A Comparison of Spanish Second Language Acquisition in Two Different Learning Contexts: Study Abroad and the Domestic Classroom
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.36366/frontiers.v10i1.130Keywords:
study abroad, second language acquisition, SpanishAbstract
In this paper, we report the results of a study that compared differences in the linguistic gains made by native English-speaking students from the United States who were studying Spanish in one of two different contexts of learning. One was a regular university classroom situation in Colorado; the other was a study abroad program in Alicante, Spain. We examined the gains students made on a number of linguistic dimensions: oral proficiency, oral fluency, grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation, and communication strategies. In addition, we investigated the relationships between these variables and a variety of background factors, including aspects of language learning readiness. As far as we know, this is the first study to examine such a comprehensive array of variables associated with linguistic performance as a function of context of learning. Each of the individual studies that contributed to the full report of this project can be found in a special issue of the journal Studies in Second Language Acquisition edited by Collentine and Freed (2004). When those studies are looked at as a whole, they lead to general interpretations that were not immediately apparent when considering each of the reports separately. In this paper, we review these results, discuss the larger picture that emerges, and speculate on future questions about the effects of the study abroad experience on second language acquisition (see also Freed, Segalowitz & Dewey, 2004, for a related study).
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References
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Regan, V. (1995). The acquisition of sociolinguistic native speech norms: Effects of a year abroad on second language learners of French. In B. Freed (Ed.), Second language acquisition in a study abroad context (pp. 245-268). Philadelphia: John Benjamins.
Segalowitz, N., & Freed, B. F. (2004). Context, contact and cognition in oral fluency acquisition: Learning Spanish in At Home and Study Abroad contexts. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 26, 173-199.
Segalowitz, N. S., & Segalowitz, S. J. (1993). Skilled performance, practice, and the differentiation of speed-up from automatization effects: Evidence from second language word recognition. Applied Psycholinguistics, 14, 369-385.
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Stanovich, K. E. (2000). Progress in understanding reading: Scientific foundations and new frontiers. New York: Guilford Press.
Walsh, R. (1994). The year abroad: A linguistic challenge. Teanga 14, 48-57.
Wilkinson, S. (1998). Study abroad from the participants’ perspective: A challenge to common beliefs. Foreign Language Annals, 31, 23-39.
Brecht, R. D., Davidson, D. E., & Ginsberg, R., B. (1995). Predictors of Foreign Language Gain During Study Abroad. In B. Freed (Ed.), Second Language Acquisition in a Study Abroad Context (pp. 37-66). Amsterdam: John Benjamins.
Brecht, R. D., & Robinson, J. L. (1995). On the value of formal instruction in study abroad: Student reactions in context. In B. F. Freed (Ed.), Second Language Acquisition in a Study Abroad Context (pp. 317-333). Amsterdam: John Benjamins.
Breiner-Sanders, K., Lowe, P., Miles, J., & Swender, E. (2000). ACTFL proficiency guidelines: Speaking, revised 1999. Foreign Language Annals, 33, 13–18.
Carroll, J.B. (1967). Foreign Language Proficiency Levels Attained by Language Majors Near Graduation From College. Foreign Language Annals, 1, 131-151.
Coleman, J. (1998, Fall). Language learning and study abroad: The European perspective. Frontiers, 167-203.
Collentine, J. (2004). The effects of learning contexts on morphosyntactic and lexical development. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 26, 229–250.
Collentine, J. & Freed, B. (Eds.) (2004). Learning context and its effects on second language acquisition. Thematic issue of Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 26.
DeKeyser, R. (1986). From learning to acquisition? Foreign language development in a US classroom and during a semester abroad. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Stanford University.
DeKeyser, R. M. (1991). Foreign language development during a semester abroad. In B. Freed (Ed.), Foreign Language Acquisition and the Classroom (pp. 104-118). Lexington, MA: D.C. Heath and Company.
Díaz-Campos, M. (2004). Context of learning in the acquisition of Spanish second language phonology. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 26, 249-273.
Díaz-Campos, M., & Lazar, N. (2003). Acoustic analysis of voiceless initial stops in the speech of Study Abroad and Regular Class students: Context of learning as a variable in Spanish second language acquisition. In P. Kempchinsky and C.-E. Piñeros, (Eds.), Theory, practice, and acquisition: Papers from the 6th Hispanic Lin-guistics Symposium and the 5th Conference on the Acquisition of Spanish and Portuguese (pp. 352-370). Somerville: Cascadilla Press.
Frank, V. (1997, March). Potential negative effects of homestay. Middle Atlantic Conference of the American Association for the Advancement of Slavic Studies, Albany, NY.
Freed, B. (1995a). Second language acquisition in a study abroad context. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.
Freed, B. (1995b). What makes us think that students who study abroad become fluent? In B. Freed (Ed.), Second language acquisition in a study abroad context. (pp. 123-148). Amsterdam: John Benjamins.
Freed, B. (1998). An overview of issues and research in language learning in a study abroad setting. Frontiers, 31- 60.
Freed, B. F., Dewey, D. P., Segalowitz, N. S., & Halter, R. H. (2004). The language contact profile. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 26 (2), 349-356.
Freed, B., Segalowitz, N., & Dewey, D. (2004). Context of learning and second language fluency in French: Comparing regular classroom, study abroad, and intensive domestic immersion programs.. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 26 (2) 275-301.
Howard, M. (2001). The effects of study abroad on the l2 learner’s structural skills: Evidence from advanced learners of French. EUROSLA Yearbook, 1, 123-141.
Isabelli, C. (2002). The impact of a study-abroad experience on the acquisition of L2 Spanish Syntax: The null subject parameter. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Illinois-Champaign.
Lafford, B. (1995). Getting into, through and out of a survival situation: A Comparison of communicative strategies used by students studying Spanish Abroad and ‘At Home’. In B. F. Freed (Ed.), Second language acquisition in a study abroad context (pp. 97-121). Amsterdam: John Benjamins.
Lafford, B. (2004). The effect of the context of learning on the use of communication strategies by learners of Spanish as a second language. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 26, 201-225.
Lazar, N. (2004). A short survey on causal inference, with implications for context of learning studies of second language acquisition. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 26, 329-347.
Lennon, P. (1990). Investigating fluency in EFL: A quantitative approach. Language Learning, 40, 387-417.
Marriot, H. (1995). Acquisition of politeness patterns by exchange students in Japan. In B. Freed (Ed.), Second language acquisition in a study abroad context (pp. 197-224). Philadelphia: John Benjamins.
Milton, J. & P. Meara. (1995). How periods abroad affect vocabulary growth in a foreign language. ITL Review of Applied Linguistics, 107/108, 17-34.
Moehle, D. (1984). A comparison of the second language speech of different native speakers. In H. Dechert, D. Möhle, M. & Raupach, M. (Eds.), Second language productions (pp. 26-49). Tübingen: Narr.
Möhle, D. & M. Raupach. (1983). Planen in der Fremdsprach. Frankfurt: Peter Lang. Pellegrino, V. (1998, Fall). Student perspectives on language learning in a study abroad context. Frontiers, 91-120.
Regan, V. (1995). The acquisition of sociolinguistic native speech norms: Effects of a year abroad on second language learners of French. In B. Freed (Ed.), Second language acquisition in a study abroad context (pp. 245-268). Philadelphia: John Benjamins.
Segalowitz, N., & Freed, B. F. (2004). Context, contact and cognition in oral fluency acquisition: Learning Spanish in At Home and Study Abroad contexts. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 26, 173-199.
Segalowitz, N. S., & Segalowitz, S. J. (1993). Skilled performance, practice, and the differentiation of speed-up from automatization effects: Evidence from second language word recognition. Applied Psycholinguistics, 14, 369-385.
Stanovich, K. E. (1986). Matthew effects in reading: Some consequences of individual differences in the acquisition of literacy. Reading Research Quarterly, 21, 360-407.
Stanovich, K. E. (2000). Progress in understanding reading: Scientific foundations and new frontiers. New York: Guilford Press.
Walsh, R. (1994). The year abroad: A linguistic challenge. Teanga 14, 48-57.
Wilkinson, S. (1998). Study abroad from the participants’ perspective: A challenge to common beliefs. Foreign Language Annals, 31, 23-39.
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Published
2004-08-15
How to Cite
Segalowitz, N., Freed, B., Collentine, J. ., Lafford, B., Lazar, N., & Díaz-Campos, M. (2004). A Comparison of Spanish Second Language Acquisition in Two Different Learning Contexts: Study Abroad and the Domestic Classroom. Frontiers: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Study Abroad, 10(1), 1–18. https://doi.org/10.36366/frontiers.v10i1.130
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Section
I. Second Language Acquisition Abroad
