Teaching, Identity, and Language Policies and Planning through the lens of huawen jiaoyu / zhongwen xuexiao
Language socialization of Chinese children inside and outside Chinese Heritage Language Schools
International conference
(Bergamo, January 2026, 15-17)
Call for papers
Building on the research undertaken by the members of the PRIN PNRR ECCO-Italy (Education of Children of Chinese Origin in Italy), this conference seeks to provide a scholarly platform for the exchange and ideas and critical discussion among researchers engaged in the study of issues related to international Chinese language and culture education. Particular attention will be devoted to Chinese as heritage language, and to issues related to Chinese migration in Europe. The ECCO-Italy research group—comprising the University of Bergamo, the University of Bologna, the University of Florence, and the University for Foreigners of Siena—has explored, and intends to further investigate in the immediate future—questions concerning huawen jiaoyu 华文教育 or zhongwen xuexiao 中文学校, here conceptualized as heritage language schools (HLS), along three principal interconnected axes:
- The methodologies and practices of teaching Chinese as a heritage language in Italy and Europe, as well as the theoretical thought and the applied methodologies developed in the PRC and in European bilingual schools. We particularly welcome contributions that explore the pedagogical approaches, including digital learning and online teaching, translanguaging practices, multilingual classroom strategies, and the role of teachers’ agency and creativity in shaping the learning experience.
- The broad and multifaceted phenomena (e.g. discursive construction, textual production, social practices) associated with identity formation and negotiation among individuals connected to Sinophone communities in Italy and Europe. Topics may include heritage learners’ socialization, family language policies, diasporic youth as intercultural mediators, and the role of cultural practices and narratives in negotiating belonging and difference.
- Linguistic policies, landscape, and planning (LPLP): the policies adopted by HLS, the discursive construction of Chinese as a heritage language (e.g. the processes of “heritagization” of Chinese in Europe), the linguistic landscape and the socio-territorial complexities generated by the establishment of the HLS in a multiscale perspective: at the microlevel (the schools and their spatial contexts), at mesolevel (provinces, regions and other areas) and at macrolevel (national or international institutions devoted to the development and/or the management of heritage languages) with all their interconnections between China and other diasporic contexts in Europe and in the world.
Additional areas of inquiry—intersecting these three thematic axes (Teaching, Identity, and Politics) —may include, but are not limited to, the impact of HLS on mainstream education systems, the circulation of texts, and cultural practices between China and Italy as well as the migration trajectories undertaken by the stakeholders involved in the maintenance of the HLS.
This Call for Papers invites scholars to submit proposals that address, though not exclusively, the abovementioned themes within the framework of the three main axes outlined, which will constitute the core strands of the conference. The abstract should clearly indicate the theoretical framework, research questions, methodology, main findings and conclusions, as well as the bibliographical references cited. In addition, please specify which of the thematic axes (Teaching, Identity, Politics) you consider your contribution to fall under.
KEYNOTE SPEAKERS
Wang Simeng 王思萌
Permanent Research Fellow at The French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS)
Li Wei 李嵬
Director and Dean of the Institute of Education (IOE) Faculty of Education and Society, University College London
Chen Yong 陈勇
Associate Professor School of Humanities, Wenzhou University
Submission guidelines
- Anonymous abstract (maximum 500 words, excluding references), plus a short bio.
- Abstracts may be submitted in English, Italian or Chinese.
- File format: Word or PDF.
Please send your submission to: martina.caschera@unibg.it and andrea.delbono@unibg.it
- Extended deadline for abstract submission: November 9th 2025
- Notification of acceptance: November 29th 2025
Scientific Committee
Federica Burini, Martina Caschera, Andrea Del Bono, Alessandra Ghisalberti, Marta Pantalone (UniBg); Valentina Pedone, Giuseppe Rizzuto (UniFi); Tommaso Pellin, Yedi Yu (UniBo); Andrea Scibetta, Davide Francolino (UniSTRASI)
Organising Committee (UniBg)
Martina Caschera, Andrea Del Bono, Federica Burini, Maria Gottardo, Marta Pantalone, Asia Drago, Martina Gritti, Beatrice Vidale.
| “ECCO-Italy: Education of Children of Chinese Origin in Italy”, Codice Progetto P2022E72WS_004, CUP J53D23016370001, finanziato nell’ambito del Piano Nazionale di Ripresa e Resilienza PNRR – Missione 4 – Componente 2 – Investimento 1.1 “Fondo per il Programma Nazionale di Ricerca e Progetti di Rilevante Interesse Nazionale (PRIN)” (Bando indetto con D.D. del MUR n. 1409 del 14/09/2022). |
For additional information please contact Martina Caschera and Andrea Del Bono at martina.caschera@unibg.it and andrea.delbono@unibg.it
Bibliographic references
Heritage language education and multilingualism
Brinton, D. M., Kagan, O., & Bauckus, S. (Eds.). (2008). Heritage language education: A new field emerging. Routledge.
Brigadoi Cologna, D. (2023). Sviluppo, prospettive e problemi delle scuole ereditarie cinesi in Italia. OrizzonteCina, 14(1), 71–75.
Carbonara, V., & Scibetta, A. (2022). Integrating translanguaging pedagogy into Italian primary schools: Implications for language practices and children’s empowerment. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 25(3), 1049–1069.
Conteh, J., & Avril, B. (2011). ‘Safe spaces?’ Sites of bilingualism for young learners in home, school and community. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 14(3), 347–360.
Curdt-Christiansen, X. L., & Hancock, A. (Eds.). (2014). Learning Chinese in diasporic communities: Many pathways to being Chinese (AILA Applied Linguistics Series, 12). John Benjamins Publishing Company.
Cushing, I., Georgiou, A., & Karatsareas, P. (2024). Where two worlds meet: Language policing in mainstream and complementary schools in England. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 27(9), 1182–1198.
He, A. W. (2006). Toward an identity theory of the development of Chinese as a heritage language. Heritage Language Journal, 1, 1–28.
He, A. W. (2015). Literacy, creativity, and continuity: A language socialization perspective on heritage language classroom interaction. In N. Markee (Ed.), The handbook of classroom discourse and interaction (pp. 304–318). Wiley.
He, A. W., & Xiao, Y. (Eds.). (2008). Chinese as a heritage language: Fostering rooted world citizenry. National Foreign Language Resource Center.
Jin, Z., Li, B., & Li, B. (2017). 意大利华文教育的现状、问题与对策 [The current situation, problems and countermeasures of overseas Chinese education in Italy]. Journal of Liaoning Normal University, 5(40), 104–110.
Li, M., & Bao, H. (2025). Chinese weekend schools in Europe: Developments and challenges. In M. Thunø & L. Wang (Eds.), Handbook of Chinese migration to Europe (pp. 555–582). Brill.
Li, W. (2006). Complementary schools, past, present and future. Language and Education, 20(1), 76–83.
Montrul, S. (2009). Heritage language programs. In M. H. Long & C. J. Doughty (Eds.), The handbook of language teaching (pp. 182–200). Blackwell.
Pellin T. (2025). Le scuole complementari cinesi in Italia dopo la pandemia, fra grandi città, provincia e l’Europa. OrizzonteCina, 16(1), 4-15.
Silvestri, C. (2024). Complementary schools as ‘breathing spaces’: Identity, multilingualism and critical pedagogies in heritage language education. Language and Education, 1–19.
Xue, N., & Jin, Z. (2018). 全球化视野下的意大利华文教育变革与发展 [The reform and development of Chinese language and culture education in Italy under globalization]. Journal of North China Electric Power University, 6, 130–135.
Yan, X., Bao, H., & Zheng, T. (2015). 意大利华文教育研究：以旅意温州人创办的华文学校为例 [The study of overseas Chinese education in Italy: The case of Chinese schools founded by Wenzhounese migrants in Italy]. Zhejiang University Press.
Yan, X., Guo, B., & Pan, Y. (2011). 欧洲华文教育：现状、问题及其对策 ———以意大利华文教育为例 [Overseas Chinese education in Europe: Situation, problems and solutions – The case of the schools in Italy]. Overseas Chinese Journal of Bagui, 1, 39–42.
Identity building
Archer, L., Francis, B., & Mau, A. (2010). The culture project: Diasporic negotiations of ethnicity, identity and culture among teachers, pupils and parents in Chinese language schools. Oxford Review of Education, 36(4), 407–426.
Brigadoi Cologna, D. (2021). L’influenza della Rpc in Italia e il ‘dilemma narrativo’ della minoranza sinoitaliana. OrizzonteCina, 12(2–3), 121–133.
Bucholtz, M., & Hall, K. (2005). Identity and interaction: A sociocultural linguistic approach. Discourse Studies, 7(4–5), 585–614.
Francis, B., Archer, L., & Mau, A. (2010). Parents’ and teachers’ constructions of the purposes of Chinese complementary schooling: ‘Culture’, identity and power. Race Ethnicity and Education, 13(1), 101–117.
Guo, Z. (2014). Young children as intercultural mediators: Mandarin-speaking Chinese families in Britain. Multilingual Matters.
Li, Z. (2023). Identity of Chinese Heritage Language Learners in a Global Era. Routledge.
Pedone, V. (2024). Translanguaging as a transcultural marker in the Italian Sinophone play Tong Men-g. In Sinophone Studies Across Disciplines: A Reader (pp. 299–314). Global Chinese Cultures.
Linguistic policies, landscape, and planning
Burini, F. (2016). Cartografia partecipativa. Mapping per la governance ambientale e urbana. Milano: Franco Angeli.
Desoutter, C., & Gottardo, M. (2016). Il paesaggio linguistico delle Chinatown di Milano e Parigi: Non solo i cinesi scrivono in cinese. Mondi Migranti, 2, 203–222.
Ghisalberti, A. (2010). Sulle tracce di una cartografia della mobilità e dei territori plurali. In E. Casti & J. Lévy (Eds.), Le sfide cartografiche: Movimento partecipazione rischio (pp. 78–94). Ancona: Il lavoro editoriale/Università.
Lévy, J. (2008). L’espace légitime: Sur la dimension géographique de la vie sociale. Paris: Presses de la Fondation nationale des sciences politiques.
National Language Commission of China (ed.) (2021). 中国语言文字政策研究发展报告（2021）Language Policy Study and Development in China : 2021. The Commercial Press.
National Language Commission of China (ed.) (2023). 中国语言文字政策研究发展报告（2023）Language Policy Study and Development in China : 2023. The Commercial Press.
Turco, A. (1988). Verso una teoria geografica della complessità. Trezzano sul Naviglio: Unicopli.
Turco, A. (2010). Configurazioni della territorialità. Milano: Franco Angeli.