Paper short abstract

This paper attempts to track the construction of learner frustration among African students attempting to learn German as foreign students in Germany.

Paper long abstract

The general perception among African students in Germany is that German language is somewhat difficult to learn as an adult. Working within the social constructionist and psychoanalytic discourse perspectives, this paper specifically examines how Nigerian students in Germany construct German learning difficulties and other diasporic frustrations. It argues that these constructions are a collection of symbolic materials through which the desperation and other migration-induced traumatic experiences that characterize the daily living of Nigerians in Germany can be tracked. The paper explores how this discourse is constructed among the concerned students through self-report instruments administered to a selected group of students.