Not available / text

Research in the field of second language acquisition in the past five to ten years has focused on individual variation in language learning, and has examined such learner variables as learning styles, personality characteristics, learning strategies, and learner beliefs about the nature of language learning. Recently, research on individual learners has broadened to include a greater focus on the contexts of language learning and to explore the interactions between individual learners and the socio-cultural environment in investigations of these learner variables.This study has two purposes. The first is to investigate the language learning of novice level second language learners in a language and culture immersion program. The six college-age learners of Spanish who participated in an eight-week language and culture immersion program in Mexico are the focus of the case studies. The research focuses on five areas of learner variation: learner beliefs and philosophies about the nature of language learning, approaches to vocabulary learning, classroom behaviors, speaking for communication, and cultural adjustment.The second purpose of the study is to explore the use of multiple approaches to research on individual variation. The research framework for the study is ethnographic and the study employs a multi-methodological approach to data collection over an extended period of time in several language learning contexts. The research procedures used in the studyinclude participant observation, interviews, language learning journals, questionnaires, retrospective analysis of videotaped clips, and standardized instruments such as the Modern Language Aptitude Test, the Strategy Inventory for Language Learning, the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, and the ACTFL Oral Proficiency Interview. / Department of English

The purpose of this research was to use a lexical approach, and information and communication technologies (ICT) as strategies to facilitate learning to students of Spanish as a foreign language, to answer the research questions: (1) if the use of multiword lexical units improves the lexical competence and (2) whether the use of technology is an effective strategy to facilitate learning. A lesson plan with different activities was designed and put into practice with two groups of students (experimental and control) of the intermediate level of the University of North Texas (UNT). The collected data were analyzed using the quantitative paradigm with the variance model ANOVA with repeated measures, and the qualitative or interpretive paradigm to offer a broader perspective of the learning process of multiwords lexical units (collocations and idiomatic expressions). The results of this investigation answered the research questions and confirmed the effectiveness of the lexical approach and ICT in the teaching-learning process and facilitated the student's acquisition of L2.

Not available / text

Not available / text

Not available / text

Studies showing the importance of interaction in second language (L2) acquisition have led researchers to believe that the learning process is enhanced by interactional practices. Interaction provides comprehensible input that is modified to serve the learner's communicative needs. This input is especially apparent when learners are paired with speakers more proficient than themselves. Not only can interactions provide the learner with input, but they also create opportunities for learners to repair communicative breakdowns and gain feedback about these repairs. Learners can develop an ability to interact in the L2, also referred to as "interactional competence" (IC). The present study describes interactional practices between learners and native Spanish speakers (NSs), and the effect they have on the process of language acquisition and development of IC during a one-semester study abroad experience. The development of 16 learners' IC and proficiency is documented through both quantitative and qualitative methods of analysis in order to elicit triangulated conclusions. This study includes information about the learners and their interactions with NSs, and looks at contextual factors that may impact acquisition, such as amount of contact with NSs (type of housing, and time spent with native speakers per day). Their results were also compared with Spanish learners in the U.S. Results support the Interaction Hypothesis (Long, 1983) and show that learners with a lower level of proficiency rely more on the interactional resources of the NS as they develop a second language. As they advance in their mastery of the language, they tend to rely more on their own resources. The four factors used for this study--correction, negotiation, conversation management, and production--are good indicators of the improvements in conversational abilities of the learners who went abroad. Results also show that the family setting is more beneficial than the apartment setting because it creates more opportunities to negotiate for meaning. This research helps characterize and develop the importance of viewing language as a socially constituted, interactive phenomenon. The study calls for new research taking into consideration the housing factor, as well as the confidence of the learner as a facilitator in the development of IC, and likewise of linguistic proficiency.

Not available / text

This cross-sectional inquiry examines first-, third-, and eighth-grade dual immersion students' use of Spanish and English when interacting with their teachers and peers in a U.S. school. Findings are based on classroom interactions, student and teacher interviews, and student questionnaires intended to determine when students diverged from using the language of instruction and whether their age or language background affected their language use. In addition, teachers' impact on student language use is examined, and other factors affecting language use—such as the length of a students' stay in the United States—are discussed. An overall preference for English was found among first and third graders, while eighth graders spoke more Spanish to their peers and teachers. Findings indicate that this language behavior may have been more than a function of the students' age. It appeared to be linked to students' language background, teaching activities that promoted students' positive identification with Spanish language and Hispanic culture, the absence of native English speakers, and the presence of Spanish-dominant newcomers.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of specific textual and contextual materials to bridge the gap between the student's present level o proficiency in a target language and the level of proficiency required to perform a listening comprehension task in that language. This study also tested for interaction between the use of the textual and contextual materials and the learning modality of the students. In addition, confounding effects by either learning modality and foreign language classroom anxiety were controlled.Listening comprehension was assessed by a fourteen-item multiple-choice test in Spanish developed by the researcher. Learning modality was established by the Edmonds Learning Style Identification Exercise developed by H. Reinert. Foreign language class anxiety was measured by the Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale developed by Elaine Horwitz, Michael Horwitz, and Joann Cope.A group of 198 college students enrolled in nine second-semester Spanish classes at Anderson University, Anderson, Indiana participated in the study. Three classes were randomly assigned to each of the three treatments: the contextual cue, the textual cue, and neither one.A three factor 3 x 3 x 2 fixed effects factorial design was used to analyze the data gathered in the study. Four null hypotheses were tested. The .05 level of significance was established as the critical probability level for the non-acceptance of the hypotheses.Findings1. There are significant effects attributable to a textual cue on recall measures of listening comprehension.2. There are no significant effects attributable to a contextual cue on recall measures of listening comprehension.3. There are no significant interactions between the use of the textual cue and the learning modality of the students.4. There are no significant interactions between the use of the contextual cue and the learning modality of the students.5. There are no significant effects attributable to learning modality on recall measures of listening comprehension.6. There are significant effects attributable to foreign language classroom anxiety on recall measures of listening comprehension.Conclusions1. Textual cues support listening comprehension tasks but contextual cues do not.2. The effect of a semantic cue can not be affected by the learning modality of the student.3. Learning modality by itself does not affect student comprehension of a listening task.4. Foreign language class anxiety inhibits student performance during a listening comprehension task. / Department of Secondary, Higher, and Foundations of Education