Linguistic biographies in motion

Pragmatic aspects of storytelling in a multilingual and multicultural classroom

Abstract

Linguistic Biographies in Motion

Pragmatic Aspects of Narration in a Multilingual and Multicultural Classroom

By Cecilia Bartoli, University of Palermo, PhD Student in Migration, Differences, and Social Justice

APS Asinitas - cecilia.bartoli.cecilia@gmail.com

Maria Rossi, Teacher - APS Asinitas - sofisaterland@gmail.com

Alessandra Smerilli, Teacher - APS Asinitas - smerillialessandra@gmail.com

Keywords: pragmatic aspects of narration; plurilingualism; multimodality; interaction;

Integrating pragmatic skills into teaching is essential to prepare students to navigate complex communicative situations that require flexible linguistic skills and cultural sensitivity (Sánchez-Hernández and Barón 2022), particularly in migrant contexts, where one often encounters multilingual and multicultural groups, heterogeneous in terms of age, education, and cultural and social background. Taguchi (2019) highlights how exposure to authentic communicative situations—situations in which language is used for concrete, social, and cultural purposes, and not just for isolated or abstract linguistic exercises—fosters a deeper understanding of pragmatic dynamics. In this paper, we will seek to highlight how narration and self-narration, through active participation, can offer a rich and meaningful context that allows learners to engage in complex conversational tasks, in which the various levels of linguistic and communicative interaction are active and interconnected, and in which pragmatic strategies are explored in a natural and engaging way. Using as an example a practice organized and conducted by the authors in an Italian class for women with a migrant background, aimed at exploring their linguistic-communicative-semiotic repertoires and metalinguistic reflection, organized using interactive, multimodal, plurilingual, and narrative methods, we will seek to highlight how the students, by negotiating their own experiences or points of view, engaging with emotions, cultural values, conversational strategies, and relational dynamics, are encouraged to develop key pragmatic skills, such as the appropriate use of speech acts, turn-taking, and the ability to adapt their communicative register to different situations.