Teaching as narrative. The use of ELF in the IFL class in the migration setting of Southern Italy

This article illustrates the results of a three-year research project conducted in the migration setting of Southern Italy from 2015 to 2018 focused on: 1) theorising English as a Lingua Franca (ELF) as a "translingual practice" in migratory settings across the Mediterranean; 2) scrutinizing the possibility of a pedagogy of contact in the Italian as a Foreign Language (IFL) classroom; 3) highlighting issues of self-translation and reflexivity in teaching and learning practices in the migration setting. Considering teaching as a narrative phenomenon, the article explores the third phase of the project, which was based on a series of interviews with the IFL teachers, conducted in 2017–2018, aimed at highlighting such issues as the use of ELF as a co-learning language, of autobiographical elements and self-translation practice and of self-reflexivity and improvisation. Results show the extent to which approaching students, who are also beneficiaries in a national humanitarian project, required an effort to eliminate the ideal of linguistic purity, as well as all cultural and linguistic prejudices.

这篇文章阐述了2015至2018年在意大利南部移民环境中开展的一项为期三年的研究项目的结果，该项目聚焦于以下三个维度：1）将英语作为通用语（English as a Lingua Franca, ELF）理论化为地中海移民场景下的“跨语言实践”；2）审视意大利语作为外语（Italian as a Foreign Language, IFL）课堂中接触教学法的可行性；3）凸显移民环境下教与学实践中的自我翻译及反思性议题。鉴于教学是一种叙事现象，本文探讨了项目的第三阶段——该阶段依托2017至2018年间对IFL教师的系列访谈，旨在突出ELF作为共学语言的应用、自传元素与自我翻译实践、反思性与即兴发挥等核心问题。研究结果显示，面对同时身为国家人道主义项目受益者的学生群体，教师需着力摒弃语言纯粹性的理想化认知，以及所有文化与语言层面的偏见。