Second Language Socialization and Learner Agency

Fogle (linguistics, Mississippi State University) studies three US families that adopted Russian-speaking children, offering insights on second language acquisition in the context of the family, through informal learning methods such as narrative talk about the day, metalinguistic discourse, and code-switching. The author looks at issues of learner agency, such as participation, negotiation, and especially resistance, which is more accepted in the family context. In an attempt to connect language learning processes with social processes and long-term identity construction for second language learners who experience disruptions in their lives, the author examines daily life in transnational adoptive families to see how adopted children take on and negotiate family norms. The book is distributed in the US by UTP Distribution. Annotation c2012 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Lyn Wright Fogle is an Assistant Professor of Linguistics/TESOL at Mississippi State University. She holds a PhD In Linguistics from Georgetown University and an MA in TESOL from American University. Her research focuses on sociocultural aspects of second language learning and bilingualism with an emphasis on second language socialization, learner identities, and language policy. She is a co-editor of the volume Sustaining linguistic diversity: Endangered and minority languages and language varieties (Georgetown University Press), and her work has appeared in journals such as The International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism and Language and Linguistics Compass.