The pragmatic development of heritage speakers of Spanish studying abroad in Argentina

Abstract

Although the number of heritage speakers (HSs) studying abroad is projected to grow in coming years, little is known about the pragmatic choices and development of HSs in this context. This study investigates the impact of a one-week explicit instructional treatment related to the use of vos in Spanish among two HSs of Mexican descent during study abroad in Mendoza, Argentina. Instruments included a background questionnaire, a pre/post written elicitation task, and four interviews with each participant during and after study abroad. Following explicit instruction, one participant demonstrated gains in her understanding of how and when to use vos, and both participants increased their metapragmatic awareness of this use. Nevertheless, variation was observed due to their backgrounds, goals, and experiences abroad. Case studies were conducted in order to examine how pragmatic choices and metapragmatic awareness were related to these individual differences. Findings suggest that these HSs make pragmatic choices that broaden their linguistic repertoires and align with their desired identities and future goals.