Individual Differences and Adaptive Strategies in Language Learning Across Diverse Linguistic and Sociocultural Transitions

Abstract

Second language acquisition is influenced by learners’ individual
differences, such as motivation, aptitude, and learning strategies,
which condition how they cope with new linguistic and sociocultural
environments. Migrant learners moving from one linguistic context
to another experience multifaceted academic, social, and cultural
struggles, yet research has given restricted attention to the extent to
which such transitions interact with personal attributes, creating a
lacuna in insight into adaptation strategies and outcomes. This research
explores three research questions: how students perceive language
learning across sociocultural contexts, what strategies facilitate
adjustment to new linguistic environments, and how individual
differences shape academic transitions. An explanatory sequential
mixed-methods approach was used, pairing a survey of 120 students
who moved across linguistic and cultural contexts with narrative
interviews of five purposively selected participants embodying
diverse linguistic backgrounds. Quantitative findings show that
origin language, destination language, and length of time abroad are
significant predictors of adaptation outcomes, explaining 29% of the
variance in academic performance, with lower adaptation evidenced
among Arabic-speaking students in linguistically distant contexts and
higher achievement supported in German-speaking contexts. Narrative
results demonstrate self-regulated learning, social scaffolding, and
authentic contextual integration as facilitative strategies for adaptation.
Interpreted through the Noticing Hypothesis, Sociocultural Theory,Self-Regulated Learning, and Motivational Theory, the findings offer  actionable implications for curriculum design, pedagogical practice,
and policy while inviting longitudinal research on the dynamic
interplay of individual differences and sociocultural transitions.