Eschewing the “Bad” and Embracing the “New”: How Previous Experiences, Critical Incidents, and Negativity Bias Shape L2 Continuance in US Post-secondary Language Learners

Abstract

The present investigation examines the impact of critical incidents (CI) and previous experiences in second or additional language (L2) learning, L2 learners’ proclivity for negativity bias (NB) in the formal classroom setting, and how past experiences conditioned their continuance or discontinuance of L2s when transitioning to a collegiate setting in the United States. Because college-aged students attend to negative experiences more than positive ones of the same frequency and magnitude (Vaish et al., 2008), the researchers aimed to determine whether previous negative encounters conditioned students’ choice to discontinue an L2 when entering post-secondary education. Through analyzing quantitative and qualitative data from 1504 learners attending a US post-secondary institution, students who chose to discontinue one L2 in favor of another when starting university reported more negative experiences in prior L2 learning settings, such as inhospitable L2 learning environments, not receiving enough encouragement from L2 instructors, or having to endure negative CIs.