identity and community.pdf

102
6
Introduction
In this chapter, I report the findings of the qualitative component of
the study, commenting on the data gathered through the semi-structured
interviews.
The analysis operationalises two major constructs, community and
identity, as they emerged from the experiences of the interview partici-
pants. As I explained earlier, the notion of community is a cornerstone of
the theoretical framework of this study, underpinning the motivational
drive of learners who desire to embrace cultural elements of the target
language community and to share its values (Gardner, 2001). As observed
in the analysis of the quantitative data, the attraction towards Italians is
a major finding, which connects the willingness to become part of a com-
munity of Italian speakers with strong motivational drives to learn Ital-
ian. Community can refer to either a tangible and physically proximate
entity or to an imagined community (Anderson, 1991) that is far away
from where learners live and work. Community can also identify with a
group of like-minded people sharing the experience of a second language
(L2) classroom, whose motivation is sustained through the sentiment of
belonging to the same L2 learner community (Dörnyei, 2009).
The second construct that emerged from the interviews is identity.
In the context of this study, identity is conceptualised as a multifaceted,
complex and often conflicted phenomenon. As I discussed earlier, the
notion of identity is of central significance to explain the transforma-
tional dynamics of L2 learners’ selves. The ideal L2 self (Dörnyei, 2009)
that language learners want to develop becomes an effective motivator
in order to minimise the discrepancy between the current self and the
desired self, triggering a dynamic process of identity development and
(re)construction. As shown by the findings in Chapter 5, the willingness
to cultivate an Italian second identity exerts a strong motivational drive,
sustaining learners’ effort to study Italian.
According to the model of L2 learning motivation that I present
in this study, community and identity combine in a dynamic and fluid
Community and
Identity: A Qualitative
Exploration of Drivers
for Learning Italian
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Community and Identity 103
process, driving motivation. In some cases, it is the desire to be part of
a community of Italian speakers that triggers a process of identity devel-
opment aimed at obtaining access to such community. In other cases,
learning Italian ignites a process of identity (re)construction that brings
the learner closer to Italian speakers, thus facilitating access to their
community.
In the following sections, I will elaborate on the relationships
between community and identity in light of several responses from the
interviews and of the theoretical models that constitute the foundations
of the framework I have adopted for this study. As I mentioned earlier,
the Italian language has a robust historic tradition of being studied as an
L2 for reasons mainly related to Italy’s cultural production. Along with
the appeal of its cultural heritage, other motivational elements have come
into play more recently, such as the charm exerted by the ‘Made in Italy’
phenomenon and its cherished lifestyle. Both traditional and more recent
motivations emerged from the study’s findings, along with other reasons
for studying Italian. These are related to the local context in which the
language is learned and to the increased mobility of people, resulting in a
large number of learners who have experienced Italy first-hand.
In commenting on the linguistic choices made by respondents, I will
refer to the influential Appraisal Framework developed by Martin and
White (Martin, 2000; Martin & White, 2007) to analyse the language
of evaluation and stance. This framework maps ‘feelings as they are
constructed in English texts’ (Martin & White, 2007: 42), involving
three domains pertaining to individuals’ attitudes: affect, which relates
to positive and negative feelings; judgment, which is concerned with
attitudes towards behaviour; and appreciation, which is associated with
evaluations of things and events. The analysis of the linguistic resources
employed by participants to describe their experiences will take into
account these three realms of individuals’ emotional dimension to discuss
what respondents expressed through the content of their accounts.
The Interview Participants
The study comprised 68 participants engaged in two rounds of
semi-structured interviews and in an email administered survey.
In line with the overall study sample, most of the interview par-
ticipants were female students (74%). All were mature students, over 30
years of age, with those between 45 and 55 years of age comprising the
largest age group. The vast majority had tertiary qualifications (87%),
characterising the sample as highly educated. Participants had quali-
fications from a wide range of disciplines: law, engineering, medicine,
humanities, management, commerce, finance, languages and health sci-
ences. Of the 64 interviewees, 39% were retired while the remaining 61%
worked either full time or part time after semi-retirement. At the time of
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104 Identity Trajectories of Adult Second Language Learners
the first round of interviews, almost half of the respondents were enrolled
at beginner level (47%), while the remaining participants were enrolled at
either intermediate (23%) or advanced level (30%).
It is noteworthy that of the 64 respondents, 61 (95%) had travelled to
Italy at least once. These visits were often more than once-in-a-lifetime
experiences: 21 participants (33%) went to Italy more than three times; 17
respondents (27%) five times or more; 2 participants had visited Italy more
than 20 times. Travelling to Italy was not their only opportunity to make
contact with Italian culture and language. Due to the presence in Sydney of
a large community of Italian migrants, more than half of the interviewees
(58%) declared that they had regular contact with Italians in Sydney.
The longitudinal dimension
As I mentioned earlier, the study incorporates a longitudinal com-
ponent that comprises a second round of interviews involving only
respondents who were enrolled at beginner level at the time of the first
interview, and an email survey involving participants who were enrolled
at intermediate and advanced level at the time of the first interview.
As I discussed earlier, beginner students are the ones most at risk
of withdrawing from language classes, and so I was particularly inter-
ested in investigating this cohort in more depth to better understand
long-lasting motivational factors at play in this context. Both beginner
students who were still enrolled in 2014 and those who were not for-
mally enrolled but were still studying Italian (through on-line courses
or private tuition) described a variety of circumstances that occurred in
their life after starting to learn Italian. Analysing the circumstances they
described, it became clear that their motivation was sustained by either
the construct of community or the one of identity.
Participants who were enrolled at intermediate and advanced level
at the time of the first interview were contacted via email to ascertain
whether they were still enrolled in Italian classes. I also asked them
to share with me the reasons for not re-enrolling, if this was the case.
Table 6.1 shows figures and percentages in relation to the email survey
conducted in February 2014.
Data demonstrate a high level of re-enrolment of students who were
enrolled at intermediate and advanced levels at the time of the first round
of interviews. Moreover, the high level of engagement of these two
cohorts of students with this study is noteworthy: none of them asked
to withdraw from the study and only two students enrolled at advanced
level did not reply to my email survey.
Reasons provided by three intermediate students who did not re-enrol
in 2014 referred to demanding family commitments, the discontinuing of
the Italian course in the evening and negative experiences while travel-
ling in Italy. In replying to my email survey, one participant commented:
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I was disappointed by the changes in Italian society from my previous
visits… some dismissive rudeness I experienced personally and saw oth-
ers experience as well. (Part. 23)
This remark is a good example of the impact that negative experiences
with the target language community can have on students’ motivations to
continue the learning effort, leading them to abandon the study. On the
contrary, as I will argue later in this chapter, positive exposure to the
Italian language and its speakers may act as an affirmative reinforcement
of the willingness to become closer to Italian culture and its speakers.
Belonging to a Community of Speakers of Italian
As mentioned above, the concept of community is pivotal to under-
standing the impact that the willingness to embrace cultural elements
of the target language’s group and the desire to share its values play
in shaping learners’ L2 motivation. Throughout the responses of the
participants, the importance of being part of a community of Italian
speakers emerged as a strong motivational factor. This Italian-speaking
community can be either an imagined or a real one. In the former case,
it is a construction produced by learners’ imagination, an intellectual
partaking created through, for example, readings, cinema, the internet
and/or cursory contacts with Italians. In the latter case, learners engage
in actual relationships with Italian speakers, either travelling abroad or
frequenting members of the local community of Italian migrants. In their
accounts, respondents referred to different experiences they had which
contributed to stimulate their desire to belong to a community of Italian
speakers. Their willingness to be part of this community manifested in
different guises. The aim of this section is to explore how several themes
that emerged from the interviews link with the concept of community.
For the coding of the data, I employed qualitative thematic analysis.
The coding process identified different components of the data set that
could underpin the elements under investigation and cluster them into
homogeneous categories. Table 6.2 shows the themes that emerged from
the interviews that I referred to as the construct of community.
Table 6.1 Results of the email survey conducted in February 2014
Enrolment level in February 2013
Enrolment status in February 2014 Intermediate Advanced
Still enrolled 14 (82%) 17 (89%)
Not enrolled 3 (18%) 0 (0%)
No reply 0 (0%) 2 (11%)
Withdrawn from the research 0 (0%) 0 (0%)
Total 17 (100%) 19 (100%)
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For each theme, Table 6.2 shows figures and percentages for the num-
ber of sources and the number of references. ‘Sources’ refers to interview
participants (total corpus 64) whose accounts included references to the
construct of community (62 participants). ‘References’ (total corpus 585)
refers to participants’ accounts that were coded under the construct of
community (382 references).
Positive attitudes towards Italians
Under this theme, I have grouped the accounts of respondents who
elaborated on their attitudes towards Italian people. A positive attitude
in this study indicates openness to other communities, their different
lifestyles and behaviours, and respect and appreciation for their cultural
background.
In this section, I will discuss participants’ responses when asked
to describe their attitudes towards Italian people. As Table 6.2 shows,
51 participants (79.7%) reported experiences that I have referred to
as positive attitudes towards Italians, totalling 102 quotes (17.4%)
that I have coded under this theme. As various excerpts will show,
respondents’ positive attitudes towards Italians were generated by a
variety of different experiences through which they learned how to
think and feel in relation to Italian people. All the following examples
are from participants who developed their positive attitudes through
personal encounters with Italian people during their travels in
Italy:
Table 6.2 Themes reflecting ‘community’
Total sourcesa
(corpus 64)
Total referencesa
(corpus 585)
Total sourcesa
(%)
Total referencesa
(%)
Community 62 382 96.9 65.3
Positive attitudes
towards Italians
51 102 79.7 17.4
Aesthetic and
cultural attraction
37 89 57.8 15.2
Positive exposure 31 45 48.4 7.7
Food, conviviality
and lifestyle
30 48 46.9 8.2
The local Italian
community
26 52 40.6 8.9
Feeling connected 17 34 26.6 5.8
The learning
community
9 12 14.1 2.1
a
Figures and percentages refer to sources and references of the first round of interviews that
have been coded under the construct of community.
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I like the people, I find them very friendly and helpful. (Part. 31)
Everyone is really friendly, quite warm and open… it’s almost an admi-
ration. When I meet someone from Italy I get very excited... In general I
see Italians being very lovely people and I don’t think I have actually met
an Italian that I don’t like or had a bad experience with an Italian. They
are generous, open and warm. (Part. 60)
These accounts reveal a general tendency on the part of respondents to
display positive orientations towards Italians. Adjectives used to describe
Italians were ‘friendly’, ‘generous’ and ‘warm’. The use of such adjectives
is recurrent throughout participants’ accounts and also in later examples
referring to different categories. The choice of such adjectives and the
wording participants chose to illustrate their experiences (‘it’s almost an
admiration’ Part. 60) show that participants frequently selected terms
connoted by appreciation in describing positive reactions that their
encounters with Italian people generated in them.
Other respondents developed positive attitudes towards Italians
through friendships they established with Italian people in Australia,
including those who were part of the new wave of recent migration from
Italy, like expatriates and Italians living temporarily in Australia:
Italians are warm and friendly, very family orientated. They are very
inclusive. I always had good vibes from my Italian friends. (Part. 59)
Italians are fantastic. I have met a lot of them, my daughter-in-law’s rela-
tives are wonderful people. (Part. 26)
A few Italians that I have met casually in daily activities, shopping,
friends of friends, have left such a good impression, particularly the
warmth of the people and friendliness. And I think it’s important. If I
had had the wrong impression, perhaps I wouldn’t have felt the same
motivation. (Part. 66)
These responses reflected the same attitudes and sentiments expressed
by those who had encountered Italians in their overseas travels. The use
of words such as ‘warm’ and ‘warmth’, ‘friendly’ and ‘friendliness’ to
describe the behaviour of Italians met in Australia entails a positive judg-
ment, that is, one reinforced by the use of intensification as evidenced
in the adjectives ‘fantastic’ and ‘wonderful’. The statement ‘I always
had good vibes’ by Part. 59, conveys a very positive orientation towards
Italians as a result of a sequence of positive encounters, contributing to
foster this participant’s positive attitudes in relation to Italians. The way
Part. 66 described what sustained the motivation to learn Italian is note-
worthy, connoting this statement by judgment (‘if I had had the wrong
impression perhaps I wouldn’t have felt the same motivation’), and
ascribing the reason for studying Italian to the positive perception of Ital-
ian people (‘warmth of the people and friendliness’).
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Positive attitudes towards Italians were also linked to two apparently
contradictory factors: personal similarities and personal differences, as
the following comments illustrate:
I feel I have some sort of personal affinity with the Italian people I met.
They respond in a personal way more than people from other countries.
(Part. 2)
I like Italians enormously. Again, it’s because in some way they are so
different from me. (Part. 19)
Respondents rate personality traits of Italian people very positively,
appreciating the way Italians react and interact with people (‘they
respond in a personal way’ Part. 2). If some respondents displayed
positive orientations towards Italians due to behavioural similarities
they felt they shared with them (‘some sort of personal affinity’ Part. 2),
some other interviewees responded positively to personal differences.
The diversity and variety of ways in which Italian people conduct them-
selves and interact with other individuals promoted positive attitudes,
generating feelings of appreciation. The words participants used to
express their reaction towards Italians’ behaviour are connoted by posi-
tive judgment, as Part. 19’s excerpt shows: ‘I like Italians enormously…
they are so different from me’.
The above accounts show the consistently positive disposition dem-
onstrated by all the respondents towards Italian people. This finding sup-
ports the quantitative findings discussed in the previous chapter, where
the strongest factor that emerged from the factor analysis, ‘Attraction
towards Italian people’ (Factor 4), refers to positive attitudes shown
by the respondents towards Italians. Therefore, both qualitative and
quantitative data indicate that for this group of respondents the most
compelling element that sustained their L2 motivation was the prospect
of becoming closer to Italians whom they liked and even admired.
Similar findings were found in Schmidt’s (2014) study on Australian
university students of German, where she observed a correlation between
positive attitudes towards Germans and language learning motivation.
Riemer (2011) came to similar conclusions in her study on the motiva-
tion to learn German as an L2 abroad, observing that positive attitudes
towards German people and German culture were strong motivational
drives to learn the language, especially when it was learned abroad, as is
the case for Italian in this study.
Aesthetic and cultural attraction
When asked to discuss what induced them in the first place to learn
Italian, interviewees offered motives associated with aspects of Italian
cultural heritage and production, with an emphasis on their aesthetic
allure. Table 6.2 shows that 37 participants (57.8%) provided responses
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that I have referred to as the aesthetic-cultural attraction theme (89
sources or 15.2%). A wide range of elements, including Italian art,
architecture and history, contributed to generate respondents’ desire to
join a community of Italian speakers. This attraction for what Italian
represents as the linguistic expression of an appealing cultural heritage
functions as a robust motivator to learn Italian, as previous research has
shown extensively (Baldelli, 1987; De Mauro, 2002; De Mauro et al.,
2002; Giovanardi & Trifone, 2010; Vedovelli, 2002b).
Respondents reported that for them the main captivating elements of
Italian cultural heritage were the artistic production of the Renaissance
period, the history of the Roman Empire and even its Latin language,
and the production of opera and classical music. For many of the partici-
pants, art and architecture represented a strong point of attraction:
Certainly, the Renaissance period and the pure genius… the contribution
of Italy to art, history and architecture. It is definitely historic Italy that
grabbed my attention… History and especially the Renaissance are very
inspiring… It is an incredible, inspiring thing. (Part. 10)
This response is fairly typical of the power that Italian artistic production
exerted over respondents, motivating them to discover more about Ital-
ian culture through learning the language. Italian artistic production was
perceived as deeply intertwined with Italy’s historical heritage, and the
Renaissance period was viewed as an inspiring historical period when the
power of the human intellect produced some of the most valued works of
art in modern history. Noteworthy is the respondents’ language choice
to describe the impact of their appreciation of Italian artistic heritage
on their motivation to learn Italian (‘an incredible inspiring thing’): the
source of inspiration to study the language resides in the invaluable Ital-
ian artistic production, which profoundly influenced their interest in
becoming closer to the culture (‘grabbed my attention’) that created the
Renaissance. Participants’ language choices, such as ‘inspiring’ and ‘pure
genius’, are highly connoted by appreciation.
Italy’s ancient history and school days study of Latin also figured in
participants’ responses:
Doing Latin at school then going where the Romans had been, seeing and
wanting to go back… It was the Latin… and to go and see places where
they had been it blew me away, I was just captivated by the antiquity.
(Part. 3)
The motivation to learn Italian is linked to the desire to reconnect with
an ancient historic past studied at school through the medium of Latin
(‘it was Latin’), the language of the Roman Empire, and its history.
What happened in the Italic peninsula almost 3000 years ago resonated
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significantly with many respondents, as conveyed by their linguistic
choices connoted by appreciation and intensified through the use of
metaphor (‘it blew me away’; ‘I was just captivated’), shaping their inter-
est in learning the language. Learning Italian provided connection and
continuity with that historical period and made them feel closer to a
world that fascinated them.
Italian classical music and opera also featured powerfully in some
of the participants’ motivations to learn Italian, as reflected in the
following:
My father was a lover of Caruso, he would play his music… I was
listening to all these songs and I didn’t have a clue of what they were
talking about, so I wanted to learn Italian so I could sing the words.
(Part. 43)
Answers reveal the role played by the love of classical music and opera in
motivating respondents to learn Italian. Besides German and French, Ital-
ian is the language most commonly related to classical music and opera
(Folena, 1983). A significant proportion of the vocabulary used by pro-
fessionals in this domain comes from Italian. Learning Italian becomes
the tool to better understand opera and classical music, a form of art
originated by Italians and identified with the Italian language (Goldin
Folena, 1997: 19). The depiction of classical music and opera as part of
respondents’ lives expressed the closeness and familiarity of Italian for
some of the participants and its connection with their personal goals and
ambitions. Those sentiments subsequently transitioned into motivation
to learn the language (‘I wanted to learn Italian so I could sing the words’
Part. 43).
The following section focuses on the accounts of some interviewees
who linked their interest in learning Italian to the perceived ‘intrinsic
beauty’ of the language. They based this aesthetic judgment on their per-
ception of the language as highly musical:
I always enjoyed the language itself. It is a musical language. I don’t
know, it is almost like you get hooked on something. (Part. 8)
I really love the Italian language, I love the sound, I love the flow of Ital-
ian. (Part. 5)
As these comments suggest, the ‘musicality’ of the language casts a kind
of magical spell; participants’ appreciation for the beauty of Italian is
described using phrases (‘you get hooked on something’ Part. 8) that con-
vey the inexorable fascination of a language that has seduced and capti-
vated them with its magical musical charm. These feelings can be referred
to the construct of integrativeness, as a sign of a positive orientation
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towards Italian cultural products. Indeed, the verbs employed to describe
these feelings, such as ‘I always enjoyed’ (Part. 8), ‘I really love’ (Part. 5),
are highly connoted by affect towards the Italian language.
I always thought that Italian was a beautiful musical language. I had
a chance to do it at University. I found the language and the literature
beautiful… I was drawn into that culture, it was infectious in that
department… and the friends who were part of the Italian community
who were students too… I got involved in that culture. (Part. 36)
This response reveals the strong connection between respondents’ percep-
tions of the musical beauty of the language and their appreciation for the
cultural production, such as Italian literature. The whole cultural and
learning cont in which socialisation with the language occurred greatly
influenced respondents’ opinions in relation to the intrinsic qualities of
the Italian language. The wording used to describe the experience (‘drawn
into that culture’; ‘it was infectious’; ‘I got involved’) shows appreciation
for Italian culture and reveals how interest in the study of the language
became subsequently intertwined with appreciation for the culture, creat-
ing a virtuous circle that sustained the motivation to learn Italian.
Since there is no objective basis on which to formulate a judgment
on the intrinsic beauty or musicality of the Italian language (Stammer-
johann, 2010), it can be assumed that this perception is a consequence,
rather than a cause, of the attraction to the world that the Italian lan-
guage represents. Giles et al. (1974, 1979) argue that the perception of a
language as intrinsically pleasant does not depend on objectively defin-
able aesthetic factors, but rather on social and cultural norms which
ascribe positive connotations to a particular cultural cont and its people.
As Macaro (2003:15) points out ‘Italian [does not] sound like the wind
in the trees or the birds singing on a sunny day. People associate it with
beautiful things because they want to. It’s the cultural environment that
shapes our notions of beauty. So, don’t we need to find out exactly why
adults think Italian is a beautiful language?’. On the other hand, in her
study of the aesthetic evaluation of the Dutch language, van Bezooijen
(2002) argues that some characteristics of the sound (such as melodious-
ness and softness) appear to be correlated with the aesthetic pleasure of
Dutch people who consider Italian, French, Spanish and British English
intrinsically beautiful, and Russian and American English disagreeable.
However, she admits that cultural norms are also at play.
So far, most accounts reported in this section have portrayed respon-
dents’ motivations to learn Italian as sustained by their willingness to
better appreciate the numerous aesthetic ‘beauties’ that the cultural
production of Italy offers. For some of the respondents, these are com-
pounded with some features of the country and its overall appeal:
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The overall appeal of the combination of culture and history and the
language… it comes with all the benefits of the Italian culture, the music,
the architecture and history. (Part. 49)
The fundamental drawing was the appeal of the place… it holds that
kind of binding spell, we want to keep going back there. (Part. 35)
It has got class, I am seduced by Italian style. (Part. 67)
Respondents perceived Italian culture and language as an aesthetic
‘package’ (‘it comes with all the benefits’ Part. 49; ‘I am seduced by
Italian style’ Part 67). Once again, phrases such as ‘binding spell’
are connoted by appreciation and convey the idea that participants
were seduced by Italy and its culture that operated like a sort of ‘pied
piper’.
During the second round of interviews, interestingly, beginner
students interviewed after one year of learning Italian appeared more
inclined to appreciate various aspects of Italian culture:
My attitudes have strengthened in terms of the value that I place on what
Italy has to offer culturally, design, innovation. (Part. 31)
I immerse myself in the culture more, Italian fashion and products.
(Part. 49)
These accounts show that time spent studying Italian triggered in these
respondents a greater interest in Italian cultural production (‘My atti-
tudes have strengthened’ Part. 31; ‘I immerse myself in the culture more’
Part. 49). Learning the language prompted an overall appreciation for
Italian culture, opening a new perspective on Italy’s contribution to sev-
eral cultural domains (‘design, innovation’ Part. 31; ‘Italian fashion and
products’ Part. 49), sustaining their motivation to continue the study of
the language and to re-enrol in Italian courses.
The motivational drive exerted by appreciation for the artistic pro-
duction of Italian culture was also confirmed by the quantitative findings.
As the results of the factor analysis showed, Factor 3 ‘Italian as a cultural
beacon’ disclosed the tendency of respondents to consider Italian culture
as the epitome of sophistication, as confirmed by these comments:
It displays sophisticated elegance, easy graciousness. (Part. 30)
It is part of… the European sensibility. (Part. 32)
The Italian language is associated with a world of European refinement
and style, and learning the language is viewed as the necessary instrument
for accessing and connecting with it, similar to the results in Kinginger’s
(2004) study mentioned above.
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Positive exposure
In this section, I will focus on respondents’ experiences while travel-
ling in Italy, showing how their exposure to the Italian language and its
speakers triggered and/or reinforced their willingness to be part of a com-
munity of Italian speakers.
For 31 respondents (48.4%), the initial driving motive inducing them
to study Italian was related to their travels in Italy. Table 6.2 shows that
45 references (7.7%) were coded under this theme. During their travels
in Italy, most respondents initially used English to communicate with the
locals but felt that speaking the language was the key to gaining access
to Italian speakers, not as a tourist but as a recognised member of that
community. As a result of their positive experiences travelling in Italy,
when they came home they decided to enrol in Italian courses, to fulfil
their desire to speak the language. The following accounts express these
sentiments vividly:
Last year I spent 3 weeks in Italy with friends. Wonderful experience.
This was the reason why I started Italian… I do enjoy understanding
the culture, the people, the country… I want to go back again and con-
verse without a single word of English and being part of the community.
(Part. 7)
The trip I did to Venice. I thought I must come back and learn the lan-
guage and I enrolled in Italian beginner classes… It is the idea of becom-
ing part of another community. (Part. 11)
These excerpts show respondents’ positive experiences while trav-
elling in Italy and their decision to learn Italian as a direct conse-
quence (‘This was the reason why I started Italian’ Part. 7) of such
positive exposure (‘Wonderful experience’ Part. 7). They returned
home and enrolled in Italian courses straight away (‘I enrolled in
Italian beginner classes’ Part. 11), showing how the time spent in
Italy functioned as a powerful motivational trigger to start learning
the language to become part of the community of Italian speakers
(‘being part of the community’ Part. 7; ‘becoming part of another
community’ Part. 11).
While for these respondents it was the overall positive experience that
motivated them to learn Italian, for others the decision to enrol in Italian
courses was a consequence of feelings they developed for the country they
visited, as the following accounts reveal:
I went to Italy and I just loved it, this is terrific. I liked the country… I
found it a fascinating country; I thought I want to learn the language.
(Part. 19)
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The travelling came first. We came back and we went we’ll go down our
path with Italian because we love the country, we know we’ll keep going
back to that country, we are just never tired of that. (Part. 35)
Respondents’ positive exposure was significantly influenced by the reac-
tion they had towards Italy as a country that they conveyed through
phrases connoted by appreciation (‘I just loved it, this is terrific’ Part. 19;
‘because we love the country’ Part. 35).
In other cases, respondents referred to specific people they met dur-
ing their travels in Italy who had a positive impact on their motivation to
learn Italian. In particular, these were people who were very supportive
of any effort participants made to communicate in Italian:
I think it’s more the people we met in Sicily last year, they were so recep-
tive… so excited that you actually used an Italian word… people were
so helpful. (Part. 44)
In 2009 I went to Italy and it was wonderful. I found Italian people very
welcoming, very appreciative and supportive of the smallest effort to
speak the language… So I enrolled here. Then I went back to Italy and
when I came back I was really enthused by pursuing the language study.
(Part. 62)
These accounts show the motivational boost (‘I was really enthused
by pursuing the language study’ Part. 62) respondents ascribed to the
welcoming attitude of Italians (‘they were so receptive’ Part. 44; ‘very
appreciative and supportive’ Part. 62) towards foreigners who try to
communicate in Italian (‘you actually used an Italian word’ Part. 44;
‘the smallest effort to speak the language’ Part. 62). The adjectives used
in these accounts to describe Italians’ behaviour (‘receptive’, ‘helpful’,
‘welcoming’, ‘appreciative’, ‘supportive’) are highly connoted by posi-
tive judgment and are reminiscent of respondents’ descriptions of their
attitudes towards Italian people discussed above, confirming an overall
positive disposition towards Italians.
Similar findings were reported in the studies by Hines and Barraclough
(1995) and Baker and MacIntyre (2000) on communicating in a foreign
language and its effects on perceived motivation. Both studies found that
positive experiences in communicating and liaising with speakers of the
target language increase L2 learning motivation. Moreover, the study
mentioned above conducted on learners of German by Schmidt (2014)
drew similar conclusions, confirming that positive exposure to German
culture and Germans played a role in sustaining students’ motivations to
learn the language.
Interestingly, some participants contrasted their experiences in Italy
with previous negative experiences they had travelling in France and try-
ing to communicate with French people using French. Their experiences
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highlight the importance of positive exposure with the target language
speakers in motivating learners to invest in a particular language. In the
case of French, many of the appealing factors that drew people to study
Italian (aesthetic attraction, connection with a rich historical and cultural
heritage, fascination for a sophisticated lifestyle and for the cuisine) are
very likely to be found also in the motivations of Australians who decide
to learn French. Still, an overall friendlier attitude and a more helpful
approach in supporting beginner speakers by the Italians compared with
French people seems to have encouraged some of my participants to con-
tinue to study Italian rather than French.
Food, conviviality and lifestyle
When asked about the most valued aspects of Italian culture, almost
half of the respondents identified Italian gastronomic and oenological
diversity as the major inducement to study Italian. Italian food and wine
and the customs associated with it – taste for hospitality, pleasures of the
table, conviviality and contemporary lifestyle – were sources of enthusi-
astic admiration. Table 6.2 shows that 30 participants (46.9%) reported
accounts that were ascribed to this theme, totalling 48 references (8.2%).
This abundance of respondents’ references related to Italian food
and lifestyle testifies to the relevance of these aspects of Italian culture
in sustaining learners’ motivations to study Italian. Food consumption
and commensality feature highly in Italian society, representing a cor-
nerstone of Italian social practices and ‘sustaining the family as a social
unit’ (Ochs & Shohet, 2006: 37). Mealtimes are considered a significant
aspect of the socialisation of Italian families and social groups, dedicated
not exclusively to the consumption of food; they represent occasions for
family members to interact, to exchange communications and to build
relationships. Through the practice of mealtimes, understood as cultural
sites (Ochs & Shohet, 2006), Italian families produce sociality, values and
traditions that are passed down to future generations as one of the distinc-
tive practices of socialisation in Italian culture. This connection between
food consumption and social practices has played a vital role in shaping
Italian identity since medieval times, producing ‘a network of knowledge,
exchange of products, culinary habits, transformation of recipes and syn-
cretism of practice’ (Muccini, 2012: 270). Through food, Italians were able
to develop a sense of collective identity, creating a charismatic narrative
about themselves and their food, ‘because eating enriches their sense of
where they come from and who they are’ (Dickie, 2007: 10), making Italy
one of the most sought after travel destinations for gourmet travellers
‘whose holidays focus on wine-tasting and cuisine’ (Cinelli Colombini,
2015: 30). Today’s Italy is a country where the preservation of traditions
and of certain ways of life, and the appreciation for the authenticity of
Italian gastronomic diversity is still highly regarded by its population,
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making Italian food and the pleasures of the table internationally appreci-
ated and valued, as is evident in the comments by this respondent:
The all setting of the Italian table, everyone in and around having meals
it left an influence on me… not having such a typical Australian meal,
sit down with your plate everyone very quiet, while Italians throw it in
the middle and people take it and talk, it’s a much more… nice way of
eating. (Part. 47)
Responses reveal that commensality and the pleasures of the table,
cornerstones of Italian society, cutting across age groups, social classes
and regional divisions, played a strong role in directing interviewees’
interest towards Italians and their traditions. Respondents described
their experience with Italian food consumption as something that ‘left
an influence’ on them, a practice they appreciated (‘nice way of eating’),
ultimately shaping their motivation to learn more about the culture and
the language.
Other respondents’ accounts focused more on the pleasures of food:
Food! Even my early experience in Italy influenced the kind of cooking
that I do at home… the Italian lifestyle is something you can associate
with feeling comfortable with because food is more than food. (Part. 24)
Italian food and lifestyle, these are the elements that I like… I’d like to
be part of the community. (Part. 11)
Food was seen not just as nutrients to be put on the table but as a foun-
dation for enjoying conviviality, enriching an otherwise daily routine
with limited appeal and rewards. Phrases such as ‘because food is more
than food’ (Part. 24) reflect a positive judgment about the role that food
plays in the Italian lifestyle and the value that respondents attributed to
food in shaping their opinions about Italian cultural traditions. Food was
perceived as an essential ingredient in becoming a member of a cherished
group of people (‘I’d like to be part of the community’ Part. 11), evoking
sentiments of appreciation and enjoyment.
An essential partner to food in Italian culture is wine, as marked by
this participant:
We love Italian food, washing down the food with the vino. That kind of
thing is something that appeals to us as a way of life. I guess the food and
wine thing really appeals to us… We just love the whole atmosphere…
We do have a love affair with Italy. (Part. 35)
Respondents expressed profound appreciation for Italian food and wine
traditions, as conveyed through phrases highly connoted by affect (‘we
do have a love affair with Italy’). Through food and wine consumption,
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participants felt they were included in a key feature of the Italian way of
life, corresponding to a major source of pleasure and entertainment. This
appreciation, in turn, exerted a strong influence, leading them to concede
that they felt in love with Italy.
The indelibility of Italian gastronomic and oenological culture owed
much to what respondents identified as Italian hospitality, as Part. 36
noted:
Going to Italian restaurants where there is a hospitality mentality and
appreciation of life and good food… I think it’s all a bit infectious really,
so when I go to these places they would influence me and I want to be
part of this lifestyle. (Part. 36)
Participants reported a strong influence exerted by the twosome, food
consumption and pleasures of the table, in shaping their willingness to
be part of a community of Italian speakers (‘I want to be part of this
lifestyle’). Practices related to the enjoyment of food and to the rituals of
hospitality are described as ‘infectious’, implying that they had become
an essential component of respondents’ lifestyle (‘they would influence
me’). It is interesting to note the use of potentially negative adjectives,
such as ‘infectious’, to express admiration for the Italian lifestyle, con-
noting respondents’ linguistic choice by appreciation. The pleasures of
hospitality and food enjoyment that participants perceive as quintessen-
tially Italian exerted a significant influence on many of the respondents
and their drive to be part of Italian culture:
The two places where we stayed were marvellous. We were able to shop
in the village, it was part of the experience, going down to the fish market
and buy fish without a single word of English. I’d like to live there for a
little while. (Part. 7)
Respondents portrayed their experience during their sojourn in Italy
(‘shop in the village’ and ‘going down to the fish market’) as practices that
made them feel part of the community of Italian speakers. The descrip-
tion of their daily activity of shopping for food by speaking Italian (‘with-
out a single word of English’) makes clear the importance they ascribe to
being able to communicate in Italian to feel part of the community they
admire so much, as is clear in the intensification through the use of the
adjective ‘marvellous’. These experiences left a mark, creating in respon-
dents the desire to be part of this lifestyle and this community (‘I’d like
to live there for a little while’).
Overall, the responses included in this section show that Italian food
is considered an integral part of Italian culture, related to the enjoyment
of the gastronomic diversity and to the appeal of conviviality. That par-
ticipants’ appreciation for these aspects of Italian culture played on their
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motivations to study Italian is confirmed by the respondents’ experiences
whose motivation was driven by their desire to be part of that community
in order to share aspects of its culture they valued highly.
The local Italian community
This section focuses on the presence of the community of Ital-
ian migrants in Sydney, and on the significant role it plays in shaping
respondents’ interest in learning Italian. When asked about their con-
tacts with Italians in Sydney, participants reported that their motiva-
tion to learn Italian was considerably influenced by their contacts with
the local community. As a result of mass migration from Italy that
started in the late 1940s and lasted until the early 1970s, several respon-
dents grew up in suburbs with a high concentration of Italian migrant
families, where Italians set up large networks of shops, restaurants and
businesses of numerous kinds. This context exposed almost half of the
respondents to contacts with Italian migrants at different stages in their
lives and, as a consequence, to various aspects of the culture of Italy.
Table 6.2 shows that 26 (40.6%) respondents reported contacts with
the local Italian community, totalling 52 (8.9%) references related to
this theme.
While some respondents grew up in Sydney neighbourhoods
with a high density of Italian families, others attended school with
children of Italian migrants and became family friends. Still others
had experience of working with Italian people. It is clear from what
they reported that these close contacts with Italians stimulated the
participants’ interest in learning the language. Contacts with Italian
migrants also occurred through their patronage of Italian businesses,
such as restaurants and shops. The following extracts demonstrate
this range of experiences.
For these participants, growing up and/or living in residential areas
with a strong presence of Italian migrants left a mark that subsequently
influenced their motivation to learn Italian:
I live in Willoughby, I grew up there and the first migrants to come to
Willoughby were Italians… My hairdresser is Italian, my physiothera-
pist is Italian and I live next door to a fruit shop and of course they are
all Italians and they are really, really lovely people, I love the people. I
love the ambience they generate. I always wanted to learn Italian, I have
always been attracted to it and I don’t know why and these people rein-
forced it. (Part. 64)
I grew up around the inner west and I taught in Canterbury that had a
very strong Italian culture. The Italian resonated in me. It was around
me all the time… There were a lot of native speaking Italians around.
I was amused by the language because you can hear other people using
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it in restaurant and shops, and I thought, oh, I wish I could speak that
language. (Part. 11)
I lived in Drummoyne, which is very close to Haberfield and Five Dock,
which are very Italian… I have many Italian connections. Probably if I
had been in an area with a lot of Asians I would have chosen to do Chi-
nese. (Part. 26)
Respondents talked about the impact of growing up and living in suburbs
with a high concentration of Italian migrants on their desire to speak the
language. They referred to the daily experience of hearing Italian spoken
in the streets, shops and restaurants; to the presence of numerous busi-
nesses run by Italians surrounding them; to the welcoming atmosphere
that Italian shop owners created in their businesses while liaising with
customers; and how this massive exposure to local Italian culture shaped
their interest in both the culture and the language. The accounts of their
experience (‘The Italian resonated in me, it was around me all the time…
oh, I wish I could speak that language.’ Part. 11) express their strong
desire to be able to communicate in Italian, as conveyed by the verb ‘reso-
nate’ which expresses well how the Italian language permeated partici-
pants’ lives, bringing amusement and joy. The strong influence exerted by
the experience of growing up in an area with a strong presence of Italian
migrants is clearly described by Part. 26 (‘Probably if I had been in an area
with a lot of Asians I would have chosen to do Chinese’). Participants
expressed their feelings using words like ‘amused’ (Part. 11), connoted by
affect, and used phrases such as ‘really lovely people… I love the people’
(Part. 64), connoted by a positive judgment. These responses show that
by growing up surrounded by Italian people, participants both liked them
and developed an interest in becoming closer to them, generating the
emergence of what can be defined as integrativeness.
Other respondents reported their early experience attending school
with children of Italian migrants, and the influence that that period of
their lives had on their subsequent decision to learn Italian:
When I was in primary school I had a very good Italian friend. The fam-
ily was Italian they had the nonna who lived at home with them… I went
to his place and you could hear Italian being spoken and they fed me and
that was a strong association I think. (Part. 49)
The specialty language in my school was Italian. I fell into that and I did
it to year 10 and then I enrolled in Saturday School of Community Lan-
guages… Every other person in the class was of Italian background… We
struck up a friendship at that time and used to go to each other’s houses
and have lunches and I got in touch a lot more with Italian families, sit-
ting in the backyard and eating and so that made me want to continue.
(Part. 47)
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These accounts reveal that respondents’ experiences during their child-
hood significantly marked their desire to learn Italian. Going to school
with and being surrounded by Italian children, frequenting their houses,
meeting their families and spending time with them, planted a seed which
later grew into a solid motivation to learn Italian. Through these rela-
tionships, respondents discovered another culture and came into contact
with other cultural practices. Frequenting Italian families, they developed
an interest in knowing their Italian neighbours better and in building
solid relationships with them, contributing to the making of multicultur-
alism in Australian society. The wording chosen by Part. 47 is particu-
larly effective in describing the experience of being surrounded by Italian
people (‘every other person in the class was of Italian background’) and
immersed in Italian culture. Part. 49 made an interesting linguistic choice,
using the Italian word ‘nonna’ instead of the English equivalent ‘grand-
mother’ to evoke more vividly the Italian home, the time spent with the
family of the schoolmate and how that period influenced the subsequent
decision to learn Italian (‘that was a strong association’), thus convey-
ing the degree of familiarity this participant developed with the Italian
family.
Other participants formed friendships with Italian migrants in their
adult years and through these friendships they developed an interest in
the Italian language:
I had a lot of contacts with Italians through my life. I started my working
in Griffith… One of the local guys I got to know well was XXX and we
became good friends… I developed a very healthy respect for Italians…
we have been part of the Italian community to an extent that normally
we go down and make the sauce… and the pig… Griffith sparked my
interest in Italian. When I retired I decided to take up Italian classes.
(Part. 5)
I had an ex Italian boyfriend and I had to learn Italian to communicate
with this family. I had learned that 20 years ago and decided I wanted to
pick it back up because I enjoyed it so much… that experience planted
a seed. I really liked the parents, they were very strict, I was Australian,
the mother accepted me, but the father didn’t accept me for probably 12
months because I was a kangaroo… It stuck with me I think. (Part. 61)
Friendships with Italian people and families triggered an interest in
respondents to learn Italian. Through those friends, participants were
drawn into an Italian-speaking world which appealed to them to such
an extent that they wanted to learn the language. The strong influence
those experiences exerted on respondents’ motivation is clearly demon-
strated by some of the verbs they used in recollecting those events, such
as ‘sparked my interest’ (Part. 5), conveying feelings of appreciation.
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The phrase ‘I developed a very healthy respect’ expresses Part. 5’s
positive judgment towards Italians. Participant 61 showed appreciation
through the phrase ‘I enjoyed it so much’ and chose to use a very evoca-
tive metaphor highly connoted by affect, ‘that experience planted a seed’,
to express how deeply that period affected the motivation to learn Ital-
ian. The phrase ‘I really liked the parents’ conveys a positive judgment
towards that Italian family. It is interesting to observe how the connec-
tion with the migrant community was influential not just in Australia
but also in other Italian diaspora contexts. For example, one participant
who grew up in a large city in the United States with a significant pres-
ence of Italian migrants, also ascribed the motivation to learn Italian to
that experience:
There were a lot of Italians living there and Ms XXX was an Italian and
that was my first acquaintance with Italians… it planted a seed because
Ms XXX and her family were family friends and there was something
about going over for dinner and it was just very warm and welcoming.
(Part. 62)
Interestingly, this participant used the same metaphor employed by
Part. 61 (‘it planted a seed’) to evoke the deep impact that contacts with
Italians exerted on the decision to learn Italian. Notice also the use of
phrases connoted by affect, such as ‘it was very warm and welcoming’
chosen by this participant, confirming the relevance that respondents
ascribed to the relationships with Italian friends in shaping their interest
in Italian culture and language.
Other respondents reported that during different stages of their pro-
fessional lives, they worked with Italian colleagues and this experience
affected their desire to learn Italian:
I made friends there among my Italian colleagues… I used to go out for
lunch and interact with the Italian community there, I was surrounded by
them, immersed in it, and that was a perfect model to me to be inspired.
That situation triggered my interest to learn Italian. I think without that
experience I wouldn’t have pursued it. (Part. 18)
My husband worked for an Italian company for 12 years and he made
a lot of friends through his work. Having all these Italian friends was a
catalyst, they are so dear. (Part. 59)
These responses attest to the profound influence that meeting Italian
co-workers exerted on respondents’ motivations. Part. 18’s statement
(‘I was surrounded by them, immersed in it… without that experience
I wouldn’t have pursued it’) conveys the idea that the respondent was
truly absorbed in an Italian-speaking world and that experience was
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a source of inspiration that subsequently triggered the motivation to
pursue the study of the language. The statement ‘that was a perfect
model to me to be inspired’ reflects the respondent’s appreciation for
and engagement with Italian colleagues and their social practices, and
the desire to be included as part of their group. The word ‘catalyst’
used by Part. 59 illustrates the pivotal role played by the relation-
ships with Italian co-workers in creating an interest in studying Ital-
ian. Through the phrase ‘they are so dear’, highly connoted by affect,
the respondent shows that their relationship was not only central in
determining their involvement with the Italian language but was also
deeply valued.
Finally, for some respondents, the opportunity to frequent areas with
a strong presence of Italian restaurants and shops where Italian is widely
spoken, stimulated their desire to learn Italian:
I got to know people through the patronage of their business, restau-
rants, and this reinforced my interest, it is an important part of the pro-
cess for me to have that contact. (Part. 19)
I often go to Norton Street to go to the movies and to buy tomato, basil…
I think the Italian migrants’ experience affected me, it sure has. (Part. 36)
Respondents ascribed their decision to learn Italian to the impact that the
opportunity to shop, eat and live in neighbourhoods with a solid presence
of Italian businesses of various kinds had on them. Through their patron-
age of restaurants and shops, the desire to be able to communicate and
interact using Italian manifested and grew in them. They illustrated this
interest that emerged and increased with time using phrases connoted by
appreciation, such as ‘this reinforced my interest’ (Part. 19) and ‘affected
me’ (Part. 36), to convey the idea that those experiences deeply influenced
their motivation and that without such exposure their interest in learning
Italian could not have emerged.
What these respondents express in their accounts could be described
as the end result of Australian multicultural society that sustained and
promoted the spread of the language brought into Australia by migrants.
As discussed earlier, Italian is a ‘community’ language in the Australian
context, that is, a language spoken by a large group of migrants and used
in a variety of shared social and cultural contexts, legitimising its use as
part of Australian society. As clearly demonstrated by these respondents,
the presence of Italian in Australia through migration has contributed
to triggering and sustaining the interest of Anglophone Australians in a
language that is widely spoken, both inside the family context and also
in many other public domains.
The second round of interviews also highlighted the role played by
Italians in Sydney. In fact, beginner students interviewed after one year
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of learning Italian displayed greater interest in the opportunity to interact
with the local Italian community:
I feel more inclined to interact with the local Italian community, I go to
the Italian fruit shop and because I am trying, they help me, they are very
patient. (Part. 64)
I am more inclined to connecting or interacting when I have the oppor-
tunity to meet Italians. When I can I do it, I have always done it, but
probably I do it more now. (Part. 31)
After a year spent learning Italian, respondents felt more stimulated to
build relationships with the Italian community in Sydney (‘I feel more
inclined’ Part. 64; ‘I am more inclined’ and ‘I do it more now’ Part. 31).
The presence of Italians provides opportunities to engage with Italian
speakers, sustaining the motivation to keep learning the language and
enrolling again in Italian classes. Participants showed an increased inter-
est in the local community and more awareness related to their motiva-
tions to study Italian. The existence of a community of Italian speakers
has become a stronger ‘presence’ in their lives, offering concrete support
to their learning investment, as stated by Part. 64: ‘because I am try-
ing, they help me, they are very patient’. This comment provides the
opportunity to reflect on the disposition of Italian migrants to share
their language and, accordingly, their culture. As mentioned earlier in
reference to Italians in Italy, Italian migrants in Australia display their
own appreciation for people who make an effort to speak Italian. This
attitude possibly contributed to sustaining the interest of Anglophone
Australians in learning Italian and to motivating them to take up Italian
classes. The abundance of opportunities to practise the language, which
is the result of both the presence of a vast Italian migrant community and
the propensity of Italian migrants to share their language with ‘outsiders’
(Clyne, 1994), may have provided a fertile ground for the success of Ital-
ian as an L2 in Australia.
All these stories provide vivid accounts of how exposure to the local
Italian community has played – and continues to play – a significant role
in nurturing the respondents’ love for the Italian language and in moti-
vating them to enrol in Italian courses. Respondents’ interest and their
desire to belong to a community of Italian speakers were sparked by
their relationships with Italian migrants, thus motivating them to learn
the language.
Feeling connected
In this section, I focus on participants’ expressions of their feelings
towards Italy, its culture and its people, when I asked them to explain
what sort of connection they felt with Italian culture and people.
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The analysis of the excerpts highlights the transition from just ‘liking’
Italians to a deeper level, as through the process of learning Italian the
respondents developed a strong emotional sentiment of connectedness
with Italy and Italians. Table 6.2 shows that 17 (26.6%) respondents
reported experiences that I referred to this theme, accounting for 34
(5.8%) of the references.
For these respondents, speaking the language was not simply instrumen-
tal to interacting with Italian people. It was predominantly a means to con-
nect more deeply with a community of Italian speakers in order to become
an integral part of it. Through learning Italian, they developed an emotional
attachment to the country and its people that evolved into sentiments of
attachment and belonging. As the following accounts reveal, respondents
embarked on a journey that took them from feeling connected to a commu-
nity of Italian speakers to being engaged in the initial stages of a process of
identity development. Italian society is viewed as their home, their family,
their country, marking the emergence of the beginning of identity changes.
Some of the respondents conveyed their sentiments of connectedness
with Italians and Italian culture as a sense of feeling at home:
I feel connected through the language… I do have an empathy based on
my experience when I was in Italy. Going to Italy is coming home, I need
to go there for a boost. The more I go the more I feel that way. (Part. 18)
I went there for the first time. I got off the plane and I felt as if I was at
home. Just magic, the language, the food, the people, the wine. I tried
to go almost every year. Whenever my husband and I got off the plane I
used to say to him I just feel we are coming home again. (Part. 57)
It is a sense of being at home, a sense of belonging or being accepted, not
being a foreigner, not being a tourist. (Part. 67)
The connection that respondents felt is epitomised by the recurrent use of
the word ‘home’ (‘going to Italy is coming home’ Part. 18; ‘I felt as I was
at home’ Part. 57; ‘a sense of being at home’ Part. 67), highly connoted
by affect. All these phrases vividly express the profound impact (‘I do
have an empathy’ Part. 18) that speaking the language, being in Italy and
being immersed in Italian culture had on the participants’ sense of being
completely at ease in the Italian cultural context and their willingness
to embrace and embody Italian culture (‘a sense of belonging or being
accepted’ Part. 67).
In other cases, this connection was felt so profoundly that the images
evoked by the respondents were those of the ‘true’ family, representing
Italy as their family or even their own country:
I do feel connected; it’s a bit like almost nepotism… you favour some-
one who is in your family… even in sporting things or in any sort of
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competition you tend to ‘oh I go for Italy’ or even if you buy a car, you
may not even like Italian cars but you are still looking at them because
they are Italian… it’s almost like a patriotic thing. (Part. 47)
If I was going to learn another language for me had to be Italian, it’s
funny I didn’t even think to learn another language. I don’t think I have
an affinity with any other country, Italy is my country of choice to go
back to. (Part. 63)
The connection they felt is depicted as a bond with someone who is part
of the same family (‘you favour someone who is in your family’ Part.
47), or a place which is part of our identity, of who we are (‘Italy is my
country of choice’ Part. 63). Through these phrases, conveying affect,
participants emphasised their connectedness with Italian culture, show-
ing their strong attachment to almost any aspect of Italian culture that it
was described as ‘nepotism’. The feelings of closeness that respondents
articulated are reminiscent of a discovery journey that started with their
willingness to become closer to either a real or an imagined community of
Italian speakers, thereby displaying integrativeness, and developed into
embracing Italy as a new home. This process triggered a dynamic of iden-
tity (re)construction, signalling the surfacing of an emergent Italian ideal
self (‘it’s almost like a patriotic thing’ Part. 47). This trajectory suggests
a connection between integrativeness and a subsequent emergence of an
Italian ideal self. The association between integrativeness and the ideal
L2 self was also identified in the quantitative study conducted by Ryan
(2009b) on Japanese learners of English mentioned earlier. The results of
his study suggested that both concepts may be linked to the same senti-
ment of emotional identification and connectedness that learners experi-
ence towards the language and its speakers.
Connectedness with Italy and Italians was also reported after one year
into the learning process by participants who were beginner students at
the time of the first interview. For some of them, learning Italian triggered
an emotional closeness with the culture of Italy, also marking a transi-
tion from imagining a community of Italian speakers to interacting with
one. The following accounts show that the year spent studying Italian
reinforced their perception of feeling connected with Italy and its culture:
I think there is a stronger emotional connection with why Italians think
or do what they do. Yes, I think my feelings have changed about a lot of
things Italian and about some Italians in particular, a deeper apprecia-
tion. (Part. 31)
I feel definitely more connected. We chose to go back to Italy again this
year, it’s our destination of choice. The cultural part, we did a lot last
year, and this year we are almost avowing this because what we like is
going there and feeling we are living there. (Part. 44)
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The desire to learn Italian to cultivate an ‘Italian persona’ and become
members of a community of Italian speakers impacted on learners’
motivations even at an early stage of the learning process. After one year
spent learning Italian, beginner students reported feeling more emotion-
ally connected (‘there is a stronger emotional connection’ Part. 31; ‘I feel
definitely more connected’ Part. 44) and more attracted towards Italians
and their culture (‘a deeper appreciation’ Part. 31). But there is more to
it than that. It appears that the learning process, even though it spanned
only 12 months, did trigger the beginning of a discovery journey (‘what
we like is going there and feeling we are living there’ Part. 44). This is
reminiscent of the dynamic described above, which connects and perhaps
amalgamates the desire to be part of a community of Italian speakers
with the early stage of an identity (re)construction process.
These findings are also supported by the outcomes of the factor anal-
ysis which identified Factor 1 ‘Italian as a second identity’ as the second
strongest factor. This factor represents a desire to learn Italian to culti-
vate and perform an ‘Italian persona’, acquiring an Italian identity and
becoming a member of a community of Italian speakers, thus positioning
respondents in a dynamic process of identity development.
The learning community
Another element that appears to have played a role in motivat-
ing some of the respondents to learn Italian are the opportunities for
socialisation offered by participating in a common learning experience
with like-minded people. Table 6.2 shows that 9 (14.1%) respondents
reported the importance of the learning community in sustaining their
effort to learn Italian, and 12 (2.1%) references have been connected to
this theme.
When asked to describe their learning experiences, some respondents
reported a feeling of group belonging, generated by their involvement in
a class of language learners. This, in turn, contributed to sustaining their
learning effort. For the more mature learners, the peer group was a key
aspect of their learning experience, and opportunities for socialisation
within the group functioned as a powerful motivational drive. The learn-
ing group that respondents shared represented communities of practice
where Italian learners were engaged in pursuing a common endeavour
(Eckert, 2006). This common endeavour occurred through weekly activi-
ties they were occupied with, ranging from doing homework together to
speaking Italian to practice, from having weekly ‘Italian’ lunches to being
engaged intellectually in learning Italian.
For some of the interviewees, both the more specifically social oppor-
tunities and the pleasantness of the group of fellow learners were at play
in motivating them to study Italian:
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The nature of the class is part of the enthusiasm, the energy in the room
that has been created by all these people enthusiastically wanting to do
the same thing and the time passed so quickly we go out after two hours
on a high. (Part. 40)
I enjoy being a student, I enjoy doing my homework and the group
because they are very motivated and interesting, it is an intellectual
group. (Part. 7)
As these accounts reveal, the learning environment and the group of
peers are aspects of the learning process that played a significant role in
sustaining the respondents’ motivations (‘I enjoy… the group’ Part. 7;
‘The nature of the class is part of the enthusiasm’ Part. 40). The social
dynamics among fellow learners (‘they are very motivated and interest-
ing, it is an intellectual group’ Part. 7; ‘all these people enthusiastically
wanting to do the same thing’ Part. 40) produced pleasant social environ-
ments that functioned as motivational drives to sustain the effort. Phrases
highly connoted by appreciation, such as ‘I enjoy being a student’ Part.
7, and the use of intensifiers, such as the adverb ‘enthusiastically’ Part.
40, were used to convey the pleasure and the gratification of sharing the
learning process with peers, the fervour of the class group and the energy
created by like-minded people pursuing a common goal.
For some other respondents, the social opportunity offered by the
class group transformed into friendships that went beyond the time spent
in the classroom:
I am still in contact with my previous class… and we come together
because we speak Italian and this is the bond for us, if we weren’t all learn-
ing Italian or if we couldn’t speak Italian we wouldn’t have that bond or
that interest, so that opened up that social opportunity for me. (Part. 56)
I had a three-year gap… and I was really pleased to go back… and when
I went back I had two ready-made people to have lunch with every Fri-
day… is sort of a social thing as well. (Part. 63)
The motivational drive produced by the social aspect of the learning
process was described using the word ‘bond’ (Part. 56), underlying the
strong ties created among the respondents by sharing a common learn-
ing interest (‘if we weren’t all learning Italian’ Part. 56) and by all being
involved in the same learning process as a community. Respondents
stressed the fact that the friendship created with other students in the
class group lasted over the years (‘I am still in contact with my previous
class’ Part. 56), motivating them to resume the study of the language in
view of re-bonding with fellow learners (‘I had a three year gap… and
I was really pleased to go back’ Part. 63).
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Interestingly, the pleasantness of the group of fellow learners was one
of the reasons that encouraged the beginner students interviewed after
one year to enrol again in Italian classes:
I enjoy our class, people are willing to share, it’s a positive environment
to learn. I like the camaraderie. (Part. 11)
These accounts show that in a longitudinal perspective the desire to learn
Italian was supported by the enjoyment derived from participating in
the classroom experience (‘I enjoy our classes’ Part 11), which provided
beginners with a strong motivation to re-enrol. The word ‘enjoy’ point-
ing to feelings of appreciation was used recurrently by respondents, as the
previous account shows. The pleasantness of the L2 learning experience
(‘it’s a positive environment to learn’ Part. 11) functioned as a motiva-
tional drive, confirming the relevance of the ‘L2 learning experience’
(Dörnyei, 2009).
Overall, the responses analysed in this section demonstrate how the
investment in the learning process was sustained by a range of drives
that were independent, to an extent, from the specific language being
learned, and that were linked to other social dynamics, such as the inher-
ent human need of belonging to groups of like-minded people and the
enjoyment which derived from participating in the classroom experience.
These findings are in line with numerous studies on group dynamics
in the L2 field (Dörnyei, 2005; Dörnyei & Malderez, 1997; Dörnyei &
Murphey, 2003; Ehrman & Dörnyei, 1998; Senior, 1997; Ushioda, 2003).
In particular, in their study on motivation in the L2 classroom, Clément
et al. (1994) found that ‘group cohesion is associated with a positive eval-
uation of the learning environment’, facilitating the formation of social
bonding among learners and the creation of a motivating atmosphere in
the classroom. As Ushioda (2003: 93) points out in referring to the L2
classroom, ‘The social unit of the classroom is clearly instrumental in
developing and supporting the motivation of the individual’.
Summary
The findings presented in this section have shown respondents’
motivations to learn Italian to become part of a community of Italian
speakers. Their desire to be part of it was driven by their appreciation
for Italians and their culture, which they developed through contacts
with Italian people both locally and in Italy itself. Respondents’ positive
attitudes towards Italians derived from a range of different experiences
they had in connecting with them and with the many facets of Italian cul-
ture. A rich, historic and artistic heritage, an attractive travel destination
and a tradition solidly connected with a taste for hospitality and with
the pleasures of the table, all contributed to provide robust motivational
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drives to learn Italian. Context-specific aspects inherent in the learning
process, such as the presence of an established and vibrant local com-
munity of Italian migrants, also stimulated respondents’ motivations to
become part of a community of Italian speakers. Finally, the classroom
also represented a community of practice through which participants’
motivations to learn Italian were supported and nurtured.
The desire of the respondents to become full members of a commu-
nity of Italian speakers is summarised well in the following quote:
I’d just love to be part of the landscape… being in it without obviously
being an outsider. (Part. 43)
Trajectories of Identity: Developing an Italian Ideal Self
The construct of identity is critical to explain several dynamics that
emerged from the accounts that participants offered to illustrate their
motivation to study Italian. In particular, the construct of the Ideal L2
Self (Dörnyei, 2009) plays a pivotal role in explaining the respondents’
motivations to learn Italian. The ideal L2 self reflects an additional iden-
tity that participants wish to attain through acquiring an L2. It represents
the individual that participants want to become, who speaks the language
they want to acquire. Respondents’ aspirations to develop an Italian
self become an effective motivator, triggering a process of self-identity
(re)construction. As is clear from the interviews, for many respondents,
learning Italian represented a way to alter, enrich and enhance their iden-
tity through a series of activities and actions that learning and speaking
Italian afforded. The aim of this section is to explore how several themes
that emerged from the interviews are linked to a process of identity devel-
opment and (re)construction. Table 6.3 shows the themes that emerged
from the interviews and that I referred to as the construct of identity.
Table 6.3 Themes reflecting ‘identity’
Total sourcesa
(corpus 64)
Total referencesa
(corpus 585)
Total sourcesa
(%)
Total referencesa
(%)
Identity 53 200 82.8 34.2
Developing the
Italian ideal self
44 100 68.8 17.1
Achieving and
avoiding failure
32 46 50.0 7.9
Identity as a
seasoned traveller
32 40 50.0 6.8
Trajectories of
learning and identity
9 18 14.1 3.1
a
Figures and percentages refer to sources and references of the first round of interviews that
have been coded under the construct of identity.
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For each theme, Table 6.3 shows figures and percentages for the
number of sources and the number of references. As explained above,
‘source’ refers to interview participants (total corpus 64) whose accounts
included references to the construct of identity (53 participants). ‘Refer-
ences’ (total corpus 585) indicates participants’ accounts that were coded
under the construct of identity (200 references).
Developing the Italian ideal self
In this section, I focus on the process of identity development that
many respondents referred to when asked to describe what acquiring Ital-
ian meant to them. Table 6.3 shows that 44 (68.8%) respondents reported
experiences linked to processes of identity development. In total, 100
(17.1%) references were coded under this theme.
Dynamics of identity development and negotiation have been exten-
sively explored in poststructuralist studies on L2 learning motivation
(Heller, 1987; Norton Peirce, 1995; Pavlenko & Lantolf, 2000; Pavlenko
& Blackledge, 2004; Sfard, 1998), and applied to many different contexts.
In globalised and multicultural contexts, characterised by the increasing
mobility of people, migration flows and the rise of media technologies
and social networks, dynamics of identity development become available
to L2 learners, who can decide to add to their pre-existing cultural and
language identity a newly acquired self. For respondents of this study, the
process of identity development encompassed the emergence of an Italian
ideal self to reduce the discrepancy between their actual non-speaking
Italian self and the desired Italian-speaking self. In discussing these
dynamics, respondents illustrated several different experiences pertaining
to different trajectories of identity (re)construction. I have categorised
these experiences of identity development as trajectories of investment
in personal accomplishment, acquisition of forms of symbolic capital,
understanding of another culture and connection with different people,
and visualising and projecting a new identity.
Investing in personal accomplishment
For some of the respondents, the motivation to learn Italian was
related to the dynamics of personal accomplishment that contributed to
the development of their self-identity. Speaking Italian was perceived as
a pure reward in itself, unrelated to any potential professional or social
benefits, simply enabling them to fulfil a strongly desired goal:
For me there was no material reward in learning Italian… but it’s the best
thing I have ever done. Purely for my own satisfaction, purely rewarding
in a way which is difficult to explain, it opens up your life, it’s about your
own satisfaction, your self-identity I suppose… It gives you satisfaction
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and reward, but not a material reward… not in a financial material
sense… You can’t quantify it, but it’s massively rewarding. (Part. 19)
If I wanted to learn a language for business I’d learn Japanese or Manda-
rin, there is no real benefit in learning Italian… I am doing this because
it’s for my personal life… the day I will be confident in Italian will be an
achievement for me. (Part. 60)
The profound impact that learning Italian had on participants’ percep-
tions of their own self accomplishments is vividly illustrated in the above
accounts. The learning process is not about a material gain to improve
work opportunities. On the contrary, it is about feeling personally
rewarded (‘Purely for my own satisfaction, purely rewarding’ Part. 19;
‘will be an achievement for me’ Part. 60) through investing in the devel-
opment of the self (‘it’s about your own satisfaction, your self-identity
I suppose’ Part. 19; ‘it’s for my personal life’ Part. 60). Learning Italian
was a process that added to learners’ own selves (‘I am doing this for my
personal life’ Part. 60), providing great personal fulfilment and enabling
respondents to develop an Italian ideal self for its own sake. Part. 19’s use
of intensifiers like ‘purely’ and ‘massively’ conveys the sense of an invest-
ment in a project that paid them back in personal terms.
Other respondents connected the accomplishment of speaking Italian
fluently and the ability to have meaningful conversations with Italian
people with positive feelings, thus reinforcing their motivation to learn
Italian to develop an Italian ideal self:
If I could speak Italian fluently it would empower me in that I can have
more than two languages and that I can learn even if I am not young
anymore… it will increase my self-esteem. (Part. 66)
To be able to speak Italian fluently is a sense of satisfaction, you get some
kind of results… it opens up more opportunities to engage with people.
(Part. 8)
Respondents recurrently used terms such as ‘fluently’ to express their
desire to be able, one day, to identify themselves as confident speakers
of Italian. Their depictions of themselves as Italian speakers conveyed
pleasurable personal rewards and satisfaction (‘it will increase my self-
esteem’ Part. 66; ‘it is a sense of satisfaction’ Part. 8) that impacted on
their identity (‘it will empower me’ Part. 66). Respondents emphasised
that becoming a fluent speaker of Italian would have a positive impact
on their own selves through the fulfilment of a highly regarded – and

enjoyable – personal accomplishment, enhancing their sense of worth
and enriching their identity (‘it opens up more opportunities’ Part. 8)
with a tool to connect with Italian people.
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Acquiring forms of symbolic capital
In illustrating what the process of learning Italian meant to them, some
respondents referred to the acquisition of a number of benefits which added
to their intellectual and social persona. These benefits were viewed by the
respondents as forms of investment to enrich and enhance their identity,
promoting the emergence of the Italian ideal self and reducing the discrep-
ancy between their current self and the desired one. For these respondents,
the decision to learn Italian was a sort of investment (Norton, 2000) to
acquire some forms of symbolic capital (Bourdieu, 1977, 1991) represented
by the intangible benefits that speaking Italian could provide to its speak-
ers. They regarded the ability to speak Italian as a form of ‘currency’ that
gave them access to opportunities for social and intellectual exchanges.
This currency acted as an intangible resource which profiled respondents’
social identity and promoted the emergence of their Italian ideal self.
The allure of sophistication that Italian offers as a marketable L2 had
a strong influence on motivating some respondents to learn Italian, as the
following account shows:
It has a certain appeal having such a romantic language under your belt.
It makes you appear more sophisticated in a way. (Part. 10)
The appeal of learning Italian derived from the reward gained through
the immaterial gratification of sentiments of refinement and sophistica-
tion as an add-on to respondents’ identity. The statement ‘It makes you
appear more sophisticated’ refers to a projected ideal Italian identity
associated with the ability to speak a language that is considered, among
other languages, the epitome of European refinement.
Acquiring forms of symbolic capital was also seen as an investment
to become culturally more competent:
It adds to your identity, a much more cosmopolitan mentality… It
broadens your identity, your way of thinking… You also take on board
other interesting cultural aspects. It almost becomes an integral part of
your life and you start to see that as a part of you. (Part. 31)
Learning Italian enhanced respondents’ cultural perspectives (‘a more
cosmopolitan mentality’ and ‘take on board other interesting cultural
aspects’), adding another dimension to their selves (‘it broadens your
identity’). This experience impacted significantly on their lives, as
they felt they were incorporating new identitarian elements (‘it almost
becomes an integral part of your life’) and were shifting towards a differ-
ent person (‘you start to see that as a part of you’).
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Understanding of another culture and connecting with different people
For other respondents, learning Italian was associated with the
opportunity to enrich their understanding of a different culture and its
people. Their investment focused on developing a new interpretative
framework to comprehend another sociocultural context:
Learning another language broadens your perspective, it enables you to
realise that there is a lot more to life than just one culture, one language,
one culture, one people. (Part. 29)
As well as being a window into Italy and Italian culture and life I think
it helps with enlarging my view… Being open to various cultures and
lifestyles has a sort of broadening effect. (Part. 36)
Respondents affirmed that the enrichment provided by speaking Ital-
ian related to the development of an additional identitarian dimension.
Learning Italian provided the opportunity to develop an Italian cultural
outlook to interpret Italian culture and to connect to its people. These
dynamics resonate in participants’ statements such as ‘there is a lot more
to life than just one culture, one language, one culture, one people’ (Part.
29) and ‘it has a sort of broadening effect’ (Part. 36). These word choices
emphasise respondents’ perception of learning Italian as a step towards
altering their identity to incorporate different lenses through which to
approach and interpret Italian culture (and their own).
One participant made an interesting comment in relation to the fact
that both English and Italian were L2s:
Learning other languages enriched my identity, if you learn different
languages you grow, you see things with different eyes, learning English
and Italian added to my idea of the world, another way of enriching my
life. (Part. 55)
This respondent explicitly associated the process of learning an L2
with a dynamic of identity development that entails the expansion of
the boundaries of the self to incorporate new perspectives to better
understand the surrounding social contexts. The phrase ‘added to my
idea of the world’ emphasises the strong connection established by this
participant between learning English and Italian as L2s and being able to
encompass a broader and enriched comprehension of other people and
other cultures.
For respondents who had just started learning Italian, the process of iden-
tity development was less marked than for participants who were at interme-
diate and advanced levels. However, some elements indicating dynamics of
identity (re)construction were already surfacing, as emerged in the responses
of participants who participated in the second round of interviews:
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The more I learn the more I want to learn because I will have a better
opportunity through that greater knowledge to have a better understand-
ing of Italian history, culture, people, current affairs, and I find that
enriching. (Part. 31)
Learning Italian triggered a deeper interest (‘The more I learn the more
I want to learn’) in gaining a broader understanding of Italian culture, to
be able to better appreciate its different components, thus fulfilling the
desire to enhance the current self (‘I find that enriching’) with another
identitarian dimension.
Visualising and projecting a new identity as a competent speaker
In their responses about what learning Italian meant to them, some
respondents referred to a journey towards a new identity that they were
able to visualise. Their ability to depict themselves in a future in which
they will able to speak Italian and to interact with Italian people func-
tioned as a powerful motivational drive to sustain their effort of learn-
ing Italian. The motivational function of imagination and imagery has
proven its efficacy in L2 learning and methodologies of imagining creation
and development may facilitate the emergence of an Italian ideal self,
reinforcing the learners’ vision of themselves as competent Italian speak-
ers. The following accounts suggest some considerations on this aspect:
Sometime I do picture myself being able to talk, speak Italian and it’s a
nice feeling, I have been feeling about it. (Part. 25)
I had that vision, if I think that I can speak it maybe I can. (Part. 60)
Respondents were able to use their imagination to depict a future in
which they would speak Italian. The use of imagination is well illustrated
by the wording used to describe the mental process to evoke those images
(‘I do picture myself’ Part. 25; ‘I had that vision’ Part. 60). The choice of
these phrases suggests that participants were able to reduce the discrep-
ancy between their non-Italian-speaking current self and the Italian ideal
self by employing the use of imagination to bring to mind a point in time
in which the Italian ideal self would be a reality. Furthermore, the state-
ment ‘if I think that I can speak it maybe I can’ (Part. 60) supports the
idea that envisioning a future of being able to embody an Italian ideal self
contributed to sustaining the motivation to achieve that goal.
Other respondents connected the learning process to a trajectory of
identity development in more explicit terms:
It’s like moving towards being another person in another culture, so it’s
kind of an extension of yourself, it’s like you can move on to one identity
and moving to another one. (Part. 67)
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It is starting to become part of my own identity. (Part. 10)
Statements such as ‘you can move on to one identity and moving to
another one’ (Part. 67) and ‘it’s starting to become part of my own
identity’ (Part. 10) reveal that the process of projecting themselves into
a new identity has already started, engaging participants in a dynamic
of identity (re)construction. Part. 67, in particular, offered an extremely
vivid depiction of this process, referring to it as ‘an extension of yourself’,
thus portraying effectively the dynamic process of integrating current and
future dimensions of the self.
The participants I interviewed in the second round of interviews
also reported that even after one year of studying Italian, they started
depicting themselves as competent speakers of Italian, as the following
accounts show:
I didn’t think I would continue to really try and speak in a meaningful
way, I thought I would just learn a few words. And now I really want
to continue until I speak it much more fluently… I can visualise myself
as a fluent speaker of Italian. I will be able to think in Italian. (Part. 44)
I will be still studying in three years time, maybe getting to intermediate
level. By that stage I will be able to immerse myself more into it. I can
picture myself as someone able to communicate fluently in Italian. When
I will start intermediate level I will begin to speak, I can see that as an
outcome. (Part. 49)
After one year of studying Italian, these respondents displayed the capac-
ity to portray themselves as competent speakers of Italian. The learning
process and the acquisition of basic knowledge of Italian gave them
confidence that they could reduce the discrepancy between their current
self and the Italian ideal self (‘I can visualise myself as a fluent speaker of
Italian’ Part. 44; ‘I can picture myself as someone able to communicate
fluently in Italian’ Part. 49), thus using their imagination to picture them-
selves as competent speakers of Italian. Part. 44 conveyed the determina-
tion to progress in the study of Italian through the repetition of the word
‘really’, emphasising the conviction that learning Italian was a long-term
commitment. Part. 49, in particular, was able to create a narrative related
to the journey of learning Italian, a kind of goal-setting process with
progressive steps (‘When I will start Intermediate level’; ‘I will be still
studying in three years’ time’) and desired results (‘I can see that as an
outcome’; ‘I will be able to immerse myself more into it’).
I conclude this section with a quote that I found very representative
of the process for developing the Italian ideal self:
That’s part of what learning another language is, to slip seamlessly
into another culture. I can go and live in Italy for six months, have an
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apartment somewhere, make it my home base and go shopping, get to
museums, theatres, Opera, visit archaeological sites and not feeling like
an outsider. That’s why I am learning the language, to be able to slip into
the culture, I want to know why they think the way they think. (Part. 62)
This account reveals the capacity of this respondent to plan the future in
relation to the learning process and to what the ability to speak Italian
will achieve. Living in Italy for an extended period of time (‘I can go and
live in Italy for six months’), being part of the local lifestyle and feeling
at home (‘make it my home base’ and ‘not feeling as an outsider’), are all
motivational drives to learn Italian and subsequently to be able to acquire
an Italian identity to understand the way in which Italian people think,
believe, feel and react.
This excerpt also depicts the fluid nature of the process through
which two motivational drives, community and identity, reinforce each
other. As discussed earlier, my model of L2 learning motivation shows
how these two constructs are, most of the times, intertwined. The devel-
opment of an Italian ideal self is inextricably linked to the desire to
become part of a community of Italian speakers, a community which
creates a sense of belonging to another ‘home’, thus confirming that
the process of identity (re)construction and the willingness to become a
member of a community of Italian speakers are interrelated dynamics,
which can sustain each other.
The accounts presented in this section show that my study’s partici-
pants are engaged in a process in which the interplay between identity
development and L2 learning allows them to be represented by multiple
identities and memberships, becoming global consumers of multilin-
gualism (Piller, 2001). Through the process of identity (re)construction,
learners of Italian can negotiate their own ideal self-image, acquiring the
status of individuals who can potentially adopt multiple identities and
belongings (Pavlenko & Lantolf, 2000). These findings are also supported
by the outcomes of the factor analysis which identified Factor 1 ‘Italian
as a second identity’ as the second strongest factor. This factor represents
the capacity of the respondents to depict a future in which their ability
to communicate in Italian at different levels (spoken and written) is an
achievable goal. In her study on Australian university students learning
German, Schmidt (2014) came to similar conclusions in relation to the
emergence of an ideal L2 self that is represented by the students’ visions
of themselves as German speakers in a not-too-distant future. For those
students, learning German was considered a ‘life changer’ at a very per-
sonal level, as some of respondents’ accounts presented in this section
have shown in relation to learning Italian.
Achieving and avoiding failure
When asked why they decided to learn Italian, more than half
of the respondents articulated their answers by providing a two-tier
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