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Language Learning in Higher Education

Journal of the European Confederation of Language Centres in Higher Education (CercleS)

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

Jinsuk Yang
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  • Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, 252 Bloor Street West, Toronto, ON M5S 1V6, Canada.
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 / Katherine Rehner
  • Department of Language Studies, University of Toronto Mississauga, 3359 Mississauga Road, Mississauga, ON L5L 1C6, Canada.
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Published Online: 2015-04-30 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/cercles-2015-0008

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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 per se cannot function as meaningful L2-rich environments.

Keywords: sociolinguistic competence; L2 beliefs; context; L2 learning; study abroad

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About the article

Jinsuk Yang

Jinsuk Yang is a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Curriculum, Teaching and Learning at Ontario Institute for Studies in Education of the University of Toronto. She is interested in economic, political and social aspects of language education.

Katherine Rehner

Katherine Rehner is an Associate Professor in the Department of Language Studies at the University of Toronto Mississauga. Her graduate appointment is in the Language and Literacies Education program in the Department of Curriculum, Teaching and Learning at OISE, University of Toronto. Her research focuses on the development of sociolinguistic competence by speakers of French as a first or second language.

Published Online: 2015-04-30

Published in Print: 2015-05-01

Citation Information: Language Learning in Higher Education, Volume 5, Issue 1, Pages 157–180, ISSN (Online) 2191-6128, ISSN (Print) 2191-611X, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/cercles-2015-0008.

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