Broaden our local and global impact: Dr Erika Piazzoli

The project aimed to support newly-arrived refugees in learning English through performative language pedagogy. It was based on three case studies, one Italian and two Irish: the two Irish studies were conducted in partnership with Youth and Education Services for Refugees and Migrants, a service provided by the City of Dublin Education and Training Board (CDETB), and Youthreach (CDETB). The Italian case study was conducted in partnership with Razzismo Stop, coordinated by Prof. Fiona Dalziel, at the University of Padova. The team worked with both teachers and students to develop a programme for teaching languages through drama and music.

Their key areas of investigation were to discover how embodied research methods could be used effectively to investigate the relationship between motivation to belong and second language learning; how these embodied research methods could be used effectively; and how performative language practice supports an ethical imagination. In order to address these areas, they introduced various arts-based qualitative research methods. One such research method is a form of collage known as zine-making. ‘Zines’ are little booklets in which individuals can reflect upon their own experiences through mixed media. These included cut outs from magazines and photographs, along with reflective prompts which were translated into the various languages of the students. Autumn Brown, an expert in the field, helped the team to implement and analyse zines as a research method.

What challenges did they encounter? Unless you are filming or photographing the events, it can be very difficult to document a process satisfactorily, for research purposes. And, the Sorgente team did not want to record classes for various ethical reasons. Instead, the facilitators took meticulous notes and invited Aisling McNally, a visual arts graduate from IADT, to sketch selected key moments of the drama with a technique known as gesture drawing: sketching silhouettes of the body in motion. At the end of a workshop they would show segments of a video to participants and ask them to recall their lived experiences.

Piazzoli highlights that what was initially a challenge was ultimately hugely beneficial to the project. “We found that the students remembered a lot of details. They were very curious as to what Aisling was doing. It was also an innovative way of facilitating language learning, as the students pointed to the drawings to reconstruct the actions, context and vocabulary embedded in the workshops.

Sorgente, translated from Italian, means ‘source of water’ or ‘spring’. Is this significant, and why? For Piazzoli, the name originated with a previous project. In 2001 she developed a programme to welcome migrants into Australia using arts in education, and applied for a City Council grant. “It was my first grant, I was inexperienced and I didn't win it. I had decided to call it Sorgente.” As a result, when it came to apply for a similar project in 2018, through the Irish Research Council New Foundation Scheme, she wanted to call the project Sorgente because “it was very similar, but more developed. I now understood what had to be done. Many years have passed, but the ideas kept flowing, just like water in a sorgente.”

Moreover, she notes, the motif of water or the source of water, is central to her research. “You have a mountain, or some earth. You dig underneath, and what’s there is a miracle. Deep down, there is something fluid, something moving. Water. Which is life, isn't it? It hydrates. It brings relief. Similarly, the arts can hydrate; a focus on multilingual education can hydrate.

From talking with Piazzoli, her perspective is key in her research, which has been so important in broadening both the local and global impact of her research in Trinity. “When learners from refugee backgrounds arrive to the language classroom,” she points out, “they may know two or three languages already: they have a wealth of experience in language learning. We need to acknowledge this, value them, and build from there.

The Sorgente study was funded by the Irish Research Council, New Foundations Scheme. The report was launched as part of European Researchers Night, on 29/09/2023, at Trinity College Dublin and is available Open Access, here. The study is also discussed in publication (Routledge), edited by Piazzoli and Dalziel, which will be launched at Trinity College Dublin in May 2024.

- Article written by Dr Sarah Cullen