Constructing a Second Language Sociolinguistic Repertoire: A Sociocultural Usage-based Perspective

Abstract

This article discusses a sociocultural usage-based perspective on the development of sociolinguistic competence. Previous research has focused on learners’ acquisition and use of alternative ways of ‘saying the same thing’ (i.e. native-like variation) in relation to study abroad, contact with native speakers, and pedagogy. Missing from the literature are studies examining the developmental trajectories of individual learners from a qualitative perspective. This article takes a first step in this direction by documenting the specific lexicogrammatical constructions deployed by one learner of French, Leon, over the course of a 6-week stylistic variation intervention. The findings show that his sociolinguistic repertoire emerged from a single multiword expression, which in combination with Leon’s application of new metalinguistic knowledge and mediation from a teacher expanded to become a more productive schematic template. The research suggests that future work on L2 sociolinguistic development would do well to focus on qualitative accounts of individual developmental trajectories, emphasizing the specific lexicogrammatical constructions learners appropriate, to understand how L2 sociolinguistic repertoires are constructed across time.

Second language acquisition at Carnegie Mellon University, USA

“…In this line of research, he extends his SCT-based approach to instructional pragmatics, in which he has employed pedagogical practices such as concept-based instruction and dynamic assessment. Recently, he has begun to examine L2 sociolinguistic development from a usage-based perspective (van Compernolle, 2019). He is currently collaborating with SLA graduate Professor Tianyu Qin (University of North Georgia) on a study that implements computerized dynamic assessment to measure L2 Chinese learners’ comprehension of implicatures (Qin & van Compernolle, forthcoming).…”

Pragmatic Awareness and Engagement with Language from a Multilingual Perspective

“…Finally, the sociocultural approach to the analysis contributes to current understanding of pragmatic awareness as a social activity that evidences learners' personal judgements and experiences as key (van Compernolle, 2019;McConachy, 2012;. Furthermore, it also shows how pragmatic awareness development is per se a social activity that is not only inherited but also co-constructed.…”

“…Current approaches to the teaching of pragmatics rely on the development of learners' own ability to negotiate and interpret appropriateness against the learning of a fixed body of pragmatic-related knowledge (Cohen & Sykes, 2013). The kind of interaction that arises from collaboration favours deeper critical and reflective thinking that questions the highly criticised pre-established ideas of form-function-context mapping (McConachy, 2019;van Compernolle, 2019;van Compernolle & Kinginger, 2013;van Compernolle et al, 2016).…”

“…For example, the focus on pragmatic behaviour in relation to awareness has been steadily growing over the last decades (Safont, 2003(Safont, , 2005Portolés, 2015, Portolés & Safont, 2018. Looking at the literature on pragmatic awareness, recent lines of research have emphasised the importance of the sociopragmatic domain (McConachy, 2019) and the positive effect of scaffolded reflection (McConachy & Spencer-Oatey, 2020, van Compernolle, 2014 in the learning of new pragmatic knowledge (van Compernolle & Kinginger, 2013;van Compernolle, 2019;Myrset, 2021). In an attempt to link multilingual and L2 pragmatic research, the current study will describe the way collaborative talk can foster opportunities for the development of multilingual pragmatic awareness.…”

“…In doing so, we intend to provide fresh insights into the way multilingual learners' engagement with the languages contribute to the negotiation of pragmatic-related notions and the development of their pragmatic awareness. practices to promote engagement and, in particular, pragmatic awareness and the development of sociopragmatic notions (McConachy, 2019;van Compernolle, 2019;Myrset, 2021). Finally, this study is also guided by the importance attributed to the learning of English in bilingual and multilingual communities, oftentimes neglected in second language acquisition research (Cenoz, 2009;Safont, 2017).…”