Albanian immigrant beliefs about emotion, language, and social identity: Examining the workplace nuances of upward social mobility

Abstract

The present study seeks to advance scientific discussion about language, emotion, and migration through two in-depth portrayals of adult Albanian immigrants who self-reported personal beliefs about emotions in their language usage, social identity, and motivation for workplace success. Data-collection implemented a qualitative case-study approach with multiple interviews and observations. Participants revealed how certain emotions held compelling connections to their core beliefs about language usage in the workplace setting. The perceptions about second-language (L2) usage and emotion revealed key features about personal identity. Participants had frustrations about their transnational cultural adjustments and viewed the pursuit of English fluency as essential for their career success. Results revealed how interpersonal communication in the workplace involved more anxiety than any other setting. Some of these incongruencies might seem innocuous to native-language English speakers, such as how misinterpreting jokes in the English-speaking workplace were revealed to be a source of frustration for the L2 speakers. Participants feared being informally evaluated for their oral English skills, and purposely avoided using their native Albanian language because they believed such language usage could be detrimental for their employment. This study should be of interest to anyone seeking to examine emotional geographies within L2 processes for immigrant populations.