The social dimension of language use: How peer networks shape phenomena from innovation diffusion to second language acquisition

Talk by Michał B. Paradowski, Institute of Applied Linguistics, University of Warsaw.

Abstract

The last decades have seen a surge of applications of the theoretical apparatus and analytical tools of complex dynamic systems to analyses of real-life social phenomena. One realisation has concerned the vital role in the attainment of individuals that is played by social networks. The talk will demonstrate how social network analysis (SNA) can shed light on linguistic phenomena from the social spread of neologisms online to the influence of peer interactions on second language learners’ attainment, based on current examples from contexts as varied as international student exchanges, intensive language programs, and courses for refugees. Unlike the bulk of the existing second language acquisition research that only tended to identify the micro-level of individual students’ egocentric networks, thus presenting an emic view, we show how and why learner networks can be examined in their entirety, complementing an etic perspective. We will also illustrate the benefits of combining computational (quantitative) and anthropological (qualitative) SNA for mutually complementary perspectives.

References: https://peerlang.ils.uw.edu.pl/publications/