No abstract

No abstract

Identity, and related conflict, can influence both qualities of language learning experiences in study abroad settings and learners' choices of language to appropriate or reject. The article offers an overview of research examining the role of identity in student sojourns abroad. This research includes (1) holistic, qualitative studies of the ways in which identities shape language learning opportunities, and (2) studies examining the development of specific, identity‐related pragmatic abilities. After defining identity and study abroad, the researcher organizes this article in terms of salient demographic categories represented in the literature: nationality/“foreigner” status, gender, linguistic inheritance, age status, and ethnicity. Where possible, examples of both holistic and pragmatics‐oriented research are included for each category. The conclusion suggests implications for language education and the design of study abroad programs along with some avenues toward greater ecological validity in research of both kinds.

In this paper we explore the influences of the telecollaborative learning environment on the development of L2 pragmatic competence in foreign language learning from a sociocultural perspective (Lantolf, 2000). Typically, telecollaboration involves the application of global computer networks in foreign language study (e.g., Warschauer, 1996) for the purposes of linguistic development and intercultural learning. In particular, we focus on the ‘microgenesis’ or development of the T/V distinction in pronouns of address as a test case representative of broader L2 pragmatic concerns. We present two detailed case studies of this phenomenon: one for French (tu vs. vous) and one for German (du vs. Sie). The rationale for this type of analysis emerges from Vygotsky's developmental approach to cognition (1978) where it is emphasized that development can only be understood by specifying its history. We argue that, in contrast to the traditional language classroom, the telecollaborative language class provides the learner with increased opportunities for social interaction with native-speaking peers and, thus, with a wider range of discourse options (Kramsch, 1985a) for the disambiguation of the numerous sociopragmatic meanings of the pronouns of address in French and German.

This study examines the microgenetic development of second‐person pronoun use in a German‐American telecollaborative partnership. We discuss the sociopragmatic ambiguity of informal (T) and formal (V) pronouns of address (realised as du and Sie in German), and the precise issues that these pronouns present for American classroom learners of European languages. Tracing the history of particular learners’ pronoun use over time, the study demonstrates that (a) electronically enabled interaction with expert‐speaking German peers is a context in which learners experience both explicit assistance and opportunities to observe appropriate pronoun use, and (b) pragmatic awareness in this domain is reflected in learner performance that develops toward approximation of the expert norm for interaction among peers.