Page 86 - Handbooks of Applied Linguistics Communication Competence Language and Communication Problems Practical Solutions

64 Madeleine Brabant, Bernadette Watson and Cindy Gallois

in second-language acquisition that influence how well or quickly individuals
learn another language: cognitive characteristics (language aptitude and lan-
guage learning strategies), attitudes and motivation, and personality character-
istics.
Contact with the second-language speaking group in naturalistic contexts is
a key part of L2 acquisition (as it is for Kim 1995, 2001, albeit for different rea-
sons). Positive benefits from language acquisition can only be achieved if the
first language and culture are well established within the individual (Carey
1991; Clément 1984; Cummins and Swain 1986, Hamers and Blanc 1988;
Landry and Allard 1992). The familial, educational, and social context should
allow the development and transmission of the first language and culture. Eth-
nolinguistic vitality (Giles, Bourhis and Taylor 1977; Prujiner et al. 1984) is a
closely related concept that is also relevant to second-language acquisition and
use, as well as to the maintenance of the original ethnic identity. Ethnoling-
uistic vitality refers to the power and viability of an ethnic group in a specific
context, as measured by the demographic representation of the community, its
institutional representation and socio-economic status, and its position in the
media and cultural landscape of the larger society. Vitality is important in sec-
ond-language acquisition and use, as well as in maintenance of the original eth-
nic identity.
Research has also shown a consistent relationship between demographic,
political, economic, and cultural capital factors and first-language retention and
competence (Landry and Allard 1992; Landry, Allard and Henry 1996). The gap
between structural or objective vitality and psychological vitality is bridged by
recasting structural factors as subjective perceptions by individuals, so that vi-
tality is now commonly measured through self-report questionnaire indices of
perceptions (Bourhis, Giles and Rosenthal 1981). Researchers have found a re-
lationship between objective and subjective ethnolinguistic vitality (Bourhis
and Sachdev 1984; Landry and Allard 1992). Self-confidence in using the sec-
ond language has been shown to be positively related to the degree of identifi-
cation with the second-language group, and in the case of minority group
members it is negatively correlated with identification to the first-language
group (Noels and Clément 1996; Noels, Pon and Clément 1996). Competence in
and preference for using the second language may entail, or may be perceived to
entail, the loss of first language and culture (Cameron and Lalonde 1994; Clém-
ent, Gauthier and Noels 1993). Better adjustment and well-being are often cor-
related with greater self-confidence in using the second language and greater so-
cial support from the second language network (Clément, Michaud and Noels
1998; Noels and Clément 1996; Noels, Pon and Clément 1996), so that learning
a second language may be a vector of individual psychological adjustment and
collective language and culture loss (see Clément and Gardner 2001). Clearly,
the socio-psychological understanding of second-language acquisition in this