Learner beliefs about sociolinguistic competence: A qualitative case study of four university second language learners

Abstract

This article explores the beliefs about second language (L2) sociolinguistic competence of four university-level advanced L2 learners. It places particular emphasis on 1) how these university learners conceptualized L2 sociolinguistic competence; 2) how they thought about two different language learning contexts (viz., the L2 classroom versus study abroad) for their development of sociolinguistic competence; and 3) the L2 strategies they employed to develop their L2 sociolinguistic knowledge. The study found, first, that the university learners conceived of sociolinguistic competence as the ability to adjust their language to reflect the social distance between themselves and other speakers. Second, it demonstrates that the university learners believed that the classroom environment might provide them with insufficient opportunities to utilize those L2 registers that are most sensitive to context. Nevertheless, their beliefs about the necessity of having sociolinguistic competence played a pivotal role in helping most of them to find meaningful L2 learning opportunities in the classroom, as well as in study-abroad contexts. Finally, while immersive experiences can help learners sustain L2 motivational strategies according to their ultimate L2-related goals, the present study lends support to the observation that contexts

Developing Second Language Learners’ Sociolinguistic Competence: How Teachers’ CEFR-Related Professional Learning Aligns with Learner-Identified Needs

“…In addition, the students' identification of gaps regarding their knowledge of the upper and lower register markers (i.e., hyper-formal and vernacular sociolinguistic variants) is accurate in that it matches the patterns documented in their productive use of sociolinguistic variants, which featured the use primarily of formal and, to a lesser extent, informal sociolinguistic variants. This overuse of formal sociolinguistic variants is reminiscent of the findings of past studies [9] and may well reflect their educational input, their L2 sociolinguistic goals or overall L2-related goals, or other factors [6,7]. Regarding the learners' identification of what is missing in order for them to develop sociolinguistic competence, it is interesting to note that their calls for increased exposure to (authentic) use of French match the findings of previous research that has found it to be an effective way to develop such competence [10][11][12]17].…”

“…Studies investigating FSL learners' metasociolinguistic knowledge have focused on exploring the effectiveness of providing learners with explicit instruction and/or engaging learners in metalinguistic reflection on the use of sociolinguistic variants. In such research, a clear distinction emerged between the knowledge of sociolinguistic variants and their actual use; in other words, between competence and performance [5][6][7]. The findings indicated that although explicit instruction was effective in helping learners develop competence, it did not automatically translate into performance.…”

“…Additionally, they suggested that it is beneficial for learners to start acquiring sociolinguistic knowledge early to avoid needing to counteract the entrenched invariable use of sociolinguistic variants at later stages [6,8]. Finally, these studies suggested that it should be expected that learners will develop personal preferences in the use of sociolinguistic variants, whether reflecting the use of variants in their educational input, their personal L2 sociolinguistic goals or their overall L2-related goals, or other factors [6,7].…”

The influence of classroom input and community exposure on the learning of variable grammar

“…To conclude, analyses of this type offer valuable insight into the complex ways that classroom input, community exposure, and (inter-) systemic factors interact in their impact on the learning of variable grammar. Such insight adds to the already-rich interplay of factors pointed out by Carroll, and attested by and by Yang and Rehner (2015), and will hopefully serve to encourage further research.…”

Nursing Students’ Well-Being: A Comparison of Two Canadian Nursing Programs in Different Linguistic Contexts

“…Although perceived as beneficial, immersion programs are challenged with respect to second language development, where an integrated language and content instruction approach is used (Cammarata, 2016;Lightbown, 2014). Few articles in the literature pertain to how Canadian French immersion students fare in higher education: most explore student engagement and sociolinguistic performance or competence (Mougeon & Rehner, 2014;Yang & Rehner, 2015). To our knowledge, the mental health of immersion students pursuing postsecondary education in a second language in a Canadian context has yet to be explored.…”