Social Networks and Language Learning in Forced Immersion: Ukrainian Refugees in Poland

Abstract Several studies in the sociology of immigration have focussed on informal networks as the primary source of migrants’ social capital. However, the literature has largely eschewed the potential afforded by the computational analytical tools of network science that permit the reconstruction and mapping of community sociograms and the calculation of the impact of centrality metrics. In addition, studies are still scarce that would combine network-analytic approaches with rigorous investigations of refugees’ acquisition of host-country language skills, despite the proven import thereof for functioning in the new destination. We analyse the peer interaction networks of 251 Ukrainian refugees participating in an intensive Polish language course. Employing a custom-designed name-interpreter survey in conjunction with a pre-/post-test design, we leverage computational social network analysis to i) identify patterns of participants’ informal communication beyond the classroom, with particular attention to interactions within their co-national group, and ii) examine how these patterns, alongside individual background characteristics, affect their language development. Speaking Ukrainian correlated with greater centrality in the contact network. Russian-dominant speakers often concealed their use of this language, possibly because they were frequently found at the network periphery. We discuss the affective, motivational, and interactive factors identified as predictors of progress in Polish.