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4 - A Critical Sociolinguistics Perspective on L3 Acquisition

from Part I - Theoretical Approaches to L3/Ln

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 July 2023

By
Melissa Moyer
Edited by
Jennifer Cabrelli ,
Adel Chaouch-Orozco ,
Jorge González Alonso ,
Sergio Miguel Pereira Soares ,
Eloi Puig-Mayenco  and
Jason Rothman
Jennifer Cabrelli
Affiliation:
University of Illinois, Chicago
Adel Chaouch-Orozco
Affiliation:
The Hong Kong Polytechnic University
Jorge González Alonso
Affiliation:
Universidad Nebrija, Spain and UiT, Arctic University of Norway
Sergio Miguel Pereira Soares
Affiliation:
Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics
Eloi Puig-Mayenco
Affiliation:
King's College London
Jason Rothman
Affiliation:
UiT, Arctic University of Norway and Universidad Nebrija, Spain
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Summary

This chapter on a critical sociolinguistics offers a revealing angle on the acquisition of a third language by providing qualitative information about the context in which acquisition takes place. It is an approach that places at the center of inquiry, concerns of power, inequality, and social inclusion. The goal is to promote reflection on certain assumptions and methodologies associated with mainstream L3 acquisition research and, also, to present data and cases from qualitative ethnographic studies that seek to challenge current thinking. Despite ontological differences regarding the sorts of questions and frameworks to account for knowledge in the field of third language acquisition, many researchers recognize the need to go beyond the boundaries of processing and cognitive predictions and their related methodologies to provide a more holistic, dynamic, and comprehensive understanding. This recognition of the social – even if it is defined as a limited to a set of variables (i.e., age, gender, class) or assigned to a cognitive subsystem – allows L3 researchers to account for the wide variation in individual developmental differences in the process of acquiring a third or additional language.

Type
Chapter
Information
The Cambridge Handbook of Third Language Acquisition , pp. 96 - 112
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2023

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