Browsing by Subject "Spanish language--Acquisition"

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The effects of input enhancement and interactive video viewing on the development of pragmatic awareness and use in the beginning Spanish L2 classroom
(2002) Witten, Caryn Marie; Koike, Dale April
This study presents research on L2 pragmatic awareness and use by beginning learners of Spanish. It tests a specific instructional methodology based on linguistic theory, such as Schmidt’s (1993) Noticing Hypothesis. Questions are addressed concerning the role of conscious awareness in learning L2 pragmatics, how interactive video viewing can enhance pragmatic input, and effects on global comprehension. While viewing a video series, 62 participants were asked to find examples of speech acts corresponding to those in their L1 and to note contexts in which the Spanish second person singular was used. Instead of form-focused treatments, a control group viewed the series and later completed plot-oriented treatments. Following nine assignments, all participants responded to three instruments. A written instrument examined learners’ awareness of L2 pragmatics, attitudes toward the video component of the course, the time dedicated to this component, and global comprehension. An oral role-play involving situations seen in the video was also administered, and a multiple-choice task was completed to determine participants’ recognition of appropriate forms. Data analysis on all items concerning pragmatics, regardless of task, indicated statistical significance favoring the test group. The test group performed significantly better on the written task and displayed a somewhat more positive attitude toward the video component of the course. The test group reported dedicating significantly more time to this component of the course and demonstrated slightly better global comprehension. Attitude and time on task were considered possible intervening variables influencing performance. Results of the oral task showed some positive trends, but no statistical significance, while results from the multiple-choice task did not reflect a difference between the two groups. Analysis of individual items from the feedback revealed a pattern of better performance by the test group with second person address, an area that was repeatedly enhanced. Data for individual speech acts suggest that L2 learners are active participants in the learning process who seem more cognizant of features that are more salient to them. Speech act findings may also indicate that some features are more easily assimilated than others and that the Noticing Hypothesis does not apply equally to all pragmatic material.
Foreign language anxiety in heritage students of Spanish: to be (anxious) or not to be (anxious)? that is the question
(2006) Tallon, Michael; Horwitz, Elaine Kolker, 1950-
The purpose of this study was to investigate if heritage students of Spanish experience foreign language anxiety and, if so, what levels of anxiety and what types of anxiety they experience. Furthermore, the study attempted to examine how this anxiety is correlated with the anxiety reported in the literature for other language students as well as with the heritage students’ own self-assessed proficiency in Spanish. The data were collected through quantitative methods (anxiety scales) and qualitative methods (openended questions and telephone interviews). A total of 413 students (209 heritage students and 204 non-heritage students) participated in this study. In general, the mean anxiety scores for the heritage students were lower than the mean anxiety scores for the non-heritage students on all anxiety scales, although there were a few instances when the heritage students actually had higher anxiety scores. In addition, the heritage students in this study reported lower levels of anxiety than other college-level students whose anxiety levels had also been measured by the Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale. In most cases, there was a strong, negative correlation between the students’ selfassessed language proficiency and their reported levels of anxiety, indicating that as the students’ self-assessed proficiency increased their levels of anxiety decreased. The study also sought to examine how the various anxieties, as measured by four different anxiety scales, related to each other. Results showed a strong, positive correlation between all four anxiety scales, indicating that the anxiety scales are related in terms of measuring anxiety related to the language learning process, but that they do in fact measure different types of language-specific anxieties. The qualitative portion of the study sought to investigate how heritage students of Spanish described their feelings of anxiety about learning Spanish in the foreign language classroom. Analysis of the qualitative data revealed several sources of anxiety inside the classroom as well as outside the classroom. The heritage students also mentioned areas where they did not feel anxious inside the classroom, and they listed several goals for using Spanish in the future.
Performance on semantic language tasks by Spanish-English bilingual children with varying levels of language proficiency
(2002) Kester, Ellen Stubbe; Peña, Elizabeth D.
This study explores a functionalist approach to language acquisition by examining the performance of bilingual children with varying levels of proficiency in English and Spanish on a test of semantic language skills with six different tasks. Overall test performance was similar across language groups and for bilinguals in their two languages but differences were seen in performance on the individual semantic language tasks. Specifically, the bilingual children demonstrated better performance on the Linguistic Concepts task in English and on the Functions task in Spanish, and the bilingual children performed better on the Categorization task than predominantly Spanish speaking children. Finally, different developmental trajectories were seen in the different language proficiency groups. These findings would be predicted by input given socialization practices and structural differences in the two languages.