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Investigating language learning strategy use
in adult L literacy
A constructivist grounded theory
Kaatje Dalderop
University of Amsterdam
The study focuses on the language learning experiences of adult migrants
from refugee backgrounds with limited educational experiences before
migration. This group is oen referred to as LESLLA learners; LESLLA is
an acronym for Literacy Education and Second Language Learning for
Adults. The study used Constructivist Grounded Theory (CGT) — a data-
driven, bottom-up methodology for qualitative research — to gain
understanding of the conditions that help or hinder LESLLA learners’
language development and of the strategies they use to enhance learning
and to overcome obstacles. The dataset is comprised of thirty interviews
with adult refugees from Syria and Eritrea learning Dutch in the
Netherlands. The analyses identied self-ecacy, which has been described
as ‘the soul of strategies’ (Oxford, ), as a core category, dierentiating
between learners who showed contentment about their language learning
achievements and expressed condence in further learning, and those who
expressed little condence and a sense of failure. Conditions hindering self-
ecacy include the cognitive conditions ‘forgetting’ and ‘stress’, and the
social condition ‘isolation’. Facilitative conditions in the cognitive realm are
‘motivation’ and ‘language learning strategies’. ‘Social strategies in new social
networks’ is the condition that stands out as strongly supportive for self-
ecacy. The data showed how LESLLA learners are oen not in the
position of power to build their networks. This means that social strategies
are not an individuals’ asset but rather a condition that is distributed in a
social system.
Keywords: Language Learning Strategies, motivation, self-ecacy, adult
literacy, LESLLA, grounded theory, civic integration
https://doi.org/10.1075/aila.24017.dal |Published online: 22 November 2024
AILA Review ISSN 1461-0213 |E‑ISSN 1570-5595
Available under the CC BY 4.0 license. © AILA
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. Introduction
“If I do not understand a word, then I go tell my teacher and I will ask many ques-
tions about the word. And I will just rehearse, rehearse, rehearse, until I can remem-
ber the word.” The language learner reecting on her learning strategies is Noor, a
young woman born in Syria and now living in the Netherlands, where she attends
a mandatory language course as part of a civic integration program.In Syria,
Noor could not go to school and she does not read or write in Arabic. This arti-
cle presents a Constructivist Grounded Theory (CGT) on the language learning
experiences and strategy use of learners like Noor: adult second language learn-
ers who, aer migration, learn a new language and simultaneously learn to read
and write in the new language. CGT is a data driven methodology for qualita-
tive research, building from data to theory; it is deemed especially useful “when
little is known about the area of study” (Birks & Mills, , p.). Section .
focuses on language learning strategies (LLS), here taken to mean “actions chosen
by learners for the purpose of language learning” (Griths, , p.), and it
addresses the lack of attention for adult L literacy learners in the research base.
Section . summarizes strategy research in the adult L literacy eld. Section .
briey sketches the civic integration policy in the Netherlands, where this study
was situated. Section . presents the study’s research questions.
. A research gap
The lack of attention for diverse learner groups has been identied as a gap in
LLS research (Cohen et al., ; Harris, ; Jones, ). This qualitative study
focuses on the language learning experiences of adult refugees with limited for-
mal education in their home countries, learning a new language in a highly literate
society, and learning to read and write —oen for the rst time —in the new lan-
guage. I refer to this learner group as ‘LESLLA learners’. LESLLA is an acronym
for ‘Literacy Education and Second Language Learning for Adults’. LESLLA learn-
ers are a diverse group in terms of countries of origin, rst languages, and reasons
for migration. They may or may not have some literacy in the home language
and they have at the most primary schooling in their native language (www.leslla
.org, ). Data suggest that the denition applies to a considerable percentage of
migrants from refugee backgrounds in Europe. For example, Swedish data from
reported learners with less than six years of schooling in their countries
of origin (Norlund Shaswar & Wedin, ). A study from Belgium found that
of asylum-seeking migrants had less than six years of education in their home
. The name Noor is a pseudonym.
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countries and struggled with most basic home language literacy tasks (Hoo
et al., ).
In migration contexts, the stakes for language learning are high. Many Euro-
pean countries impose language requirements on new citizens as part of their
civic integration policy (Rocca, Carlsen, & Deygers, ), with legal conse-
quences associated with language learning (De Waal, ). From the learners’
perspective, learning the host country’s language is seen as essential for making
friends, nding employment, and for social and psychological well-being
(Benseman, ). But for LESLLA learners, learning a new language can be a
bumpy road and both learners and educators oen struggle (Deygers & Vanbuel,
; Housen, ; Strube, , ).
LLS research has focused on eective language learning and, therefore,
LESLLA practice might take advantage from this research eld. However, in the
extensive research base on LLS, participants with LESLLA proles have rarely
been included. From a practitioner’s perspective, this is problematic, since our
knowledge of how to support this learner group is still limited. From a researcher’s
perspective it is also problematic, since focus on narrow learner populations
might cause generalizability issues: we cannot assume that what is true for specic
groups of research participants also applies to other groups (Andringa &
Godfroid, ; Bigelow & Tarone, ; Ortega, ).
. Strategy research in the LESLLA eld
Jones (), based on social learning theories (Lave & Wenger, ), built the
argument that repertoires of practice of underprivileged learner groups predom-
inantly draw on social strategies. Empirical research into strategy use of LESLLA
learners is scarce (Dalderop, Andringa, & Rispens, ; Jones, ). In one of
the few published studies, Reimer () conducted a qualitative study in which
LESLLA learners (N= ) were trained in a variety of strategies. The interven-
tion was evaluated with the learners but the results were inconclusive, as learners
indicated to nd a strategy useful but not to use it and the other way around. A
study with a quasi-experimental design investigated reading strategy instruction
in a group of LESLLA learners (N= ) and found that learners who had received
training outperformed a control group (Huang & Newbern, ). Focusing on
strategy use, King and Bigelow () described the learning behavior of two
young adults learning ‘to do school’. The observed strategies were believed to be
coping strategies for doing school rather than ‘real’ LLS that actually enhance
learning. Naif and Saad () administered the Strategy Inventory for Language
Learning (SILL) (Oxford, ) in a group of adult literacy learners in Finland
(N=). To facilitate understanding for the participants with emerging literacy,
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the written statements in the SILL were orally translated. Findings suggested that
participants most oen used metacognitive strategies, like having clear goals, and
social strategies, like asking for help from conversation partners. An ethnographic
case study from Sweden (Norlund Shaswar & Wedin, ) described a critical
incident in which a Syrian learner of Swedish indicated to prefer the use of a social
strategy while the Swedish teacher insisted on the use of a cognitive strategy. The
study pointed to the power relations between the teacher and the learner. In sum,
the research base on LLS including LESLLA learners is small and diverse.
. Civic integration policy in the Netherlands
The current study is situated in the Netherlands, where for many people new
to the country language learning was made mandatory by a civic integration
law named Wet inburgering 2013 (Wi). When the law was in eect, from
-, in a nal exam learners had to demonstrate language competence in
oral and written production and reception at the A-level of the Common Euro-
pean Framework of Reference (Council of Europe, ). Newly arrived refugees
were made responsible for organizing their own integration and were given a
loan to pay for the course’s costs. If the exams were passed within the given time
frame of three years, the loan was converted into a gi. Aer hours of instruc-
tion and three unsuccessful attempts to pass the exams, one could be exempted
from civic integration duty (Groenendijk et al., ). In the Netherlands, civic
integration provision is a free market activity. The budgets provided to refugees
constituted interesting economic opportunities for commercial language schools,
which did not always put the learners’ interests rst. Evaluation of the Wi
brought unintended and illegal practices to light (Algemene Rekenkamer, ;
Signicant, ) and for people new to the country it was hardly possible to
assess the quality of the schools before taking a course. In January , a new law
entered into force, named Wet inburgering 2021. However, newcomers must follow
a civic integration trajectory according to law that was in force when refugee sta-
tus was received. Therefore at the moment of data collection for this study many
migrants were still aected by the Wi. It is in this context of mandatory lan-
guage learning, with the threat of legal or nancial consequences and with lan-
guage provision of mixed quality, that the experiences of language learners who
participated in this study were embedded and must be understood.
. Research questions
This study aims at contributing towards research on the nexus of LLS and
LESLLA, by tapping into LESLLA learners’ experiences, knowledge, and reec-
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tions about their language learning and their strategy use. The study aims to
answer the following research questions:
() What helps and what hinders LESLLA learners in learning the Dutch lan-
guage?
() Which strategies do LESLLA learners use to enhance language learning and to
overcome learning obstacles?
The study adopts a Constructivist Grounded Theory (CGT) approach, a data-
driven methodology for qualitative research, which will be further explained
in Section .. Data-driven approaches typically do not start from a theoretical
framework. They start from the data and aim to arrive at a model or a theory
(Birks & Mills, ; Charmaz, ; Hadley, ). Therefore, this introduction
is light on theory. Following CGT approaches, where deemed useful, theory will
be discussed and connected to the data in the results section.
. Method
. Constructivist grounded theory
This study adopted a Constructivist Grounded Theory (CGT) approach
(Charmaz, ). Grounded Theory (GT) is a data-driven methodology for qual-
itative research which has been widely used across disciplines, although not very
oen in the eld of second language acquisition (Hadley, ). Rather than
departing from a theoretical framework, a GT study aims to arrive at a model
or a theory that is grounded in the data. The sociologists Strauss and Glaser are
recognized as the founders of GT (Birks & Mills, ). CGT (Charmaz, ) is
a later version of the methodology. A main dierence with original GT is that it
departs from a dierent epistemology. Where Strauss and Glaser adopted a posi-
tivist view, assuming that factual knowledge was situated in the data and needed
to be uncovered, CGT builds on a subjective epistemology, acknowledging the
role of the researchers, the participants, and the setting, in data collection as well
as analysis. CGT assumes that knowledge is socially constructed rather than dis-
covered (Charmaz, ). A second important dierence concerns the role of
prior knowledge. Where original GT claimed that theoretical reasoning should be
based on the data alone, suspending one’s background knowledge, CGT promotes
to include background knowledge to arrive at theoretical explanations (Hadley,
). The data-driven nature of GT t with the study’s goal of increasing our
understanding of language learning experiences and strategy use in a context that
has hardly been researched, by listening to LESLLA learners without too many
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preconceived notions. The constructivist epistemology aligns with my philosoph-
ical stance in research, based on the belief that reality is socially constructed and
that knowledge is co-created by both the participants and the researcher. Conse-
quently, CGT was chosen over the traditional GT approach.
The study is based on interview data. Interviews enable gaining understand-
ing of the learners’ perspectives on language learning and strategy use. CGT pre-
scribes that data are collected and analyzed simultaneously, while new data are
constantly compared with previous data. Data are analyzed in dierent rounds
and on dierent levels of coding, starting with initial coding, based on intensive
line-by-line analysis, followed by focused coding, which identies core concepts in
the data. Focused codes are the basis of the core categories that build the model
or theory. A CGT study aims at understanding experiences of groups of people.
Participants are selected based on the emerging analyses, thus lling in gaps that
need further exploration, a procedure known as theoretical sampling. Another key
element of CGT sampling is saturation. This refers to the point that aer new
rounds of data collection no new theoretical insights come up in the analysis.
Thus, in theory, there is an open end to the amount of data that need to be col-
lected for a study.
. Researcher positionality
A CGT study is thought of as a co-construction of meaning, negotiated between
an interviewee and a researcher, and in our case an interpreter. Since the
researcher’s interest and position is a major inuence on both data construction
and analysis (Birks & Mills, ), this section will describe my positionality. Posi-
tionality refers to the position that the researcher has chosen to adopt within
a given research study (Holmes, ). Throughout my professional life, I have
served the eld of Dutch as a second language in a variety of roles: as a volunteer
language tutor, subsequently as a teacher, assessment developer, course ware
developer, teacher trainer, and advisor. In these roles I was most interested in
strengthening learner autonomy, aiming to equip learners with tools that would
enhance lifelong language learning. Many projects I was involved in have focused
on LESLLA learners, strongly motivated by the notion of education and literacy
as a human right. The study is part of my PhD research, focusing on LLS in
LESLLA practice. Contributing to improving LESLLA practice is my main drive;
I believe that in order to be able to do so, is pivotal to improve our understanding
of LESLLA learners’ learning experiences. My background in practice, my role as
a researcher, and my aim to contribute to LESLLA practice were explained to par-
ticipants when inviting them to participate.
[] Kaatje Dalderop
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. Participants
The participants for this study were adult refugees (N=), twenty female and ten
male, who ed from Syria (n=) and Eritrea (n= ). The Syrian and Eritrean
groups were large refugee groups in the Netherlands at the time of study
(Vluchtelingenwerk Nederland, ) and well represented in LESLLA classes.
Amongst the participants from Syria, nine identied as Syrian, ve as Kurdish and
one as Palestinian. For the Kurdish participants Arabic was their second language,
in which they were uent according to the interpreter. All Eritrean participants
identied as Eritrean and Tigrinya was their rst language. Ages ranged from
to years. The participants had a maximum of seven years of education in their
home countries (overall mean .; Syrian group .; Eritrean group .). Four-
teen participants never attended school and participants attended school for
three to seven years. I purposef ully selected participants with six years of education
or less but included one participant who attended school for seven years. Fieen
participants said they could not read in their home language and een said they
could, at least to a certain extent. Among the non-readers, were from Eritrea and
ve from Syria. Among the readers, four were from Eritrea and from Syria.
Participants’ length of stay in the Netherlands varied from one to seven years.
Thirteen participants were still enrolled in civic integration programs and one
was on maternity leave. Fieen were exempted from civic integration duty aer
having followed hours of language instruction. One participant had passed
the civic integration exam and was enrolled in vocational training. Participants
were invited through the interpreters’ as well as the researcher’s networks. Oen
educators and key persons from Syrian and Eritrean communities served as
mediators. In order to communicate our interview request with potential partic-
ipants, the researcher and the interpreters recorded short videos in Arabic and
in Tigrinya, briey explaining the study’s goals and inviting participation to the
study. Participants were found in various places in the Netherlands, including
cities, smaller towns and villages. They took their mandatory civic integration
classes in a variety of language schools.
Ethics approval for the study was obtained from the University of Amsterdam
ethics committee. Researching LESLLA learners comes with a number of con-
cerns regarding research ethics (Fox et al., ; Michaud et al., ). Standard
ethics procedure are oen inappropriate as they heavily rely on literacy and dis-
cuss abstract topics such as risks and insurance. In consultation with the ethics
committee an adapted procedure was applied, including oral explanation of the
study’s goal, explanation of participants’ rights to not answer questions or stop
the interview, explanation of the fact that their information would be kept anony-
mous and that only the researcher would have access to the recording. A four-eye
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principle was introduced by having the interpreters sign a form conrming that
they had explained the elements mentioned above to the participant, that the par-
ticipant was given the space to ask questions, and that the participant had con-
rmed that the procedure was clear and had consented to participate.
. Interpreters
All interviews were conducted with the help of an interpreter. Following the rec-
ommendations of Kosny et al., (), the interpreters served on the project for
the entire duration of the study, in intensive collaboration with the researcher. The
Arabic speaking interpreter was a student from Syria who assisted in the project as
a research apprentice. The Eritrean interpreter was a registered professional cul-
tural mediator with extensive experience in interpreting. In most interviews the
conversation was fully dependent on the support of the interpreter. Three par-
ticipants chose to share their experiences in Dutch and some Syrian participants
mixed some Dutch into their Arabic. The conversations with the Eritrean speak-
ing participants all heavily relied on interpretation.
. Interviews
The dataset is comprised of thirty interviews, varying in length from about to
minutes. The interviews were conducted between June and March
and each participant was interviewed once. A semi-structured interview guide-
line was constructed (Gerson & Damaske, ), tapping into language learning
experiences and strategy use in and out of school. The strategy focused interview
questions addressed learning goals, resources used for learning, cognitive strate-
gies, social environment and social strategies, as well as aect and aective strate-
gies. The interview guideline is available as Appendix A. The guideline was used
exibly, dedicating more time to topics that seemed of special interest to the par-
ticipant, or to those topics that had remained underdeveloped in previous inter-
views, in line with the guidelines for conducting CGT studies (Charmaz, ).
Participants could choose the interview location. Participants were interviewed
in their houses, community centers, and language schools.
In line with the concept of theoretical sampling, I only planned a few inter-
views ahead, continuously reecting on whose voices could add most to the
understandings gained so far. For example, the rst few participants discussed
disappointing experiences with their language classes. This led me to look for new
participants who had joined classes at schools I believed to be trustworthy. In
doing so, I acquired a richer, more diverse understanding of the perceptions of
learners regarding the language instruction they had received.
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. Data analyses and coding
All interviews were audio recorded and I transcribed all Dutch translations and
Dutch participant contributions verbatim, using MS Word. Subsequently, I ana-
lyzed the data according to Charmaz’s () guidelines, described in Section ..
Starting right aer the rst interview, I constructed, initial codes through a
detailed process of line-by-line analysis of the data. Following Charmaz’ recom-
mendations, I phrased codes as actions. Table shows an example of initial coding.
Table . Example initial coding
Transcript (Participant ) Initial code
Well, initially I had been very enthusiastic, because I was going to
learn the language, because I realize that learning Dutch is ver y
important for me. But the problem was that I, three days, or only
three times a week I could go to school, and I think that is insucient
for learning. And I also realize that I am old and it is hard to learn
for adults, to learn a language, it is easier for children. But I am old
so that was the problem.
Being enthusiastic
Finding learning important
Getting insucient time
Feeling old
Comparing adults and kids
Seeing age as problem
Table . Focused codes
Helping conditions Focused codes
Motivation Initial motivation
Positive school experiences
Hopes & Aspirations Being independent
Working
Studying
Having friends
Giving back
LLS Metacognitive strategies
Selecting recourses
Cognitive strategies
Social strategies for learning
Social strategies for communication
Aective strategies
Hindering conditions Focused codes
The language
Me as a learner
Negative school experiences
Isolation
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Aer having conducted and coded seven interviews, based on patterns in the
data focused codes for both helping and hindering conditions were developed
and these were rened aer subsequent interviews. Focused codes are listed in
Table .
Based on the emerging analyses, aer about interviews a model was draed
and subsequently further rened. This will be further explained in the results sec-
tion.
. Results
Interviews with learners painted a picture of the language learning experiences
of LESLLA learners in the Netherlands. Participants emphasized their initial
enthusiasm for learning Dutch and all had heartfelt hopes and wishes related to
improved prociency in Dutch. Participants reported on the use of a variety of
strategies to try and help them learn. But they also experienced many obstacles on
the road. This section will rst summarize the main helping and hindering condi-
tions (.), which will be illustrated with examples from the interviews (.). It was
anticipated that learners would discuss LLS, as this was a main topic of interest
in the interviews. Their strong focus on motivation was less anticipated. Motiva-
tion was addressed and stressed by participants and, as a result of the data-driven
methodology (Charmaz, ; Hadley, ), it has claimed its spot in the study.
Motivation theory therefore will be briey discussed in Section .. Section .
introduces self-ecacy and Section . summarizes the helping and hindering
conditions as well as the impact of each of these conditions on LESLLA learners’
self-ecacy.
. Main helping and hindering conditions
Table presented focused codes for conditions helping and hindering learning.
During the coding process, subcodes were developed for many of the focused
codes. Table displays codes and subcodes for the most important helping and
hindering conditions, ‘most important’ dened quantitatively as occurring in
ten or more interviews. For example, for the metacognitive strategy ‘selecting
resources’, subcodes included: ‘watching TV’, ‘using digital tools’, ‘visiting nonfor-
mal learning activities’, and ‘using textbooks’, among others. Only the strategies
‘watching TV ’ and ‘using digital tools’ were used by ten or more interviewees,
thus earning a place in Table . The last column of Table displays the number
of participants who addressed the specic topic. This information must be inter-
preted with caution: a CGT study aims at understanding experiences of a group,
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and principles of theoretical sampling recommend to explore in subsequent inter-
views especially those topics that so far had remained less well understood. This
means that not all interviews may have touched on the exact same topics. Never-
theless, topics that reoccurred many times must be seen as relevant.
Table . Main helping and hindering conditions
Helping
Focused code Subcode N
Motivation
Initial motivation Happy to go to language school
Making an eort, working hard
Positive school experiences Experiencing support from teacher
Learning useful things
Hopes and aspirations
Being independent Being able to express myself
Being independent, organize life
Working Finding a (better) job
Studying Wishing more language learning
LLS
Selecting resources Watching T V
Using digital tools
Cognitive LLS Rehearsing
Social LLS Asking for help with learning
Practicing with Dutch-speaking people
Social communication str. Help from family members
Hindering
Focused code Subcode N
Me as a learner Forgetting
Feeling old
Limited education/ L literacy
Stress
Isolation No contacts with speakers of Dutch
The language Dutch is dicult
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. The learners’ voices
The previous section outlined the main helping and hindering conditions aect-
ing LESLLA learners’ learning experiences. This section aims to deepen the pic-
ture by including the participants’ voices. It will illustrate the helping conditions
‘motivation’ and ‘hopes and aspirations’, followed by LLS, before ending with
the conditions that hindered learning. Some remarks must be made about the
excerpts presented in this section. First, for the sake of this article excerpts were
translated into English. Excerpts were translated by the researcher, adopting a
process of translation and back-translation, assisted by translation soware and
dictionaries. Secondly, both interpreters occasionally switched between rst and
third person, which explains why excerpts may vary in style. Further, numbers
were used to refer to participants to protect their identities. Needless to say that I
see participants as individuals with names, biographies and stories to tell.
Motivation, hopes and aspiration
The participants’ narratives clearly showed their motivation for language learn-
ing. Most participants said that they had been happy to go to school and learn the
Dutch language, and many stressed how hard they had worked.
[I have] not been to school in my country and when I heard I would go to lan-
guage school I was very happy, I was excited, and I worked hard. I can now write
my name and I also can read a little and I am happy about that [P, female,
Eritrea].
You need to take charge and work hard [P, female, Syria].
A majority of participants experienced support from their teacher. Participant
[female, Syria] said:
[-] The teacher was very funny and has given much support and the teacher
showed that she wanted us to learn the language well. So that helped me with
learning Dutch.
Many participants reported that valuable topics had been addressed in class, such
as communicating with their doctor and traveling. A participant who learned to
read the numbers explained:
If I watch the numbers on the metro, I can know where it goes to [P, female,
Syria].
However, a supportive teacher and useful content did not always lead to perceived
language learning.
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I did not understand. She was completely committed to me, but I did not under-
stand a thing. The problem was me, I think [P, female, Eritrea].
She did her best, but I could not understand my teacher, it was hard for me [P,
female, Syria].
Without exception, all participants spoke about their hopes and wishes related to
improved language prociency. Most importantly, they wished to be able to inde-
pendently organize their lives.
I get very frustrated because of not knowing Dutch, since there are so many
things I cannot do. For example, I cannot travel since I would get lost [-]. I cannot
travel on my own, I need support. And that does not make me happy [P, female,
Eritrea].
Participants also wished to be able to express themselves and make new friends.
Participant [male, Syria], articulated it as follows:
I want to meet more Dutch people, I just want to go to a place where Dutch peo-
ple are, I want to order something, I want to tell what I think, I just want to be
able to talk.
Many participants aspired to work or study:
I would like to work in a home for the elderly or in childcare. I would like to help
people [P, female, Syria].
Participants realized that working means: meeting people, which could enhance
language learning:
I have worked in construction and I would be really condent to do that work
here. But I don’t know the language. But if you do not work, you cannot learn the
language [P, male, Eritrea].
The learners’ narratives thus reect their motivation for language learning, while
being motivated did not necessarily go hand in hand with perceived success in
learning.
Language learning strategies
All participants reported on the use of at least some LLS. The metacognitive strat-
egy “obtaining resources” (Oxford, , p.) was mentioned oen. Mostly, par-
ticipants reported on watching Dutch programs on TV and using digital tools for
learning, Like Participant [female, Syria], who said:
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I watched TV and I watched programs meant for children, I did everything to
improve my language.
The most frequently mentioned cognitive strategy was rehearsing (Oxford, ,
p.). Some learners also used tools to help them rehearse, like ashcards, vocab-
ulary notebooks or sticky notes. Note how rehearsing relies on literacy:
If I learn a new word, I will write it down in a notebook, so I can rehearse. And
[-] I write them on sticky notes and I stick them in my room so I can read them
all the time [P, female, Syria].
Social strategies, the strategies that draw on the sociocultural context to facilitate
communication as well as learning (Oxford, , p.), were used frequently,
for learning as well as to overcome communicative obstacles. The participants’
children most oen supported communication with oces. But participants
relied on their help unwillingly and expressed a strong wish to be independent:
I want to be able to do things without depending on other people, I am sick of
being dependent, I am sick of it [P, male, Syria].
For learning too, the help from family members was not always appreciated. Chil-
dren were pictured as absent, impatient, or not knowledgeable. The social strategy
most appreciated and most eective was practicing Dutch with Dutch-speaking
people. This required a new social network, and participants who had been able
to build such networks strongly benetted from it. They were remarkably more
happy about their learning and expressed condence in further learning:
Yes I certainly have people, my neighbors, [-], they are not neighbors, they are
family to me. Not that they teach me the language, to read and write, but we talk
together, we meet, we drink coee together and then we also talk. I use every-
thing, hands, feet, and yes, it is getting better [P, female, Eritrea].
If I hear a word, on the radio, I ask my colleague, what does this word mean? Or,
my boss, what does this word mean? I want to learn! [P, male, Syria].
The excerpts illustrate how learners use a variety of strategies. Social strategies
are particularly eective and highly contributing to language learning, for those
learners who can rely on a new social network of Dutch-speaking people.
Hindrances for learning
Participants experienced learning Dutch as a tough job and the Dutch language
was perceived as dicult. Many also attributed their diculties to themselves as
learners and identied ‘forgetting’ as their main problem. Participants believed
[] Kaatje Dalderop
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forgetting to result from age, from limited educational experience, or from both.
Having no L literacy made learners struggle with rehearsing, as they could not
rely on notes taken in class and thus depended on their memory.
But yes, since I cannot read and write, I could not remember much [P, female,
Eritrea].
Another important hindrance for learning was stress. Stress can easily be inter-
preted as arising from participants’ background as a refugee. Indeed, some partic-
ipants reported worries about family members in their home countries. However,
stress mainly seemed to arise from feeling unable to organize life and thus protect
themselves and their families in their new society, and from feeling dependent on
others as a result (Also see Hollifeld et al., ).
We have so many problems in our home, due to language deciency, and I can’t
solve it myself, I depend on others, and I always have to wait for my daughter, she
is years old, but she works and she goes to school, she is very busy. And then I
wait until she has time to call or until she has time to go, so yes, I depend on her,
and I hate it [P, female, Eritrea].
Although practicing Dutch within a new social network was felt to be important,
not all participants had been able to build such networks and many participants
felt extremely isolated. Especially those living in cities talked about having no one
to talk to, to help them learn the language or to help them out with practical prob-
lems.
Three times I asked my neighbor, come drink coee together, come, but [she
said]: another time [P, female, Syria].
I live here since two years in my house, and never one of the neighbors came by
to ask, hi, how are you, I am your neighbor. Dutch people don’t do that, unfortu-
nately [P, male, Syria].
Isolation was directly connected to experiencing stress:
[If I could improve my Dutch] I wouldn’t have any mental problems. Now I do, I
have many mental problems. I would like to go to the doctor, I would like to tell
everything, be able to tell the doctor, but I can’t do that, I can’t put my thoughts
into words. I like to get to know other people, talk to other people. My neighbor,
he doesn’t know me at all, he really doesn’t know whether or not I’m a good man,
because we can’t communicate. From the rst moment I’ve been here I’ve had
psychological problems, because of the language [P, male, Syria].
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The excerpts thus show how language learning is challenging for LESLLA learn-
ers, with forgetting, stress, and isolation hindering learning.
. Motivation
In a Grounded Theory study, topics may emerge that were not anticipated in
advance. The analysis identied LLS as well as motivation as helping conditions,
enhancing learning. LLS have been introduced earlier but since participants dis-
cussed motivation extensively, the topic deserves attention too. This section
briey introduces a theoretical perspective on motivation.
SLA research has understood motivation in various ways, most oen related
to outcome expectations. According to Dörnyei and Ushioda () motivation
guides the direction and magnitude of human behavior and accounts for choice
of action, persistence, and eort. The most inuential theory in L motivation
is Dörnyei’s L Motivational Self System (LMSS) (Dörnyei, ; Dörnyei &
Ushioda, ). The LMSS includes three components: () The Ideal L self,
which drives the desire to reduce the gap between an individual’s actual and ideal
self; () The Ought-to L self, which concerns motivation to meet expectations of
others or to avoid negative consequences; () The L learning experience, which
concerns motives related to the learning environment and learning experience.
At rst glance, the LMSS seems a good t for our data. In this study’s analysis,
the Ideal L self is reected in the category ‘Hopes and aspirations’. Dörnyei’s L
learning experience is reected as ‘Initial Motivation’ and ‘Positive School Experi-
ences’, and it can be argued that the participants’ wish to be able to organize their
lives can be driven by the Ought-to self as much as by an Ideal self image. What
I did not see, however, was a relationship between motivation and learning out-
comes: many participants who were motivated for learning perceived their learn-
ing as failed. Hence, motivation did no seem to predict learning outcomes. This
lead me to explore an alternative theoretical perspective.
Where the LMSS has adopted a cognitive perspective on motivation, others
have studied motivation from a social perspective. Norton () and Darvin
and Norton (, ) introduced a theory of investment in language learning.
Investment is related but not synonymous to motivation: “While motivation is
a psychological construct that focuses on conscious and unconscious factors,
investment is primarily sociological and focuses on how histories, lived experi-
ences and social practices shape language learning” (Darvin & Norton, , p.).
Investment theory explains how people can be motivated for language learning
while not or no longer being invested in it.
Investment theory has pointed to power relationships that may negatively
impact learning and has drawn attention to the fact that people are not always
[] Kaatje Dalderop
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able to choose the conditions of interaction. “While learners can speak from mul-
tiple conditions, and perform diverse identities, they can also be positioned by
these powerful others in ways that can limit their opportunities to speak and be
heard” (Darvin & Norton, , p.). For participants in this study, investment
in learning was reduced by policy, which does not allow refugees to take on jobs
while they are in an integration trajectory or to continue joining classes aer
being exempted from civic integration duty. Isolation seemed to be stronger in
big cities compared to smaller places, while in the Netherlands refugees cannot
choose where to live; they are referred to a municipality that becomes responsible
for their housing. Investment was also reduced by neighbors who did not reach
out, or declined invitations, thus limiting the learners’ opportunities to build net-
works and engage in use of the Dutch language. Also teachers could aect learn-
ers’ investment, as is evident from the words of participant [male, Syria], who
explained how he tried to ask a classmate for clarication, […] but then I heard
that it is not permitted to use my own language to ask questions. That made me a
bit demotivated.
. Self-ecacy
Participants’ narratives revealed a variety of perceptions regarding perceived lan-
guage learning success and condence in further learning. All participants
stressed the importance of improving their Dutch in relationship to their aims
and ambitions. Some expressed contentment about their achievements and were
condent that they could further improve their prociency in Dutch, like partic-
ipant cited earlier, who felt that communication with her new chosen family
was getting better, or as speaks from this excerpt:
I did not know a thing, I could do nothing, but now I can travel, and I can do
so many things without help. So I notice a big dierence between how it was and
how it is now [P, male, Eritrea].
Others, however, qualied their language learning as ‘failed’. The dataset revealed
participants who literally said ‘I did not succeed’. Participant said that the
hours of classes he had attended had been a waste of time ‘since I learned
nothing’ and participant believed there to be ‘no hope for me anymore’. Based
on these success notions from the learners’ perspectives, ‘self-ecacy’ was chosen
as a label covering the elements ‘perceived success’ and ‘condence in further
learning’. Self-ecacy refers to learners’ believe in their ability to succeed in learn-
ing (Bandura, ). This construct also plays a crucial role in LLS theory: Oxford
() has pointed to self-ecacy as an element that constitutes what she has
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called ‘the soul of strategies’. Thus, our analysis identied conditions positively or
negatively impacting self-ecacy.
. Summarizing the ndings
This study identied conditions positively or negatively impacting learning. The
hindering conditions included forgetting, stress, and isolation. The conditions
coded as helping included motivation and LLS. Helping conditions increase and
hindering conditions decrease learners’ self-ecacy. However, it would too sim-
ple an understanding of the data to assume that helping conditions automatically
lead to language learning and hindering conditions impede learning, with equal
impact of each. Figure summarizes the ndings. The size of the blocks symbolize
the explanatory power of each of the conditions, as will be further discussed.
Figure . LESLLA learners’ self-ecacy model
The hindering conditions forgetting, stress, and isolation all seriously aected
learning. While many participants used memory strategies to try and help them
learn, forgetting remained a main issue. Isolation was a two-sided sword, as it le
people with no one to practice the Dutch language and it also caused stress. Stress
made people feel ‘their head was full’ and nothing new tted in, with forgetting as
a result. Isolation, stress, and forgetting are thus strongly related.
[] Kaatje Dalderop
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Motivation as well as LLS were identied as helping conditions. Participants
emphasized their motivation for language learning, their eorts, as well as their
vivid hopes and aspirations related to improved prociency in Dutch. Neverthe-
less, for many this ideal-self image coexisted with a perception of their learning as
failed. Therefore, I believe the explanatory power of motivation in this study to be
limited.
All participants mentioned the use of at least some LLS. Their main strategies
were selection and use of resources, memory strategies, and a variety of social
strategies. The impact of memory strategies was limited, as learners using mem-
ory strategies still identied forgetting as a main problem. The same applied to
obtaining resources for learning. Many participants watched Dutch TV programs
and used digital tools for learning, but this was not related to increased self-
ecacy or perceived learning outcomes. Hence, the explanatory power of these
strategies was also limited. The impact of social strategies was slightly more com-
plex. Cohen () distinguished between language learning and language use
strategies. For language use, more specic to overcome communicative obstacles
in formal situations, participants used the social strategy of seeking help from
family members. However, this contributed to stress, as it interfered with the par-
ticipants’ wish to be independent. For language learning, the family was generally
not appreciated: family members were qualied as absent or impatient. However,
social strategies were very eective for those participants who could rely on a new
network of Dutch-speaking neighbors, friends, and colleagues. Participants who
had succeeded in building such new social networks felt considerably better about
their progress and showed greater condence in further learning. This means that
social strategies is the condition the study found to contribute most to LESLLA
learners’ self-ecacy, with ‘new social networks’ as a prerequisite for social strate-
gies to be eective.
The study thus provided a nuanced understanding of conditions that inu-
ence LESLLA learners’ language learning. It highlighted the complexity and inter-
connectedness of these conditions and showed that not all helping conditions
have straightforward positive eects on language learning (for instance, memory
strategies might not eectively reduce forgetting ). The study pointed to intercon-
nectedness of hindering conditions, creating a negative impact on learning. This
suggests that it is important to address these conditions holistically rather than in
isolation. The study emphasized that social strategies in new social networks have
a signicant positive impact on learners’ self-ecacy and language learning. This
implies that social support in LESLLA learners’ language learning is critical.
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. Concluding discussion
This article has introduced a Constructivist Grounded Theory on conditions
helping and hindering LESLLA learners’ language learning. The study aimed to
contribute to lling a gap in strategy research, a research eld in which LESLLA
learners are underrepresented. As a result of the data-driven nature of the study,
motivation too became an important topic. This section will discuss how the nd-
ings contribute to theories on motivation (.) and on LLS research (.). The
section concludes with the study’s limitations and suggestions for further research
(.).
. Motivation and investment
The study found LESLLA learners are motivated to learn Dutch and have heartfelt
wishes related to being able to communicate in Dutch. Although research has sug-
gested that motivation is an important predictor for language learning success
(Dörnyei, ; Ushioda, ), in our data this relationship is less clear. Despite
their motivation not all participants had learned Dutch suciently to engage in
the communicative encounters they pictured themselves in and this aected their
self-ecacy: many lost condence in further language learning (Bandura, ).
Dörnyei (, p.) has argued that future self-guides must be accompanied by
relevant action plans and eective procedural strategies, which suggests that for
motivation to enhance learning, metacognitive strategies are required. Dörnyei’s
pointing to ‘relevant’ action plan reects a belief in individual responsibility and
learners’ self-regulatory capacity, a perspective that has also been noticed in LLS
theory (Thomas & Rose, ). Following Dörnyei’s line of thought, it could be
concluded that LESLLA learners are not eectively regulating their learning or
have action plans that are not eective. However, an alternative explanation for
the limited impact of motivation on LESLLA learners’ language learning can be
found in Investment Theory (Darvin & Norton, ; Darvin & Norton, ;
Norton, ), which includes the social environment and explains how power
relationships may impact language learning. As described in Section ., LESLLA
learners’ investment in language learning may be reduced by civic integration pol-
icy, which determines who must and may not attend school, and who is allowed
to work. It is also impacted by housing policy: people with refugee status can not
choose where to live, while becoming isolated is more likely when housed in a
big city. Investment may be reduced by unwelcoming neighbors and communi-
ties. Thus, the social world and the power relations involved in it strongly aected
investment in language learning, while motivation remained basically unaected.
Hence, compared to Dörnyei’s () concept of motivation, Investment Theory
[] Kaatje Dalderop
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(Darvin & Norton, , ; Norton, ) explains the learning of the partici-
pants in our study better.
. Language learning strategies
The study aimed at better understanding LESLLA learners’ use of LLS. With no
exception, learners reported on the use of at least some, predominantly metacog-
nitive, cognitive and social strategies, to help them learn. Many strategies did
not seem to be LESLLA-specic, although an impact of L literacy on the use
of memory strategies was found: learners with limited L literacy struggled with
rehearsing. The use of cognitive and metacognitive strategies were not decisive
for learning, as many learners who perceived their learning as ‘failed’ nevertheless
revealed the use of those learning strategies.
Griths and Cansiz () have argued that successful strategy use “may be
related to a complex amalgamation of how many strategies are employed, how
oen, and how well they are orchestrated” (p. ). This argument shows simi-
larities with Dörnyei’s () notion of ‘relevant’ action plans and ‘eective’ pro-
cedural strategies for motivation to predict learning. It suggests that LLS are
eective under the condition that they are eectively used. This is a somewhat
circular argument. Griths and Cansiz’ () notion of ‘orchestrating strategies’
implies individual responsibility and assumes learners’ self-regulating capacity.
Hence, it depicts LLS as an individual’s asset. Our ndings show that for social
strategies to be eective, a supportive environment is needed, whereas building
networks is strongly aected by the learners’ social context. Hence, social strate-
gies are not purely an individual’s asset and it is not solely in the hands of indi-
viduals to orchestrate their use. Rather, social strategies are distributed in a social
system, they are enabled by inuential others as well as by circumstances. Unfor-
tunately LESLLA learners are largely not in a position of power to shape those
circumstances.
. Limitations and suggestions for further research
Aiming to shed light on their learning experience and LLS use, this study pre-
sented a CGT based on interviews with LESLLA learners. There are certainly
limitations to the study. First, the study draws on interviews that relied on inter-
pretation. This somewhat disturbed the ow of the conversations and nuances
of meaning may get lost in translation. Replications by researchers sharing the
participants’ rst language can be useful. Secondly, I interviewed participants
once, which means that I could not tap into participants’ or researcher’s reec-
tions that occurred aer the interview. Also I could not capture development over
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time. Adopting a longitudinal, ethnographic approach could be a way forward,
as it would enable an in-depth study of strategy use and motivation within con-
texts. Thirdly, participants were interviewed in an out of school context. Con-
textualizing interviews in classroom settings may elicit more detailed reections
on LESLLA learners’ strategy use and strategy needs. Studies in the classroom
may therefore also provide insights in how LESLLA learners can be supported to
expand their strategic repertoire.
Funding
Open Access publication of this article was funded through a Transformative Agreement with
University of Amsterdam.
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[] Kaatje Dalderop
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Appendix A. Interview guidelines
Intro
Welcome, explain goals, explain participants’ rights.
Questions?
Ask permission for recording. Ask for (oral) consent.
General questions Follow-up questions
Can I ask you a few questions for this study? EC: Consent needs to be recorded.
Can you introduce yourself ? Where are you from?
Have you been to school as a child, how
long?
When did you come to the Netherlands?
Did you go to a language class, how long?
When you came to the Netherlands, did you
start learning Dutch?
How?
What were your experiences?
How do you experience the language classes
you are joining now?
What do you like?
What do you feel is important?
Is there something you do not really like,
what?
Do you feel you are getting better at Dutch?
What helps you learn, what does not?
Can you remember a class that you found
really useful?
Can you tell me about it?
What made it useful?
If you learn a language, you need to learn
many words. Can you remember these
words?
How?
Do you have more strategies/ ways of
rehearsing?
Does someone help you memorizing the
new words? How?
Do/did you get homework? Do you know how to approach the tasks?
What do you do if you encounter a
challenge?
What do you learn by doing homework?
Do you do things at home that help you
learn Dutch?
What? How?
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Appendix A . (continued)
Which people are important for you for
learning Dutch?
What makes this person important?
Are there other persons important for
language learning?
How do they help you learn?
Are there things you would like to do if you
have improved your Dutch?
What do you need for getting there?
When would you be satised with your
prociency?
What advise would you give to someone
newly arrived in the Netherlands, what is
important for this person to learn Dutch?
Did this (advise) help you too? How?
Do you have another tip? How did this help
you?
Is there anything I did not ask but you
would like to add?
Thank you so much for you time and for
sharing your experiences!
Address for correspondence
Kaatje Dalderop
University of Amsterdam
Spuistraat
VB Amsterdam
The Netherlands
c.m.dalderop@uva.nl
Publication history
Date received: May
Date accepted: September
Published online: November
https://orcid.org/---
[] Kaatje Dalderop
