Abstract
A common and oft-repeated wisdom about learning a second language is that when you can tell or understand a joke, you finally have a handle on the language. Dewaele goes far beyond this simplistic view in his research on the social sharing of emotion in second- (and multiple-) language learning. He states that social sharing of emotion is “crucial” to the “physical and mental health” (p. 6) of a person immersed in a language that is not his or her mother tongue.
Noting that applied linguists have previously focused on specific emotions that affect the acquisition and use of second languages (attitudes toward, motivation to study, anxiety in using), Dewaele aims to investigate the appropriate expression of emotion in a second or subsequent language. This book is a detailed explanation of a research study with more than 1,600 participants in which Dewaele used both quantitative and qualitative analysis to investigate two dimensions of emotion in a second-language learner. The first dimension considers the experience of expressing both positive and negative emotions: how multilinguals express emotions differently in different languages. The second dimension that Dewaele covers is identifying the emotional factors that have an impact on choosing to learn or to use a particular language.
Starting with a review of research on emotion, Dewaele demonstrates that there has been a bias toward monolingual contexts and then points to promising research on communication of emotions in a second language. The literature is developed more thoroughly in the subsequent topical chapters: quantitative and qualitative methods, instruments, and variables used in the research; self-perception of language competence; effect of independent variables on communication of feelings; frequency of language choice for expressing anger; individual variation in perception of the emotional force of swearwords in different languages; user anxiety about using particular languages to express emotion; self-reported frequency of code-switching choices to discuss emotional or nonemotional topics; discussion and implications for the teaching of foreign languages.
Although Dewaele provides extensive analysis, explanations, and charts from the data gathered through the Bilingualism and Emotions Questionnaire (Dewaele & Pavlenko, 2001-2003), the study is particularly interesting when he adds responses from the qualitative portion of his study. The qualitative examples provide a richness to otherwise academically dry data. For example, although it is perhaps unsurprising that the research shows a preference for general communication of feelings in one’s first language, the qualitative data help make sense of how a situation or a topic of discussion can change that preference. In one example, the respondent states, “I would use different languages according to the subject that I deal with. Italian for what happened during the day . . . English for general feelings, German for love emotions, or deepest and perhaps harshest statements.” This respondent speaks five languages, acquired in the order of Italian, English, German, French, and Dutch (p. 90). Interestingly, with regard to general expression of emotions, gender had an effect (females were more likely to use their second language than their first); age had no effect, but participants with higher levels of education were more likely to use their third language to express feelings in particular situations.
Dewaele’s chapter on communicating anger and the use of swearwords also provides some great insights that make a lot of sense once the qualitative data are added in. The data show that although the first language is the overall choice for expression of anger, the third language is the one that a person will probably choose for swearing. Anecdotally, this is explained through socialization, where swearing is generally frowned on in the person’s home while living with his or her parents; the second language is usually learned formally in the classroom where swearing (and emotion generally) are not learned as part of the curriculum; and the third language is the one learned while “hanging out” in a new language group. The variable that showed the greatest effects on this phenomenon was “history of learning,” meaning at what age each of these languages was acquired and the associated developmental stages of that particular age.
In wrapping up this book, Dewaele provides some thoughts on the implications for language teachers, stating that language users who learned only through formal classroom training had a distinct disadvantage compared with those who had classroom combined with authentic interaction or had learned a language in a natural context. He also highlights the need for cultural learning to accompany language learning in order to be better able to recognize emotional display and intensity, especially when emotional expressions are far different from the user’s first culture. Additionally Dewaele suggests the use of such things as role-play in the classroom to help mimic authentic settings where emotions might be expressed and stops just short of saying that swearing and racist expressions have a place in the classroom to prepare students for situations they may encounter. Overall, this study is a great read for anyone interested in language, emotion, or intercultural/cross-cultural communication.