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The linguistic and cultural values of migrants, as well as their attitudes and behaviour, differ from those of the host society. All resources and values can be characterised as linguistic and cultural capital, which can provide migrants with certain advantages in their new country of settlement. A heritage language (HL) and knowledge about another culture are important components of this linguistic cultural capital. It is crucial for multi-generational families to maintain their HL and transmit the culture of their heritage to help individuals gain a better understanding of their own identity. This study aims to investigate the views, attitudes, and beliefs of second-generation migrants in Cyprus and Sweden in relation to their HL, linguistic and cultural capital, factors affecting HL use, maintenance, and development, as well as their future plans and aspirations regarding HL transmission. Narrative analysis of the semi-structured interviews revealed certain differences and similarities between the countries under investigation regarding the personal reflections of the participants and their perceptions regarding the role of family language policies, home literacy environments, child and parental agency, socio-emotional well-being, local context, and other internal and external factors influencing HL use, maintenance, and transmission. Storytelling proved to be an effective method of narrative inquiry, providing a deeper insight into the complex process of HL development and support. In addition, it offered participants an opportunity to reflect on their personality, language, and culture.

This study explores translanguaging as a flexible and adaptive strategy for heritage language transmission within multilingual families residing in Cyprus, Estonia, and Sweden. Using a qualitative approach, the research examines family language policies, parental beliefs, and the linguistic practices of bilingual and multilingual families, where one parent speaks Russian. The findings reveal how translanguaging supports bilingual development by fostering linguistic adaptability, bridging heritage and societal languages, and accommodating diverse sociolinguistic contexts. Parents in each country implement unique strategies, influenced by local linguistic landscapes, educational systems, and resource availability. In Cyprus, some families strictly adhered to structured methods like the One Parent–One Language strategy, while others adopted a more integrative multilingual approach, seamlessly translanguaging between Russian, Greek, and English in their daily interactions. Estonian and Swedish families display pragmatic adaptations, emphasizing translanguaging's role in promoting the emotional well-being and linguistic identity of family members. However, certain challenges persist, including societal language dominance, literacy and educational resource scarcity, and the potential overuse of translanguaging in formal communication. By comparing these contexts, the study underscores the need for flexible yet deliberate family language policies, institutional support, and community resources to sustain bilingualism in bilingual and multilingual families. This research contributes to understanding translanguaging's implications for intergenerational language transmission in minority and immigrant settings, offering insights for educators, linguists, and policymakers on fostering linguistic diversity and equity in globalized societies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We examined factors determining parental success in transmitting heritage language (HL) and literacy in Russian-speaking migrant families of comparable socioeconomic status (SES) in Cyprus, Ireland, Israel and Sweden. A total of 345 Russian speakers completed a questionnaire about their language use and home language practices. Of those, we chose 181 females with at least one child of school age. Across countries, we found no differences in the respondents' SES or education, but differences in their self-identification with the host country languages and cultures. Results also showed that 90% of participants' children could speak and understand Russian. However, only 52% could read and write in Russian, with percentages varying between countries. Multiple regression analyses revealed that the transmission of HL-Russian and literacy depended on parental efforts to actively use Russian at home and provide opportunities to communicate in HL. As for literacy, parental efforts and language use remained the main transmission predictors in all the countries, but factors differed across the countries, possibly due to varying attitudes towards Russian in the society. Likely, success in HL and literacy transmission is influenced by parents' perception of acceptance of their language in the society where they live.

This study investigated the linguistic landscape (LL) of Pyla, a bi-communal village in Cyprus. The data collection and analysis were based on the geosemiotics theoretical framework. The researcher created a corpus of visible linguistic signs photographed during the fieldwork with a focus on bottom-up and top-down signs in Pyla. The analysis of the data showed that the overall pattern of Pyla's LL was monolingual, with English playing a prominent role. However, bilingual, and multilingual signs were also present, with English, Greek and Turkish being the dominant language constellation. The LL in Pyla is indicative of its ethnolinguistic vitality as a bi-communal village inhabited by both Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot populations; the LL also reveals the agency of the sign creators and owners regarding the choice of languages and the content of the signs, as well as such processes as internationalisation, commodification and linguistic instrumentalism. The importance of this study stems from its goal to deepen the understanding of linguistic landscape (LL) and multilingualism in Cyprus. It specifically analyses both private and public signage in the mixed village of Pyla, while considering the island's geopolitical division and the role of English as a mediating language in the process of peacebuilding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The topic of linguistic landscapes (LLs) is very important in the area of sociolinguistics of multilingual societies. A linguistic landscape reflects the underlying ideologies regarding languages and their speakers, linguistic diversity, language statuses and perceived values. This study investigated multilingual LL of Cyprus under the conceptual framework of Geo–semiotics by implementing an in–depth qualitative and quantitative landscape analysis of visible semiotic signs in public space, trying to interpret their indexicality and deeper layers of meaning in relation to multilingualism situation in the country, the link between discourse and space, as well as the perceptions and attitudes of the Greek Cypriot population towards multilingualism and multilingual LL. We used photographic material in our data collection – 4,200 photos of all geographical areas of Cyprus, which were analysed quantitatively and qualitatively and interpreted in terms of language, arrangement of displayed text and images, LL genre, visual semiotics, placement and surroundings in line with the principles of the symbolic construction of the public space. It was found that sign readers have a positive attitude towards multilingualism and multilingual signs in Cyprus and that the LL in Cyprus is complex and unique and is related to the political economy of language and space. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Blogs are considered to be a useful online tool for learning, teaching, training and education. Students and teachers can share their thoughts and ideas, and can express their feelings and opinions in an online environment (Deng & Yuen, 2011). No special technological skills are needed in order to post a blog entry. Blogging promotes creativity, critical thinking, reflection, collaboration, interaction and active participation. Blogs can help people to gain and share knowledge, as well as to increase the digital literacy of both students and teachers, and to change their attitudes towards information and communication technology (ICT; Goktas & Demirel, 2012). This study investigated the role of blogging in the development of the cognitive, social and self-directed learning skills of students, who were future EFL teachers, during a teaching methodology and teaching practicum course. The participants were 40 university students (third and fourth year). Their ages ranged from 18 to 25 years, their L1 was Cypriot Greek and they all resided in Cyprus. The students were asked to write online blog entries after each of their sessions. The analysis of the data, blog entries and questionnaires, showed that, overall, the students had positive attitudes towards blogging. They believed that blogs facilitated their development as teachers and practitioners via creating an online community in a user-friendly way. The students had the opportunity to interact more with their peers and the tutor, express their views, exchange ideas, gain new knowledge and experience, and increase the level of their digital competence, particularly considering the current COVID situation (Halic et al., 2010). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]