The Arqus series “Seven months, seven universities” is back with a new episode on immigrant identity, motivation and L3 acquisition

The series of guest lectures “Seven months, seven universities” is back with the first episode of the second edition: “Building walls or bridges: The effect of identity on adult immigrant motivation in the acquisition of a third language (L3)” by Yael Rosenmann, Lecturer for Hebrew at the University of Graz. The webinar will take place online, on 18th November at 11:00 am CET.

This presentation focuses on the psychological barriers rooted in self-limiting beliefs based on emotions that prevent learners from reaching their full potential when acquiring a host language. The findings of an empirical qualitative study suggest that motivation in adult immigrants studying an L3 derives from a strong sense of personal identity connected to their L1 or L2. Advanced competence beyond the initial or intermediate stages of L3 seems to create a sense of divided loyalties, which decreases the level of motivation.

This talk is given by Yael Rosenmann, Lecturer for Hebrew and biblical studies in Europe at the University of Graz. Yael Rosenmann was born in Tel-Aviv, Israel. She graduated in English Literature at the University of Amsterdam and studied her Bachelor degree in Hebrew at Tel Aviv University. She then continued her studies in biblical and modern Hebrew. She is also the translator of the book “Prague and Beyond”: Jews in the Bohemian Lands.

This is the eighth of a series of guest lectures (“Seven months, seven universities”) to be offered in the framework of the Action Line 4 of Arqus, Multilingual and Multicultural University (sub-line 4.8). These lectures focus on specific topics related to language and culture, and target mainly graduate and post-graduate students as well as early-stage researchers interested in those topics. The webinar will take place on 18th November at 11:00 am CET. It will be broadcast live on the Arqus YouTube channel.

The webinar will take place on 18th November at 11:00 am CET. It will be broadcast live on the Arqus YouTube channel.