“Welcome to America”: Immigrants’ perceptions of welcomeness as a factor in L2 acquisition

Abstract

The present study seeks to gain new insights into the L2 acquisition process of immigrants learning English in the United States by investigating the hypothesized role of a new construct in SLA: Welcomeness. Welcomeness refers to the L2 learner’s perceptions of the L2 community’s attitudes toward the learner—particularly the extent to which the L2 learner feels respected, accepted, and supported by the L2 community. Drawing on the theoretical framework of Gardner’s (1985b) Integrative Motivation complex, the investigation aimed to explore whether Welcomeness is a distinct construct, whether it can be reliably measured, and what its relationship might be to other factors in L2 acquisition. Data were collected via a sociolinguistic questionnaire specifically developed for this study, which was distributed to 29 immigrant English learners in Nashville, Tennessee. Factor analysis and assessment of internal reliability found evidence that Welcomeness is a distinct, measurable construct. Further statistical analysis found a positive relationship between Welcomeness and learners’ self-reported English proficiency, as well as their intention to continue residing in the United States for the foreseeable future. The directionality of these relationships, however, was unable to be assessed. The paper concludes with several caveats and ideas for future research into the impact of Welcomeness on immigrants’ L2 acquisition.