Multilingualism and English: how does L1 affect language attitudes at a trilingual university?
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| Title: | Multilingualism and English: how does L1 affect language attitudes at a trilingual university? |
|---|---|
| Authors: | Burton, Graham Francis1 (AUTHOR) grahamfrancis.burton@unibz.it, Gatti, Maria Cristina1 (AUTHOR) |
| Source: | International Journal of Multilingualism. Aug2025, Vol. 22 Issue 3, p1285-1301. 17p. |
| Subject Terms: | *Multilingualism, *Attitudes toward language, *Multilingual education, *Language policy, Linguistic minorities, Linguistic identity, English language |
| Geographic Terms: | Bolzano (Italy : Province) |
| Abstract: | This study investigates attitudes towards multilingualism and the role of English at the trilingual Free University of Bozen-Bolzano in South Tyrol, Italy. South Tyrol is unusual in that the local minority language, German, holds significant international prestige. This study thus contributes to the literature by filling a gap in studies examining multilingual contexts where the minority language is an important international language beyond the local setting. The research investigates results of a questionnaire yielding 1538 responses administered to students, academic staff and administrative staff, considering in particular how respondents' L1 influences their responses. The analysis reveals widespread support for English and multilingualism at unibz, consistent with the institution's longstanding multilingual policy. However, significant differences in support for English are observed across language groups, particularly among speakers of local minority languages, who exhibit comparatively lower levels of support, highlighting a nuanced relationship between language identity and perceptions of language policy. The exception was for responses to questionnaire items addressing multilingualism holistically, which did not vary in a statistically significant way according to the first language. This study contributes to the understanding of language attitudes in multilingual contexts, considering both attitudes to an individual language and to multilingual policies as a whole. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
| Copyright of International Journal of Multilingualism is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) | |
| Database: | Education Research Complete |
| FullText | Text: Availability: 0 |
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| Header | DbId: ehh DbLabel: Education Research Complete An: 190233271 AccessLevel: 6 PubType: Academic Journal PubTypeId: academicJournal PreciseRelevancyScore: 0 |
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| Items | – Name: Title Label: Title Group: Ti Data: Multilingualism and English: how does L1 affect language attitudes at a trilingual university? – Name: Author Label: Authors Group: Au Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Burton%2C+Graham+Francis%22">Burton, Graham Francis</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<i> grahamfrancis.burton@unibz.it</i><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Gatti%2C+Maria+Cristina%22">Gatti, Maria Cristina</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR) – Name: TitleSource Label: Source Group: Src Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22International+Journal+of+Multilingualism%22">International Journal of Multilingualism</searchLink>. Aug2025, Vol. 22 Issue 3, p1285-1301. 17p. – Name: Subject Label: Subject Terms Group: Su Data: *<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Multilingualism%22">Multilingualism</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Attitudes+toward+language%22">Attitudes toward language</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Multilingual+education%22">Multilingual education</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Language+policy%22">Language policy</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Linguistic+minorities%22">Linguistic minorities</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Linguistic+identity%22">Linguistic identity</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22English+language%22">English language</searchLink> – Name: SubjectGeographic Label: Geographic Terms Group: Su Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Bolzano+%28Italy+%3A+Province%29%22">Bolzano (Italy : Province)</searchLink> – Name: Abstract Label: Abstract Group: Ab Data: This study investigates attitudes towards multilingualism and the role of English at the trilingual Free University of Bozen-Bolzano in South Tyrol, Italy. South Tyrol is unusual in that the local minority language, German, holds significant international prestige. This study thus contributes to the literature by filling a gap in studies examining multilingual contexts where the minority language is an important international language beyond the local setting. The research investigates results of a questionnaire yielding 1538 responses administered to students, academic staff and administrative staff, considering in particular how respondents' L1 influences their responses. The analysis reveals widespread support for English and multilingualism at unibz, consistent with the institution's longstanding multilingual policy. However, significant differences in support for English are observed across language groups, particularly among speakers of local minority languages, who exhibit comparatively lower levels of support, highlighting a nuanced relationship between language identity and perceptions of language policy. The exception was for responses to questionnaire items addressing multilingualism holistically, which did not vary in a statistically significant way according to the first language. This study contributes to the understanding of language attitudes in multilingual contexts, considering both attitudes to an individual language and to multilingual policies as a whole. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] – Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright Label: Group: Ab Data: <i>Copyright of International Journal of Multilingualism is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) |
| PLink | https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=ehh&AN=190233271 |
| RecordInfo | BibRecord: BibEntity: Identifiers: – Type: doi Value: 10.1080/14790718.2024.2381615 Languages: – Code: eng Text: English PhysicalDescription: Pagination: PageCount: 17 StartPage: 1285 Subjects: – SubjectFull: Multilingualism Type: general – SubjectFull: Attitudes toward language Type: general – SubjectFull: Multilingual education Type: general – SubjectFull: Language policy Type: general – SubjectFull: Linguistic minorities Type: general – SubjectFull: Linguistic identity Type: general – SubjectFull: English language Type: general – SubjectFull: Bolzano (Italy : Province) Type: general Titles: – TitleFull: Multilingualism and English: how does L1 affect language attitudes at a trilingual university? Type: main BibRelationships: HasContributorRelationships: – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Burton, Graham Francis – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Gatti, Maria Cristina IsPartOfRelationships: – BibEntity: Dates: – D: 01 M: 08 Text: Aug2025 Type: published Y: 2025 Identifiers: – Type: issn-print Value: 14790718 Numbering: – Type: volume Value: 22 – Type: issue Value: 3 Titles: – TitleFull: International Journal of Multilingualism Type: main |
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