Significance for the Second Language Learner

What is the significance of these dimensions of language learning for the person learning a second language in a new culture? Language fluency is a factor identified in Figure 1 as impacting the acculturation process and Storti (2001) concurs,

describing the anxiety and feelings of vulnerability due to the feelings of lack of control that language learners experience when in the new cultural context:

Because language is the one of the principle means through which you can manipulate and control your environment and thereby enjoy a sense of wellbeing and security, the lack of language, not surprisingly, is one of the main reasons for feeling so helpless and vulnerable during the first few months abroad. (p. 98)

Second language learners often describe feelings of uncertainty over their choices of language at any given moment in the new context, with some describing disturbing incidents where they have suffered, what Fenimore (1997) describes as the grammar of self shock, “A sudden lack of confidence that persons feel when they can no longer understand, nor express themselves well with a new language” (p. 2). Storti (2001) concurs stating that, “There is the ever-present possibility that you may suddenly find yourself in situations where you can‟t make yourself understood, where for want of being able to express your needs, you leave the situation with those needs unmet” (p. 98).

Aspects of identity, social identity and cultural or intercultural identity are important considerations for second language learners as they move into multiple discourses

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which are negotiated in their developing second language. Norton Peirce (1995) maintains that second language learner investment in the target language “must be understood in relation to the multiple, changing, and contradictory identities of language learners” (p. 26). There are vital opportunities for advancing language acquisition, but the experiences may not always be comfortable. Learners expect a return on the investment they make in learning a second language, and “this return on investment must be seen as commensurate with the effort expended on learning the second language” (Norton Peirce, 1995, p. 17).

Adults learning a second language in a new culture for any length of time are

frequently accompanied by their family, and consequently the stresses of adjusting to the new culture are experienced, not only by the language learner, but by their loved ones as well. It is normal practice, in fact encouraged, within the organisational context of the WCHO for the family unit, parents and children, to be involved in the language learning experience. It would seem that the impact of cultural adjustment on families must be an important contributing factor to the overall experience of the second language learner, particularly if family members undergo difficulties in the process.

For individuals and for families the disruption or loss of routine experienced on relocation to the new cultural context can be a major contributor to stress. Storti (2001) presents an explanation of the importance of establishing routines in the new country in the overall settling process:

The lifeblood of routines is the known and familiar. Needless to say, when you move to a new country, where nothing is known and familiar, your routines get mightily disrupted. Suddenly, nothing... is routine. The loss of routine means the time and energy that were available for higher order, more sophisticated tasks now goes to basic coping and survival functions.... the loss of routines hits you at your core. You expect to have to learn how to do new things overseas and even new ways of doing familiar things, but you may be surprised to discover that you have to learn to do things you normally do without thinking. (p. 6)

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It would seem that this social and relational aspect of cultural adaptation is of great importance to all involved. Perhaps these aspects are, to a certain extent, the hidden costs of learning a second language in a culture other than one‟s own, yet for an adult learner to have a successful language learning experience the stability of the family is of prime concern. Success can be regarded in the day-to- day terms of seeing

children settled and routines established; concerns of the everyday which, at first glance, may seem mundane and unimportant.

Of all those travelling across cultures, students moving overseas for educational purposes are perhaps one of the best researched groups, due mainly to the

accessibility of participants (Zhou et al., 2008). Walling, Erikson, Meese, Ciovica, and Gorton (2006) emphasise the influence of cultural transitions on cultural identity in studies carried out amongst college students studying abroad, noting that while adjustments or shifts in identity may be beneficial to those relocating permanently, “such shifts may not be advantageous for short-term visitors” (p. 154) causing the returned travellers to feel a sense of disconnection upon re-entry to their home culture.

The consequences of contact with a different culture on a person‟s identity in general and cultural identity in particular are discussed by Sussman (2000). In referring to four hypotheses in this subject area, namely contact hypothesis, cultural

hybridization, acculturation theory and social identity theory, Sussman (2000) notes that the conclusions drawn are for those who are relocating permanently to a new culture rather than those who will eventually return to their own culture. The participants in this study would, under normal circumstances, return to their home countries at some stage in the future, but at the time of writing the majority were preparing to move to a new third culture or already working within their COS.

2.6 Conclusion

The dialogue in this chapter has revealed that the adult English language learning experience is not as straightforward as it may first appear. Although movement between cultures has become more common, it is not necessarily any simpler or easier and the experience is no less demanding for those involved. From the literature discussed in this chapter, layers to the experience can be identified, from

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the more obvious external facet of classroom experience, to the wider context of the experience with its bearing on the learner‟s family, to the influences of the

experiences on personal identity. The obvious and the seemingly mundane, becomes of great consequence when a change in culture adds new dimensions. Challenges can be regarded as situations that test us in a manner that is stimulating and it is apparent that ELL presents multifarious challenges.

2.7 Summary

This chapter has provided a discussion on issues of significance to the study from the discourse of second language learning with cross-cultural facets of the experience also considered. The following matters have been covered in this chapter:

 an explication of the manner in which the literature review has been undertaken in this study;

 a discussion of the challenges faced by adult ELL including language anxiety;

 characteristics of the good language learner;

 the influence of the second language learning process on identity;

 the additional demands that a new cultural context places on adult language learners;

 the process of acculturation; and

 the significance of these issues for the second language learner.

Chapter three follows, continuing the literature review with a focus on the influence of global trends in English language pedagogy and in the discourse of ELT generally.

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Chapter Three