In a globalised world characterised by mobility, fluidity and impermanence, the conditions under which people acquire second languages are changing. Although numerous studies examine permanent migrants’ English language learning, few consider language learning in transnational contexts. This study focuses on transnational sojourners – migrants who have relocated for a fixed, generally short-term period (Glick-Schiller & Fouron, 1990). It adopts a longitudinal, case study approach to examine the experiences of spouses of international students – a group of transnational sojourners who remain under-represented in academic research. Multiple semi-structured narrative interviews conducted over one year with seven participants have been thematically analysed to present a contingent, situated understanding of the factors that impact English language learning for transnational sojourners.
The study draws on Darvin and Norton’s 2015 Model of Investment (Darvin and Norton, 2015) as a theoretical lens for investigating transnational sojourners’ engagement in language learning. This model builds on Norton’s earlier groundbreaking research in which she problematized learner motivation as an unchanging characteristic of an individual, arguing instead that learners invest in learning a second language in order to access a range of identity positions or material resources (Norton Peirce 1995). Darvin and Norton expand the notion of investment, suggesting that it occurs at the intersection of ideology, identity and capital. This study investigates the extent to which each of these three constructs affects investment in learning English, but also aims to identity other factors that may impact on investment.
In this paper I will present preliminary findings, focussing on how the complexity of the transnational experience has impacted on the participants’ investment, leading to a discrepancy between their professed desire to improve their English and their lack of engagement in actual learning activities.
Darvin, R., & Norton, B. (2015). Identity and a Model of Investment in Applied Linguistics. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, 35, 36-56.
Glick Schiller, N., & Fouron, G. (1990). “Everywhere we go, We are in danger”: Ti Manno and the emergence of a Haitian transnational identity. American Ethnologist, 17, 329-347.
Norton Peirce, B. (1995). Social identity, investment and language learning. TESOL Quarterly, 29, 9-31.
