Linguistic Landscapes International Conference, University for Foreigners of Siena (2024)

At the Linguistic Landscapes international conference in Siena, Professor Stefania Tufi and Dr Jessica Hampton presented a paper entitled ‘Schoolscapes and the (de)construction of borders – two case studies’. The paper contributed to two conference themes: educational linguistic research and the role of schoolscapes in multilingual/multicultural educational settings.

The two case studies exemplified educational journeys from the perspective of a critical pedagogy of place (Gruenewald, 2008), emphasising the spatial aspects of social experience.

The first case study was part of an investigation into Occitan-speaking Guardia Piemontese, a town in the southern Italian region of Calabria, where language actors engage in forms of pedagogic practice as empowerment of/by the local community (Reagan, 2009).

Focusing on Occitan teaching, which is integrated into the curriculum and includes pupils of non-Occitan background, the discussion revolved around the local schoolscape, where Occitan learning by mixed groups is a way of fostering community building and the deconstruction of barriers through the sharing of local heritage.

The second case study drew on research carried out in Liverpool secondary schools and investigated the semiotic practices of students, teachers, and the schools in their totality, aiming to unravel the ecological ideologies embedded in the schoolscapes and in everyday encounters with green space.

Adopting methods of co-creation, students were introduced to concepts of linguistic landscape and ecolinguistics, paving the way for a project where they articulate their environmental identity through objects encountered in their daily school experiences. Emphasis was placed on fostering a nuanced comprehension of local identity formation on the part of students of migrant background.