Page 20 - Diversity in Action

Martina Irsara

dressed by Marco Magnani, Federica Ricci Garotti, and Katharina Salzmann
in the second chapter of this volume. The authors focus on transfer in early
multilingual acquisition, introducing various typologies of transfer and pro-
viding examples of learners’ productions. While transfer plays a crucial role
in linguistic development, the authors caution against prematurely attribut-
ing deviations from the target language norm to the contrastive hypothesis
alone, or interpreting errors as the result of negative transfer from previously
acquired languages. Although languages influence each other, learners’ de-
velopment follows sequences similar to those observed in L1 acquisition. Al-
though the pace of progression may differ, the order of the stages remains
consistent. In the second chapter, the authors explain that learners typically
transferstructuresfromtheirL1when theyaredevelopmentallyready.Teach-
ers should be aware that transfer is an important communicative strategy
that can be actively promoted through specific teaching strategies and class-
room discourse.
The sense of belonging to a wider community is also central to the third
chapter of this book, authored by Martina Irsara, Valentina Gobbett Bamber,
and Barbara Caprara. In this chapter, the authors explore Global Citizenship
Education (GCED) and English language learning through picturebooks in
multilingual settings. They argue that GCED can serve as a transformative
approach to language teaching and learning, addressing global challenges
while developing critical thinking and communication skills. The teaching
of Englishasaninternational language needs to be continually reevaluated
to align with evolving trends in language, language learning, and language
use. For example, communication seems to be becoming more multimodal.
A multimodal and experiential synergy is provided by picturebooks, where
language, illustrations, and book design work together to create an engag-
ing, integrated experience. The chapter emphasises the importance of care-
fully selecting picturebooks that promote learner engagement, comprehen-
sion, and language development. Once selected, teachers can bring picture-
books to life in the classroom through embodied, interactive reading meth-
ods that incorporate prosody, gestures, facial expressions, physical materials,
and translanguaging strategies. The authors also suggest that story-based
activities can be conducted with Montessori principles in mind, as stories
can stimulate children’s imaginations and encourage their inquisitive nature.
Finally, the chapter concludes with a discussion of an online transnational
teacher education experience that incorporated storytelling within a GCED
and English language learning framework.
Storytelling in a multilingual and multicultural context is also addressed in

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