A Study of Jewish Adolescent Russian Immigrants to Israel: Language and Identity

Adolescent Russian immigrants to Israel (N = 100, ages 13-19) were studied to ascertain the relationship between identity & language in their acculturation to their new country. Ss were asked to state their self-definition & their expressed definition of their identity as Jewish, Israeli, or Russian on a 5-point scale, & to complete a differential semantic test of their attitudes toward Hebrew & Russian. It is found that, although these youths see themselves as Russian first & Jewish last, they express themselves in public as Jewish first & Russian last; language is therefore argued to significantly mediate the process of building an identity in a new social context for these youths. It is suggested that educational policymakers should see language acquisition as a primary task in assisting immigrant adolescents in forging such an identity. 4 Tables, 17 References. Adapted from the source document.