Exploratory Research for the Improvement of the Teaching of Spanish as a Second Language in a Spanish Public Center

Margarita Isabel Asensio Pastor,Juan Pablo Carmona García

doi:10.3390/languages4040095

Margarita Isabel Asensio Pastor, Juan Pablo Carmona García

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/languages4040095

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Abstract

This paper is part of the R&D project DIPURE (El Discurso Público sobre los Refugiados en España in English Public Discourse on Refugees in Spain) and it is one of the research lines of the research group “Andalusian Circle of Applied Linguistics, HUM-194” on the study of teaching Spanish as a second language (SSL) for immigrants and refugees. Its objective is to establish a profile of Spanish second language (SL) students at the Official School of Languages (OSL). To meet this objective, we carried out an exploratory study based on mixed quantitative–qualitative methods, including, among other methods, participant observation and a Likert-type questionnaire used with students of the OSL in Granada, from level A1 to B2. The data obtained has allowed us to reflect on the migration process in Spain and on the work in the classrooms of a public center with students who study Spanish as a second language—their learning beliefs, needs, and attitudes, as well as didactic preferences. The information obtained is envisaged to improve the teaching practice of Spanish as a host language in a public educational context.

Highlights

The increase in the number of migrants, whose figures are unprecedented in the history of migration, defines the current geopolitical situation worldwide
As for the structure of the survey, it consisted of three blocks: block I, control information; block II, beliefs and needs regarding the learning of Spanish as a second language (SSL); and block III, aspects of teaching SSL in the classroom
The first block was qualitative and focused on biographic information about the participant, such as gender, age, and nationality, as well as linguistic information about the participant and how long they had been in Spain and their situation in the country; while the second and third blocks were of a quantitative, non-experimental, descriptive nature (McMillan and Schumacher 2011, p. 42)

Summary

Introduction

The increase in the number of migrants, whose figures are unprecedented in the history of migration, defines the current geopolitical situation worldwide. Of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR 2017) estimates that there are. Statistics Institute (INE1 ) estimates the number of foreigners in Spain on July 1, 2018, at 4,663,726. The largest group is Moroccans with 692,379 people, followed by Romanians (671,229 people), British (280,669 people), Italians (231,157 people), and Chinese (185,746 people). These data are added to an ever-increasing number of refugees.

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