Social Identity and Investment in L2 Learning

Social Identity and Investment in L2 Learning

Children tend to acquire two languages simultaneously and become balanced bilingual because their social identity has not been formed yet and they can keep the two languages apart. Adults, however, have rigid socio-emotional boundaries, and their social identity may hinder successful acquisition of a second language. 

In his book, "Second Language Acquisition", Rod Ellis discusses how some adult second language learners achieve limited proficiency in their second language and how some are able to attain ultimate proficiency based on their social identities. Here is an excerpt:

"The notion of social identity is central to the theory Peirce advances. She argues that language learners have complex social identities that can only be understood in terms of the power relations that shape social structures. A learner's social identity is, according to Pierce, 'multiple and contradictory'. Learning is successful when learners are able to summon up or construct an identity that enables them to impose their right to be heard and thus become the subject of the discourse. This requres investment, something learners will only make if they believe their efforts will increase the value of their 'cultural capital' (i.e. give them access to the knowledge and modes of thought that will enable them to function successfully in a variety of social contexts).

Peirce's social theory of L2 acquisition affords a different set of metaphors. L2 acquisition involves a 'struggle' and 'investment'. Learners are not computers who process input data but combatants who battle to assert themselves and investors who expect a good return on their efforts. Successful learners are those who reflect critically on how they engage with native speakers and who are prepared to challenge the accepted social order by constructing and asserting social identities of their own choice.

Socio-cultural modes of L2 acquisition, such as those of Giles, Schumann, and Peirce, are intendd to account for learner's relative success or failure in learning an L2. That is, they seek to explain the speed of learning and the ultimate level of proficiency of different groups of learners. The models assume settings where the target language is used for everyday communication. In such situations social conditions determine the extent of learners' contact with the L2 and their commitment to learning it. However, socio-cultural models may be less relevant to foreign language settings where most learners' prinicipal contact with the L2 is in a classroom."

from Second Language Acquisition

by Rod Ellis                                                                                

Oxford University Press