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This paper presents the results of a study that shed light on how English language students and teachers in Chinese higher education experienced a set of interculturality-oriented teaching materials developed by the European RICH-Ed project (Resources for Interculturality in Chinese Higher Education). The investigation involved 2,267 students and 41 teachers, who had tested one of the teaching modules put forward by RICH-Ed to stimulate intercultural development in a non-essentialist perspective. Participants were asked their opinions either by means of interviews or questionnaires. Data were analysed thematically. Results show that participants expressed a need for: (1) better detailed step-by-step instructional procedures and learning guidelines; (2) theoretical explanations of non-essentialism made vivid through examples and cases; (3) increased use of audio-visual and web resources as teaching materials. Findings indicate that participants resisted the idea that there are no right and wrong answers when talking about cultural groups, and that learning is contextual, since it depends on the students’ situated meanings and interpretation. While these results are linked to Chinese higher education, they are relevant in a plurality of contexts, considering that the systemic integration of intercultural learning – especially from a non-essentialist perspective – in language education is still incomplete in many educational settings.

Within the field of applied linguistics, a new trend in research can be envisaged which links study abroad and intercultural learning (Beaven & Borghetti, 2016): while in the ‘90s much research measured the students’ language gains as a result of their sojourn abroad (Coleman, 2015), after the so-called ‘social turn’ (Block, 2003), the field saw a substantial change in perspective; it shifted the focus towards students’ language socialisation abroad, with the aim of understanding what personal and social factors impact on the students’ language learning (Kinginger, 2009). This is the ground on which applied linguistics and the established domains of intercultural communication and cross-cultural psychology dedicated to SA meet; students’ language use abroad is situated in interpersonal relationships, which have the potential to influence the individual’s intercultural development as much as his or her second language acquisition. Thus, also in agreement with the so-called ‘cultural turn’ in language education (Byram, Holmes & Savvides, 2013), SA as a domain of enquiry within the field of applied linguistics is paying now much attention to intercultural issues concerning study abroad, clearly within a mainly language-oriented perspective (Beaven & Borghetti, 2016).

Per offrire assistenza agli studenti universitari nel corso dell’esperienza di mobilità, è importante capire il loro punto di vista riguardo il soggiorno all’estero. Questo articolo si concentra su un gruppo di studenti (N = 990) iscritti a corsi di studio vari, che si trovavano in fasi diverse della mobilità al momento dello studio (alcuni non erano partiti, altri si trovavano all’estero, altri ancora erano già tornati). La domanda aperta posta loro chiedeva di menzionare i tre fattori che più di altri determinano il successo dell’esperienza all’estero. Questa domanda faceva parte di un questionario somministrato in Europa dal progetto IEREST (http://ierest-project.eu). Una procedura di analisi dei dati mista e sequenziale ha portato all’identificazione di sei temi: lingua e comunicazione, contatti sociali, questioni pratiche, sviluppo personale, vantaggi accademici, e viaggi. Questo articolo presenta l’analisi dei primi tre temi, e mostra che, sebbene la competenza linguistica sia l’aspetto più frequentemente menzionato, gli studenti attribuiscono particolare importanza allo sviluppo personale (all’“apertura”) e ai contatti sociali (tra cui le amicizie). All’interno di IEREST, questi risultati sono serviti a sviluppare materiali di educazione interculturale per studenti Erasmus, ma offrono indicazioni utili a educatori e ricercatori anche in riferimento ad altri contesti di mobilità studentesca. In order to provide better support for students in higher education throughout a mobility experience, it is important to understand their point of view regarding stay abroad. This paper analyzes the responses of pre-departure, while-abroad, and upon-return students of different academic backgrounds (N = 990) to an open question that asked them to name the three most essential factors for making their stay abroad experience successful. This question was part of a wider online questionnaire distributed in Europe by the IEREST project (http://ierest-project. eu). A sequential mixed-method procedure identified six themes that were frequently cited: language and communication, social contacts, practicalities, personal development, academic advantages, and travel. This paper presents a more detailed analysis of the first three themes. It shows that although language proficiency was the single most frequently mentioned aspect, students attached particular importance to aspects of personal development (in particular with respect to openness) and social contacts (crucially including friendship). These findings informed the development of teaching materials within IEREST for supporting intercultural learning in the Erasmus context and may also be relevant to educators and researchers in various other study abroad contexts.

L’utilizzo della sottotitolazione interlinguistica a fini glottodidattici è stato ampiamente studiato negli ultimi dieci anni. Si registra però la mancanza di studi dedicati alla creazione dei sottotitoli per l’educazione interculturale. Questo articolo è un primo tentativo di verificare su basi empiriche il potenziale della sottotitolazione nell’ambito dell’educazione linguistica interculturale. L’articolo presenta un case study condotto presso un’università irlandese con quattordici studenti di italiano (livello A2/B1) che hanno frequentato il modulo sperimentale come parte integrante del loro corso di lingua. Lo scopo dello studio è quello di verificare se la creazione di sottotitoli può offrire agli studenti opportunità di sviluppo della consapevolezza culturale e interculturale. Lo studio si avvale di vari metodi di raccolta dati: due questionari, interviste, registrazioni audio delle lezioni, schede didattiche, appunti dell’insegnante, i sottotitoli prodotti dagli studenti. L’intero corpus è stato analizzato tematicamente. I risultati dello studio confermano che gli insegnanti ricoprono un ruolo decisivo nel favorire lo sviluppo della consapevolezza culturale e interculturale degli studenti quando stimolano l’interazione tra pari; nondimeno, i risultati mostrano anche che l’utilizzo della sottotitolazione può offrire occasioni di apprendimento interculturale anche quando la mediazione dell’insegnante è limitata. Interlingual subtitling has been extensively investigated for language learning and teaching purposes in the last decade. However, there is a lack of research into the creation of subtitles as a means of intercultural learning. This article is a first empirical attempt to verify the potential of subtitling for intercultural language education. It reports on a case study carried out at an Irish University with fourteen A2/B1-level students of Italian, who attended a subtitling module as a regular part of their language course. The aim of the study was to investigate whether the creation of subtitles can offer language students opportunities for learning in terms of cultural and intercultural awareness development. A multi-method approach was employed to collect data through initial and final questionnaires, interviews with participants, class audio-recordings, teaching forms and notes, and students’ interlingual subtitles. Thematic analysis of the collected data was then conducted. Findings confirm that teachers play a major role in enhancing students’ cultural and intercultural awareness development fostering class interaction and discussions; however, they also show that the use of subtitling tasks offer conditions in which students can better develop intercultural skills even when teacher mediation is limited.

This paper explores higher education students’ beliefs and attitudes concerning language learning and use in the context of learning mobility, when lingua francas – including English – are used. Data were collected through a questionnaire administered to 141 Erasmus students at an Italian University. The open-ended questions were analysed using a constructivist grounded theory approach, and findings checked against the quantitative data. The analysis distinguishes between respondents’ beliefs, that is, overt convictions influencing learning behaviour, and attitudes operating below the level of awareness. Findings address three main issues: (1) the apparent contradiction between the respondents’ attitudes and beliefs regarding the opinion that lingua francas offer valuable language-learning opportunities; (2) their implicit questioning of the language-culture nexus; and (3) the study sheds light on code choice and negotiation. Questo articolo esamina le convinzioni e atteggiamenti degli studenti universitari in materia di apprendimento e utilizzo delle lingue in contesto di mobilita, quando tali lingue – compreso l'inglese – vengono usate come lingue franche. I dati sono stati raccolti attraverso un questionario somministrato a 141 studenti Erasmus presso un'universita italiana. Le domande aperte sono state analizzate con un approccio costruttivista ispirato alla grounded theory; i risultati sono stati quindi verificati sui dati quantitativi. Lo scopo dell'analisi era distinguere le convinzioni degli intervistati (le credenze esplicite che influenzano le modalita di apprendimento) e gli atteggiamenti che operano al di sotto del livello di consapevolezza. I risultati riguardano tre aree: (1) l'apparente contraddizione tra cio che gli intervistati credono (convinzioni) e i loro atteggiamenti per quanto riguarda le opportunita di apprendimento linguistico offerto dal comunicare tramite lingue franche; (2) la loro implicita messa in discussione del nesso lingua-cultura; infine, (3) le dinamiche connesse alla scelta e alla negoziazione del codice

Language teaching, after the 'intercultural turn' of the 1990s which more recently made it possible to speak of Foreign Language Education or Intercultural Foreign Language Education (IFLE), proposes broadening the aims of language education to include among its main concerns students' intercultural competence (IC), personal growth, and intercultural critical citizenship. This educational broadening of language-teaching horizons raises delicate and controversial issues, first of all concerning the relationship intercultural objectives have with communicative objectives at both curriculum and methodology levels. This issue, crucial since teaching a foreign language is clearly a priority for IFLE, is addressed in the present article through a proposal to integrate two models: the Methodological Model of Intercultural Competence (MetMIC) (Borghetti 2011), and the Teaching Unit Model (TUM) (Freddi 1975, 1994; Porcelli 1994; Zorzi 1995; Balboni 2002). These two frameworks, each within its own area of application (intercultural education in the case of MetMIC and foreign language teaching in the case of TUM) are focussed on curriculum planning and put forward methodological suggestions for teachers. Their integration, as suggested in this article, can be carried out on three levels (general and educational, ‘macro’ or curricular, and ‘micro’ or methodological) and allows for coherently pursuing intercultural and communicative objectives through theoretically-informed methodological choices about curriculum structure and teaching methodologies.

Il presente articolo, di stampo pedagogico e operativo, descrive e commenta un’attività di educazione interculturale per studenti Erasmus sviluppata nel contesto del progetto europeo IEREST (http://ierest-project.eu/). L’attività “24 h Erasmus Life” mira a far riflettere gli studenti sul quattro aree tematiche: i possibili risvolti emotivi del percorso di mobilità, le differenze comunicative che caratterizzano ambienti accademici differenti, la dimensione sociale dell’esperienza all’estero, e i risvolti identitari dell’uso linguistico. Nell’autunno 2014, l’attività “24 h Erasmus Life” è stata sperimentata da alcuni insegnanti dell’Università di Bologna con due gruppi di studenti: il gruppo A, composto da 18 studenti internazionali, ha seguito l’attività in aula tramite lezioni faccia-a-faccia. Il gruppo B era formato da 23 studenti dell’Università di Bologna che, al momento dello svolgimento dell’attività, si trovavano in Erasmus; per questa ragione il gruppo B ha partecipato all’attività in modalità a distanza, tramite un Learning Management System. Il presente articolo ripercorre le fasi in cui si articola l’attività , si sofferma sulle esperienze degli studenti, e commenta alcuni estratti tratti dalle trascrizioni delle lezioni (gruppo A) e alcuni esempi tratti dai blog e dai forum dell’attività online (gruppo B). In generale, l’articolo intende mostrare come si è svolto l’insegnamento nei due casi considerati. This pedagogical paper describes and discusses a teaching activity of intercultural education for mobile students developed within the European IEREST project (http://ierest-project.eu/). The activity is titled “24h Erasmus Life” and aims at making students reflect on four interrelated areas of their sojourn: the emotional impact of living abroad, the understanding of how communication works within a different academic community, the broader social dimension of the experiences, and the identity-related language issues. In Autumn 2014, the activity was tested with two different groups of students by teachers at the University of Bologna (UNIBO): the first group (A) was formed by 18 international incoming students and was taught by face-to-face teaching in Bologna; the second group (B) comprised 23 UNIBO students who were doing their study abroad in a variety of European countries, and participated in the activity by means of a Learning Management System. This paper traces the main instructional phases of “24h Erasmus Life”, and comments on the students’ learning experiences by reporting extracts from transcribed peer-to-peer class interactions (group A) and from class blog and forums (group B). Overall, the paper aims to describe how the teaching took place in the two cases considered.