Social Networks and Language Learning in Forced Immersion: Ukrainian Refugees in Poland Michał B. Paradowski, Karolina Czopek, Andrea Palmini, Vitaly Belik, Andrzej Jarynowski Journal of International Migration and Integration, 2025 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.
The moral Foreign Language Effect beyond the L2: Non-first languages behave similarly (but there are nuances) Zofia Stańczykowska, Michał B. Paradowski Mental Lexicon, 2024 Bilinguals’ decision-making may be affected by the linguistic context, depending on whether the scenario to be evaluated is presented in their first or second language. This phenomenon is known as the (moral) Foreign Language Effect (FLe/MFLE). To the best of our knowledge, the present study is the first to investigate whether a difference can also be observed between decisions taken by multilinguals in their second (L2) vs third languages (L3). Expectedly, akin to the L2 Status Factor hypothesis, the results of a survey experiment showed no significant distinctions in scenario evaluations across non-native languages, suggesting that the “foreign status” of these renders similar emotionality and/or exemption from social normativity. The few nuances that do emerge are traceable to the specific scenarios used in FLe research.
Peer Interaction Dynamics and Second Language Learning Trajectories During Study Abroad: A Longitudinal Investigation Using Dynamic Computational Social Network Analysis Michał B. Paradowski, Nicole Whitby, Michał Czuba, Piotr Bródka Language Learning, 2024 Using computational Social Network Analysis (SNA), this longitudinal study investigates the development of the interaction network and its influence on the second language (L2) gains of a complete cohort of 41 U.S. sojourners enrolled in a 3‐month intensive study‐abroad Arabic program in Jordan. Unlike extant research, our study focuses on students’ interactions with alma mater classmates, reconstructing their complete network, tracing the impact of individual students’ positions in the social graph using centrality metrics, and incorporating a developmental perspective with three measurement points. Objective proficiency gains were influenced by predeparture proficiency (negatively), multilingualism, perceived integration of the peer learner group (negatively), and the number of fellow learners speaking to the student. Analyses reveal relatively stable same‐gender cliques, but with changes in the patterns and strength of interaction. We also discuss interesting divergent trajectories of centrality metrics, L2 use, and progress; predictors of self‐perceived progress across skills; and the interplay of context and gender.
Google Translate Facilitates Conference Abstracts’ Acceptance, But Not Invitations to Deliver an Oral Presentation Piotr Toczyski, Grzegorz Banerski, Cezary Biele, Jarosław Kowalski, Michał B. Paradowski Lecture Notes in Networks and Systems, 2022 Removing the language barrier could bring great benefits not only to the scientific community. Therefore, it is necessary to strive to improve both the tools and procedures in which these tools are used, to ensure a reliable exchange of knowledge. The authors try to find out whether the existing and widely available technology (Google Translate) contributes to the facilitation of knowledge sharing among scientists. Humanity has been trying to construct and improve the technology of universal real-time translation for a long time. For many, it was inspired by scifi works, in which, probably, this idea appeared already in the 1940s (see Leinster’s “First contact”). This is an important topic because the language of science has long since become English, and for most of the scientific community it is not the mother tongue. Furthermore, we are now talking about the English languages of the world, or “world Englishes”, not to mention those who say “the language of science is bad English”. The paper tells a story which on the one hand constitutes a thoughtful anecdote, on the other may offer a good introduction to a serious scientific study. As it stands now, the main argument for including it is the story itself, with which we encourage further studies to scale our ideas in terms of a broader sample and comparability.
The Impact of Demographics, Life and Work Circumstances on College and University Instructors’ Well-Being During Quaranteaching Magdalena Jelińska, Michał B. Paradowski Frontiers in Psychology, 2021 In response to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, educational institutions around the world were forced into lockdown in order to contain the spread of the virus. To ensure continuous provision of education, most transitioned to emergency remote instruction. This has been particularly the case in higher education (HE) institutions. The circumstances of the pandemic have brought unprecedented psychological pressure on the population, in the case of educators and students exacerbated by the transition to a mode of instruction that was completely novel to the majority. The present study examines how college and university instructors dealt with teaching online in these unparalleled circumstances, with a focus on how factors connected with their daily lives and livelihoods influenced their well-being. Between April and September 2020, a comprehensive online survey was filled out by 804 HE instructors from 92 countries. We explore how sociodemographic variables such as gender, age, relationship status, living conditions, and length of professional experience non-trivially affect situational anxiety, work-life synergy, coping, and productivity. The results contribute to a better understanding of the impact of the pandemic and emergency remote instruction on college and university instructors’ well-being by explaining the mechanisms mediating the relationship between individual, contextual, and affective variables. It may provide helpful guidelines for college and university administrators as well as teachers themselves as to how help alleviate the adverse effects of the continuing pandemic and possible similar disruptions leading to school closures on coping and well-being.
Peer interactions and second language learning: The contributions of social network analysis in study abroad vs at-home environments Language Mobility and Study Abroad in the Contemporary European Context, 2021
Using corpus insights in specialized translation: Slicing and dicing the language of food Ceur Workshop Proceedings, 2016
Implications of the embodied language: From learning in humans to multisensory integration in robots Aisb 2014 50th Annual Convention of the Aisb, 2014
Developing embodied multisensory dialogue agents Aisb Iacap World Congress 2012 Linguistic and Cognitive Approaches to Dialogue Agents Part of Alan Turing Year 2012, 2012
Understanding the social cascading of geekspeak and the upshots for social cognitive systems Aisb Iacap World Congress 2012 Understanding and Modelling Collective Phenomena Part of Alan Turing Year 2012, 2012
From linguistic innovation in blogs to language learning in adults: What do interaction networks tell us? Aisb Iacap World Congress 2012 Social Computing Social Cognition Social Networks and Multiagent Systems Social Turn Snamas 2012 Part of Alan Turing Year 2012, 2012
Follow the white rabbit, or how complexity science and linguistics can inform AI 4th International Conference on Cognitive Systems Cogsys 2010, 2010
A complexity science perspective on language spread 3rd Itrw on Experimental Linguistics Exling 2010, 2010
RECENT SCHOLAR PUBLICATIONS
Ukrainian refugees learning Polish: A tale of language, identity, and integration MB Paradowski, K Czopek, A Jarynowski Education abroad: Language, learners, and communities , 2027 2027
Discrepancies in the country versions of the WHOQOL-BREF as a potential source of error in assessing Quality of Life and a barrier to comparative research S Maksymowicz, M Libura, A Jarynowski, MB Paradowski Health and Quality of Life Outcomes 24, Article 69 , 2026 2026
Social networks and language learning in forced immersion: Ukrainian refugees in Poland MB Paradowski, K Czopek, A Palmini, V Belik, A Jarynowski Journal of International Migration and Integration , 2026 2026 Citations: 1
Teaching for a better world: Cultivating Social-Emotional Learning in English language pedagogy LJ Pentón Herrera, G Martínez-Alba, MB Paradowski 2026 Citations: 2
“Like trying to fit the circle peg in the square hole”: Language and linguistics instructors’ stress levels during emergency remote teaching in times of the COVID-19 pandemic MB Paradowski, M Jelińska Second language learning and the COVID-19 pandemic: Case studies of … , 2026 2026
Journey through the world of dynamical systems on networks A Puchalska, MN Cartier van Dissel, P Gora, M Iskrzyński, ... Mathematical models for interacting dynamics on networks, 225–274 , 2026 2026 Citations: 1
Navigating new realms: Language teacher identities and evolving responsibilities in the new world LJ Pentón Herrera, A Becker, MB Paradowski Journal of Education for Multilingualism 2 (2), 155–166 , 2025 2025
Przyswajanie języka drugiego MB Paradowski Lingwistyka stosowana. Kompendium, vol. III: Od języka do języków, 47–71 , 2025 2025
Peer interaction dynamics and second language learning trajectories during study abroad: A longitudinal investigation using dynamic computational Social Network Analysis MB Paradowski, N Whitby, M Czuba, P Bródka Language Learning 74 (S2), 58–115 , 2024 2024 Citations: 28
The moral Foreign Language Effect beyond the L2: Non-first languages behave similarly (but there are nuances) Z Stańczykowska, MB Paradowski The Mental Lexicon 19 (1), 55-67 , 2024 2024 Citations: 1
Social aspects in language learning: New perspectives from study-abroad research AM Devlin, A Magliacane, MB Paradowski Language Learning 74 (S2), 5–23 , 2024 2024 Citations: 6
The predictors of L2 grit and their complex interactions in online foreign language learning: Motivation, self-directed learning, autonomy, curiosity, and language mindsets MB Paradowski, M Jelińska Computer Assisted Language Learning 37 (8), 2320–2358 , 2024 2024 Citations: 93
How output outweighs input and interlocutors matter for study-abroad SLA: Computational social network analysis of learner interactions MB Paradowski, A Cierpich-Kozieł, CC Chen, JK Ochab The Modern Language Journal 106 (4), 694-725 , 2022 2022 Citations: 37
Google Translate facilitates conference abstracts’ acceptance, but not invitations to deliver an oral presentation P Toczyski, G Banerski, C Biele, J Kowalski, MB Paradowski Digital Interaction and Machine Intelligence: Proceedings of MIDI’2021 – 9th … , 2022 2022 Citations: 1
Teachers’ engagement in and coping with emergency remote instruction during COVID-19-induced school closures: A multinational contextual perspective M Jelińska, MB Paradowski Online Learning Journal [special issue “Lessons about online learning from … , 2021 2021 Citations: 195
The impact of demographics, life and work circumstances on college and university instructors’ well-being during quaranteaching M Jelińska, MB Paradowski Frontiers in Psychology 12 (643229) , 2021 2021 Citations: 51
Peer interactions and second language learning: The contributions of Social Network Analysis in Study Abroad vs At-Home environments MB Paradowski, A Jarynowski, K Czopek, M Jelińska Language, mobility and study abroad in the contemporary European context, 99–116 , 2021 2021 Citations: 50
Keep your friends close: Jak interakcje między uczniami pomagają w przyswajaniu języka obcego. Implikacje dla doby pandemii A Jarynowski, K Czopek, MB Paradowski Acta Neophilologica 23 (2), 115–131 , 2021 2021 Citations: 5
Teachers’ perception of student coping with emergency remote instruction during the COVID-19 pandemic: The relative impact of educator demographics and professional adaptation … M Jelińska, MB Paradowski Frontiers in Psychology 12 (648443) , 2021 2021 Citations: 98
Transitions, translanguaging, trans-semiotising in heteroglossic school environments: Lessons from (not only) South African classrooms MB Paradowski Multilingual Classroom Contexts: Transitions and transactions, 213–284 , 2021 2021 Citations: 14
MOST CITED SCHOLAR PUBLICATIONS
Teachers’ engagement in and coping with emergency remote instruction during COVID-19-induced school closures: A multinational contextual perspective M Jelińska, MB Paradowski Online Learning Journal [special issue “Lessons about online learning from … , 2021 2021 Citations: 195
Second language as an exemptor from sociocultural norms: Emotion-related language choice revisited M Gawinkowska, MB Paradowski, M Bilewicz PloS one 8 (12), e81225 , 2013 2013 Citations: 107
Teachers’ perception of student coping with emergency remote instruction during the COVID-19 pandemic: The relative impact of educator demographics and professional adaptation … M Jelińska, MB Paradowski Frontiers in Psychology 12 (648443) , 2021 2021 Citations: 98
The predictors of L2 grit and their complex interactions in online foreign language learning: Motivation, self-directed learning, autonomy, curiosity, and language mindsets MB Paradowski, M Jelińska Computer Assisted Language Learning 37 (8), 2320–2358 , 2024 2024 Citations: 93
Perceived effectiveness of language acquisition in the process of multilingual upbringing by parents of different nationalities MB Paradowski, A Bator International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism 21 (6), 647-665 , 2018 2018 Citations: 55
The impact of demographics, life and work circumstances on college and university instructors’ well-being during quaranteaching M Jelińska, MB Paradowski Frontiers in Psychology 12 (643229) , 2021 2021 Citations: 51
Peer interactions and second language learning: The contributions of Social Network Analysis in Study Abroad vs At-Home environments MB Paradowski, A Jarynowski, K Czopek, M Jelińska Language, mobility and study abroad in the contemporary European context, 99–116 , 2021 2021 Citations: 50
Diffusion of linguistic innovation as social coordination MB Paradowski, Ł Jonak Psychology of Language and Communication 16 (2), 131-142 , 2012 2012 Citations: 39
How output outweighs input and interlocutors matter for study-abroad SLA: Computational social network analysis of learner interactions MB Paradowski, A Cierpich-Kozieł, CC Chen, JK Ochab The Modern Language Journal 106 (4), 694-725 , 2022 2022 Citations: 37
Out-of-class peer interactions matter for second language acquisition during short-term overseas sojourns: The contributions of Social Network Analysis [Selected poster … MB Paradowski, A Jarynowski, M Jelińska, K Czopek Language Teaching 54 (1), 139–143 , 2021 2021 Citations: 37
The benefits of multilingualism MB Paradowski Multilingual Living Magazine 3 (2), 18–20 , 2010 2010 Citations: 37
Exploring the L1/L2 interface: A study of Polish advanced EFL learners MB Paradowski Institute of English Studies, University of Warsaw , 2007 2007 Citations: 35
Modelling communities and populations: An introduction to computational social science A Jarynowski, MB Paradowski, A Buda Studia Metodologiczne – Dissertationes Methodologicae, 39 [special … , 2019 2019 Citations: 33
Understanding English as a lingua franca: A complete introduction to the theoretical nature and practical implications of English used as a lingua franca: Barbara Seidlhofer … MB Paradowski The Interpreter and Translator Trainer 7 (2), 312-320 , 2013 2013 Citations: 31
Peer interaction dynamics and second language learning trajectories during study abroad: A longitudinal investigation using dynamic computational Social Network Analysis MB Paradowski, N Whitby, M Czuba, P Bródka Language Learning 74 (S2), 58–115 , 2024 2024 Citations: 28
Conquering foreign language anxiety related to speaking MB Paradowski, K Dmowska, D Czasak Productive Foreign Language Skills for an Intercultural World. A Guide (not … , 2015 2015 Citations: 28
What’s cooking in English culinary texts? Insights from genre corpora for cookbook and menu writers and translators MB Paradowski The Translator 24 (1), 50-69 , 2018 2018 Citations: 24
Corroborating the role of L1 awareness in FL pedagogy MB Paradowski 33rd International LAUD Symposium “Cognitive Approaches to Second/Foreign … , 2008 2008 Citations: 24
Foreign-language grammar instruction via the mother tongue MB Paradowski Multilingualism and Applied Comparative Linguistics, Vol. 1: Comparative … , 2007 2007 Citations: 23
