Openness to Linguistic and Value Diversity as a Key Factor in the Development of a Learning Community

Moving both physically and symbolically is foundamental for creating new social relationships and building learning communities, especially in the context of language learning. Valuing diversity is therefore essential to create a positive atmosphere of cooperation, innovation and creativity. To achieve this goal, it is necessary to identify the characteristics that may favor the development of a learning community, focusing on elements such as curiosity, motivation, openness to diversity and cultural immersion. This paper will present the sociolinguistic dynamics in a course for beginners of Italian as a second language. The study is based on researchers' partecipative observation and on an online questionnaire delivered to 52 American college students. The data has been analyzed with a quantitative and qualitative method. Moreover, mean and frequency have been calculated. The research findings demonstrate that openness to diversity and challenge enhances cross-cutting skills such as intercultural and communicative skills.