Social networks and acquisition of sociolinguistic variation in a study abroad context : a preliminary study

Over the past decade, there has been a clear increase in awareness of social and contextual perspectives in the field of second language acquisition (Atkinson, 2002; Ortega, 2011). A growing strand of literature has focused on how linguistic use and acquisition is affected by learning contexts (Munoz, 2012). Looking in particular at linguistic outcomes, this literature tries to track the impact of different contexts such as the classroom environment, the naturalistic environment, immersion settings, and study abroad contexts. Learning in contexts where the target language is used is considered particularly beneficial because such an environment should provide access to language that is ample in quantity and diverse in quality. Growing interest has been shown in study abroad (SA) contexts in a diverse array of studies focusing on gains in oral fluency, syntax, vocabulary, phonology, and sociolinguistic and pragmatic usage (Freed, 1995; Kinginger, 2009). SA research has demonstrated that most of the time this context is beneficial for L2 learning. As the field matures, however, many authors are beginning to question one of the most long-standing beliefs, which is that the amount and frequency of contact that students have during their SA experience will increase their language gains (Diao, Freed & Smith, 2011; Freed, Segalowitz & Dewey, 2004). To our knowledge, despite the persistency of this belief, it has not yet been possible to establish a clear correlation between the amount of contact students have and improved language use during a SA experience. Our goal is to complement this strand of studies by collecting more systematic data and exploring in greater depth the social relationships that shape the SA experience, with a view to linking these results to sociolinguistic acquisition. In this chapter, we present the results of a preliminary study on the application of social network analysis to a study abroad context. The findings provide an initial picture of L2 learners' daily language use, of the types of social networks that emerge in a study abroad context, and of how these social networks can be linked to L2 learners' usage of sociolinguistic variants.