Can language attitudes be improved? A longitudinal study of immigrant students in Catalonia (Spain)

Abstract

This study explores changes in attitudes towards Catalan, Spanish, and English over a 2-year period, on the part of secondary education students of immigrant origin residing in Catalonia. It aims to provide new data by adopting a longitudinal design and by focusing on the immigrant population, which has raised new challenges for the Catalan society and education system. Data were collected from 72 secondary education students who answered a language attitudes questionnaire twice, at a 2-year interval. The instrument chosen has been successfully used in the area previously [Huguet, Janés, and Chireac. 2008. “Mother Tongue as a Determining Variable in Language Attitudes. The Case of Immigrant Latin American Students in Spain.” Language and Intercultural Communication 8 (4): 246–260; Madariaga, Huguet, and Lapresta. 2013. “Attitudes, Social Pressure and Inclusive Education in Classrooms with Cultural and Linguistic Diversity.” Educación XXI 16 (1): 305–328]. The findings showed that attitudes towards Catalan improved, while attitudes towards Spanish and English remained stable, based on which we discuss the strength of language attitudes in this particular context. Furthermore, the socio-demographic and affective variables traditionally investigated as determinants of language attitudes were not found to influence the processes of attitude change.