Second-generation Albanian students in the Italian school system and their relationship with their mother tongue: a case study.

Abstract

This dissertation is a case study that investigates the relationship second-generation Albanian students, who use Italian as a second language, have with their mother tongue. Our work was divided into three chapters. The first chapter provided an overview of the policy about plurilingualism as well as a theoretical framework of bilingualism and the concept of second language acquisition. In the second chapter, second-generation immigrants under a sociolinguistic perspective were presented, with a particular focus on second-generation Albanian students. Moreover, the importance of maintaining the native language was exposed. Finally, after a theoretical framework about the motivation to learn the native language, the third chapter illustrated the case study. The purpose of the case study was to examine the relationship second-generation Albanian students have with their mother tongue. In order to do so, a questionnaire was submitted to the participants of the survey. Participants were second-generation Albanian children and pre-teenagers who attend elementary and middle school in the province of Treviso in Italy. Through the questionnaire, we observed how second-generation Albanian students use their native language and perceive it. Furthermore, to go in-depth with the survey, we examined to what extent the participants are motivated to study their mother tongue. Finally, on account of the data that emerged from the questionnaire and the literature review previously consulted, it was possible to observe participants’ relationship with their mother tongue, their viewpoint, and the type of bilingualism that emerged from the results.