Abstract
AbstractThis study takes a mixed-methods approach to explore the influence of emotion-laden (positive vs. negative vs. neutral) texts and words on vocabulary learning for Spanish heritage and foreign language learners. Participants (N = 121) were tasked with learning emotion-laden pseudowords embedded in three emotion-laden texts centered around themes of bilingualism, immigration, and identity. Form recognition, translation, and multiple-choice tests were designed to measure vocabulary recall and retention. Results from a mixed-effects modeling analysis showed that the neutral and negative emotion-laden texts predicted better vocabulary learning outcomes than the positive text for both HLLs and FLLs and that neutral words were learned best by all learners. Qualitative findings from open-ended questionnaires suggest emotional arousal as another influential affective factor in vocabulary learning for learners of diverse sociolinguistic backgrounds. Directions for future emotions research in SLA and pedagogical implications of socially relevant, emotion-laden material for vocabulary learning are discussed.
Highlights
Language learning is no doubt an emotional endeavor, with learners experiencing a wide range of emotions, both positive and negative, during their language-learning journey
Through the use of emotion-laden, thematic texts relevant to learners’ academic and sociolinguistic experiences, the present study aims to explore the effects of emotional context on foreign language (FL) and HL vocabulary learning
To answer whether the emotional valence of the texts and the words influenced the learning and retention of the 18 novel vocabulary items for heritage language learners (HLLs) and foreign language learners (FLLs), I present here the descriptive statistics first, followed by the results of the best-fitting mixed-effects model, which examined the variables of text, word type, vocabulary test type, and time, the covariate linguistic profile (FLL, HLL), and relevant interactions
Summary
Language learning is no doubt an emotional endeavor, with learners experiencing a wide range of emotions, both positive and negative, during their language-learning journey. The foreign language (FL) classroom is replete with emotional content, often addressing themes such as ethnicity and race, language diversity and language norms, and minoritization. Even as the diversity of the FL classroom is increasingly acknowledged, regarding the growing HLL population (Torres & Turner, 2017), studies addressing vocabulary learning for learners other than monolingual, English-speaking, White individuals with no cultural or ancestral ties to the language are few and far between. Even with growing calls for attention to affective factors and awareness of the true diversity of the FL classroom, no studies are known to address emotion and HLL achievement
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