FRE 1146H

Acquisition of sociolinguistic competence among second language (L2) learners

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Description :

What does it take for a second language learner to sound like a native speaker of the language? Beyond the acquisition of prescriptive grammar features, vocabulary, and native-like pronunciation patterns, the learner also must acquire the sociolinguistic variation characteristics of native-speaker discourse, including the same range and rate of variants, along with their respective social and linguistic constraints (Mougeon et al. 2004:409).

This course will explore how sociolinguistic competence, which is typically untaught in classroom settings, is learned by L2 speakers, the role of L2 proficiency in the acquisition of native-like patterns of variation, and the methodological tools used to assess it. Special attention will be given to acquisition of sociolinguistic norms in L2 French and L2 English.

Readings :

Weekly readings will be assigned from a variety of sources (see ‘Bibliography’) 

Evaluations :

  1. Presention (critical analysis of an article) (20%)
  2. Assignment (data analysis) (20%)
  3. Research project (60%)

Bibliography :

Bayley, Robert. 2005. Second language acquisition and sociolinguistic variation. Intercultural Communication Studies 14:1-13.

Bayley, Robert and Vera Regan. 2004. Introduction: The acquisition of sociolinguistic competence. In Robert Bayley and Vera Regan (eds.) Sociolinguistics and Second Language Acquisition. Special Issue of the Journal of Sociolinguistics 8: 323-338.

Blondeau, Hélène, Naomi Nagy, Gillian Sankoff and Pierrette Thibault. 2002. La couleur locale du français des Anglo-Montréalais. Acquisition et Interaction en Langue Étrangère 17 :76-100.

Dewaele, J.-M. 2007. Diachronic and/or synchronic variation? The acquisition of sociolinguistic competence in L2 French. In D. Ayoun (ed.) Handbook of French Applied Linguistics. Amsterdam: Benjamins, pp. 208-236.

Dewaele, J.-M. 2004. The acquisition of sociolinguistic competence in French as a foreign language: An overview. In F. Myles & R. Towell (eds.) The acquisition of French as a second language. Special issue of Journal of French Language Studies, 14, 301-319.

Dewaele, J.-M. 2004. Retention or omission of the 'ne' in advanced French IL: the variable effect of extralinguistic factors. In V. Regan & R. Bayley (eds.) Sociolinguistics and Second Language Acquisition. Special issue of the Journal of Sociolinguistics, 8 (3), 433-450.

Gardner, Robert C. and Wallace E. Lambert. 1972. Attitudes and Motivation in Language Learning. Rowley, M.A.: Newbury House.

Howard, Martin, Isabelle Lemée and Vera Regan. 2006. The L2 acquisition of a socio-phonetic variable: The case of /l/ deletion in French. Journal of French Language Studies 16:1-24.

Howard, Martin, Raymond Mougeon and Jean-Marc Dewaele. 2013. Sociolinguistics and second language acquisition. In Robert Bayley, Richard Cameron and Ceil Lucas (eds.) The Oxford Handbook of Sociolinguistics. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 340-359.

Mougeon, Raymond, Terry Nadasdi and Katherine Rehner. 2010. The Sociolinguistic Competence of Immersion Students. Bristol: Multilingual Matters.

Nadasdi, Terry, Raymond Mougeon, and Katherine Rehner. 2003. Emploi du ‘futur’ dans le français parlé d’élèves d’immersion. Journal of French Language Studies 13: 195-219.

Nagy, Naomi, Hélène Blondeau and Julie Auger. 2003. Second language acquisition and ‘real’ French: An investigation of subject doubling in the French of Montreal Anglophones. Language Variation and Change 15: 73-103.

Piller, Ingrid. 2002. Passing for a native speaker: Identity and success in second language learning. Journal of Sociolinguistics 6: 179-208.