Introduction

This study was conducted with the aim of gaining a deeper understanding of what it means to learn a second language (L2), situated in the theoretical framework of L2 socialization. Based on the premise that L2 learners are social agents who actively engage in their social world and shape their life experiences, this study examined the processes of L2 learning experienced by four advanced learners of Japanese, focusing on the role of their agency, in the community of a summer intensive full-immersion program in the United States. In this final chapter I discuss the implications of the findings from this study – what we can learn from the studies of the four learners. I first discuss the role of communities in L2 learning. I then reflect on the role of agency in L2 learning and locate it in SLA research. In doing so, I revisit the questions posed at the beginning of this study. Following the discussion, I state the limitations of my study and implications for pedagogy.

Role of Communities in Second Language Learning

With the increasing recognition of the importance of social contexts in L2 learning, SLA research has investigated L2 learning in relation to the social contexts (communities) in which the learning takes place. In the framework of L2 socialization research, previous studies have examined the affordance structures of social communities and found that L2 learners are often caught in inequitable social and power relations and placed in illegitimate positions in the target language communities.

In contrast to the findings of these previous studies, my study found a facilitative role for the social community. What made the Japanese School different from other social communities was its hybridity. The Japanese School is a social community created for the purpose of learning Japanese. On the one hand, it provides peripherality in the Japanese sociocultural practice for its students; on the other hand, it operates under the policies and codes of an academic institution in the United States.