INSTYTUT LITERATUROZNAWSTWA I JĘZYKOZNAWSTWA

Studia Filologiczne UJK

Philological Studies

ISSN 2300-5459 e-ISSN 2450-0380

 

 

Author Aleksandra Matysiak • Julita Woźniak
Title Social identity and social networks as crucial factors in Foreign Language Acquisition: the case of Polish immigrants in Wales
Keywords immigration, SLA, social identity, social networks, immigrant English
Pages 417-431
Full text
Volume 34

Summary

In today’s world, human migration has become so common that it has started creating a very interesting phenomenon, not only with respect to social interactions and cross-cultural encounters between people from around the world, but also with respect to Second Language Acquisition. Acquiring a new language in the so-called ‘naturalistic context’ comprises a variety of factors that makes it a completely different experience in comparison with often artificial, classroom learning of a given language. This paper discusses influences that the social identity and social networks created by Polish immigrants in L2 speech environments have on the effectiveness of their English language acquisition. The article contributes to existing literature treating this aspect of immigrant English, and offers ideas for further research on the subject.