Polish-French Bilingualism and Bicultural Identity: CrossCultural Studies on Immigrants in France and Belgium, and French Language Students in Poland

Authors:

• Łukasz Kmiotek,
• Joanna Kwiatkowska,
• Paweł Boski

Abstract

In the present study, the authors applied the Cultural Values and Script Questionnaire, together with language measures (bidirectional translation, listening comprehension tasks), to explore the relationship between Polish-French bilinguality and bicultural identity among Polish migrants in France and Belgium and students learning French at a Polish University. We hypothesized that the Francophone acculturative context will lead to (i) integrated bicultural identity, as well as (ii) a balanced bilingual profile. Thirdly, we assumed there is a link between an individual’s bicultural identity and his or her bilinguality. The data partially confirm the two first hypotheses. An unexpected contrast effect revealed that students in Poland identify more strongly with French cultural values than with Polish values