Dual Second Language Learning for the Inclusion of Migrant Children in Rural Schools: The Case of Calanda (Teruel)

Rural areas in Spain receive constant flows of migrants due to the need for labor in the primary sector, especially from North Africa. Local schools have very specific educational needs since migrant children normally experience difficulties in the acquisition of the Spanish language which affects and conditions their social inclusion and continuity in the educational system. RaCoDIL project (Shared roots in linguistic diversity and inclusion) derives from the AGORA matrix project which aims to bring technological and methodological innovation for language teaching in rural areas. RaCoDIL proposed an intervention in the primary school of Calanda (Teruel, Spain) for the improvement of Spanish and French languages in migrant and local students based on linguistic and cultural interchange and collaboration. To this end, an interactive glossary based on the local natural environment was created in Spanish, French, and Arabic, which served as a base for the creation of collaborative linguistic activities fostering cultural interchange. The aims were the improvement of students' linguistic competence in their respective target languages, and the development of the Intercultural Communicative Competence (ICC). Students' progress was quantitatively analyzed by the distribution of pre- and post- tests on linguistic and ICC development, and results were compared in search for significant improvements on both competences considering demographic profiles from students. The proposal has been demonstrated to influence the development of children's positive attitudes towards learning, to dinamise the second language acquisition process, and to develop awareness, knowledge, and respect towards the foreign culture.