The linguistic, emotional &

psychological challenges facing

foreign language users

Jean-Marc Dewaele

The challenges

• Linguistic: not knowing the words, being

unsure about the exact meaning, about

appropriateness in context, about the way to

pronounce them correctly…

• Conceptual: Emotion words & concepts vary

across cultures / languages: apparent

translation equivalents in 2 languages can

differ in emotionality, scripts differ, cultural

values…

• Psychological: Language & social anxiety,

Personality as in/dependent variable, identity

Loving a partner in an LX (Dewaele &

Salomidou, to appear)

• Half of 429 participants experienced emotional

communication problems at the start of their

relationship (33% of participants claimed they

experienced no difficulty)

• Communication difficulties are often linked to

lexical & conceptual limitations in LX & lack of

emotional resonance

• Difficulties typically disappeared in months & LX

could become the language of the heart

• Speed & depth of affective socialisation in LX was

linked to gender and personality

Loving a partner in an LX (Dewaele &

Salomidou, to appear)

• Participant 1: “I would say that I still have problems

communicating my anger because I can't fully explain why

I'm angry. With happy emotions, it is easier to show

through touch, etc., but with anger, it is difficult because

one needs to explain why he or she is upset.”

• Participant 2: “My partner would try to say affective things

in my L1 because he thought that would be special or

would mean more to me. But it was actually the other way

around, because he didn’t actually speak the language,

those expressions (things like 'I love you') wouldn’t really

have much effect on me, rather they would sound quite

forced and strange.”

• Participant 3: “Lingua franca was English, and sex was

more important than language”.

Costa & Dewaele (2012): Psychotherapy across

languages. (Equality & Diversity Research Award (2013) British

Association for Counselling & Psychotherapy)

- 101 therapists (of which 19 monolingual), Mixed-methods

- Multilingual therapists better able to attune ; Monolingual

therapists more likely to collude (=> wanting to please)

Dewaele & Costa (2013) 182 multilingual former clients

• 1) Multilingualism of therapist linked to greater empathic

understanding;

• 2) Clients viewed their multilingualism as an important aspect

of their sense of self & of their therapy;

• 3) Language switches in therapy are more frequent when the

emotional tone is raised: strategic use when discussing

episodes of trauma & shame => gain proximity or distance

according to the need

Rolland, Dewaele & Costa (to appear)

• 109 multilingual clients with mono/multilingual therapists

• 59 clients had never discussed their languages with their

therapist: It left some inhibited.

• Others mentioned it straight away: ‘I told her from the start that

I wanted therapy to be in English – but that I consider her

knowledge of Russian very helpful’ (ID28).

• Reasons for switching: I refer to my maternal grandmother as

my “Mormor” in therapy (this means mother's mother in

Danish). It feels good to be able to use what is, for me, the

right word. It would be strange and alienating to refer to her as

my grandmother or maternal grandmother. To me, she is my

Mormor (ID95)

• => exhort therapists to make room for code-switching

Immigrants’ language anxieties (Sevinc & Dewaele, 2016)

• Heritage language anxiety & Majority

language anxiety with different interlocutors

among 3 generations of 116 Turkish

immigrants (76 female, 40 male) in the Netherlands

• 1st-2nd-generation immigrants experienced

more MLA, while 2nd-3rd generation

immigrants suffered more from HLA

• => concept of foreign language anxiety should

be expanded beyond confines of classroom to

include daily interactions of immigrants

Feeling different in different

languages?

• Ilan Stavans, Mexican-American author of Jewish

origin, On Borrowed Words. A Memoir of Language

(2001): “Changing languages is like imposing another

role on oneself, like being someone else temporarily.

My English-language persona is the one that

superimposes itself on all previous others. In it are the

seeds of Yiddish and Hebrew, but mostly Spanish...But

is the person really the same?...You know, sometimes

I have the feeling I’m not one but two, three, four

people. Is there an original person? An essence? I’m

not altogether sure, for without language I am nobody”.

(p. 251)

Feeling different? (Dewaele, 2015)

• 1005 participants who had answered question on

feeling different & most of other relevant variables

(BEQ Dewaele & Pavlenko, 2001-2003)

• 710 females 295 males. Average age 35 years

• ‘Do you feel like a different person sometimes when

you use your different languages?’ coded according

to degree of agreement:

• 5-point scale: 1: did not feel different at all, 2: ‘no

but’, 3: unsure, 4: ‘yes but’, 5: ‘yes’ without

hesitation

Feeling different? (Dewaele, 2015)

• U-shaped pattern 50% participants responding ‘absolutely yes’, 25%

responding ‘absolutely no’.

0 10 20 30 40 50 60

absolutely no

no but

unsure

yes but

absolutely yes

Participants’ words (Dewaele, 2015)

Unambiguous ‘yes’ :

•Angelika (Female, 24, Swedish L1, English L2, Japanese

L3, French L4): Yes! When speaking in Japanese I adapt to

the Japanese culture very much. My voice becomes higher

(more feminine) and I speak with a light voice just like a

Japanese woman. I make sure to cover my mouth with my

right hand and I do not look people in the eyes (especially

not men). When I speak Swedish or English I am much

more straightforward. I make sure to look people in the

eyes and I try to behave like a normal European woman

Participants’ words (Dewaele, 2015)

Categorical “no”:

•Maguelone (Female, 24, French L1, English L2, German

L3, Spanish L4): Not at all. To me it seems very natural to

speak another language because I have not lived in France

for several years. I am used to speaking English every day

and it does not make any difference to me. When I speak

German it is a little different: I do not feel like "a different

person" but I am probably less natural and I feel a little

awkward: I speak slower and probably not in a very natural

way.

Why do bi- & multilinguals feel

different when switching languages? (Dewaele, 2015)

• They do not always know

• Own unique explanations, linking feelings of

difference to un/conscious behaviour & unique

contexts in which they use their languages

• These feelings can be dynamic in nature

• Age, education levels & foreign language

anxiety: only independent variables

significantly positively linked to feelings of

difference

Emotions as cultural products

• To Europeans, Americans talk in an up-beat tone of voice and

when asked how they are doing, they would say ”awesome” =>

the American way of having emotions can seem exaggerated

and unnatural to us

• Consequence at job talks, in judging letters of reference…

Emotions are cultural products

• Cultural context characterized by distinct

emotional patterns (Mesquita & Leu 2007)

• People across different cultures have different

emotional experiences

• People’s emotions “acculturate” when moving

to new culture (Leersnyder et al 2011)

• The more migrants are exposed to a cultural

context, the higher their emotional fit to that

culture (both host culture & heritage culture)

(De Leersnyder, Mesquita & Kim, 2013)

Cultural differences (US - Japan) in intensity of

emotions (Kitayama, Mesquita, & Karasawa,

JPSP, 2006) SOCIALLY DISENGAGED

SOCIALLY ENGAGED

POSITIVE NEGATIVE

Anger

Irritated

Ill Feelings

Ashamed

Guilty

Indebt

Proud

Strong

Euphoric

Close

Respectful

Helpful

The psychological aspects of

immigration

• Culture shock : “Anxiety that results from losing all of our familiar sign & symbols of social intercourse” (Oberg 1960: 177)

• Culture shock = part of transition shock: natural consequence of individual’s inability to interact with new environment effectively (Bennett 1977)

• Self-shock: “the double-binding challenge of identity” (Zaharna 1989: 501)

• Acculturative stress (Berry 1990)

Migration & loss

“Migration calls into question established

personal identity, the sense of self in the

world & the boundary between inner &

outer reality. Migrants tend to articulate

their experience by recourse to the body

metaphor ‘I feel as if half of myself is

missing’” (Jones 2000: 118)

More nuanced views on culture shock

• Adler (1972): “not a disease for which adaptation

is the cure, but is at the very heart of the cross-

cultural learning experience, self-

understanding & change” (p. 29)

• Adler (1975): “a movement from a state of low

self- & cultural awareness to a state of high

self- & cultural awareness” (p. 15)

• Kim (2001: 21) “Cross-cultural adaptation is (...) a

double-edged process, one that is

simultaneously troublesome & enriching”

Key to successful cross-cultural

adaptation • Kim (2001) ‘internal conditions of the strangers’

themselves’ play important part in cross-cultural adaptation:

preparedness for change, ethnic proximity between the

immigrant & the natives, & adaptive personality.

• Openness: ‘enables strangers to minimize their resistance &

to maximize their willingness to attend to new & changed

circumstances (…) & to perceive & interpret various events &

situations without making ethnocentric judgments’ (p. 84).

• Personality strength: ‘internal capacity to absorb shocks

from the environment & to bounce back without being

seriously damaged by them’ (p. 85).

• Positivity: an optimistic outlook on life and the ‘capacity to

defy negative prediction’ (p. 85).

Personality traits

• Traits “refer to consistent patterns in the way

individuals behave, feel, and think” (Pervin &

Cervone 2010: 228).

• “Big-Five”: Extraversion/Introversion;

Neuroticism/Emotional Stability;

Conscientiousness; Agreeableness; Openness =>

at summit of hierarchy

• Many “lower-order” personality traits: often

correlated with Big-Five traits but also explain

unique variance

Effect of nature & nurture on

personality traits

• McCrae et al (2000): Big Five have a biological basis and

are not influenced directly by the environment

• Furnham & Heaven (1999): person’s personality is

determined by interplay of internal physiological factors +

external social factors

• Pervin & Cervone (2010) studies have demonstrated an

effect of sociocultural & historical changes on personality

trait scores

Multicultural Personality Questionnaire

• Van Oudenhoven & Van der Zee (2002)

multidimensional instrument measuring multicultural

effectiveness (Big Five)

• 91–item questionnaire with 5-point Likert scales

• MPQ scales are tailored to predictions regarding

multicultural success

MPQ dimensions • 1) Cultural Empathy: ability to empathize with

feelings, thoughts & behaviours of individuals from different cultural background.

• 2) Openmindedness: open & unprejudiced attitude towards outgroup members & towards different cultural norms & values.

• 3) Social Initiative: approach social situations in active way & take initiative.

• 4) Emotional Stability: tendency to remain calm in stressful situations vs a tendency to show strong emotional reactions under stressful circumstances.

• 5) Flexibility: ability to learn from experiences, from mistakes & adjustment of behaviour whenever it is required.

Dewaele & Van Oudenhoven (2009)

• 79 young teenagers from London

• 41 “Third Culture Kids” (TCKs), young teenagers of African, Arabic, Caucasian & Asian origin who were born outside UK, moved to London & found themselves in English-speaking school.

• 38 locally born, British teenagers of Caucasian & Asian origin.

Link between language knowledge &

personality traits (Dewaele & Van Oudenhoven 2009)

1,0

1,5

2,0

2,5

3,0

3,5

4,0

4,5

Cultu

ral E

mpa

thy

Ope

nminde

dnes

s

Social Initia

tive

Emot

iona

l Sta

bility

Flex

ibility

Score Bilinguals

Multilinguals

p=.054 *

* ***

Korzilius, Van Hooft, Planken & Hendrix

(2011)

• Investigated link between FL knowledge & personality profile

• Adjustment of international employees of multinational company + control group of non-international employees

• Participants knowing more FLs scored significantly higher on Openmindedness & Emotional Stability

• Significant positive correlation between self-assessed knowledge of FLs & Cultural Empathy

• International employees (knew 2.7 languages on average) scored higher on Openmindedness & Flexibility than Dutch employees working in The Netherlands (1.6 languages on average)

• Non-international employees scored highest on Emotional Stability

Dewaele & Stavans (2014)

• 193 Israelis: 126 female, 67 male; age 13-72, M = 31.

• All lived in Israel, 124 born in Israel

• 36 with Israeli-born parents, 20 with 1 foreign-born parent, 137 have 2 immigrant parents

• 47 bilinguals, 69 trilinguals, 63 quadrilinguals, 14 pentalinguals

• L1s: Hebrew: 110, Russian: 25, English: 23, Spanish: 11, Amharic: 8

Parents’ origin Dewaele & Stavans (2014)

(p < .05) Cultural Empathy, Openmindedness & Social Initiative

Discussion: Immigrant parent/s

• Participants with 1 immigrant parent: more Cultural Empathy,

Openmindedness & Social Initiative

• Participants with 2 immigrant parents less Openmindedness

compared to those with local parents

• => growing up in a linguistically & culturally homogeneous

family (local or of immigrant origin) lower Cultural Empathy,

Openmindedness & Social Initiative

• => growing up in a family with mixed linguistic & cultural

background enhances openness, awareness & tolerance of

differences

• => obvious psychological benefits to growing up in a

multilingual & multicultural family

Effect of language dominance on personality

dimensions Significant (p < .05) difference on Emotional

Stability Dewaele & Stavans (2014)

*

Discussion: Language dominance

• => glimpse of impending cultural/linguistic change (continuum) affecting Emotional Stability

• LX-dominant (Hebrew) = complete acculturation into Israeli society concomitant with a certain amount of deculturation in L1 language/culture (Kim 2001) => lower Emotional Stability

• Multidominants: bicultural, have acculturated into host culture while retaining their L1 roots

• L1-dominant (Hebrew L1): exposed to limited amount of foreign cultures through FL classes & contact with their foreign-born classmates. Feel emotionally stable.

Link between language knowledge & personality

traits (Dewaele & Stavans, 2014)

No effect for multilingualism but proficient & frequent users of at least 2 languages scored significantly higher on Cultural Empathy & Openmindedness

Relationship between total proficiency +

frequency & Cognitive Empathy: ANOVA: total frequency (F

(2, 1922) = 3.8, p < 0.023), total proficiency (F (2, 1934) = 1.5, p = 0.15)

(Dewaele & Li Wei 2012)

Multilingualism & Tolerance of Ambiguity (Dewaele & Li Wei 2013)

• 2,158 mono- & multilinguals from around the world

• Monolinguals & bilinguals scored significantly lower on TA compared to multilinguals

• High level of global proficiency & frequent use of various languages => higher TA

• Stay abroad > 3 months => higher TA

• Growing up in multilingual family: no effect on TA

• => high level of multilingualism shapes individuals’ perception & processing of information about ambiguous situations

Effect of multilingualism on TA F (5, 1984) = 8.7, p < 0.0001, η2 = 0.021 Dewaele & Li Wei (2013)

Conclusion

• Immigrants face a number of linguistic, pragmatic, cultural, psychological challenges

• Acculturation is linked to personality but personality dimensions are also shaped by environmental factors, including language & culture

• In best cases, immigration & acculturation can be linked to more Cultural Empathy & Openmindednes, but it can negatively affect Emotional Stability

• Hybrid individuals: linguistically & emotionally multi-competent (Dewaele 2016)

Some references • Costa, B. & Dewaele, J.-M. (2012) Psychotherapy across languages:

beliefs, attitudes and practices of monolingual and multilingual therapists

with their multilingual patients. Language & Psychoanalysis 1, 18-40.

• Dewaele, J.-M. (2015) Why do so many bi- and multilinguals feel different

when switching languages? International Journal of Multilingualism

• Dewaele, J.-M. (2016) Multi-competence and personality. In Li Wei & V.

Cook. The Cambridge Handbook of Linguistic Multi-competence.

Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 403-419.

• Dewaele, J.-M. & Salomidou, L. (to appear) Loving a partner in a Foreign

Language. Journal of Pragmatics

• Dewaele, J.-M. & Stavans, A. (2014) The effect of immigration,

acculturation and multicompetence on personality profiles of Israeli

multilinguals. The International Journal of Bilingualism, 18, 203-221

• Rolland, L, Dewaele, & Costa, B. (to appear) Multilingualism and

psychotherapy: Exploring multilingual clients' experiences of language

practices in psychotherapy. International Journal of Multilingualism

• Sevinc, Y. & Dewaele, J.-M. (2016) Heritage language anxiety and

majority language anxiety among Turkish immigrants in the Netherlands.

International Journal of Bilingualism