Spanish Course Research Articles

Discursive positioning in heritage – second language learner interaction: A case study of the dynamic construction of linguistic expertise

Drawing on positioning and sociocultural theories, this study examines heritage language (HL) and second language (L2) learners’ negotiation of linguistic expertise in mixed interactions. Through a case study of four interactions between the same HL learner and three different L2 classmates, it investigates how learners’ positioning regarding linguistic expertise shifts across interlocutors and time, shaping language learning. Data was collected at four different stages of a 10-week high-intermediate Spanish course, as learners completed four collaborative writing tasks. Posttests, a pretest, and two questionnaires were also administered. The analysis of discursive positioning showed how the HL learner initially enacted the linguistic expert position associated with his heritage status. As experiences accumulated and pre-established conceptions of expertise were contested, the HL learner came to occupy more of a peer position. The sociocultural analysis of language-related episodes confirmed that this shift resulted in more balanced interactions and enhanced opportunities for HL development.

Digital Storytelling to Amplify Heritage Learner Identities and Voices

Abstract This study presents four case studies of heritage learners of Spanish who participated in a digital storytelling project in an advanced Spanish course at a university in Western Canada. Through a series of face-to-face and remote workshops, each learner scripted a story containing a language-related event that allowed them to make meaning and reflect on their past experiences as related to language attitudes and ideologies experienced by themselves and others during the event. Data was collected from multiple sources including the participants’ videos and video scripts, written reflections, a questionnaire, and interviews. The participants’ stances and positionings within their digital stories, interviews, and reflections on the project offer revealing insights into their meaning-making processes through digital storytelling. Using a narrative analytical approach, the data analysis resulted in four overarching themes of personal growth, heritage speaker identity, positioning by others, and linguistic [in]security.

Medical Student and Faculty Attitudes Toward Translanguaging with Spanish-Speaking Patients

Background: Spanish is the second most common US language, and Spanish speakers commonly translanguage—spontaneously integrate multiple languages. Medical language courses have proliferated, yet learner and faculty attitudes about translanguaging with patients remain unexplored. Also, it is unclear whether medical Spanish courses address real-world patient linguistic practices, such as translanguaging. Methods: We applied a community cultural wealth framework to identify translanguaging practices relevant to patient-physician communication: regionalisms, Spanglish, and non-standard language usage. From January 2020 to May 2021, we surveyed students (n=355) and faculty (n=14) in a standardized medical Spanish course at 14 sites on their attitudes toward translanguaging practices. Results: Regionalisms were the most widely accepted translanguaging practice by both students and faculty, and this opinion was reinforced by the course (94% pre vs. 95% post-course agreement; p=0.045). Student agreement with Spanglish was moderate and declined post-course (58% vs. 55%; p<0.001). Faculty were likelier than students to be accepting of non-standard language usage (57% faculty vs. 5% students; p<0.001). Conclusion: Medical students and faculty reported mixed attitudes about translanguaging practices in healthcare, and taking a medical Spanish course had variable effects on student responses. Future work should focus on developing and evaluating medical Spanish educational pedagogies that explicitly incorporate real-world patient perspectives and promote flexible language use that prioritizes mutual respect and understanding.

University students’ perceptions of team teaching by native and non-native speakers in a Spanish course

Abstract This study investigated the perceptions of 200 Korean students of Spanish as a foreign language regarding team teaching by a Korean Spanish teacher (KST) and a native Spanish-speaking teacher (NST) in a university Spanish course. The survey focused on the students’ views on the weight and demand of learning areas in the lectures, the teaching method and attitude of each instructor, and the advantages and disadvantages of each teacher. The questionnaire asked the students to evaluate the overall team teaching to discern their expectations of the Spanish classes. The results showed that the students had high demands for speaking in both the KST’s and NST’s classes and indicated the advantages and disadvantages of both types of teachers. A relationship was found between the language proficiency level of the students and their preference for instructors, and the use of the first language was considered positive. Overall, the team teaching was evaluated as ideal.

Teaching spanish to migrants in the Soconusco region, Chiapas, Mexico

This research was conducted in the state of Chiapas, throughout the Soconusco region. Students from BA in English Language Teaching at UNACH (Universidad Autonoma de Chiapas) participated as teachers in basic Spanish courses for the migrant population, from January 2020 to April 2021. This paper aims to give an account of the partial results of a study; its main objective is to analyze the nature of teaching Spanish to migrants and people in mobility from different countries. Migratory movements are a phenomenon of special incidence in contemporary societies according to the Manifest of Santander (2009), one of the first works carried out in Spain in terms of language teaching to migrants and refugees. Given the need to incorporate the teaching of the target language into the global policies of care for immigrants, since their learning of the target language depends a lot on the active insertion in the host community (Manifest of Santander cited in Garcia et al. 2014). The Language school at the UNACH is a public educational institution with social responsibility that has collaborated with COMAR (Comisión Mexicana de Ayuda a Refugiados) and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) seeking to protect the rights and welfare of refugees, migrants and people in mobility during their stay in Mexico. Thus, the Language School has carried out the implementation of teaching basic Spanish courses as a foreign language to refugees and migrants from countries such as Haiti, Surinam, the United States, Jamaica, Switzerland, Saudi Arabia, and Canada. However, due to the COVID-19 contingency, these courses were changed from face-to-face sessions to virtual mode during that period and after the contingency, the courses had been taught in face-to-face sessions again. In this sense, this research yields interesting contributions that can be taken into account for a significant teaching-learning process of Spanish as a foreign language or as a second language in the region of Soconusco answering the following research questions: What is the training of teachers who teach Spanish as a second language in the Soconusco region? What difficulties did they have while teaching Spanish as a second language? How effective were Spanish classes for migrants and refugees?

Using Nearpod for Pronunciation Training in Elementary Spanish Courses

Using Nearpod for Pronunciation Training in Elementary Spanish Courses

A social justice approach to develop intercultural communicative competence

ABSTRACT This study examines the impact of implementing a social justice culture curriculum on learners’ development of the intercultural communicative competence (ICC) and on their desire to continue learning Spanish. Two types of culture instruction—a traditional curriculum centered around foreign Spanish-speaking countries and an experimental curriculum focused on US Hispanic/Latinx communities—were implemented in third and fourth Spanish courses at a US university in the Southwest. A survey was developed to measure participants’ (n = 264) ICC and intention to continue learning Spanish. Results indicate that both types of culture curriculum have a positive impact in the development of ICC cognitive domain, but only the US Hispanic/Latinx curriculum fosters development of the affective domain. None of the curricula impacted ICC behavioral domain or participants intention to continue studying Spanish. These results offer insights into ICC developmental path and provide evidence of the connection between the deforeignization of the curriculum and cognitive and affective dimensions of language learning.

Medical Spanish Graphic Activity: A MeGA Deliberate Practice Approach to Reducing Jargon Use With Spanish-Speaking Acute Care Patients.

Medical Spanish courses in US medical schools aim to teach patient-centered communication, yet many existing resources focus on technical vocabulary and may inadvertently increase jargon use with patients. Graphic medicine presents an opportunity for interactive learning that centers the patient experience, yet it has never been explored in medical Spanish education. We developed a Medical Spanish Graphic Activity (MeGA) for medical student deliberate practice of patient-centered verbal communication focused on three aspects: diagnosis, treatment, and follow-up care. Each 30-minute activity included a comics handout depicting a patient with a common problem. Students used voice-to-text technology to record their explanations in response to prompts. Transcripts were analyzed for jargon use, including total jargon, unexplained jargon, and problem words (non-Spanish words plus unexplained jargon), utilizing a previously published, reliable protocol for Spanish medical jargon classification. Participants voluntarily provided postactivity feedback. Twenty-nine fourth-year students with intermediate or greater Spanish skills participated in a series of 10 MeGA activities between January and April 2022. Unexplained jargon use and problem words progressively decreased for all transcripts (diagnosis, treatment, and follow-up; all ps < .001). Total jargon use also decreased, but this was not significant in follow-up transcripts (p = .38). All students agreed that MeGA helped them enhance communication skills applicable to patient care and self-identify strengths and limitations. MeGA is realistic to implement, engages students' active participation in the speaking domain, and reduces unexplained jargon use. Future studies should explore the broader application of this model and engage patient perspectives.

Undergraduate Medical Spanish: The Role of Assessment in Teaching and Learning

As courses and programs in medical Spanish continue to grow at higher education institutions across the United States, the need for research on the teaching and learning of medical Spanish as a field continues to expand. Acknowledging the importance of more evidence-based research, the current study’s purpose is to examine the role of assessment in undergraduate medical Spanish courses. To accomplish this goal, instructors of medical Spanish across the United States were interviewed individually or in focus groups. Interviews were recorded, transcribed, and coded following line-by-line coding. Using constructivist grounded theory methodology, the researchers grouped the resulting codes into categories into categories, and themes were created. Themes that emerged from the data related to the use of rubrics, challenges in assessment, community engagement, diverse language proficiency, and cultural competency. Participants indicate the need for standardized rubrics and assessments that go beyond traditional grammar and vocabulary components and even medical terminology, which expresses the need to include categories on pragmatic, sociolinguistic, and intercultural skills. The results of this study show that medical Spanish assessment at the undergraduate level needs more evidence-based research and collaboration in order to develop standardized evaluation tools to assess students’ linguistic and cultural skills. Implications regarding assessment in undergraduate medical Spanish courses are discussed below.

High frequency medical Spanish terminology: A corpus-based study of textbooks and reference materials

The purpose of this study is to identify high frequency medical Spanish terminology by building a corpus of medical Spanish textbooks and resources. By discovering the most common terms, instructors and curriculum designers can include salient topics in their courses, which will better serve the learners in these courses. To do so, medical Spanish textbooks and resources from 2012-2022 were uploaded to the corpus software AntConc. The final corpus consisted in a total of 26 resources and 1,421,163 tokens (or words). Word frequencies were calculated, and the top 3,000 most frequent terms were determined. A Semantic Rating Scale (Chung &amp; Nation, 2003; Quero &amp; Coxhead, 2018) was used to categorize words as general or technical. The top 3,000 words covered 38.9% of the entire corpus, and the most frequent words found in the medical Spanish resources were general Spanish vocabulary at 68.2%. The remaining 31.8% were medical Spanish technical terminology. The generation of these lists gives instructors and curriculum designers a tool to use in the development of medical Spanish courses that when combined with a patient-centered, communicative medical Spanish curriculum has the potential to enhance learners’ medical Spanish proficiency.

Development, piloting, and dissemination of a suicide prevention brief online course for non-health professionals

Introduction: The use of online gatekeeper training resources facilitates the dissemination of useful knowledge and skills for suicide prevention with an integrated care perspective and a focus in the community, especially in a context of a pandemic and of limited human and economic resources. &#x0D; Aim: To develop and evaluate the impact of a short online gatekeeper training course in Spanish for non-health professionals in the community. To disseminate the course among this group of professionals as a free and easy to access online resource. &#x0D; Methods: An expert panel developed the training after the review of the evidence and available programs. Evaluation was carried out in two phases (Pilot 1&amp;2). In the 2nd pilot a greater variety of professional fields was included and the evaluation questionnaire was shortened. In both cases, a single group design of repeated measures (before, immediate post and 3 months post) was used as well as a one-factor analysis of variance with repeated measures. Participants responded to an ad-hoc online questionnaire which evaluated satisfaction, knowledge, self-confidence (pilot 1&amp;2), and attitudes (pilot 2). We consecutively recruited all interested professionals in the community who responded to an invitation email sent by the public health coordinators in the counties. A dissemination plan in 4 stages has been developed in coordination with Public Health coordinators. &#x0D; Results: Sample for the pilot was made up of 272 (53+219) professionals. Improvements in self-confidence, knowledge about suicide and attitudes were found, with statistically significant differences. Overall satisfaction with the training was 8.5 out of a maximum of 10. The dissemination phase is now starting. The aim is to reach as many professionals working with vulnerable groups as possible. Results of this phase will be available by May 2023. &#x0D; Conclusions: Results of the evaluation pilot are promising and suggest the usefulness of this training to improve professionals' self-confidence and knowledge about suicide prevention. The challenge is to make this training available to the greatest possible number of community professionals.&#x0D;

The current state of undergraduate medical Spanish: Results of a national survey

AbstractThis study investigated the following research question: What is the landscape of medical Spanish offerings in undergraduate, 4‐year universities in US states with large Spanish‐speaking populations? Forty‐four percent of institutions responded to the survey, which explored institutional characteristics, medical Spanish programs and individual courses, and instructors. Nonrespondent institutions' web sites were manually searched. The findings revealed that 43% of institutions offer medical Spanish programming. Based on results from the study, recommendations for undergraduate medical Spanish programming include starting with learners who have at least an intermediate level of Spanish language proficiency, recruiting students studying health professions, focusing on linguistic and intercultural competence, incorporating topics that impact health, developing a series of medical Spanish courses, expanding medical Spanish teaching and research positions, and collaborating across disciplines. The results emphasize the importance of continued research on medical Spanish and development to better prepare healthcare professionals to provide linguistically appropriate and culturally relevant healthcare to the growing Spanish‐speaking population.

Integrating Language Instruction into Pharmacy Education: Spanish and Arabic Languages as Examples

Effective communication is key for healthcare providers to provide optimal care for patients. Pharmacists’ fluency in a patient’s native language is important for effective communication. Additionally, language concordance improves patients’ trust and ensures health equity. In the United States (US), Hispanics are the largest minority group, but only 36% of the pharmacy schools in the US offer Spanish courses in their curriculum. Conversely, Middle Eastern countries have implemented English as the language of instruction in pharmacy schools, though the native language of the patient population is Arabic. The discrepancy between the language of education and the language used by patients might lead to communication problems, thus limiting a pharmacist’s role in practice. This review aims to describe the efforts of pharmacy schools both in the US and Middle Eastern countries to incorporate a second language (Spanish and Arabic, respectively) in their curriculum. Spanish language content has scarcely been introduced into the pharmacy curriculum in the US, either as didactic elements (elective courses, lab sessions, modules within a course, or co-curricular programs) or as language immersion experiences (rotations and internships, nationally or abroad). In Arabic-speaking countries, an Arabic course was introduced to the pharmacy curriculum to enhance students’ communication skills. This review provides an overview of the steps taken in various pharmacy programs to prepare students for adequate multilingual speaking. The findings reveal the need for additional strategies to assess the impact of language courses on student performance and patient experience, as well as language competence in pharmacists and pharmacy students.

소통강화를 위한 교양 스페인어 문제중심학습 모형

This study aimed to design a problem-based learning model for general Spanish course to strengthen communication using learner-centered teaching methods. The subjects of this study were divided into two classes for a total of 80 freshmen students taking Spanish classes in a university in Daejeon City for 10 weeks in the second semester of 2022. After reviewing the validity of five experts, the final model was completed through learner evaluation after applying it to actual classes. The results of the expert validity test showed that the average of suitability, explanatory power, and usefulness items was 3.0 or higher, but the average of comprehension items was 2.8 and less than 3.0. The final model of problem-based learning design was completed by reflecting the results of expert validity verification and learner evaluation.

A comprehensive medical Spanish curriculum model: the Vida Medical Spanish Curriculum

IntroductionRacial and language disparities in the United States healthcare system have long undermined the quality of care provided to minority patients. With the projected growth of the Hispanic population, there is an urgent need for medical schools to integrate high-quality medical Spanish and cultural competency content. We propose a comprehensive medical Spanish curriculum aligned with the preclinical curriculum as a solution to these issues. The primary goal of this study is to demonstrate the effectiveness of a clinically focused, culturally competent medical Spanish program and advocate for its widespread adoption in medical institutions nationwide.MethodsThe study utilized the Kirkpatrick Model to evaluate the success of the medical Spanish curriculum. A total of 111 medical students voluntarily enrolled in the medical Spanish course. Out of these students, 47 completed the final evaluation, which included a Spanish Objective Structured Clinical Examination and a 40-question Multiple-Choice Exam assessing the integration of Spanish language skills and cultural competency. Both assessment methods took place in clinical skills facilities. Descriptive statistics summarized exam results, and two-tailed t-tests compared mean exam scores between students of different proficiency levels.Results and discussionStudents achieved a mean score of over 80% on all components of the Spanish Objective Structured Clinical Examination and the Multiple-Choice Exam. Survey data suggest that students felt able to communicate in Spanish with patients after completing the course series. The study also provides a model for a medical Spanish curriculum that applies expert-recommended best practices to meet the needs of Hispanic patient populations.Limitations and conclusionsStudents who sat for the OSCE and MCE were self-selected. Baseline data on student perceptions and Spanish competency are not sufficient for making comparisons.

Medical Student Perceptions of Sociocultural Issues in Healthcare: A Multisite Study of Medical Spanish Education

Theory Cultural competence and humility are core elements of medical education in a diverse society. Language is inseparable from culture, as language informs, indexes, frames, and encodes both culture and worldview. Spanish is the most common non-English language taught in U.S. medical schools, yet medical Spanish courses tend to artificially separate language from culture. It is unknown to what extent medical Spanish courses advance students’ sociocultural knowledge or patient care skills. Hypotheses Based on current predominant pedagogy, medical Spanish classes may not adequately integrate sociocultural issues relevant to Hispanic/Latinx health. We hypothesized that students who completed a medical Spanish course would not demonstrate significant gains in sociocultural skills following the educational intervention. Method An interprofessional team developed a sociocultural questionnaire, and 15 medical schools invited their students to complete the questionnaire before and after completing a medical Spanish course. Of participating schools, 12 implemented a standardized medical Spanish course and three served as control sites. Survey data were analyzed regarding: (1) perceived sociocultural competence (recognition of common cultural beliefs, recognition of culturally normative non-verbal cues, gestures, and social behaviors, ability to address sociocultural issues in healthcare context, and knowledge of health disparities); (2) application of sociocultural knowledge; and (3) demographic factors and self-rated language proficiency (Poor, Fair, Good, Very Good, or Excellent) on the Interagency Language Roundtable scale for healthcare (ILR-H). Results Overall, 610 students participated in sociocultural questionnaire between January 2020 and January 2022. After the course, participants reported an increased understanding of cultural aspects of communication with Spanish-speaking patients and the ability to apply sociocultural knowledge to patient care (all p < 0.001). When analyzed by demographic factors, students who identified as Hispanic/Latinx or as heritage speakers of Spanish tended to report increased sociocultural knowledge/skills following the course. When examined by Spanish proficiency, preliminary trends showed that students at both ILR-H Poor and Excellent levels did not demonstrate gains in sociocultural knowledge or ability to apply sociocultural skills. Students at sites with a standardized course were likely to improve sociocultural skills in mental health conversations (p < 0.001) while students at control sites were not (p = 0.05). Conclusions Medical Spanish educators may benefit from additional guidance on teaching sociocultural aspects of communication. Our findings support that students at ILR-H levels of Fair, Good, and Very Good are particularly well-suited for gaining sociocultural skills in current medical Spanish courses. Future studies should explore potential metrics to evaluate cultural humility/competence within actual interactions with patients.

What Does Linguistic Distance Predict When It Comes to L2 Writing of Adult Immigrant Learners of Spanish?

This study examined whether the linguistic distance between the first (L1) and second (L2) language is a significant determinant of L2 writing skills of 292 adult immigrants from 39 different source countries, who were beginner learners of Spanish L2. Gender, age, length of residence in Spain, education level as a proxy for literacy skills in L1, enrolment in Spanish language courses, and overall communicative competence in Spanish were also considered. Using both standard procedures for assessing L2 writing and performance-based psycholinguistic measures of accuracy and text-production fluency, the findings highlight the important role of linguistic proximity in achieving greater accuracy, text-production fluency, and overall L2 writing scores. Other significant predictors were age, enrolment in Spanish courses, and education level for accuracy; and length of residence in Spain and education level for text-production fluency. Although length of residence in Spain was negatively associated with text-production fluency in L2 writing, mediation analyses revealed that the effect of age on text-production fluency was mediated by length of residence in Spain and that L2 proficiency level mediated the link between linguistic distance and text-production fluency. Furthermore, most of the errors that these immigrants made were morphosyntactic and spelling errors, while vocabulary errors were rare.

“Sorry, that's all I know!”: A study on web‐based pragmatic instruction for novice learners

AbstractThis study examines the impact of instructor‐led (IL) versus self‐access (SA) web‐based pragmatic instruction on novice second language learners' (n = 28) awareness and oral production of Spanish apologies. Two sections of a second‐semester Spanish course were assigned to either the IL or the SA group. The web‐based resource Dancing with Words was used to provide pragmatic instruction. Participants in the SA group worked through the materials individually, and participants in the IL group received support and guidance from the instructor. A quasi‐experimental, pre‐/posttest design was used to measure participants' pragmatic competence (i.e., awareness and production skills) before and after a 5‐week intervention period. Results indicate three major findings: (1) learners follow developmental trajectories similar to those identified in study abroad, (2) instructor guidance is important for novice learners' development of pragmatic competence, and (3) special consideration should be given to instructional materials to ensure they align with the instructional context and goals.

Seeing innovation from different prisms: university students’ and instructors’ perspectives on flipping the Spanish language classroom

AbstractThis article focuses on the implementation of a flipped classroom approach in two different levels of Spanish foreignBy foreign language (FL), the authors mean modern language (ML), as strongly suggested by the European Commission.language university courses for beginner and intermediate learners. The flipped classroom approach delivers course content that prioritizes both digital technology and active learning. Despite its potential advantages in the language classroom, empirical research in this area remains limited. The present study addresses the gap by investigating the effects of the flipped classroom approach on Spanish as a foreign language by comparing student attitudes in flipped and traditional classrooms in beginner and intermediate Spanish courses at a university level. Specifically, this research explores the use of the flipped classroom approach in a second language classroom as a way to present grammar content prior to the in-class lesson and compares the results to those of a traditional, lecture-like delivery of the same grammar content. Drawing on data elicited from students and instructors in these course levels, this study investigates student and instructor perceptions, as well as student autonomy, engagement, and achievement through a qualitative lens.

Foreign language learning can improve response inhibition in individuals with lower baseline cognition: Results from a randomized controlled superiority trial.

The world's population is aging, increasing the prevalence of dementia. Recently, foreign language learning in later life has been suggested to improve cognition and thus support healthy cognitive aging. To date, however, there are only a few studies with conflicting findings. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine whether learning a foreign language can improve executive attention and executive functions in healthy older adults. Additionally, we sought to identify factors affecting cognitive change in foreign language learners, such as cognitive reserve, previous foreign knowledge and usage, and global cognition at baseline. In a randomized-controlled trial, we assigned 34 monolinguals between the ages of 65 and 80 to a language learning or a waiting list control group. The participants enrolled in a Spanish course for beginners that met five days a week for 1.5 h for a total of 3 weeks. The waiting list control group received no intervention but had the opportunity to join the language training at the end of the study. All participants underwent an assessment of executive attention (primary outcome), executive functions, verbal fluency, and attention (secondary outcomes) before, immediately after the course, or after a waiting period of 3 weeks for the control group and 3 months after the course or the waiting period. Foreign language learning did not significantly improve primary or secondary outcomes, neither immediately nor 3 months after the course. However, moderation analyses revealed that participants with lower global baseline cognition tended to improve more on response inhibition than individuals with higher baseline cognition. This relationship was not evident in the waiting list control group. Our results suggest that studying a foreign language does not generally improve executive attention or executive functioning. Nevertheless, individuals with poorer baseline cognition may benefit cognitively from foreign language learning in response inhibition, a domain particularly affected by cognitive aging. Our findings highlight the need of focusing dementia prevention efforts on groups that are more vulnerable to cognitive decline. Additionally, more individualized approaches, including utilizing technology-assisted learning, might enable participants to practice at their performance level, increasing the likelihood of discernible cognitive gains. https://drks.de/search/en, identifier DRKS00016552.