The Sociolinguistic Impact of Service-learning on Heritage Learners Sojourning in Spain

2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 71-98
Author(s):  
Francisco Salgado-Robles ◽  
Angela George
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Service Learning ◽  
Study Abroad ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Heritage Language ◽  
Local Features ◽  
Heritage Language Learners ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Experimental Group

Over the past three decades, a considerable number of studies have investigated the connection between study abroad and second language acquisition to the exclusion of another emerging language profile, that of heritage language learners who study abroad to enhance their home language skills. The few studies on heritage language learners’ development of local features abroad have focused on phonological ones, concluding that more in-depth exposure to the varieties abroad was related to increased production of the local features (Escalante, 2018; George & Hoffman-González, in press). Research on the effects of international service learning have also been limited to second language learners, demonstrating increased second language use and proficiency (Martinsen, Baker, Dewey, Bown, & Johnson, 2010) along with the development of geographically-variable patterns of use (Salgado-Robles, 2018). The current study combines these two fields and investigates the development of a variable local feature (vosotros versus ustedes) by 20 U.S. Spanish-speaking heritage language learners of Mexican descent studying abroad for four months in Spain. The experimental group (N = 10) participated in a service learning course in addition to traditional coursework, while the control group (N = 10) completed traditional coursework and no service learning course. The results of the Oral Discourse Completion Task demonstrated that all participants significantly increased their use of vosotros from the beginning to the end of the semester; however, the change by the experimental group was two times higher than the control group. This could be explained by the results of the Language Contact Profile, which revealed more use of Spanish and less use of English by participants in the experimental group. This study offers implications for future study abroad programs, the linguistic impacts of service-learning, and the development of sociolinguistic competence.

Acquiring variable commands at home and abroad: Examining optatives and imperatives in L1 and L2 Spanish

2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 79-113
Author(s):  
Farrah Neumann ◽  
Matthew Kanwit
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Study Abroad ◽  
Language Teaching ◽  
Applied Linguistics ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Before And After ◽  
The Individual ◽  
At Home

AbstractSince many linguistic structures are variable (i. e. conveyed by multiple forms), building a second-language grammar critically involves developing sociolinguistic competence (Canale and Swain. 1980. Theoretical bases of communicative approaches to second language teaching and testing. Applied Linguistics 1(1). 1–47), including knowledge of contexts in which to use one form over another (Bayley and Langman. 2004. Variation in the group and the individual: Evidence from second language acquisition. International Review of Applied Linguistics in Language Teaching 42(4). 303–318). Consequently, researchers interested in such competence have increasingly analyzed the study-abroad context to gauge learners’ ability to approximate local norms following a stay abroad, due to the quality and quantity of input to which learners may gain access (Lafford. 2006. The effects of study abroad vs. classroom contexts on Spanish SLA: Old assumptions, new insights and future research directions. In Carol Klee & Timothy Face (eds.), Selected proceedings of the 7th conference on the acquisition of Spanish and Portuguese as first and second languages, 1–25. Somerville, MA: Cascadilla Proceedings Project). Nevertheless, the present study is the first to examine native or learner variation between imperative (e. g. ven ‘come’) and optative Spanish commands (e. g. que vengas ‘come’). We first performed a corpus analysis to determine the linguistic factors to manipulate in a contextualized task, which elicited commands from learners before and after four weeks abroad in Alcalá de Henares, Spain. Their overall rates of selection and predictive factors were compared to local native speakers (NSs) and a control group of at-home learners.Results revealed that the abroad learners more closely approached NS rates of selection following the stay abroad. Nonetheless, for both learner groups conditioning by independent variables only partially approximated the NS system, which was more complex than previously suggested.

Attitudes and Motivations of Adult Spanish Language Learners: A Comparison of Heritage Language Learners and Second Language Learners

2014 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 29-44 ◽  
Author(s):  
Janet S. Oh ◽  
Bertha A. Nash
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Heritage Language ◽  
Second Language Learners ◽  
Language Learner ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Heritage Language Learners ◽  
Background Factors ◽  
Learning Success

Research on background factors in adult language learners’ success has largely focused on first-time learners of a second language. In this study, we utilize a well-established second language learner model (the Socioeducational Model; Gardner, 1985a) to compare heritage language and second language learners in a first-semester college Spanish class. Participants (31 heritage language learners; 80 second language learners) completed a survey at the end of the semester assessing their ethnic identity, language backgrounds, attitudes and motivation toward learning Spanish. Course grades were collected as a measure of language learning success. Results indicate that heritage language learners and second language learners are similar on most background factors, but that the background factors predicting each group’s language learning success are quite different. Implications for our understanding of language learners and future research directions are discussed.

Who Needs Linguistics? Service-Learning and Linguistics for Spanish Heritage Language Learners

Hispania ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 100 (3) ◽  
pp. 348-360 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amàlia Llombart-Huesca ◽  
Alejandra Pulido
Keyword(s):  
Service Learning ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Heritage Language ◽  
Heritage Language Learners ◽  
And Linguistics

Heritage Language Anxiety in Two Spanish Language Classroom Environments: A Comparative Mixed Methods Study

2020 ◽  
pp. 92-113
Author(s):  
Josh Prada ◽  
Paola Guerrero-Rodriguez ◽  
Diego Pascual y Cabo
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Heritage Language ◽  
Second Language Learners ◽  
Language Anxiety ◽  
Foreign Language Anxiety ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Classroom Environments ◽  
Heritage Speakers ◽  
Experimental Group

While research into foreign language anxiety (i.e., nervousness towards using the second/additional language) has increased substantially in the last decade, little is known about how language anxiety operates among heritage speakers. Following Tallon’s early works on the topic (2009, 2011) and recent publications (e.g., Sevinç & Dewaele, 2018), the present study further conceptualizes and explores the nature of heritage language anxiety in two different classroom environments at the university level: the traditional Spanish (for second language learners) class, and the Spanish for heritage speakers class. Thirty participants completed (i) the DASS21 scale (Rehka, 2012), (ii) a modified version of the foreign language anxiety scale (Dewaele & MacIntyre, 2014), and (iii) semi structured individual interviews. Participants were distributed between two groups: those in the control group (N=14) were enrolled in a Spanish class for second language learners and those in the experimental group (N=16) were completing a Spanish for heritage speakers course. Results show consistently lower language anxiety rates among participants from the experimental group than among participants from the control group. Additionally, our analyses reveal the role of contextual variables in language anxiety emergence in these two commonly available types of Spanish classrooms.

The Acquisition of Spanish Gender Marking in the Writing of Heritage and Second Language Learners

2018 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 242-267
Author(s):  
Antonio Pérez-Núñez
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Heritage Language ◽  
Second Language Learners ◽  
Nonlinear Process ◽  
Gender Agreement ◽  
Gender Assignment ◽  
Written Production ◽  
And Gender

This study aims to expand on previous research on the acquisition of gender marking by examining the longitudinal written production of second language (L2) and heritage language (HL) learners. The written production of 24 participants (L2, n = 12; HL, n = 12) enrolled in the same course was traced over four weeks and all cases of canonical and non-canonical gender marking (i.e., gender assignment and gender agreement) were coded. The group results indicated that the HL learners were significantly more accurate than their L2 counterparts with both canonical and non-canonical ending nouns; however, close inspection of the participants’ individual accuracy patterns revealed a nonlinear process that was subject to great instability in their performance over time. Findings are discussed in light of interlanguage development and implications for research in second language acquisition are presented.

Service-Learning, an Integral Part of Heritage Language Education: A Case Study of an Advanced-level Korean Language Class

2016 ◽  
pp. 354-381
Author(s):  
Soyeon , Kim ◽  
Sung-Ock Sohn
Keyword(s):  
Los Angeles ◽  
Service Learning ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Cultural Awareness ◽  
Heritage Language ◽  
Language Education ◽  
Heritage Language Learners ◽  
Korean Language ◽  
Heritage Language Education ◽  
Language Class

While a growing body of literature testifies to the effects of service-learning in language education, little empirical research has examined the implementation of service-learning courses in minority heritage languages. This chapter discusses the first implementation and effects of Korean service-learning course for Korean heritage language learners at an institution of higher education. Participants engaged in service activities at one of four community sites with different missions. By analyzing students’ post-service surveys and course assignments, as well as the community partners’ post-service surveys, we were able to demonstrate the effectiveness and benefits of the service-learning course for Korean heritage language students. Conducting service-learning at authentic work contexts in Koreatown in Los Angeles was found to enhance the language learners’ linguistic and socio-cultural awareness and develop their social responsibility and sense of kinship in a multicultural and multilingual metropolitan area such as Los Angeles. Moreover, by working on projects requiring Korean language skills, Korean heritage language learners developed their academic-professional proficiency, such as the use of formal speech styles, and realized other linguistic subtleties in Korean. The results from this study contribute to the current body of work on service-learning by adding a perspective from a population that has barely been represented in previous research.

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