Ziyue Guo
Faculty of Education, University of Western Ontario, London, ON N6A 3K7, Canada
Qiuhua Feng
Faculty of Education, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong
This ethnographic case study investigated the disparity in an adult learner's second language (L2) proficiency between basic interpersonal communication skills (BICS) and cognitive academic language proficiency (CALP). The learner, well-educated in his first language (L1) Italian, demonstrated higher CALP but lower BICS in L2 English. Data collection spanned 15 weeks and included classroom observations, in-class artifacts, and semi-formal interviews. Two main factors were identified as contributing to the disparity: (1) unbalanced language exposure favoring CALP over BICS and (2) the positive transfer of CALP from L1 outweighing that of BICS. The study found that teacher instruction and learner's language engagement and investment increased exposure to grammar and literacy, thereby enhancing CALP development and facilitating CALP transfer from L1 to L2. However, limited exposure to interpersonal communication practices both inside and outside the classroom led to his underdeveloped BICS. Consequently, the unbalanced proficiency further influenced his second language acquisition. The learner's low BICS level resulted in negative self-positioning, increasing fear of interacting with English speakers and reducing opportunities to acquire the target language in natural interactive environments. Pedagogical implications are provided for adult EFL teaching, emphasizing balanced instruction and interactive and multilingual approaches. The research suggests future directions for supporting bi-/multilingual adults in developing balanced language proficiency and a positive language identity effectively.
Abu-Rabia, S., 2001. Testing the interdependence hypothesis among native adult bilingual Russian-English students. Journal of Psycholinguistic Research. 30(4), 437–455.
Afful, J.B.A., 2007. Academic literacy and communicative skills in the Ghanaian university: A proposal. Nebula. 4(3), 141–159.
Al Zoubi, S.M., 2018. The impact of exposure to English language on language acquisition. Journal of Applied Linguistics and Language Research. 5(4), 151–162.
Andrade, H.L., Brookhart, S.M., 2020. Classroom assessment as the co-regulation of learning. Assessment in education: principles, policy & practice. 27(4), 350–372.
August, G., 2006. So, what's behind adult English second language reading? Bilingual Research Journal. 30(2), 245–264.
Benati, A., 2018. Grammar‐translation method. The TESOL encyclopedia of English language teaching. Hoboken: Wiley. pp. 1–5.
Berthele, R., Lambelet, A., (Eds.), 2017. Heritage and school language literacy development in migrant children: interdependence or independence? Bristol: Multilingual Matters.
Biryukova, N.A., Yakovleva, S.L., Kolesova, T.V., et al., 2015. Understanding Adult Learners as a Core Principle of Effective ESL-Educators. Review of European Studies. 7(8). DOI: https://doi.org/10.5539/res.v7n8p147
Black, L., 2004. Teacher–Pupil Talk in Whole-class Discussions and Processes of Social Positioning within the Primary School Classroom. Language and Education. 18(5), 347–360. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/09500780408666888
Blom, E., Soto-Corominas, A., Attar, Z., et al., 2021. Interdependence between L1 and L2: The case of Syrian children with refugee backgrounds in Canada and the Netherlands. Applied Psycholinguistics. 42(5), 1159–1194. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/s0142716421000229
Braun, V., Clarke, V., 2006. Using Thematic Analysis in Psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology. 3(2), 77–101. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1191/1478088706qp063oa
Burt, M., Peyton, J.K., Schaetzel, K., 2008. Working with adult English language learners with limited literacy: Research, practice, and professional development. Washington, DC: Center for Applied Linguistics.
Castilla, A.P., Restrepo, M.A., Perez-Leroux, A.T., 2009. Individual differences and language nterdependence: A study of sequential bilingual development in Spanish–English preschool children. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism. 12(5), 565–580. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/13670050802357795
Celce-Murcia, M. Brinton, D.M., Snow, M.A., et al., (Eds.), 2014. Teaching English as a second or foreign language (4th ed.). Columbus, OH: McGraw Hill.
Cercone, K., 2008. Characteristics of adult learners with implications for online learning design. AACE journal. 16(2), 137–159.
Cervatiuc, A., 2009. Identity, good language learning, and adult immigrants in Canada. Journal of Language, Identity, and Education. 8(4), 254–271. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/15348450903130439
Clarke, V., Braun, V., 2017. Thematic analysis. The journal of positive psychology. 12(3), 297–298.
Cohen, L, Manion, L., Morrison, K., 2018. Research methods in education (8th ed.). London: Routledge.
Cozma, M., 2015. The Challenge of Teaching English to Adult Learners in Today’s World. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences. 197, 1209–1214. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2015.07.380
Cummins, J., 1979. Cognitive/academic language proficiency, Linguistic interdependence, the optimum age question and some other matters. Working Papers on Bilingualism, No. 19.
Cummins, J., 1991. Interdependence of first-and second-language proficiency in bilingual children. Language processing in bilingual children. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 70–89.
Cummins, J., Swain, M., Nakajima, K., et al., 1984. Linguistic interdependence among Japanese and Vietnamese immigrant students. In: Rivera, C. (Ed.). Communicative competence approaches to language proficiency assessment: Research and application. Bristol: Multilingual Matters. pp. 60–81.
Cummins, J., 1980. The cross-lingual dimensions of language proficiency: Implications for bilingual education and the optimal age issue. TESOL quarterly. 175–187. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/3586312
Cummins, J., 1981. The role of primary language development in promoting educational success for language minority students. In: California State Department of Education (Ed.). Schooling and Language Minority Students: A Theoretical Rationale. Long Beach: California State University. pp. 3–49.
Cummins, J., 2005. Teaching the language of academic success: A framework for school-based language policies. Schooling and language minority students: A theoretical-practical framework. Sacramento, CA: California state Department of Education. pp. 3–32.
Darvin, R., Norton, B., 2023. Investment and motivation in language learning: What's the difference?. Language teaching. 56(1), 29–40.
Davies, B., Harre, R. 1990. Positioning: The discursive production of selves. Journal for the Theory of Social Behavior. 20(1): 43–63. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-5914.1990.tb00174.x
De Costa, P.I., 2011. Using language ideology and positioning to broaden the SLA learner beliefs landscape: The case of an ESL learner from China. System. 39(3), 347–358. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2011.07.007
Denham, K., 2020. Positioning students as linguistic and social experts: Teaching grammar and linguistics in the United States. L1-educational studies in language and literature. 1–16. DOI: https://doi.org/10.17239/L1ESLL-2020.20.03.02
De Wilde, V., Brysbaert, M., Eyckmans, J., 2020. Learning english through out-of-school exposure. which levels of language proficiency are attained and which types of input are important? Bilingualism: Language and Cognition. 23(1), 1–15. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/s1366728918001062
Domingo, P., 2019. Correlation between the Students’ English Language Proficiency and Their Exposure to English Language. SSRN Electronic Journal. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3462970
Duff, P., 2002. The discursive co-construction of knowledge, identity, and difference: An ethnography of communication in the high school mainstream. Applied Linguistics. 23, 289–322. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/applin/23.3.289
Ewert, D.E., 2014. Content-learning tasks for adult ESL learners: Promoting literacy for work or school. TESOL Journal. 5(2), 265–287. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/tesj.119
Farrell, T.S.C., 2019. Professional development through reflective practice for English-medium instruction (EMI) teachers. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism. 23(3), 1–10. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/13670050.2019.1612840
Fusch, P.I., Fusch, G.E., Ness, L.R., 2017. How to conduct a mini-ethnographic case study: A guide for novice researchers. The Qualitative Report. 22(3), 923–941. DOI: https://doi.org/10.46743/2160-3715/2017.2580
Gantt, L.O., Natt, I.I., 2006. Deconstructing thinking like a lawyer: Analyzing the cognitive components of the analytical mind. Campbell Law Review. 29, 413.
Garcia, O., Kleifgen, J.A., 2018. Programs and policies for educating emergent bilinguals. Educating emergent bilinguals: Policies, programs and practices for English Learners. New York: Teachers College Press.
García, O., Li, W., 2014. Translanguaging. London: Palgrave Macmillan UK. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137385765
Cenoz, J., Gorter, D., 2021. Pedagogical translanguaging. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009029384
Ghaderpanahi, L., 2012. Using authentic aural materials to develop listening comprehension in the EFL classroom. English Language Teaching Journal. 5(6), 146–153. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5539/elt.v5n6p146
Giroir, S., 2014. Narratives of participation, identity, and positionality: Two cases of Saudi learners of English in the United States. TESOL Quarterly. 48(1), 34–56. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/tesq.95
Guo, Z., Sidhu, S., 2024. From identity unbecoming to becoming: Duoethnography of multilingual and multicultural English language teacher identities. System, 121, 103246–103246. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2024.103246
Kang, H.S., Pacheco, M.B., Hurd, E., 2019. Scaffolds, signs, and bridges: Language ideologies and translanguaging in student-teaching experiences. Bilingual Research Journal. 42(2), 194–213. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/15235882.2019.1596179
Kagan, S., 1998. New cooperative learning, multiple intelligences, and inclusion. Cooperative learning and strategies for inclusion. 105–136.
Kavé, G., Yafé, R., 2014. Performance of younger and older adults on tests of word knowledge and word retrieval: Independence or interdependence of skills?. American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology. 23, 36–45. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1044/1058-0360
Kern, F., Lingnau, B., Paul, I., 2015. The construction of ‘academic language’ in German classrooms: Communicative practices and linguistic norms in ‘morning circles’. Linguistics and Education. 31, 207–220. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.linged.2014.10.005
Kim, M., Crossley, S.A., Kim, B.-K., 2020. Second language reading and writing in relation to first language, vocabulary knowledge, and learning backgrounds. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism. 1–14. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/13670050.2020.1838434
König, J., Jäger-Biela, D.J., Glutsch, N., 2020. Adapting to online teaching during COVID-19 school closure: teacher education and teacher competence effects among early career teachers in Germany. European Journal of Teacher Education. 43(4), 1–15. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/02619768.2020.1809650
Krashen, S.D., 1981. Second language acquisition and second language learning. Los Angeles, CA: University of Southern California.
Krashen, S., Seliger, H., 1976. The role of formal and informal linguistic environments in adult second language learning. International Journal of Psycholinguistics. 3: 15–21.
Krashen, S., 1985. The input hypothesis: Issues and implications. Harlow: Longman.
Lai, C., Zhu, W., Gong, G., 2014. Understanding the Quality of Out-of-Class English Learning. TESOL Quarterly. 49(2), 278–308. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/tesq.171
Lao, C., Krashen, S., 2014. Language Acquisition without Speaking and without Study. Journal of Bilingual Education Research and Instruction. 16(1), 215–221.
Lawrence, W.P.W., 2011. Textbook evaluation: A framework for evaluating the fitness of the Hong Kong new secondary school (NSS) curriculum [PhD Thesis]. Hong Kong: City University of Hong Kong.
Mackey, A., Gass, S.M., 2015. Second language research: Methodology and design. London: Routledge.
Marshall, S., Moore, D., 2013. 2B or not 2B plurilingual? Navigating languages literacies, and plurilingual competence in postsecondary education in Canada. TESOL Quarterly. 47(3), 472–499.
Mayora, C.A., 2009. Using YouTube to encourage authentic writing in EFL classrooms. TESL Reporter. 42(1), 1–12.
McDonough, D., 2014. Providing deep learning through active engagement of adult learners in blended courses. Journal of Learning in Higher Education. 10(1), 9–16. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/applin/amm053
McKay, S.L., Wong, S.-L.C., 1996. Multiple Discourses, Multiple Identities: Investment and Agency in Second-Language Learning among Chinese Adolescent Immigrant Students. Harvard Educational Review. 66(3), 577–609. DOI: https://doi.org/10.17763/haer.66.3.n47r06u264944865
Miller, B., McCardle, P., Hernandez, R., 2010. Advances and Remaining Challenges in Adult Literacy Research. Journal of Learning Disabilities. 43(2), 101–107. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0022219409359341
Mochizuki, N., Ortega, L., 2008. Balancing communication and grammar in beginning-level foreign language classrooms: A study of guided planning and relativization. Language Teaching Research. 12(1), 11–37. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/1362168807084492
Morita, N., 2004. Negotiating participation and identity in second language academic communities. TESOL Quarterly. 38, 573–603. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/3588281
Norton, B., 2010. Language and identity. In: Hornberber, N., McKay, S.L., (Eds.). Sociolinguistics and language education. Bristol: Miltilingual Matters. pp. 349–369.
Ollerhead, S., 2012. Checkmate or stalemate? Teacher and learner positioning in the adult ESL literacy classroom. TESOL in Context. 3, 1–13.
Ormrod, J., 2011. Educational psychology: Developing learners, 7th ed. London: Pearson.
Ortega, L., 2019. SLA and the study of equitable multilingualism. The Modern Language Journal. 103, 23–38. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/modl.12525
Pavlenko, A., 2003. “I never knew I was a bilingual”: Reimagining teacher identities in TESOL. Journal of Language, Identity, and Education. 2(4), 251–268. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327701jlie0204_2
Proctor, C.P., Harring, J.R., Silverman, R.D., 2017. Linguistic interdependence between Spanish language and English language and reading: A longitudinal exploration from second through fifth grade. Bilingual Research Journal. 40(4), 372–391. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/15235882.2017.1383949
Proctor, C.P., Silverman, R.D., Harring, J.R., et al., 2020. Teaching Bilingual Learners: Effects of a Language‐Based Reading Intervention on Academic Language and Reading Comprehension in Grades 4 and 5. Reading Research Quarterly. 55(1), 95–122.
Richards, J.C., 2015. Key issues in language teaching. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Sadiku, L.M., 2015. The importance of four skills reading, speaking, writing, listening in a lesson hour. European Journal of Language and Literature. 1(1), 29–31. DOI: https://doi.org/10.26417/ejls.v1i1.p29-31
Savignon, S.J., 1987. Communicative language teaching. Theory into Practice. 26(4), 235–242. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/00405848709543281
Schaetzel, K., Young, S., 2010. Education for Adult English Language Learners in the United States: Trends, Research, and Promising Practices. Washington, DC: Center for Adult English Language Acquisition.
Sticht, T., 2022. Adult Literacy and Basic Education in the United States. In Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Education. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Ströbel, M., Kerz, E., Wiechmann, D., 2020. The Relationship Between First and Second Language Writing: Investigating the Effects of First Language Complexity on Second Language Complexity in Advanced Stages of Learning. Language Learning. 70: 732–767. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/lang.12394
Ushioda, E., 2016. Language learning motivation through a small lens: A research agenda. Language Teaching. 49(4), 564–577. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/s0261444816000173
Van Langenhove, L., Harré, R., 1999. Introducing positioning theory. Positioning theory: Moral contexts of intentional action. 14–31.
Vertovec, S., 2007. Super-diversity and its implications. Ethnic and Racial Studies. 30(6), 1024–1054. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/01419870701599465
Watanabe, Y., Swain, M., 2007. Effects of proficiency differences and patterns of pair interaction on second language learning: Collaborative dialogue between adult ESL learners. Language Teaching Research. 11(2), 121–142.
Wortham, S., 2004. From good student to outcast: The emergence of a classroom identity. Ethos. 32(2): 164–87.
Wrigley, H.S., 2008. Adult ESL and Literacy: Issues and Options. Working Paper Summer Institute 2008. Edmonton: Centre for Literacy.
Copyright © 2024 Ziyue Guo, Qiuhua Feng
This is an open access article under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
