Abstract Summary
L2 sociolinguistic development is associated with high engagement and large social networks, but this is largely based on research on university students. This study illustrates that older immigrant learners have different means of engaging with the L2 and can overcome social network limitations to support their own sociolinguistic development.
Abstract :
Research suggests that sociolinguistic development requires engagement (Mougeon & Rehner, 2015) and large, complex social networks (Gautier & Chevrot, 2015). However, this research has largely involved university and study-abroad (SA) students. Immigrants, in contrast, typically have long-term plans in the host community and face different socioeconomic circumstances. They may have different motivations to adopt sociolinguistic norms (Drummond, 2012), and lack social networks in which to learn such norms (Norton, 2000).
This study extends current research by investigating the roles of engagement and social networks on the sociolinguistic development of 21 immigrant learners of Quebec French in a non-academic context. Participants completed a sociolinguistic interview probing their language learning experiences and attitudes, which provided both linguistic and engagement data. A social network questionnaire (Lybeck, 2002) measured several network characteristics. Following Mougeon and Rehner (2015), the interview was analyzed for themes differentiating engagement levels, and coded for the use of four Quebec French sociolinguistic variables: ne deletion, first-person on, subject doubling, and -tu questions.
While university students’ engagement was defined by learning experiences and activities (Mougeon & Rehner 2015), learners in this study were differentiated by motivation, initiative, and attitudes. Despite having small L2 networks compared to university and SA students, they used the sociolinguistic targets at a rate comparable to previous studies. Sociolinguistic performance positively correlated with more shared connections, multidimensional relationships, and high satisfaction.
These findings challenge current assumptions on what promotes sociolinguistic development. First, engagement may be characterized as much by affective factors as concrete experiences. Second, learners may not need large social networks, but rather supportive individual relationships spanning different contexts and efforts to interact in different social spheres. The discussion will consider implications on understanding L2 sociolinguistic development across learner populations, immigrants’ language learning strategies, and addressing immigrants' learning challenges in teaching and assessment.
