Engagement Portraits and (Socio)linguistic Performance

Abstract

This study considers, both transversally and longitudinally, advanced second language (L2) learners' profi le portraits, how these correlate with their sociolinguistic and linguistic performance, and how changes in these portraits over time connect to changes in sociolinguistic performance. The results show a strong correlation between high degrees of learner engagement, as captured in the profi le portraits, and the three measures of sociolinguistic and linguistic performance. The longitudinal data point to an increase over time both of levels of engagement and of use of informal sociolinguistic variants. By measuring the impact of learners' evolving engagement on their use of sociolinguistic variants as they progress to a more advanced level of profi ciency in their L2, the present study shows that an index of engagement can usefully summarize the multiple effects captured by the learner profi le portraits and can shed light on rates of use of certain forms.

Near-Native Sociolinguistic Competence in French: Evidence from Variable Future-Time Expression

“…Whereas there is ample evidence in the literature showing that (especially classroom) learners tend to overuse the formal variant, the pattern in the current dataset suggests that these NNSs do not exhibit pragmatic conservatism (van Compernolle, 2015) with future-time expression. This finding is consistent with results found for interrogative forms and negation with the same group of participants (Donaldson, 2016(Donaldson, , 2017 and may be related to the fact that they have many "active commitments" (Mougeon & Rehner, 2015) to the target language and their community, meaning they are well integrated into the community and do not consider themselves to be outsiders.…”

Negation in Near‐Native French: Variation and Sociolinguistic Competence

“…Convergence on the native norm for ne thus appears to characterize near-native (as opposed to advanced) proficiency, which, presumably, typically entails extensive contact and engagement with NSs and native sociolinguistic norms. F. Mougeon and Rehner's (2015) findings support this view: As learner engagement (with the L2) increases, ne retention rates decline steadily. Perhaps more importantly, the present near-native speakers had acquired nativelike sensitivity to subject type and to how ne is influenced by emphasis, quoted speech, and serious topics.…”

“…As Dewaele (2004a) observed, the more L2 speakers use French in authentic environments, the less they retain ne. F. Mougeon and Rehner (2015) analyzed learners' engagement with French through "active commitments," which describe learners' efforts to maximize exposure to and use of the L2, reporting that the participants with the highest level of active commitments also had the most nativelike rates of ne retention.…”

“…However, exposure to the NS norm does not guarantee nativelike rates of ne retention, let alone a nativelike understanding of what influences the variation. Although little work has been done on sociolinguistic competence at the highest levels of L2 proficiency, F. Mougeon and Rehner (2015) noted that even advanced L2 learners differ substantially in how they acquire informal variants, and Howard (2012) wrote that informal variants such as ne deletion "are either completely absent or minimally present in even advanced learner varieties" (p. 21, emphasis added). The current study sheds further light on this aspect of L2 sociolinguistic variation by focusing on near-native speakers living in France and intensively engaged with the target language and culture.…”

“…Unlike NSs who first acquire negation without ne as children and then learn ne as a formal and written variant in school, L2 learners must unlearn certain prescriptive forms enforced in the classroom and overcome the perception that such forms represent mistakes (see Dewaele, 2004b;Dewaele & Regan, 2002;van Compernolle & Williams, 2009b. They must also move from a position as a "cautious outsider" (van Compernolle, 2015, p. 59) with respect to the target culture and maximize their active commitments (F. Mougeon & Rehner, 2015) to the L2. For these near-native speakers, the first exposure to authentic French came up to 10 years after beginning to study French in the classroom.…”