The Pennsylvania State University The Graduate School College of the Liberal Arts SOCIOPRAGMATIC COMPETENCE AND THE L2 SELF: DISCURSIVE CHOICES IN ADVANCED L2 FRENCH NARRATIVES A Dissertation in Applied Linguistics by Mary Kathryn Malone ©Mary Kathryn Malone 2015 Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy December 2015 The dissertation of Mary Kathryn Malone was reviewed and approved* by the following: Celeste Kinginger Professor of Applied Linguistics Dissertation Adviser Chair of Committee Meredith Doran Director English for Professional Purposes Intercultural Center James Lantolf Greer Professor in Language Acquisition and Applied Linguistics Robert Schrauf Professor of Applied Linguistics Head of the Department of Applied Linguistics *Signatures are on file in the Graduate School ii Abstract Second language identity involves not just the social profile of the learner, but his position within the L2 community, whether a pedagogical, social, or professional context. Confounded by the attribution of otherwise inexplicable variation in L2 French sociolinguistic studies to stylistic choice ¸ this study set out to examine narrative performance of very advanced L2 French learners and its intrinsic connection to second language identity. Grounding notions of L2 development and competence in cognitive sociolinguistics and sociocultural theory, the analysis brings together the historical development of L2 resources and realized language repertoire within personal narratives of three very advanced L2 French speakers. Using two hours of elicited oral narratives per participant, a language history, a metalinguistic interview and a discourse completion task, the analysis first catalogues sociopragmatic repertoire, then connects the instances of sociopragmatic features to contexts of use. The final stage situates these feature- context pairings within the speaker’s own socio-cultural history to reveal agentive instantiation of second language identity. That identity is the positioning of self in a given socio-cultural discursive moment dovetails with the developmental perspective of sociocultural theory and schematization of cognitive sociolinguistics. The language resources a learner uses represent at once the social and historical context of development, as well as the immediate, local positioning within the discourse. Identity can then be accessed through contextualized discourse analysis triangulated with language histories and development. iii Table of Contents List of Tables ………………………………………………………………………….. viii Chapter 1 The Advanced L2 Learner in practice and theory ……………………… 1 1.1 Problematizing the advanced second language learner …………………………….. 1 1.2 Identifying the advanced language learner: definitions and assessments …………... 3 1.2.1 Institutional status …………………………………………………………………. 6 1.2.2 Measurements of advanced learner language ……………………………………… 9 1.2.3 Late-acquired features ……………………………………………………………… 11 1.2.4 Sophisticate language i1 context …………………………………………………… 15 1.3 (Second) language identity and advancedness: theoretical considerations ………….. 18 1.3.1 Socio-cultural theory ……………………………………………………………… 19 1.3.2 Cognitive linguistics ……………………………………………………………… 20 1.3.3 Cognitive sociolinguistics …………………………………………………………. 22 1.3.4 Identity development and instantiation ……………………………………………. 25 1.3.5 Departing from competence ……………………………………………………….. 26 1.3.6 Advanced, Intermediate or Novice learners and Language Choice ……………….. 29 1.4 Study aims, organization, and scope …………………………………………………. 30 Chapter 2 French Sociopragmatics: Advanced L2 and Native Speakers 32 2.1 Sociopragmatics 32 2.2 L2 French: advanced capacities 33 2.2.1 L2 French sociolinguistics 35 2.2.2 L2 French pragmatics 57 2.2.3 Additional studies 39 2.2.4 Acquiring L2 sociopragmatic competence 41 2.3 Native Speaker French 43 2.3.1 L1 Sociolinguistics: Interpreting native speech 43 2.3.2 Features of L1 oral French 47 2.3.3 Summary and implications for Advanced L2 French 50 2.4 Advanced learner language reconsidered 51 iv 2.4.1 Limitations of current research 51 2.4.2 New directions for advanced capacity research 54 2.5 Linguistic Agency and L2 Identity 56 2.5.1 Approaches to identity research 57 2.5.2 Agentive language choice 63 2.6 Research Questions 66 Chapter 3 Methodology 69 3.1 A framework for L2 identity through narratives 69 3.2 Data Collection 74 3.2.1 Procedures 74 3.2.2 Materials 77 3.2.3 Research Assistants 80 3.2.4 Summary: Body of Data 81 3.3 Participants 82 3.4 Analytical Methods 88 3.4.1 Transcription and Coding 88 3.4.3 Sociopragmatic Repertoire 95 3.4.4 Contextualized Repertoire 98 3.4.5 Perspective and Participation 98 Chapter 4: Participant Profiles: Language History and Overall Repertoire 100 4.1 Introduction 100 4.2 Hannah 101 4.2.1 Participant profile 101 4.2.2 Narrative set 108 4.2.3 Sociopragmatic Repertoire 112 4.3 Mark 122 4.3.1 Participant profile 123 4.3.2 Narrative set 128 4.3.3 Sociopragmatic Repertoire 131 v 4.4 Meghan 140 4.4.1 Participant profile 141 4.4.2 Narrative set 146 4.4.3 Sociopragmatic Repertoire 150 4.5 Summary 153 Chapter 5: Contextualized Repertoire 155 5.1 Introduction 155 5.2 Hannah 155 5.3 Mark 172 5.4 Meghan 184 5.5 Summary 193 Chapter 6: Identity and Repertoire 194 6.1 Introduction 194 6.2 Hannah 195 6.3 Mark 201 6.4 Meghan 206 6.5 Summary 210 Chapter 7: Discussion 212 7.1 Summary of study objectives and findings 212 7.2 Representations of L2 French advancedness 216 7.3 Advanced capacities: L2 Oral repertoire 217 7.4 Advanced capacities: sociopragmatic competence and suites of repertoire 210 7.5 Advanced capacities and Identity development in the L2 220 7.6 Study limitations 220 7.7 Implications for future research 222 7. 8 Conclusion 223 vi Appendix A: Language History 224 Appendix B: Narrative Interview Worksheet 227 Appendix C: Discourse Completion Task; French Language Version 229 Appendix D: Discourse Completion Task (English Language Draft) 232 Appendix E: Meta Linguistic Interview Sample Questions 234 Appendix F: Transcription Conventions 235 Appendix G: Coding Schema for Sociopragmatic Features and Discursive Strategies 236 Appendix H: Selected transcripts and translations 237 References 251 vii List of tables Table 3.1 Materials Collected 81 Table 3.2 French Language Study by Participant 84 Table 3.3 French language sojourns 85 Table 3.4 Discourse Completion Task: Pragmatic Breakdown 94 Table 3.5 DCT coded response from Louise 94 Table 3.6 Advanced L2 French Repertoire Features 97 Table 4.2a Hannah’s Foreign Language Study 104 Table 4.2b Hannah’s French Language Sojourns 106 Table 4.2c Hannah’s Narratives 108 Table 4.2d Contextual aspects of Hannah’s narratives 110 Table 4.2e Summary of Hannah’s repertoire 112 Table 4.2f Examples from Hanna’s Oral Narratives 114 Table 4.2g Sample DCT responses 119 Table 4.3a Mark’s Foreign Language Study 125 Table 4.3b Mark’s French Language Sojourns 127 Table 4.3c Mark’s Narratives 128 Table 4.3d Contextual aspects of Mark’s narratives 130 Table 4.3e Summary of Mark’s repertoire 131 Table 4.3f Examples from Mark’s Oral Narratives 132 Table 4.4a Meghan’s Foreign Language Study 143 Table 4.4b Meghan’s French Language Sojourns 145 Table 4.4c Meghan’s Narratives 147 viii Table 4.4d Contextual aspects of Meghan’s narratives 148 Table 4.4e Summary of Meghan’s repertoire 149 Table 4.4g DCT sample responses – Meghan 152 Table 5.2a Summary of Hannah’s repertoire between narratives 156 Table 5.2b: Contextualized DCT repertoire by register for Hannah 165 Table 5.3a Summary of Mark’s repertoire between narratives 173 Table 5.3b: Contextualized DCT repertoire by register for Mark 180 Table 5.3c Mark’s DCT sample responses 181 Table 5.4a Summary of Meghan’s repertoire between narratives 185 Table 5.4b: Contextualized DCT repertoire by register for Meghan 190 ix for Grace x Chapter 1 Introduction The Advanced L2 Learner in Practice and Theory 1.1 Problematizing the advanced second language learner The elusive second language advancedness at near-native proficiency is a revered, yet poorly understood, goal. Indeed, is advancedness an endpoint, an echelon, a never-ending journey, or a nebulous state of being? Successful and (or) enthusiastic classroom language learners often pursue an international sojourn intended to hone and provide cultural context for their academic skill. Once arrived, however, they are confronted with challenges of opportunity to engage in linguistic practice, acceptance in social milieux, and, most puzzlingly, a seemingly entirely different language system from the academic one they had been studying. In pursuit of advancedness, the learner confronts challenges to develop local community ties, ergo occasions for linguistic practice, as well as discrepancies between actual oral speech practices and linguistic proficiency that is validated as advanced foreign language capacity in instructed settings. We know an advanced second language learner when we meet one (e.g. Coleman & Klapper, 2005), and we know which factors can contribute to developing advancedness (e.g. Leaver & Shekhtman, 2002a). Current assessments of advancedness, however, in fact fall short in wholly evaluating actual advanced learner language as compared to contemporary native speaker language (Ortega & Byrnes, 2008a). There is abundant research to evaluate advancedness within pedagogical objectives by a range of criteria from different communicative perspectives, and even some that probe benchmarks of professional proficiency. Yet, once the 1 learner moves