Cultural Migrants and Optimal Language Acquisition ed. by F. Forsberg Lundell, I. Bartning (review)

Migration is a widespread phenomenon in the modern world due to a range of factors such as globalization, labour mobility, educational opportunities, and armed conflicts, among others. Learning the language of a host country may be the most significant element in settling in a new community and becoming a successful migrant. In this context, Cultural Migrants and Optimal Language Acquisition, edited by Fanny Forsberg Lundell and Inge Bartning, is a valuable addition to research on the language acquisition processes of adult migrants. Its chapters present results of studies on adult language learning conducted by separate groups of researchers and individual researchers in different language contexts.

In the introductory chapter, Forsberg Lundell and Bartning explain the connection between modern SLA and migration studies, offering background information on native-likeness research. They narrow the scope of research discussed in the volume to what they call “cultural migrants,” people who migrate due to interest in and fascination with the culture and the dominant language of a host country. The term, the authors claim, is new to the field of SLA, and because of the way in which they use and understand “culture” in this volume, it differs from the same term used by Fujita (2009) in her sociological study of young Japanese migration.

The first part of the volume, “Focus on Cultural Migrants,” addresses the language use of second language learners as compared to native speakers. In chapter 1, Anna Gudmundson and Camilla Bardel, drawing on a cross-sectional study and a longitudinal case study, compare the use of Italian by Swedish L2 users with that of native speakers, concluding that learners may excel at achieving lexical sophistication but may find it more difficult to achieve native-like lexical variation. In chapter 2, Forsberg Lundell and Bartning examine successful adult L2 acquisition among Swedes learning French and expand readers’ understanding of the complexity of determining both the success of L2 learners and the concept of native-likeness. In chapter 3, Amanda Edmonds and Catherine Guesle-Coquelet look at the use of tu/vous by speakers of English residing in France. They draw on participants’ socio-biographical profiles and find a strong correlation between their L2 use and their attitudes toward the L2, their L2 communities, and their integration. In chapter 4, Britt Erman and Margareta Lewis compare the use of English by Swedish migrants and native speakers and identify the important role played by everyday exposure to L2 in the second language learners’ performance in different types of tasks.

In the second part of the book, “Culture as a Decisive Factor in L2 Attainment,” the chapters address the role of culture and acculturation in SLA in contexts of migration beyond cultural migrants. In chapter 5, Chloé Diskin and Vera Regan examine the effects that migration experiences have on the language use of migrants in Ireland as well as their identity construction. In chapter 6, Kate Hammer and Jean-Marc Dewaele investigate the connection between factors such as education, age, length of domicile, motivation, and acculturation and L2 use and conclude by specifying the importance of migratory experiences and identity construction in the process of L2 acquisition. In chapter 7, Gisela Granena examines the connections between socio-psychological factors in the profiles of L2 language learners and their L2 attainment, stating that acculturation and learning the L2 in the L2 country significantly influence self-reported L2 attainment.

The editors conclude the volume, first by bringing together the results of the separate studies included in the book and SLA research around the Critical Period Hypothesis, and then by suggesting possible new directions to consider, with a focus on adult L2 learners’ proficiency rather than their deficiencies.

The main strength of the book lies in looking at adult learners/migrants from different perspectives, including societal, psychological, and economic aspects of their learning/attainment, as well as in specifically considering “cultural migrants.” On the other hand, the book’s main weakness is...