Review of Andrea C. Schalley & Susana A. Eisenchlas (eds.). 2020. Handbook of Home Language Maintenance and Development: Social and Affective Factors.Berlin/Boston: Walter de Gruyter. ISBN 978-1-5015-1689-4

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La competenza pragmatica come strumento inclusivo Uno studio di caso con bambini stranieri di prima e di seconda generazione

The aim of this research is to demonstrate the benefits of home language maintenance among first and second generation migrant children by investigating whether they would perform better than their monolingual peers in their ability to narrate stories. The study was conducted in four primary schools in the Veneto region engaging 49 early elementary aged children with different cultural, educational and migration backgrounds who were asked to perform story-telling and story-retelling tasks. After a brief introduction to the study, the second paragraph tackles the notion of pragmatic competence and its relevance for bilingual education. The third paragraph presents the method of the study as well as the survey procedures, followed by a discussion of the results. The conclusion contains limitations of the study and illustrates a number of pedagogical implications. Positive outcomes of this study should raise teachers’ awareness of the linguistic benefits of bilingualism and promote the concept of pragmatic competence.