La lengua como instrumento para conquistar derechos. La enseñanza de español/l2 en Perú y del italiano/l2 a inmigrantes extracomunitarios

Abstract

ABSTRACT This PhD dissertation analyses the impact of two factors affecting the acquisition of a second language (L2) by two groups of people in disadvantaged circumstances. On the one hand, it considers the quality of methodology and materials available for teaching them and, on the other, the degree of their integration in the local community and subsequent immersion in the target language. The focus of the study are people who have suffered very difficult and sometimes extreme circumstances which have forced them to migrate to large cities, or even to other countries or continents. Within this context two different focus groups were examined: On the one hand, the indigenous communities in the district of Huancarani (Peru) and on the other non-EU immigrants in Trentino and Calabria (Italy). The research was carried out using an ethnographic approach which allowed the study of both groups within their natural environment, facilitating an understanding of the social reality confronting them. The study was conducted on their real field with the aim of getting real data through the interaction between the people in the two target groups and the researcher. This study aims, then, to apply an ethnographic analysis to language teaching and provide examples that demonstrate the importance of contextual factors - as opposed to linguistic ones - in the acquisition of languages. The thesis opens with the main scaffolding on second language acquisition, using a general theoretical framework, with the aim of identifying common linguistic phenomena in multicultural and multilingual communities. It also takes into account the contextual factors that affect the degree of integration of the target groups and their corresponding acquisition of L2, be it Spanish in the indigenous communities or Italian in the immigrant ones. Additionally, an analysis is made of important didactic aspects integral to the process of second language teaching and learning and, additionally, existing methodology and materials used in the teaching of Spanish and Italian are reviewed. The detection of educational deficiencies in the former led the researcher and co-authors to design a Spanish teaching manual especially and specifically for the indigenous communities which is also presented in this study. A number of suggestions regarding the correct use of Italian teaching resources with L2 immigrants are also proposed. Lastly, the results obtained throughout the investigation are presented, allowing us to conclude that aspects such as the socio-economic context of the focus groups, the low level of integration they achieve, their marginalization and poor education, among others, adversely affect the acquisition of L2. The second language then is not presented as an instrument of integration, but more as an attempt by government to force acculturation and assimilation.