The benefits of the Intercomprehensive Approach for Students with Specific Learning Difficulties: preliminary data of an experimental study

Intercomprehension is one of the Pluralistic Approaches to Language Teaching supported by solid scientific research (for an overview: Bonvino, Jamet 2016). Despite the similarities between intercomprehension and strategies for inclusive language education, the efficacy of this approach in the presence of language disorders is largely unexplored at an empirical level. This paper aims to fill this gap through the presentation of the research design of a pilot study conducted by the ELICom Research Group at the University of Parma within a workshop of intercomprehension between Romance languages, in which learners with Specific Learning Disorders also participate. The aim of the research is to investigate some psycho-dynamic aspects involved in language learning, such as the participants’ sense of self-efficacy, language anxiety and strategic competence.