Personality and L2 Use Among Young Bilinguals

Golub, Mateja. (2013). Personality and L2 Use Among Young Bilinguals. Diploma Thesis. Filozofski fakultet u Zagrebu, Department of English Language and Literature. [mentor Medved-Krajnović, Marta].

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Abstract

Studies on the connection between language and personality have shown that many bilinguals and multilinguals feel different when using different languages (Dewaele & Nakano, 2012). This area of study has not received the attention it deserves if we look at the amount of research done, yet the findings that are available indicate that something does change in bilinguals’ behavior and feelings when they use their respective languages. This study is an attempt to give more insight into this matter, using the responses of 50 young bilinguals. The central problem of this study was to investigate whether young bilinguals feel a change in personality when using a foreign language. This study also further explores the issue of communicating emotions and whether young bilinguals find it easier to express certain emotions in a foreign language and for what reason. Research shows that although what students describe they feel when speaking a foreign language cannot exactly be classified as a change in personality, they do feel different and many students find it easier to express strong emotions in a foreign language rather than their mother tongue.

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