“Is Native Language Decisive in Language Learning Results?”

A study on acculturation and the effect of language distance: Finnish and Dutch migrants in Australia compared

Abstrakti

Up until 1979 when Australia introduced stricter language requirements for the new immigrants it was not uncommon for migrants to arrive in Australia with little or no knowledge of English. Yet most of these adult migrants acquired language skills that enabled them to lead an independent and full life in Australia.

However, for various reasons these migrants have achieved varying levels of proficiency. Naturally differences can be found between individual learners, but the different migrant groups also show divergent tendencies. Whereas the Dutch are generally considered to be successful English learners, the image of Finnish migrants is quite the opposite. The objective of this study was to explore this matter further by comparing two groups of adult migrants which in many respects seem quite similar, but differ in terms of native language.