Language learning in practical training

Abstract

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Overview
This issue of Babylonia explores the theme of reading in a multilingual school environment. It emphasizes that reading is not merely a technical skill, but a deeply cultural, cognitive, and identity-related activity. Multilingualism in the classroom poses both a challenge and an opportunity for rethinking how reading is taught, experienced, and evaluated. The contributions in this issue highlight various research projects, educational practices, and theoretical reflections from Switzerland and other countries.

Key Contributions

• Renato Martinoni opens with a reflection on how literature shapes identity, questioning whether the decline in literary engagement among students might mirror a broader societal identity crisis.
• Sabina Schaffner discusses how university-level multilingual reading strategies can inform school practice, especially in culturally diverse settings.
• Martina Leuch presents the “Lireensemble” project, focusing on French-speaking Switzerland. It explores collective reading in plurilingual classrooms and how shared reading practices can bridge linguistic divides.
• Maya Rindlisbacher shares her work on reading motivation and comprehension in German-speaking primary schools, particularly in classes with high linguistic diversity.
• Stefania Pancera reports on a project in Ticino aimed at integrating non-Italian-speaking students through literature. She highlights the role of stories in creating inclusion and shared classroom identity.
• Christina Rieder focuses on the use of digital stories in migrant language education and shows how these tools support expressive competence and reading comprehension.
• Ursula Hodel & Claudia Jucker provide insight into inclusive reading practices in special education, emphasizing accessibility and differentiation.
• Stefanie Forster and colleagues present a practical model for multilingual classroom reading in Basel, where students' home languages are treated as assets.

Conclusion
This issue convincingly argues that fostering reading skills in multilingual contexts requires more than simply translating texts or providing extra support to non-dominant language speakers. Instead, it demands a cultural and pedagogical shift that acknowledges students’ full linguistic repertoires as resources. The authors collectively call for systemic change in reading instruction, promoting inclusion, identity development, and cross-cultural competence through innovative strategies and collaborative practices.