The Acquisition of Sociolinguistic Competence in a Study Abroad Context

Drawing on cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses of a range of sociolinguistic variables in L2 French, this volume explores the relationship between 'study abroad' and the acquisition of sociolinguistic variation patterns by the advanced second language learner. Within a variationist paradigm, the findings illuminate a number of issues in relation to the role of speaker identity, gender, and L2 exposure and contact.

Vera Regan is Associate Professor of Sociolinguistics at University College Dublin. She is Chevalier de lâ??ordre des Palmes Académiques and has served as President of the European Second Language Association, President of the Association for French Language Association, and President of the Association of Canadian Studies in Ireland.Martin Howard is Lecturer in French at University College, Cork, Ireland. A former President of the Association for Canadian Studies in Ireland, he is currently a member of the Executive Committee of the European Second Language Association (EUROSLA), and Treasurer of the International Council for Canadian Studies (ICCS). He is a former Government of Ireland Research Fellow and was a recipient of the Prix du Québec. His research focuses on Second Language Acquisition, Sociolinguistics, and Canadian Studies. He has published on (socio)linguistic variation in relation to both native speaker and learner French, as well as on the acquisition of temporality.Isabelle Lemée is Assistant Lecturer in the Department of French at St Patrick's College in Ireland. Her research focuses on Second Language Acquisition, as well as on Canadian Studies. She is currently the Secretary of the Association for Canadian Studies in Ireland. She is also on the Committee of the Association for French Language Studies and the Association of Applied French (AFA).

Contents Chapter 1 - Second Language Acquisition and Linguistic Variation Chapter 2 - Linguistic outcomes and Study Abroad Chapter 3 - Extralinguistic Factors Affecting L2 Development during Study Abroad Chapter 4 - The research project: an overview Chapter 5 - The acquisition of ne deletion by Irish learners of French Chapter 6 - The variable use of Nous/On by Irish learners of French Chapter 7 - The acquisition of /l/ deletion by Irish year abroad speakers of French Chapter 8 - The variable use of future temporal reference Chapter 9 - The role of gender in the acquisition of sociolinguistic competence in an L2 during the Year Abroad Chapter 10 - Spending a Year Abroad. Do we acquire sociolinguistic competence?