Motivation and multilingual identity in Maltese adolescents: An investigation through structural equation modelling
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.21283/2376905X.1.13.1.3585Parole chiave:
IDENTITÀ MULTILINGUE, SISTEMA MOTIVAZIONALE DEL SÈ, MOTIVAZIONE NEGLI ADOLESCENTIAbstract
Questo studio indaga i fattori psicologici e contestuali che contribuiscono alla costruzione dell’identità multilingue tra gli adolescenti maltesi. Malta è una nazione bilingue che sta attraversando una rapida diversificazione linguistica dovuta a significativi cambiamenti demografici. Basandosi sul modello del L2 Motivational Self System e sulle teorie post-strutturaliste dell’identità, lo studio esamina in che modo le credenze socio-cognitive, gli atteggiamenti linguistici e i valori strumentali influenzino la motivazione e l’identità multilingue. I dati sono stati raccolti tramite un questionario online validato, somministrato a 402 studenti della scuola secondaria. Per analizzare le relazioni dirette e mediate tra i costrutti latenti è stato usato lo Structural Equation Modelling, SEM. Il modello ha mostrato un buon adattamento complessivo ai dati e ha identificato la motivazione come il più forte predittore dell’identità multilingue, spiegandone il 48% della varianza. Le credenze relative al valore strumentale hanno inoltre influenzato direttamente l’identità, evidenziando l’esistenza di un duplice percorso di influenza. Sono emersi anche effetti modesti ma statisticamente significativi del contesto scolastico multilingue e del genere. I risultati sottolineano l’importanza di una motivazione orientata al futuro e sostengono politiche linguistiche che integrino approcci pratici e umanistici al multilinguismo.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Michelle Panzavecchia, Loredana Muscat
Questo lavoro è fornito con la licenza Creative Commons Attribuzione 4.0 Internazionale.
