ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the factors that were influential for the Neapolitan and Roman participants of the study to unveil the facilitators and constraints to language learning in participants’ contexts. Factors that acted as facilitators and constraints for youth in Naples and Rome included the city of residence, the economic crisis, educational practices, language testing, experiences with travel and future aspirations. A focus on facilitators and constraints unveiled the commonalities and interconnectivity of attitudes, motivation and self-perceived proficiency: they are not static, but mutable. They are also context-dependent and expressed under the influence of ideologies, the socioeconomic situation and language-learning experiences. Thus, the chapter sheds light on the relevance of the context, the learning experiences and language ideologies on language-learning trajectories.
