Developing a cross-case, time-ordered analysis of informal language learning from ethnographic narratives

Cross-case, time-ordered analysis of ethnographically collected learner narratives holds great potential for tracing the paths of second-language learning in general, but more specifically of informal additional language development (IALD) over time. Based on a comprehensive survey of 206 studies, we first selected the 29 that contained ethnographic information about learners and inductively coded them, identifying seven factors related to IALD. We next identified 47 narratives from 14 of the 29 studies containing significant detail. We sorted these into groups in two ways and then compared them, producing a third set of groups whose members overlapped. In the final step, we displayed the Set Three groups in two matrices, by life periods and the seven factors. The method identified seven different paths or trajectories for IALD and highlighted significant factors and conditions within and across groups. Copyright © 2025 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.