Learning English as Inherited Disadvantage and Earned Capital: ESL Acquisition Strategies Among First-Generation Pakistani University Students

Abstract

First-generation university students in Pakistan, those without a family history of higher education, often enter university with limited prior exposure to English as an academic and social language, positioning ESL acquisition as both an obstacle to overcome and a resource to accumulate. While prior research has examined motivation and attitudes toward English learning through a social capital lens, comparatively little attention has been paid to the specific, strategy-level behaviors these learners adopt to acquire English proficiency in the absence of family linguistic capital. This study investigates the concrete ESL learning strategies, including cognitive, metacognitive, social, and compensatory strategies, employed by first-generation Pakistani university students, comparing their strategy use to that of continuing-generation peers and examining how these strategies are shaped by the absence of intergenerational English exposure at home. Using an explanatory sequential mixed-methods design that combines a validated language learning strategy inventory administered to 320 undergraduates with in-depth interviews with 18 first-generation students, the research documents which strategies first-generation students rely on most, how these differ from continuing-generation peers, and how students describe compensating for limited family linguistic resources through peer networks, digital media, and self-directed practice. Quantitative results showed that first-generation students reported significantly lower use of cognitive and metacognitive strategies but significantly higher use of compensation and social strategies relative to continuing-generation peers, a pattern corroborated by qualitative interviews emphasizing peer networks and self-directed digital resources as primary compensatory mechanisms. By shifting focus from motivational attitudes to observable strategy use, this study offers actionable insight for designing targeted ESL support programs for first-generation students within Pakistani higher education institutions.