Measuring and understanding linguistic insecurity in heritage and foreign language contexts: design and validation of a novel scale

Abstract

ABSTRACT Linguistic insecurity, a feeling arising for speakers who perceive their language abilities as ‘non-standard’, has attracted the attention of scholars in SLA for both heritage (HL) and foreign language (FL) learners. Adding to the growing body of research in emotions within applied linguistics, this mixed-methods study introduces the Diverse Learner Linguistic Insecurity Scale (D-LIS), developed to measure linguistic insecurity specifically for learners of Spanish from diverse linguistic backgrounds, including heritage and foreign language profiles (N = 131). The study also explores differences in linguistic insecurity between heritage and foreign language learners, and the relationship between HL/FL linguistic insecurity and proficiency. Results demonstrate high D-LIS reliability (ω = .89) and validity. A principal components analysis revealed a three-component structure (POV = 67.4%) relevant for both learner profiles. Results also show similar levels of linguistic insecurity for all learner backgrounds, though quantitative and qualitative data suggest linguistic insecurity anchored in different experiences for heritage versus foreign language learners. Lastly, a two-tailed Spearman’s correlation showed a significant negative relationship between linguistic insecurity and language proficiency. In responses to current findings, future research and pedagogical implications are discussed for diverse language learner backgrounds.