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A possible confounding factor which leaps to mind is the notion of register: almost all language instruction is in a utilitarian register, and daily L2 use is a
by 082349872349872 2y ago
A possible confounding factor which leaps to mind is the notion of register: almost all language instruction is in a utilitarian register, and daily L2 use is also commonly utilitarian; indeed, emotional surprise tends to cause people to fall back* on their L1.
If we could find people who learned an L2 in an emotionally charged environment (at an orphanage? in a teenage gang?) but never subsequently used it for work or leisure in a utilitarian environment, would they show the opposite results?
* I've heard that in WWII, a standard counterintelligence ploy was to suddenly stomp on an interviewee's foot to observe if they reacted with "Ow!" or "Aua!" or "Aie!", etc. (this reaction is trainable, of course, as the number of french who say "punaise" [minced, like "gosh darn"] when they hit their thumbs with a hammer will attest)
- vladvasiliu 2y agoIt's always been interesting to me which language we pick in which situation. As a foreign-born immigrant in the country where I live, I've learned the local language as a teenager. Yesterday, while talking to my mother in my mother tongue, I hit my toe and reacted in the local language. I'd say I do most of my thinking in the local language or in English, although I've only ever visited English-speaking countries as a short-term tourist. Yet, when I need to count things, like the reps when lifting weights, I'll do it in my mother tongue.