Measures of narrative performance in Spanish-speaking children on the test of narrative language-Spanish

textIn the field of speech-language pathology, there is an increasing need for valid and appropriate assessment measures for Spanish-speaking students that can reliably be given by examiners with a wide range of Spanish knowledge and scoring experience. In order to determine the level of detail needed to reliably score a standardized measure of Spanish narrative ability, 15 participants, ranging in Spanish proficiency and experience levels, scored six samples of the experimental version of the Test of Narrative Language-Spanish (TNL-Spanish). Consistency and accuracy of scores were compared with Spanish proficiency levels, comfort levels, and presentation method (written transcript and audio-recorded samples). Results indicated no significant effect for any factor, indicating that examiners of varying levels of Spanish proficiency and experience level can reliably and efficiently score an assessment in Spanish when provided with clear and specific scoring procedures and information regarding the kinds of errors present in language disorders in Spanish.Communication Sciences and Disorder

Integrative Motivation as a Predictor of Achievement in the Foreign Language Classroom

This study examines the relationship among five independent variables—integrative motivation, instrumental motivation, the need to fulfill a foreign language requirement, grade point average (GPA), and previous years studying Spanish—as predictors of five dependent variables: scores on a simulated oral proficiency interview (SOPI), final exam grades, final grades, the desire to enroll in Spanish courses after completing the language requirement, and intention to major in Spanish. Data from a questionnaire and a SOPI administered to 130 students enrolled in fourth-semester Spanish identified integrative motivation as a significant predictor of SOPI scores and final exam grades. Furthermore, integrative motivation was a significant predictor of students’ desire to enroll in additional coursework after completing the four-semester foreign language requirement. It also had an important role in students’ intention to major in the language. A negative relationship was found between the need to fulfill the language requirement and intent to continue with further studies in Spanish. The findings demonstrate that integrative motivation is important in predicting student achievement in the foreign language classroom

Language sample analysis for Spanish speakers

textThe purpose of this project was to develop a Spanish language sample analysis (LSA) scoring procedure for English-Spanish bilinguals used to guide clinicians in developing language goals and monitoring progress on those goals. A Spanish LSA procedure was created and was tested on 20 typically developing and 16 language impaired English-Spanish bilinguals. Each utterance of each language sample was analyzed for correct and attempted use of the 20 grammatical forms selected for the LSA procedure. Based on the results, a preliminary profile of impairment was established. It showed that Relative Clauses, Infinitive Clauses, Present Subjunctive, Third Person Plural Present and Preterit Indicative, Irregular Preterit Indicative, Indirect and Direct Object Clitics, Imperfect, and Plural Nouns were the most problematic forms for English-Spanish bilinguals with LI. Clinical implications of these findings are discussed.Communication Sciences and Disorder

Late Bilinguals Are Sensitive to Unique Aspects of Second Language Processing: Evidence from Clitic Pronouns Word-Order.

In two self-paced reading experiments we asked whether late, highly proficient, English-Spanish bilinguals are able to process language-specific morpho-syntactic information in their second language (L2). The processing of Spanish clitic pronouns' word order was tested in two sentential constructions. Experiment 1 showed that English-Spanish bilinguals performed similarly to Spanish-English bilinguals and revealed sensitivity to word order violations for a grammatical structure unique to the L2. Experiment 2 replicated the pattern observed for native speakers in Experiment 1 with a group of monolingual Spanish speakers, demonstrating the stability of processing clitic pronouns in the native language. Taken together, the results show that late bilinguals can process aspects of grammar that are encoded in L2-specific linguistic constructions even when the structure is relatively subtle and not affected for native speakers by the presence of a second language

Motivated Spanish learning among Anglo-Texan high school students : an exploration of theories, research, and experience, with implications for pedagogy

textResearch into foreign language and second language learning motivation has progressed steadily over the past half century. Several theories and models have been developed to explain how learners are motivated to learn a foreign language. Context-specific research, however, is lacking for Anglo-Texan high school students learning Spanish. This report applies the theories of foreign language learning motivation to this context, using personal experience and anecdotes from the author as a Spanish teacher and student, in order to prescribe pedagogical applications of the research for high school Spanish teachers in Texas who seek to increase their students' motivation.Curriculum and Instructio

An Analysis of English and Spanish Stop Production in Heritage Spanish Speech: The Columbus, Ohio Speech Community

Due to the rising Hispanic population in the US, Heritage Spanish speakers, a type of bilingual speaker who grew up with some degree of exposure to a minority language as their first language [L1] while living in a country with some other majority language which is learned as their second language [L2], are becoming more prevalent in our society. Though these speakers account for a large number of the population throughout the country, studies focusing on Heritage Spanish typically focus on "traditionally" Spanish speaking areas such as the southwest. This study seeked to provide a snapshot into the Columbus, Ohio Heritage Spanish speech community, focusing on the stop consonants /p,t,k,b,d,g/, which appear in both languages but have distinct productions for each language. Stress, location within the word, place of articulation, and language dominance were then analyzed to discern any effects they had on the overall and individual productions of VOT and intensity ratio. Lastly, sociolinguistic factors of highest level of education completed, age of exposure, and amount of exposure were also tracked to determine their effect on individual sound production. Speakers were found to maintain separate phonetic categories for their Spanish and English sounds. Stress was found to have a significant effect on English voiceless stops, the realization of Spanish and English voiced stops, and the intensity of Spanish and English voiced stops. Location within the word was also found to have a significant effect on both English and Spanish voiceless stops, as well as the realization and intensity of Spanish and English voiced stops. The effects of sociolinguistic factors varied between voiced and voiceless sounds, but a strong connection was found linking percentage of time spent using English to VOT and intensity production for both sets. This strongly suggests that the sociolinguistic factor which is most important in phonological acquisition is use of the target language.No embargoAcademic Major: LinguisticsAcademic Major: Spanis

Enhancing scarce-resource language translation through pivot combinations

Chinese and Spanish are the most spoken languages in the world. However, there is not much research done in machine translation for this language pair. We experiment with the parallel Chinese-Spanish corpus (United Nations) to explore alternatives of SMT strategies which consist on using a pivot language. Particularly, two well-known alternatives are shown for pivoting: the cascade system and the pseudo-corpus. As Pivot language we use English, Arabic and French. Results show that English is the best pivot language between Chinese and Spanish. As a new strategy, we propose to perform a combination of the pivot strategies which is capable to highly outperform the direct translation strategy.Postprint (published version

Late L2 Acquisition and Phonological Memory Development

The development of phonological memory, a subdivision of short term memory, is crucial to learning and analyzing sequences of sounds to form words and phrases. This process utilizes short term representation and rehearsal to allow for the eventual long term representation of language. Individuals learning more than one language must acquire even more of these language sequences than monolinguals. Previous research agrees that early Spanish-English bilinguals have superior phonological memory to monolinguals, however the impact of second language acquisition on phonological memory remains unknown. This study examined three groups of undergraduate participants studying Spanish as a second language including study abroad students (SA), students currently enrolled in a Spanish course at or above the 300-level (CE), and students not currently enrolled in a Spanish course (NE). Participants completed tests of phonological memory including digit span and sentence repetition at the beginning and culmination of an academic semester. Participants also provided demographic data, L2 acquisition information, and their frequency of language use so that changes could be calculated. Results revealed that CE students were superior during pretest, but during posttest SA and CE demonstrated comparable results. The NE students demonstrated consistently lower scores. These findings suggest that foreign language instruction may benefit phonological memory development, even in late acquisition of the second language. The possible role of years of formal language instruction will be discussed

Rehabilitation In Bilingual Aphasia: Evidence For Within- And Between-Language Generalization

Purpose: The goal of this study was to examine if there was a principled way to understand the nature of rehabilitation in bilingual aphasia such that patterns of acquisition and generalization are predictable and logical. Method: Seventeen Spanish-English bilingual individuals with aphasia participated in the experiment. For each participant, three sets of stimuli were developed for each language: (a) English Set 1, (b) English Set 2 (semantically related to each item in English Set 1), (c) English Set 3 (unrelated control items), (d) Spanish Set 1 (translations of English Set 1), (e) Spanish Set 2 (translations of English Set 2; semantically related to each item in Spanish Set 1), and (f) Spanish Set 3 (translations of English Set 3; unrelated control items). A single-subject experimental multiple baseline design across participants was implemented. Treatment was conducted in 1 language, but generalization to within- and between-language untrained items was examined. Results: Treatment for naming on Set 1 items resulted in significant improvement (i.e., effect size >4.0) on the trained items in 14/17 participants. Of the 14 participants who showed improvement, within-language generalization to semantically related items was observed in 10 participants. Between-language generalization to the translations of trained items was observed in 5 participants, and between-language generalization to the translations of the untrained semantically related items was observed in 6 participants. Conclusion: The results of this study demonstrated within- and between-language patterns that were variable across participants. These differences are indicative of the interplay between facilitation (generalization) and inhibition.Communication Sciences and Disorder

Interactive Video: One Monitor or Two?

Interactive video is a rapidly growing technologywhich holds great promise for teachingforeign language and culture. Multimediacontextualization of the language and simulationsof typical cultural situations are powerfultools for language teachers and learners. Interactivevideo is often delivered with alternateworkstation designs: one with a single monitorto present simultaneous video and text, and onewith different monitors for video and computertext and graphics. This study investigates thepossibility that the workstation configurationsmight have a differential impact on studentperformance on a test of Spanish culture. Studentsin second semester college Spanish classesstudied five interactive video Spanish culturesimulations during the semester. Some studentsused a single monitor workstation and others adual monitor design. They were given pre- andpost-tests on Spanish culture and the resultswere analyzed for significant differences. Additionalfactors influencing workstation design(e.g., hardware and software costs, user friendliness)are also discussed