Download or read book Instructors Views Towards the Second Language Acquisition of the Spanish Subjunctive written by John Warren William Powell and published by . This book was released on 2018 with total page 125 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The study of Spanish instructors' beliefs is a recent development and the body of work is small with little research conducted on their insights on the acquisition of any grammar form. Still, Spanish grammar includes the notoriously difficult subjunctive, a grammatical irrealis mood that is affixed to verbs. A national survey was conducted on Spanish professors and instructors (N=73) who teach at institutions randomly selected from a representative sample of American institutions of higher education. The survey was conducted to inquire on their beliefs regarding the most complex forms in Spanish, the causes of the subjunctive difficulty, and their preferred methods of teaching the form. The results first indicate that participants rated the subjunctive the most difficult grammar form. They attributed the cause of difficulty to be primarily interference from the first language and its abstractness. For instructing the subjunctive, participants generally supported form-oriented instruction with a metalanguage approach that focuses on forms. However, the participants disagreed greatly on whether meaning-focused instruction was valuable and dismissed drilling instruction of the subjunctive. Data from the participants provides a distribution of overextended tense, moods, and aspects in lieu of the Spanish subjunctive. However, instructors indicated that their students' competence of the subjunctive was higher than their performance and that comprehension was not necessarily reliant on correct usage of the subjunctive as it was for proficiency. Moreover, they provided qualitative data of effective methods and pedagogical challenges of the subjunctive. This study illuminates some of the contributing factors of subjunctive difficulty and preferred pedagogical approaches for teaching it. It also has implications that meaning may not be obstructed if students do not use subjunctive.

Download or read book The Art of Teaching Spanish written by Rafael Salaberry and published by Georgetown University Press. This book was released on 2006-12-08 with total page 260 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Art of Teaching Spanish explores in-depth the findings of research in second language acquisition (SLA) and other language-related fields and translates those findings into practical pedagogical tools for current—and future—Spanish-language instructors. This volume addresses how theoretical frameworks affect the application of research findings to the teaching of Spanish, how logistical factors affect the way research findings can be applied to teach Spanish, and how findings from Spanish SLA research would be applicable to Spanish second language teaching and represented in Spanish curricula through objectives and goals (as evidenced in pedagogical materials such as textbooks and computer-assisted language learning software). Top SLA researchers and applied linguists lend their expertise on matters such as foreign language across curriculum programs, testing, online learning, the incorporation of linguistic variation into the classroom, heritage language learners, the teaching of translation, the effects of study abroad and classroom contexts on learning, and other pedagogical issues. Other common themes of The Art of Teaching Spanish include the rejection of the concept of a monolithic language competence, the importance of language as social practice and cultural competence, the psycholinguistic component of SLA, and the need for more cross-fertilization from related fields.

Download or read book Spanish Second Language Acquisition written by Barbara Armstrong Lafford and published by Georgetown University Press. This book was released on 2003 with total page 352 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book is a reference that provides an overview of the major work done in Spanish second language acquisition. It contains a section on the major theoretical approaches (generative, cognitive, and sociocultural), a section on the major elements of language (phonemes, morphemes, tense, syntax, discourse, pragmatics), and a concluding chapter on the effects of different instructional approaches. We are publishing it primarily for its potential course use, but the quality of the contributors will also attract attention from scholars.

Download or read book The Spanish Subjunctive A Reference for Teachers written by Hans-Jorg Busch and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2017-03-27 with total page 223 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A Complete Guide to the Spanish Subjunctive is the most complete reference guide to the use of the subjunctive in Spanish. Along with an exhaustive review of published literature on the subjunctive, the book also includes a thorough discussion of the uses and meanings of the subjunctive as well as examples throughout drawn from linguistic corpora such as the CREA database. The book presents a comprehensive theory of the subjunctive and provides practical rules for understanding, teaching and acquiring the Spanish subjunctive. This book includes: "Your Turn" sections that invite readers to reflect on the content discussed and on their own experiences in teaching the subjunctive A "Synopsis" section that summarizes the content of the work and offers practical suggestions for teaching the subjunctive Two indexes providing a summary of verb conjugation in the subjunctive and an alphabetical list of expressions used with the subjunctive.

Download or read book The Handbook of Spanish Second Language Acquisition written by Kimberly L. Geeslin and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2013-09-24 with total page 581 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Bringing together a comprehensive collection of newly-commissioned articles, this Handbook covers the most recent developments across a range of sub-fields relevant to the study of second language Spanish. Provides a unique and much-needed collection of new research in this subject, compiled and written by experts in the field Offers a critical account of the most current, ground-breaking developments across key fields, each of which has seen innovative empirical research in the past decade Covers a broad range of issues including current theoretical approaches, alongside a variety of entries within such areas as the sound system, morphosyntax, individual and social factors, and instructed language learning Presents a variety of methodological approaches spanning the active areas of research in language acquisition

Download or read book Teacher Talk and Written Materials in the Spanish as a Second Language Classroom and Their Importance as Input for Second Language Acquisition written by Michael David Santilli and published by . This book was released on 1995 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Input in the second language classroom provides the primary linguistic data upon which learners' hypotheses about the language are judged or the parameters under which the language operates are set. The type of input students receive, therefore, is an important part of explaining the mechanism of second language acquisition. The present study addresses a register of speech called Teacher Talk and the use of written materials as input in the fourth semester Spanish as a second language classroom. One near native speaking teacher of Spanish as a second language is observed and audio taped for a regular academic semester during regular class time. From these audio tapes, 5.75 hours, chosen to represent an evenly spaced time frame during the semester of observation, are transcribed and analyzed for syntactic, lexical and grammatical complexity, phonology and speed of delivery, total amount of Teacher Talk present, and utterance types and questioning behavior employed. Additionally, a select set of the required readings for the class, chosen based on their being a representative sample of different text types, is analyzed for syntactic, lexical and grammatical complexity. An interview with the teacher is conducted by the researcher in Spanish in order to obtain baseline data and information about the course, the teacher, and the teacher's views about language learning. Teacher Talk in the Spanish as a second language classroom is found to be syntactically less complex, but delivered at a faster mean rate but with less variability, than speech from the interview; it is also less complex than the written materials. Grammatically, the present tense is the tense of choice in Teacher Talk and the interview; the written materials demonstrate a wider variety of verb forms. Lexically, the Teacher Talk and the written materials demonstrate a large percentage of appropriate lexical items. One way speech accounts for slightly less than half of total class time. During the class, the target language is used nearly all of the time. Almost three quarters of the Teacher Talk utterances were declarative utterances with questions occupying one quarter of all utterances and imperatives occupying only a very small percentage of all utterances. Referential questions and display questions comprise about one third each of all questions with the remaining third comprised of comprehension checks, clarifications, and rhetorical questions. The findings suggest that Teacher Talk by itself does not provide the basic input data that facilitates second language acquisition. That is to say, Teacher Talk does not have a full range of possible language structures that would seem to be necessary for exposure to a complete language system. Nonetheless, written materials may possibly be beneficial in second language acquisition in that a wider, more comprehensive range of language structures are found. As such, written materials may augment the input from Teacher Talk.

Download or read book Second Language Acquisition Theory and Pedagogy written by Fred R. Eckman and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2013-10-08 with total page 352 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A volume on second-language acquisition theory and pedagogy is, at the same time, a mark of progress and a bit of an anomaly. The progress is shown by the fact that the two disciplines have established themselves as areas of study not only distinct from each other, but also different from linguistic theory. This was not always the case, at least not in the United States. The anomaly results from the fact that this book deals with the relationship between L2 theory and pedagogy despite the conclusion that there is currently no widely-accepted theory of SLA. Grouped into five sections, the papers in this volume: * consider questions about L2 theory and pedagogy at the macro-level, from the standpoint of the L2 setting; * consider input in terms of factors which are internal to the learner; * examine the question of external factors affecting the input, such as the issue of whether points of grammar can be explicitly taught; * deal with questions of certain complex, linguistic behaviors and the various external and social variables that influence learners; and * discuss issues surrounding the teaching of pronunciation factors that affect a non-native accent.

Download or read book The Spanish Subjunctive Explained written by Iris Acevedo A. and published by CreateSpace. This book was released on 2013-08-15 with total page 34 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The idea of creating The Spanish Subjunctive 100 Examples came to me after 30 years' experience teaching Spanish as a Foreign Language in my dear Costa Rica. The Spanish Subjunctive Mood is not as difficult to learn as it seems; nevertheless, The Spanish Subjunctive does require an extensive amount of work, dedication and practice on behalf of the student. Although teachers are often more than willing to spend a great amount of classroom time on providing students with activities to eventually master the Subjunctive in conversation, they are not always able to make such an effort due to time constraints coupled with deadlines to be met by every course in a traditional Spanish language School environment. It was with this in mind that CostaRica SpanishOnline began to create exclusive Spanish language teaching materials readily available for the independent learner and teachers as well. The Spanish Subjunctive 100 Examples provides easy, simple to understand explanations for the uses of The Present Subjunctive, in addition to one hundred examples translated from Spanish to English created by us, in order to illustrate how the Present Subjunctive as well as The Imperfect Subjunctive Mood and The Present Perfect Subjunctive are used. Iris Acevedo A. Author/Founder CostaRica SpanishOnline Language School

Download or read book Methodological Developments in Teaching Spanish as a Second and Foreign Language written by Guadalupe Ruiz-Farjardo and published by Cambridge Scholars Publishing. This book was released on 2012-11-16 with total page 335 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book on applied linguistics presents new trends and improvements on the teaching of Spanish. It deals with two major scopes in the field of linguistics that have a crucial role in the development of language teaching in general and of the teaching of Spanish in particular: Interaction and Grammar. The topics chosen coincide with the areas in which the communicative approach to language teaching, dominant in European and American language programs since the 1970s and 80s, has been the object of most revision. In its first part, the book appeals both to pragmatics and to discourse analysis to research the specifics of classroom discourse and classroom interaction, as well as the differences between interactions among Spanish native speakers and interactions among non natives, in order to develop methodologies for the effective incorporation of these aspects to the Spanish language classroom, such as tasks to teach interaction or techniques to implement learner-centered interactive class dynamics and cooperative learning. In its second part, this book reviews the pedagogical advantages of language description based on Cognitive Linguistic theory to explain different aspects of Spanish grammar. The main purpose of our contribution is to show how taking different dimensions of construal and perspective in linguistic representations into account helps teachers to elucidate idiosyncratic and subtle contrasts of Spanish structure that other views and approaches cannot clarify on a meaningful base, such as the aspectual opposition between preterits or the modal opposition between indicative and subjunctive, both of high importance for the English speaking student. The work selected for this book, by experts from Columbia University and from several universities in Spain, represents the most current lines of inquiry in this “post-communicative” approach as applied specifically to the teaching of Spanish. This book seeks to be to be a “must-read” for the present and future. It tackles unexplored territory, for journals and applied linguistics collections have mainly addressed these problems in relation to English language and instruction.

Download or read book Advancedness in Second Language Spanish written by Mandy R. Menke and published by John Benjamins Publishing Company. This book was released on 2021-02-08 with total page 524 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book analyzes the construct of advanced proficiency in second language learning by bringing together empirical research from numerous linguistic domains and methodological traditions. Focusing on the dynamic nature of language use, the volume explores diverse manifestations of high-level second language Spanish, including performance on standardized proficiency assessments, acquisition of late-acquired linguistic structures, sophisticated language use in context, and individual differences. Chapters relate empirical findings to current definitions of advancedness, challenging scholars and practitioners to re-consider existing conceptualizations, and propose possible directions for future research and teaching with second language speakers of Spanish. By addressing larger issues in the field of second language learning, the volume is a valuable reference for language teachers, scholars, professionals and students with an interest in second language acquisition generally, and second language Spanish, more specifically.

Download or read book The Spanish Subjunctive Explained Over 100 examples written by Iris Acevedo A. and published by . This book was released on 2018-02-12 with total page 66 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Studies in Language Learning and Spanish Linguistics in Honor of Tracy D Terrell written by Peggy Hashemipour and published by McGraw-Hill Humanities, Social Sciences & World Languages. This book was released on 1995 with total page 504 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Studies In Language Learning & Spanish Linquistics, In Honor of Tracy D. Terrell is a Festschrift, a collection of scholarly articles that was published in memory of Tracy D. Terrell, late of the University of California, San Diego. Tracy Terrell was an innovative practitioner and researcher in the areas of Second Language Acquisition and Foreign Language Teaching Methods. He is best known as creator of The Natural Approach and as co-author of Dos mundos, Deux mondes and Kontakte, the very successful beginning texts for Spanish, French and German which are based on that approach. Language professors and researchers from around the country have contributed to this publication, which will be of primary interest to libraries and to scholars in language teaching methodology.

Download or read book The Development of Spanish As a Second Language written by Mandell and published by . This book was released on 2014-11-01 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Development of Spanish as a Second Language: A Guide for Teachers ©2015 | Ballman, Mandell The Development of Spanish as a Second Language: A Guide for Teachers was inspired by the many dedicated language teachers who feel responsible for their students' errors, particularly in speech. The Development of Spanish as a Second Language: A Guide for Teachers has as its centerpiece the exploration of 40 speech samples produced by four levels of Spanish university students (first through fourth year). This is the only book that specifically (a) describes and illustrates the developmental patterns of several grammatical and lexical features (e.g., ser and estar, subject-verb agreement) commonly included in Spanish L2 course syllabi and class materials; and (b) draws on examples from actual cross-sectional Spanish learner data in a user-friendly format. This book is intended for readers with little to no knowledge of contemporary theory and/or research about Second Language Acquisition. The target audience includes: students in a course about teaching Spanish as a second/foreign language. (This book may serve as a supplement to books such as Making Communicative Language Teaching Happen [Lee & VanPatten, 1995, 2013, McGraw-Hill] and How Languages are Learned [Lightbrown & Spada, 1993, 2008 Oxford].); undergraduate Spanish majors enrolled in an applied linguistics course about Spanish or second language acquisition; Spanish teachers at the high school or college levels; and other Spanish-teaching faculty, administrators, or readers who wish to become more familiar with how L2 proficiency in general, and Spanish as an L2 in particular, develops over time.

Download or read book Present Subjunctive Embedded in Focus on form Activities written by Victoria Ellen Loza Ordonez and published by . This book was released on 2020 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A large corpus of research focused on the acquisition of the subjunctive in the Spanish classroom suggests that this mood possesses a deep inherent complexity. This is mainly the case due to two factors: a) the elaborated syntactic constructions prompted by the subjunctive, and b) the varied interpretations and meanings conveyed by this mood. As such, learners of Spanish as a foreign language (hereafter FL) undergo a lengthy process in order to comprehend, implement and naturally and efficiently employ the subjunctive in their speech at the written and spoken level. Having said that, raising the communicative value of the subjunctive may elevate its noticeability (Collentine, 2010). Activities that support focus-on-form are designed to attract a learner's attention to a particular form, especially during communication (Ellis, 2016). Moreover, current research supports increased accuracy with pair work, especially when dealing with complex grammatical forms (Baleghizadeh, 2010). For that reason, activities involving collaborative tasks should be implemented into the classroom (Fernández Dobao, 2012). In an effort to equip language instructors with more efficient practices to facilitate and accelerate learners' comprehension and development of the subjunctive, this study surveys 1) the impact of the design of the task (i.e. focus-on-form) and 2) two different working modes (i.e. individuals and pairs) embedded in the use of the present subjunctive. To this end, 33 participants completed a battery of activities consisting of an individual written activity with two different versions, and a collaborative oral and written assignment. Version A of the individual written activity was at the paragraph level, while version B only required participants to express ideas at the sentence level. Results suggest that the design of version B allowed them to perform better than that of version A. Additionally, working collaboratively seemed to have yielded communicative opportunities that led participants to produce a higher number of accurate sentences.

Download or read book The Developmental Dimension in Instructed Second Language Learning written by Paul Malovrh and published by A&C Black. This book was released on 2013-05-09 with total page 277 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Identifies the developmental stages that characterize the acquisition of direct pronouns in Spanish and the effect of formal instruction on language development.

Download or read book The Acquisition of Spanish as a Second Language written by Kimberly L. Geeslin and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2021-04-22 with total page 290 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume offers an introduction to the field of second language acquisition with a particular focus on second language Spanish. It connects key issues in the acquisition of Spanish as a second language to theoretical and empirical issues in the field of second language acquisition more generally by exemplifying central concepts in second language acquisition through the exploration of the most widely researched structures and most recent developments in the field of second language Spanish. It is written for a non-specialist audience, making it suitable for advanced undergraduate and graduate courses and readers, while its treatment of recent empirical developments also makes it of interest to researchers in second language Spanish as well as allied fields.

Download or read book Metalinguistic Knowledge and the Acquisition of the Spanish Subjunctive by Learners at Three Proficiency Levels written by Maite Correa and published by . This book was released on 2008 with total page 398 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: One of the most controversial topics in Applied Linguistics is the role of learners' metalinguistic knowledge (MK) in second language (L2) learning and teaching. There seems to be no agreement between those who propose that MK is essential for L2 learning and those who believe that it can even be detrimental for L2 acquisition. Additionally, the subjunctive has been reported to be one of the most difficult structures to master for L2 learners of Spanish. It has been suggested that the subjunctive is acquired fairly late in an acquisition hierarchy of Spanish grammar and that, as a consequence, learners must reach a stage where they can produce syntactically sophisticated utterances in order to be"ready"for acquisition. Taking an Information Processing (IP) approach to language learning as a framework, this dissertation investigates the relationship between MK and grammatical accuracy by learners of Spanish at beginning, intermediate, and advanced levels of proficiency. Their MK is assessed through a set of terminology and grammaticality judgment tasks. Their mastery of the Spanish subjunctive is evaluated through a set of receptive and productive tests involving different subordinate clauses. The three groups of participants are compared with respect to their MK and their mastery of the subjunctive, and it is examined whether MK correlates with mastery of the subjunctive. Findings include: 1) an improvement on both subjunctive accuracy and terminology knowledge across levels; 2) a positive correlation between English MK and Spanish MK; 3) a positive correlation between MK and accuracy in the use of the subjunctive; and 4) agreement between the learners' acquisition hierarchy within the subjunctive and teaching order of subjunctive substructures. The findings show that MK has a positive impact on the mastery of this"difficult"structure. They are also consistent with other experimental studies that suggest that explicit instruction has a positive impact on L2 learning. The late and uneven acquisition of the subjunctive demonstrated by the subjects in this study also suports the hypothesis that there are"many subjunctives"to learn and that learners will not acquire this structure until they are developmentally ready (third year of instruction).