New Book:The Impact of Study Abroad on the Acquisition of Sociopragmatic Variation Patterns: The Case of Non-Native-Speaker English Teachers

By Anne Marie Devlin

This book investigates the study abroad profile of non-native speaker teachers of English, exploring the impact of studying abroad on the acquisition of sociopragmatic variation patterns and the relationship between such patterns and identity development.

Introducing the concept of ‘loci of learning’, the book provides a compelling insight into the relationship between the duration of study abroad and the intensity and diversity of access to the target language. It then proceeds to explore the impact of varying degrees of intensity and diversity of language contact on the development of sociopragmatic variation patterns through a micro-analysis of recorded learner discourse. Finally, it maps the correlation between these linguistic patterns and the enactment of a compound identity.

Linking ethnographic and quantitative data with extensive examples of learner discourse, the author offers a unique perspective on non-native speaker teachers of English. By turning the focus of study abroad research onto this group, who are not only learners but also disseminators of the language, this book fills a significant gap in current scholarship.

Contents: Introduction: Aims and Scope of the Book – ‘The art of the analysis of the unsaid’: An Investigation of Pragmatics – Identity and the Second Language User: How Can I Still Be Me? – The Study – Language Teacher as Learner: Constructing a Profile – ‘Are you ok?’: The Use of (Sub)-Strategies to Index Sociopragmatic Variation – You Can Take the Teacher Out of the Classroom, But…: Indexing Identity – Towards an Understanding of the Interplay between Duration of Study Abroad, Interaction with Loci of Learning and the Emergence of Core Identity.

Oxford: Peter Lang

293 pp. | ISBN 978-3-0343-1702-3 | £44.00

Available from <http://www.peterlang.com?431702>