the consortium. Namely, tight contacts have been established with regional scholastic offices and school staff (both managers and teachers) who joined the administration of questionnaires and attended the national seminars in 2011. Thanks to this new partnership, MERIDIUM network had the chance to launch other pilot initiatives directly related to the testing of a teacher training format on intercultural and multilingual issues and of materials produced during the project in school classes.

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5. Plans for the Future

The sociolinguistic research so as the data and contacts gathered during the project represent a permanent resource for MERIDIUM network that aims to further exploit it. Actually, the Study and Documentation Centre remains a permanent heritage of the project, further projects on multilingualism will be carried on capitalizing the MERIDIUM experience. Furthermore, the bimonthly newsletter remains a tool for disseminating best practices and keep our informal network informed on the MERIDIUM activities.

The MERIDIUM community established during the project includes not only formal partners but also an informal network thanks to the activities implemented. Such network constitutes the future of MERIDIUM and it is composed by: - the scientific community that took part to the international conference or reached by the spread of MERIDIUM materials; - school managers and teachers involved in the administration of questionnaires and in the national seminars; - migrants and citizens, adults and pupils reached by the questionnaires administration and the dissemination of the results; - local authorities with a specific focus on social and welfare affairs reached by project dissemination. MERIDIUM network have planned to sustain its community by the means of the Study and Documentation Centre, that will keep on maintaining the main activities related to each specific target user, according to the following plan:

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This scheme has already been implemented in Italy, where the comics realized during the project allowed schools and teachers to set up specific intercultural activities thanks to a specific training course held by MERIDIUM researchers aimed at testing the products in class (for a total of approximately 40 hours, divided into initial teacher training, activities in class, mid-term and assessment meetings). This testing activity named “Babel and the languages: promoting and enhancing the pluringualism in primary and secondary school” was held for the period 2011 - 2012 as an additional initiative of the project out of the initial plans and it is still going on thanks to the wide interest of many teachers and to the positive reaction and feedback of children. It consists in a course that helps children to: - reflect on the learning of a language other than their own; - become linguistic mediators of themselves, so to promote a better understanding of the structure of language systems and the relationships between languages. At the same time it represents an encouragement for the natives, the "not-yet-citizens" and foreign children just arrived in the host country to develop and enhance their own multi-linguistic identities.

Furthermore, the MERIDIUM partners are working on an essay that overcomes the conference final proceedings and that will focus on the core part of the research. The essay will be published by Cambridge Scholars Publishing. Further information on how to buy the book will be published in the website.

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6. Contribution to EU policies

MERIDIUM contributes to develop the awareness of the importance of multilingualism as a tool of citizenship and social inclusion, according to the Lisbon priorities. Several European documents such as the Action Plan Promoting language learning and linguistic diversity (European Commission, 2003), the New Framework Strategy for Multilingualism (European Commission, 2005), the communication Multilingualism: an asset for Europe and a shared commitment (European Commission, 2008c) outline an ecological approach to multilingualism. MERIDIUM strategy and activities share the same commitment in the belief that the institutional economic and social actors are simultaneously asked to implement structural and cultural actions to facilitate and encourage the acquisition, maintenance and use of different languages by citizens without prejudice in terms of their status (whether official, regional or minority language) nor of their tradition of settlement (“autochtonous vs non-autochtonous”).

The project targets both to migrants and citizens, interacting with the society as a whole, so to encourage social cohesion and intercultural dialogue as main Lifelong Learning Programme objectives. The Study and Documentation centre, the sociolinguistic research and the dissemination events and materials are addressed to all citizens at all levels. Namely, the Centre is available to experts in the field and to institutional representatives as a bibliographical resource and as a consultation tool to design and implement policies on multilingualism. The research in the field and the materials resulted from it address namely to the school community, teachers, pupils and migrants, implementing activities to valorize the richness of a multilingual and multicultural society with a transversal approach that covers more LLP subprograms. Again, the research results are useful to experts and political actors to evaluate the situation of multilingualism in the targeted countries and reflect on the best strategies to be adopted so to promote the mainstreaming of the most significant policies in the field.

MERIDIUM network supports the promotion of the linguistic diversity within Europe according to the LLP objectives. Indeed, according to the report EACEA-Eurydice (2009), European Union countries show different conditions regarding the policies on multilingualism and the implemented activities helping migrants to maintain / strengthen their mother tongue skills. Several countries, with a specific stress on those involved in the MERIDIUM network, focus their integration strategies on the teaching of the language of instruction as L2, favoring an approach that unfortunately supports - with regard to immigrant children - the "deficit theory" (in the language of instruction) rather than the perception of the richness of language skills they bring. In these countries, the public discourse on immigration is still largely characterized by alarmism, which amplifies the problems of immigration, leaving apart how the integration should be meant and realized.

In a few words such an attitude contributes to a vicious circle, where the monolingual habitus is perpetuated damaging the development and cohesion of the societies that adopt it. MERIDIUM tries to interrupt this vicious circle so to implement a virtuous circle to promote the communication in different languages, according to the Lisbon key competences, so to help the implementation of multilingualism policies in the Mediterranean Europe as a tool of social integration for migrants also as a key to improve employment opportunities.