Social factors and language proficiency in postsecondary Spanish immersion: Issues and implications

A number of SLA studies indicate that social factors play a crucial role in the language use and performance of second-language learners participating in immersion experiences. Tarone and Swain (1995) described the impact of social pressures in the language choice of primary-level learners, indicati ng that issues of identity and group acceptance may impede use of the immer sion language in informal interaction since learners lack a socially-approp iate vernacular. We suggest that social factors conditioning language use a nd performance are very important at the postsecondary level as well, but t he impact of these factors on adult-age learners is of a quite different na ture. The diglossic situation created in many primary-level immersion class rooms appears to be the most acceptable norm in encounters both inside and outside of the classroom, leading to immersion 'societies' which benefit th ose participants who already demonstrate higher levels of proficiency in bo th academic and non-academic interactions with more advanced learners and, on socio-psychological grounds, impeding their L2 acquisition. Theoretical and pedagogical implications for postsecondary level immersion programs are addressed.