Abstract

Abstract Traditional methods for the teaching of the Spanish mood system are generally focused on the different morphosyntactic and semantic connections between the matrix and the embedded clause. This generally entails the provision of an extensive classification of subordinate clauses with the embedded verb in the subjunctive mood plus another classification with the exceptions which students need to learn/memorise in order to use them under controlled conditions. A preliminary study was carried out in which L2 learners were introduced to the subjunctive mood following a different approach (i.e. cognitive-operative). Based on the single binary opposition of declaration/non-declaration by Ruiz Campillo (2004), this approach provides a single operative value which can explain all the uses of the subjunctive without exception. The results were positive and showed that introducing Spanish mood contrast by means of this conceptual pair has the potential to improve learners’ ability to select between moods.

Highlights

  • The contrast between the indicative and the subjunctive moods is both one of the most taught and the most studied grammar structures in the Spanish foreign language classroom (e.g. Creo que vieneIND (I think he’s coming) / No creo que vengaSUB (I don’t think he’s coming))

  • It consisted of the introduction of the relatively new conceptual pair of “declaration/non-declaration” (Ruiz Campillo, 2004) as a single mechanism to select between the indicative and the subjunctive moods, which is at the same time grounded in a cognitive-operative approach (COA)

  • The conceptual pair of declaration/non-declaration is grounded in a cognitive-operative approach to teaching L2 grammar, and this study’s main aim is to examine whether a methodology based on this conceptual pair might improve the acquisition of Spanish mood contrast by L2 learners with English as L1

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Summary

Introduction

The contrast between the indicative and the subjunctive moods is both one of the most taught and the most studied grammar structures in the Spanish foreign language classroom (e.g. Creo que vieneIND (I think he’s coming) / No creo que vengaSUB (I don’t think he’s coming)). This article describes a pilot study carried out as part of a larger investigation, which aims to examine the acquisition of the Spanish subjunctive by L2 learners with English as L1 It consisted of the introduction of the relatively new conceptual pair of “declaration/non-declaration” (Ruiz Campillo, 2004) as a single mechanism to select between the indicative and the subjunctive moods, which is at the same time grounded in a cognitive-operative approach (COA). It sought to find out whether the fact that some students might have had previous experience learning mood contrast by means of a traditional approach could affect their understanding of the new concept

Background
The cognitive-operative approach
The instruction of the Spanish subjunctive
Pilot experiment
Participants
Materials
Procedure
Results
Final remarks
Full Text
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