L1 Spanish Speakers Research Articles

Mobile-enhanced virtual exchanges through asynchronous video interaction: Learners as ethnographers in the L2 classroom to promote intercultural communicative competence

This practice report focuses on the integration of virtual exchange (VE) with mobileassisted language learning (MALL), where learners act as ethnographers within the context of language education. This VE model harnesses mobile technology capabilities to exchange personal and immersive cultural insights through asynchronous video content using Flip.com. The model consists of three integrated sections: Preparation, Intercultural Exchange, and Reflection. This report covers a pilot implementation of the mobile-enhanced VE model to evaluate the outcomes on Intercultural Communicative Competence (ICC). The project lasted eight weeks, covering various topics, such as greetings, food, and education. Participants were L2 learners of Spanish in the United States and L1 Spanish speakers in Spain. Outcomes were evaluated through a survey where students in the United States self-assessed their perceived ICC gains. This survey, grounded in Byram’s (2009) ICC model, measured changes in students’ attitudes, knowledge, skills of interpreting and relating, skills of interaction, and critical cultural awareness. Students reported substantial improvements in all areas of ICC, highlighting enhanced engagement and understanding of the target culture facilitated by the mobileenhanced VE model. This report provides insights for the incorporation of mobile technology for VE projects in L2 settings, emphasizing its role in expanding global interconnectedness and deepening intercultural learning among learners by offering a more dynamic, authentic, and immersive learning experience.

Accent Bias in Professional Evaluations: A Conceptual Replication Study in Brazil

Abstract Evidence from Canada suggests that accent bias can be moderated by speakers’ demonstrated job-relevant performance and the prestige level of their occupation (Teló et al. 2022). In this study, we replicated Teló et al.’s (2022) work in Brazil. First language (L1) Brazilian Portuguese-speaking listeners rated audio recordings of L1 Brazilian Portuguese and L1 Spanish speakers along continua capturing one professional (competence), one experiential (treatment preference), and one linguistic (comprehensibility) dimension. Our findings challenge the notion of consistent bias, as listeners did not uniformly perceive L1 Brazilian Portuguese speakers as more competent and comprehensible than L1 Spanish speakers, and, in fact, generally preferred treatment provided by L1 Spanish speakers. Complex interactions provided a nuanced account of listeners’ evaluations, revealing, among other patterns, that demonstrated performance level and job prestige affected the evaluated dimensions differently depending on the speaker’s L1. This replication further expands the initial study by examining the role of four listener variables as predictors of speaker ratings. Greater listener familiarity with the context depicted in the script was associated with the assignment of higher ratings overall.

Non-scripted role-playing with heritage speakers and second language learners in the medical interpreting classroom

Abstract This article examines dialogue interpreting in unscripted role-plays in the community interpreting classroom. In 2019, faculty members from several departments at Viterbo University (La Crosse, Wisconsin) coordinated an interprofessional education collaboration via role-playing in the institution’s Clinical Simulation Learning Center. Nursing, social work and pre-medical students were given the health-professional roles of caring for community members with limited English proficiency (who acted as ‘patients’). Interpreting students, both heritage speakers of Spanish and second language learners (L2) of both English and Spanish, facilitated language access for all parties involved. Recordings of these dialogues were then transcribed, annotated, and analyzed via mixed methods. This study examines overall and comparative findings of how heritage speakers and second language learners interpret dialogue, focusing on the textual aspects of their exchanges. While no language profile seemed to perform particularly better overall, certain indicators were more problematic for L2 Spanish speakers and/or heritage speakers. The presentation of these results and conclusions intend to foster improved teaching interventions for classrooms with students of varying English <> Spanish language backgrounds.

Substitution Patterns of the English Voiced Interdental Fricative by L1 Costa Rican Spanish Speakers

L1 Spanish speakers learning English struggle to produce the English voiced interdental fricative [ð]. This is surprising as [ð] occurs naturally in Spanish as an intervocalic allophone of /d/. To investigate Spanish speakers’ production of [ð] in English, I conducted a study with ten L1 Costa Rican Spanish/L2 English speakers. The results show that English voiced interdental fricatives were produced with target pronunciation 43.4% (214/494) of the time and were substituted in the remaining 56.6% (280/494). It was determined that target-sound substitution patterns depend on the phonological contexts in which the target sound occurs (word-initial vs. intervocalic), and the type of speaking task (reading vs. spontaneous). I interpret these results as partially due to phonological transfer: L1 allophonic information affects L2 speech production. The results also show that the realization of the segments is affected by the different experimental tasks: speakers have more target-like production in tasks where there is an opportunity for more careful pronunciation (reading task) than in more spontaneous ones. Finally, I argue that the unexpected appearance of the alveolar tap [ɾ] is due to an interaction between the English /d/ tapping allophone rule and the status of [d] and [ð] in the learner’s interlanguage.

Acquisition of modal readings of the Imperfect tense in L2 Spanish

ABSTRACT The Imperfect/Preterite aspectual contrast is one of the most studied topics in Spanish as a second language research. However, there are few works focused on describing the acquisition of modal uses of the Imperfect by L2 speakers. This paper investigates the L1 Russian L2 Spanish speakers’ mastery of politeness, evidential and nonfactual modal values of the Imperfect. Based on a Timed Acceptability Judgments Task (TAJT), this study examines the degree of acceptability of Imperfect forms in modal contexts in three groups of advanced level L2 Spanish learners. The results show that only the Imperfect of politeness achieves acceptance rates similar to those of native speakers at the most advanced levels of proficiency. The high degree of lexicalization of some imperfect forms, which function as pragmatic routines in certain communicative situations, is alleged to facilitate this tendency. In contrast, the evidential and nonfactual Imperfect forms present greater challenges for the L2 Spanish speakers. The results of our study indicate that (i) the imperfect forms are not recognized as legitimate alternatives for marking evidentiality and nonfactuality and (ii) reflect a partial form-function mapping of learners’ knowledge of the Imperfect and its associated values.

The Interplay of Syllable Structure and Consonant Sonority in L2 Speech Segmentation

The present study investigated whether L1 and L2 Spanish speakers show sensitivity to matching/mismatching syllable structure and consonant sonority in lexical segmentation in Spanish. A total of 81 English–Spanish learners and 72 Spanish–English learners completed a fragment-monitoring task. They listened to lists of Spanish words as they saw a CV or CVC syllable (e.g., “pa” or “pal”) and pressed a button when the word began with the syllable shown on the screen. The task manipulated syllable structure (CV or CVC) and consonant sonority (fricative, nasal, or liquid) of target syllables and carrier words. Target syllables either matched or did not match the structure of the first syllable in target carrier words (e.g., “pa—pa.lo.ma”; “pa—pal.me.ra”). The results showed that consonant sonority modulated sensitivity to syllable structure in both groups of participants. Spanish–English learners responded faster to matching syllable structure in words that had a fricative or a nasal as the second consonant, and English–Spanish learners responded faster only with a fricative consonant. Higher L2 Spanish proficiency correlated with faster target-syllable identification, but sensitivity to matching/mismatching structure did not vary as a function of proficiency. The study highlights the influence of phonetic factors in the development of L2 lexical segmentation routines.

Out with the old, in with the new: contrasts involving new features with acoustically salient cues are more likely to be acquired than those that redeploy L1 features

Feature-based approaches to second language (L2) phonology conceptualize the acquisition of new segments as operations that involve either the addition of new phonological features, or the rebundling of existent ones. While the deficit hypothesis assumes that only features that are fully specified in the L1 can be redeployed to the L2 in order to create new segments, it has been shown that features which are completely absent in the L1 can also be learned. This article investigates whether a learning scenario in which features are only partially available (that is, they are present in the L1, but are redundant with other features) is less challenging than learning an entirely new feature, even when the new feature has acoustically salient cues. Since Spanish has a much smaller vowel system /i e a o u/, L2 learners of German with Spanish as L1 need to learn a system with front rounded vowels as well as tense/lax contrasts. We tested L1 Spanish speakers' perception of the German contrasts /i/ ~ /I/ (e.g., Miete/mitte, where [+/– tense] is acquired) and /u/ ~ /y/ (e.g., Spulen/spülen, where L1 feature [+/–round] redeploys to a front vowel). The results showed that experienced L2 learners are more successful when discriminating between sounds in a feature acquisition scenario than in redeployment; however, neither of the non-native contrasts was easier to perceive than the other in the identification task. The differences in performance between tasks and in the acoustic saliency of the cues by contrast (F2 vs. duration and F1) suggests that L2 phonological acquisition is likely to take place at a surface level and favors learning through attunement to auditorily salient acoustic cues over internal rearrangement of abstract features, regardless of their presence in the L1.

Exploring women’s chronic disease experiences: A mixed-methods analysis of endometriosis narratives

Endometriosis is a chronic gynecological illness faced by an estimated one-tenth of women worldwide. Despite being a common condition, studies of the disease in Latin American settings are still scarce. This paper presents a study of 30 autobiographical interviews with Chilean patients who are L1 Spanish speakers. Our study aims to fill the gap in understanding the endometriosis experience of Latin American women, unveiling how to assist the patients better and improve their quality of life. It is one of the first studies to describe the experience of Chilean women in navigating the disease and the impacts on their routines. We used a mixed-methods approach to achieve our goal, employing a combination of NLP and content analysis. First, we generated word embeddings for three main keywords, "pain," "endometriosis," and "menstruation." Furthermore, we processed the data to locate occurrences of "pain" in the corpus. We coded the occurrences into nine semantic domains of the endometriosis pain experience: intensity, normalization, treatment, frequency, menstruation, feeling, pain location, symptom, and impact. Our results shed light on the details of the journey with endometriosis and may lead to improvements in patient-doctor communication and policymaking to benefit patients.

Task communicative function and oral fluency of L1 and L2 speakers

AbstractTo respond to recent calls for examining oral fluency from a broader social and communicative perspective, the current study aimed at investigating the effects of task communicative function on second language (L2) and first language (L1) speakers’ fluency. Designing tasks that represent three different communicative functions (congratulations, bad news, and complaint), we collected data from 40 Spanish L2 learners of English, 20 L1 English speakers, and 20 L1 Spanish speakers. The data were analysed for a range of measures of speed, composite, breakdown, and repair fluency. Results of the statistical analyses (descriptive, Multivariance Analysis of Variance (MANOVA), and two‐way mixed Analysis of Variance (ANOVAs)) suggested that task communicative function had an impact on the speakers’ performance, with bad news eliciting the slowest speech and most mid‐clause pauses, and complaint the fastest with fewest end‐clause pauses. Significant differences were observed across the tasks for speech rate and end‐clause pauses in the L1 English group, but the results were nonsignificant for task effects in the L1 Spanish and L2 English groups. The three language groups’ fluency was statistically different, highlighting (a) cross‐linguistic differences between L1 Spanish and L1 English speakers and (b) differences between L1 and L2 English speakers.

Processing Wh-dependencies in L2 English by L1 Turkish and Spanish Speakers: Island Constraints and that-trace Effect

This study investigates whether advanced L2 speakers exhibit comparable sensitivity to island constraints and the that-trace effect as L1 speakers during real-time processing of long distance grammatical and ungrammatical wh-extractions in English. L1 Spanish, Turkish, and English speakers participated in an online grammaticality judgment task (GJT) featuring five types of wh-extractions with island and that-trace violations, presented in full-sentence and self-paced reading conditions. Findings reveal distinctions between L2 learners and native speakers in accuracy and response times, particularly in subject extractions from non-finite clauses and that-trace violations. However, subject-object asymmetry was consistent across groups, suggesting shared processing patterns. L2 learners showed sensitivity to island constraints, paralleling native speakers. L1 influence varied, with no significant discrepancy between Spanish and Turkish groups. Turkish learners' success in grammatical wh-extractions may stem from overt movement via scrambling and universal grammar availability, whereas Spanish participants displayed nuanced L1 influence on ungrammatical wh-extractions with that-trace violations.

Cross-Linguistic Comparison of the Pitch and Temporal Profiles between L1 and Chinese L2 Speakers of Spanish

Cross-linguistic studies between intonational languages suggest that there is a universal trend during the L2 learning process regarding pitch and temporal characteristics. We extend these hypotheses to Chinese learners of Peninsular Spanish-a new pairing of tone and non-tone languages. Using six pitch and temporal metrics, we examine how Chinese learners’ pitch and temporal profiles deviated from those of L1 native speakers and explore the factors that may contribute to L2 speech deviations. The Discourse Completion Task was conducted to elicit five question types produced by 37 participants, who were divided into three language groups. Consistent with previous literature, our study shows that Chinese L2 learners had a compression of pitch span (at both the utterance and syllable levels) and pitch variability, as well as a strong reduction of pitch change rate, speech rate, and articulation rate compared to L1 Spanish speakers. Most pitch and temporal deviations in L2 Spanish intonation are closely linked to psychological and cognitive attributes rather than being determined by physiological factors or L1 tonal transfer. Moreover, the lack of prosodic knowledge of the target intonation patterns concerning the different question types may also hinder L2 learners from approaching a native-like pitch and temporal profile.

L1 influence on the L2 acquisition of English word-final nasal place contrasts: An electropalatographic study of L1 Japanese and Spanish learners

Languages differ in the extent to which phonologicalcontrasts observed in onsets are neutralized syllable finally. We examined theacquisition of English syllable-final /m n ŋ/ by L2 learners whose L1 nasalcodas lack independent place (Japanese) or neutralize to a single place(Spanish). Three learning outcomes were hypothesized, based on whetherlearners’ production is shaped mainly by coda complexity, perception of thecontrast or L1 dialectal realizations. Data from three reading tasks collectedfrom six learners (three of each L1) and two English-speaking controls wereexamined using electropalatography (EPG). Linguopalatal contact patterns wereanalyzed quantitatively and qualitatively (presence, absence, and degree ofalveolar and velar closures). While difficulty in realizing place contrasts wasobserved with all L2 speakers, contrary to our hypothesis, the L1 Spanishspeakers were less accurate than their Japanese-speaking peers, particularly inthe production of word-final prevocalic /ŋ/ for which a high rate ofneutralization to /n/ was witnessed. However, the Japanese learners’ greaterapparent accuracy was due to the presence of non-target final devoicedepenthetic vowels and/or stop-like releases. Overall, the results provideinsights into developmental stages in the acquisition of new positionalcontrasts, including evidence for first language and even idiolectal influence,and highlight the difficulty of blocking L1 neutralization processes.

First language as a determinant of implicit and explicit language attitudes: Catalan/Spanish bilinguals’ general language attitudes and response to language choice in a COVID-19 vaccination advertisement

Abstract This study aims to contribute new insight into the study of languages in contact by comparing the implicit and explicit general language attitudes of bilingual individuals towards their first and second language in health communication in a multilingual society, through a combination of survey and experimental methods. We investigated to what extent 358 L1 Catalan and 338 L1 Spanish speakers in Catalonia differed in their general attitudes to Catalan and Spanish (explicit language attitudes) and in their reactions to the use of these languages in health advertising, specifically in an advertisement promoting COVID-19 vaccination (implicit language attitudes). This is the first study of its kind in a European multilingual context. Based on accommodation theory and theory related to first-language preference, participants were expected to prefer their L1 and the L1 advertisement. Findings offer support for first-language preference in terms of general language attitudes. However, the language of the ad and participants’ first language had little impact on ad-related response. There were no effects of language on attitude towards the ad, attitude towards vaccination and vaccination intention, but the L1 Catalan participants felt the Catalan ad had more appropriate language and expressed more cultural respect than the Spanish ad. Thus, in the current study, explicit language attitudes revealed first-language preference, while implicit language attitudes did so to a limited extent.

Language immersion effects in the use of tú and usted by L1-French and L1-European Portuguese learners of Spanish

AbstractThe use of the Spanish pronouns of address tú and usted is an intricate matter for L2 learners due to the many factors that influence their selection at the discourse and interactional level. Although the literature has traditionally focused on the challenges experienced by L1-English learners of L2-Spanish in learning these forms, less is known about speakers whose L1s also present similar (but not identical) pronouns of address. This study thus analyzes the use of tú and usted by L1-French and L1-European Portuguese learners who learn Spanish either in their home countries (i.e., France and Portugal) or in Spain as part of a study-abroad experience. Results indicate that learners in both L1 groups used tú more often while in Spain than in their home country. Additionally, students in immersion started adopting more similar criteria to those of L1-Spanish speakers in determining whether tú or usted would be appropriate in certain contexts.

The acquisition of L2 voiced stops by English learners of Spanish and Spanish learners of English

Previous studies investigating the acquisition of L2 stops have found a positive effect of L2 experience, but few have focused on voiced stops, particularly on prevoicing. This study investigates the acquisition of /b/ and /g/ by two populations, English learners of Spanish and Spanish learners of English. Three groups varying in amount of L2 experience (mainly length of residence, but also L2 use and L2 instruction) were investigated for each L1 population. Participants completed a carrier sentence reading task in their L1 and L2. Results showed that amount of L2 experience had a positive effect on L2 stop production, as the least experienced groups were outperformed by the experienced ones. No clear effect of L2 experience was observed on the L1, as learners did not differ from monolingual controls, but some differences between learner groups emerged. Moreover, overall, L2 learners were able to produce L1 and L2 stops differently, which indicates that their L1 and L2 categories were not merged. Still, the L1-English L2-Spanish speakers produced L2 stops more accurately than the L1-Spanish L2-English groups, suggesting that learning to rely on an existing L1 cue may be easier than learning to use a cue associated with a different L1 category.

The impact of orthographic forms on speech production and perception: An artificial vowel-learning study

This study investigates the effect of orthographic forms on phonetic aspects of isolated speech sound production and perception. Three groups of 25 L1-Spanish speakers were exposed to /y/ and /ɛ/ in a multi-session learning study. They heard the same vowels presented with: L1-incongruent orthographic forms, novel orthographic forms, or without orthographic forms. After three exposure sessions, participants were tested on vowel production in an elicited production task and vowel perception in a multiple forced choice task. All groups established new /y/ and /ɛ/ production and perception categories. Incongruent orthographic forms led to less target-like category positions for /y/ but not /ɛ/ in production and perception. Novel orthographic forms only facilitated more target-like perception for /y/. In a fourth session, Auditory-only participants were exposed to incongruent orthography for /y/ and novel orthography for /ɛ/. Sequential exposure to incongruent orthography caused less target-like production and perception category positions, while sequential exposure to novel orthography altered neither. Together these results suggest that orthographic forms affect isolated speech sounds and are encoded at the speech sound level. Incongruent grapheme-to-phoneme mappings from L1 to later-learned languages may critically affect the phonetic characteristics of non-native speech sounds, but learning outcomes depend on specific L1-L2 category contrasts.

Ni máquina, ni humano ni disponible: Do College Admissions Offices Use Chatbots and Can They Speak Spanish?

Colleges continue to use technology to connect students to information, but a research gap exists regarding how colleges use a ubiquitous technology in the business world: chatbots. Moreover, no work has addressed whether chatbots address Spanish-speaking students seeking higher education in the form of automated (AI) chatbot responses in Spanish or Spanish-programmed chatbots. This study randomly sampled 331 United States institutions of higher education to learn if these institutions embed chatbots on their undergraduate admissions websites and if these chatbots have been programmed to speak Spanish. Results suggest 21% of institutions (n=71) embed chatbots into their admissions websites and only 28% of those chatbots (n= 20) were programmed to provide Spanish-language admissions information. Implications for college access and equity for English learners and L1 Spanish speakers are addressed.

Voice onset time (VOT) of L3 Spanish /ptk/ by multilingual heritage speakers of Ukrainian and Polish

This study provides an acoustic analysis of voice onset time (VOT) of voiceless stops /ptk/ in Spanish, produced by heritage speakers (HSs) of Ukrainian and of Polish who are English-dominant and beginner or intermediate learners of Spanish as a third language (L3). Given that both Ukrainian and Polish, like Spanish and unlike English, are characterized by short-lag VOT, data were collected from six Ukrainian HSs and 11 Polish HSs in their heritage language (HL), in English, and in Spanish to compare potential effects of the HL on L3 VOT production. VOT was analyzed in three task types. The goals were: 1) to determine whether VOT values produced in Spanish by Ukrainian and Polish HSs are more reflective of VOTs in the HL or in English, and 2) to determine the effect of task type on VOT. Data show that Ukrainian and Polish HSs’ VOTs in Spanish are shorter than those of L2 Spanish learners whose L1 is English, indicating a HL rather than dominant language influence on L3 VOT. Results suggest that the most crucial factors in L3 phonological acquisition are: 1) structural similarity between HL and L3, and 2) L3 proficiency (not language dominance). VOT was also affected by task type: like L1 Spanish speakers, VOT of Ukrainian HSs increases as task formality increases. This paper fills research gaps in HL and L3 phonetics/phonology as to the effects of a HL on the acquisition of subsequent sound systems in adulthood.

“Are There Any Mexicans Listening?” Stancetaking and Language Ideologies in a Spanish L2 Classroom

AbstractThis study investigated classroom interaction through the framework of stancetaking (Du Bois, 2007) to understand how Spanish second language (L2) learners positioned themselves when participating in communicative language learning activities. Data came from transcribed audio and video recordings of three 90‐minute lessons in one intermediate‐level U.S. high school Spanish class. We examined how the students indexed epistemic stances toward their grammar explanations, and affective and evaluative stances toward the Spanish language and native (L1) Spanish speakers during peer interaction. Despite the burgeoning Spanish‐speaking community near where the data were collected, L2 learners’ linguistic practices indexed stances of expertise regarding their knowledge of Spanish grammar and vocabulary rather than their potential to meaningfully interact with the people who lived and worked in their community. In addition, some indexed negative affective and evaluative stances toward L1 Spanish speakers. Findings signal the need to examine how target‐language speakers are positioned in classroom practices.

Conversation and transcription activities with synchronous video computer-mediated communication: A classroom investigation

As much second language (L2) teaching and learning continues to move online, teachers are increasingly seeking out creative ways to integrate synchronous video computer-mediated communication (SVCMC) technologies such as Zoom and Skype with other types of activities. The current study investigates this issue by exploring pedagogical activities used in a university's existing L2 Spanish program, as it instituted a requirement for its L2 learners to engage in SVCMC conversations. In the study, learners (N = 35) first engaged in SVCMC conversations with L1 Spanish speakers using TalkAbroad. Then learners completed a transcription activity in which they reflected on their conversations. Using a cognitive-interactionist approach, we investigate the L2 learning potential of these activities by examining: the types of focus on form that occurred in learners' SVCMC sessions; the correspondence between the SVCMC interactions and learners' transcriptions; and the relationship between students' interactions, their focus on form, and their transcriptions, when compared with students' self-reported noticing and learning of linguistic items. Findings suggest that SVCMC can provide opportunities for various types of focus on form that might promote L2 development. Transcription can also lead to self-reported noticing of L2 linguistic features.