Second Language Proficiency and Acculturation: An Investigation of the Effects of Language Status and Individual Characteristics

Abstract

The present study investigates the relationship between language status and individual differences in attitudes and motivation as they relate to proficiency and acculturation in a second language. All respondents were Francophone university students with either a minority (n = 110) or a majority background (nn = 183). They were requested to fill out a questionnaire including measures of ethnolinguistic vitality, attitudes and motivation as well as to participate in an interview aimed at assessing their oral proficiency in English as a second language. Analyses of the data show that minority group members evidence more self-confidence in their ability to use the second language and greater proficiency in the second language than majority group members. Level of acculturation was a function of proficiency in the second language and an interactive function of language status and frequency of contact. Correlational analyses revealed that proficiency and acculturation were most strongly associated with self-confidence. Attitudes and motivation neither had an important influence on language outcome nor were they influenced by language status. These results are discussed for their theoretical implications and with reference to second language education programmes.