What language does your heart speak? The influence of foreign language on moral judgements and emotions related to unrealistic and realistic moral dilemmas

Emotional attenuation in a second language is believed to be one of the main causes of the Moral Foreign Language effect (MFLe). However, evidence on the mediating role of emotion in the relationship between language and moral judgements is limited and mainly derives from unrealistic moral dilemmas. We conducted two studies to investigate (1) whether the MFLe is present in both unrealistic (Study 1) and realistic (Study 2) moral dilemmas, and (2) whether this effect can be attributed to reduced emotionality. In Study 1, the MFLe was found in the moral judgements made by Spanish-English bilinguals. However, the same pattern was not observed in Greek Cypriot-English bilinguals’ moral judgements, and this result was attributed to the prominent role of English in Cyprus. In Study 2, the MFLe extended to realistic moral dilemmas when the outcome of the action entailed the violation of a social norm. Study 1 and Study 2 also revealed that these bilinguals experienced a wide range of emotions in their L1 and L2, which did not differ significantly across languages. Mediation analyses further indicated that the MFLe was not mediated by emotional blunting, which made us consider alternative explanations for the MFLe

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

La naturaleza gramatical del léxico disponible en diferentes niveles lingüísticos en español como lengua extranjera // The grammatical nature of the lexicon available at different linguistic levels in Spanish as a foreign language

This study examined how the size of the thematic lexicon evolves and how the grammatical category varies in response to stimuli of different categories as the linguistic competence in Spanish as a foreign language advances. 140 students from reference levels A, B and C participated and carried out a lexical availability test in the written modality. The different grammatical categories in each focus were quantified in the three reference levels. In addition, the twenty most available words were qualitatively analyzed, that is, their grammatical category was examined and whether it coincides with that of the stimulus, and they were classified according to the type of lexical association they presented with the stimulus in each focus and based on the three reference levels. The results showed that the size of the thematic lexicon increases as the linguistic level in the foreign language advances. In addition, it was revealed that the grammatical category of the responses is influenced by the cognitive characteristics of the focus.// El presente estudio examinó cómo evoluciona el tamaño del léxico temático y cómo varía la categoría gramatical ante estímulos de diferentes categorías a medida que se avanza en la competencia lingüística en español como lengua extranjera. Participaron 140 estudiantes de los niveles de referencia A, B y C quienes llevaron a cabo una prueba de disponibilidad léxica en la modalidad escrita. Se cuantificaron las diferentes categorías gramaticales en cada centro de interés en los tres niveles de referencia. Además, los veinte vocablos más disponibles se analizaron cualitativamente, es decir, se examinó su categoría gramatical y si coincide con la del estímulo, y se clasificaron según el tipo de asociación léxica que presentaban con el estímulo en cada centro de interés y en función de los tres niveles de referencia. Los resultados mostraron que el tamaño del léxico temático aumenta a medida que avanza el nivel lingüístico en la lengua extranjera. Además, se reveló que la categoría gramatical de las respuestas se ve influenciada por las características cognitivas de los centros de interés

Working memory and written expression: A neglected research area in the field of Second Language Acquisition

El objetivo de este artículo es poner de relieve la estrecha relación entre la memoria operativa y la expresión escrita. Después de presentar algunas de las principales aportaciones, a nivel teórico y empírico, sobre la implicación de este mecanismo en los procesos de producción escrita en la lengua materna (LM/L1), se centra el interés en el ámbito de la Lingüística Aplicada a la enseñanza de segundas lenguas y se consideran los factores que podrían haber contribuido a la escasez de investigaciones y referentes actuales sobre el tema.The aim of this article is to highlight the close link between working memory and written expression. After presenting several of the main theoretical and empirical contributions concerning the effects of working memory on the process of L1 written composition, attempts are made to identify the factors which may have contributed to the shortage of current research and references on this topic from the perspective of Applied Linguistics and Second Language Acquisition

The “emotional brain” of adolescent Spanish–German heritage speakers: is emotional intelligence a proxy for productive emotional vocabulary?

Autobiographical memories (AMs) are partly influenced by people's ability to process and express their emotions. This study investigated the extent to which trait emotional intelligence (EI) contributed to the emotional vocabulary of 148 adolescents – 60 speakers of Spanish as a heritage language (HL) raised in Germany, 61 first-language (L1) German speakers and 27 L1 Spanish speakers – in their written AMs of anger and surprise. The results revealed that heritage speakers with high trait EI used more emotional words in their AMs. These bilinguals also used more positive, negative and high-arousal words in their HL and in their AMs of anger. Similar patterns were observed in the AMs produced in Spanish (HL and L1), but L1 Spanish speakers used more emotional words in their AMs of surprise. By contrast, L1 German speakers used more emotional words than bilinguals in their AMs in German, and AMs of anger in German included more emotional vocabulary than those addressing surprise events

The Effect of Task Type on Fluency and Lexical Accuracy of Greek SFL (Spanish Foreign Languge) Learners’ Written Performance

El objetivo del presente estudio es examinar la influencia del tipo de tarea (narración - argumentación) en la fluidez y la exactitud léxica de la producción escrita de aprendientes griegos de español como lengua extranjera así como la posible interacción entre ellas dentro del mismo tipo de tarea. Los resultados han mostrado que el tipo de tarea influye tanto en la fluidez como en la exactitud léxica. En concreto, se ha observado mayor fluidez pero menor exactitud léxica en la tarea narrativa. Adicionalmente, se han observado correlaciones significativas entre la fluidez y la exactitud léxica solo en la tarea narrativa. Los resultados se explican basándose en el Modelo de la Capacidad Limitada de Atención de Skehan y la Hipótesis de Cognición de Robinson.This research examines the effect of task type (narration - argumentation) on fluency and lexical accuracy in written production of Greek students of Spanish as a foreign language and the possible interaction between them in the same task type. The results have shown that task type has an impact on fluency and lexical accuracy. More precisely, greater fluency but less lexical accuracy in the narrative task has been observed. Additionally, the results have shown significant correlations between the fluency and the lexical accuracy only in the narrative task. The results are discussed in the light of Skehan’s Limited Attentional Capacity Model and Robinson’s Cognition Hypothesis

The role of language and emotional intelligence in judgments of real-life social and moral transgressions among Greek, Hungarian, and British users of English

Previous research suggests that people are more prone to commit moral transgressions when they face moral dilemmas in a second language (LX) as opposed to their first language(s) (L1). This study investigated the influence of language, emotional intelligence, and the degree of severity of real moral transgressions on bilinguals' judgments of offense seriousness, the intensity of the emotions they experienced, and the punishments they proposed for the perpetrators. To this end, 256 British L1 users, 209 Greek–English bilinguals, and 187 Hungarian–English bilinguals watched four videos presenting moral transgressions of mild and extreme severity. Data were analyzed by means of robust linear mixed‐effects models and moderated mediation analyses. For the extreme severity videos, the results revealed strong correlations between offensiveness, emotionality ratings, and proposed punishments for the perpetrators. However, the Greek and the Hungarian participants who watched the videos in their LX English reported lower offensiveness and emotionality ratings and less harsh punishments for the perpetrators than they did in their L1 (Greek and Hungarian, respectively). Furthermore, the role of language in the proposed punishments for the perpetrators was mediated by emotional intensity, but only for the extreme severity stimuli. The results also suggest that higher levels of emotional intelligence are linked with tougher judgments of offense seriousness and stronger emotions when watching real moral transgressions. These findings highlight that the moral foreign language effect does not only exist in the hypothetical moral realm but affects perceptions of offensiveness and emotionality and decisions for the future of perpetrators in real‐life situations

The influence of working memory and emotional intelligence on emotional expression in Spanish as a second language

[EN] The current study intended to examine the influence of working memory capacity and emotional intelligence on emotional expression in Spanish as a second language (SSL). Forty-one learners of SSL (A2 and B1 levels) carried out a writing task about an emotional topic. The global quality of their texts was assessed by means of an analytical scale, and the web-based search engine emoFinder was used in order to measure the number and valence of emotional words produced by the participants. Moreover, participants completed a self-report measure of emotional intelligence and performed three working memory tasks. The results showed an influence of emotional intelligence on written expression in SSL, a positive correlation between the quality of written expression and the number of emotional words, as well as a greater use of positive words compared to the negative ones.[ES] El presente estudio persiguió examinar la influencia de la capacidad de la memoria operativa y de la inteligencia emocional en la expresión de la emoción en español como segunda lengua (EL2). Para esto, se contó con 41 aprendientes de EL2, de los niveles A2 y B1, que realizaron una tarea de expresión escrita sobre un tema emocional. Se evaluó la calidad global de sus composiciones y se midió la cantidad y la valencia de las palabras emocionales mediante la herramienta emoFinder. Además, se emplearon una medida de autoinforme de inteligencia emocional y tres pruebas para medir la capacidad de memoria operativa de los informantes. Los resultados revelaron indicios del efecto de la inteligencia emocional sobre la producción escrita en EL2, una relación positiva entre la calidad de la producción escrita y la cantidad de vocabulario emocional utilizado, así como una predominancia en el uso de palabras positivas frente a negativas.El presente estudio se enmarca en el proyecto “Emoción, memoria, identidad lingüística y aculturación emocional: Su influencia en el aprendizaje de español como lengua de migración (EMILIA)” [FFI2017-83166-C2-2-R] financiado por el Programa Estatal de investigación I+D+i Orientada a los Retos de la Sociedad del Ministerio de Economía, Industria y Competitividad.Mavrou, I.; Bustos-López, F. (2019). La influencia de la memoria operativa y de la inteligencia emocional en la expresión de la emoción en español como segunda lengua. Revista de Lingüística y Lenguas Aplicadas. 14:117-129. https://doi.org/10.4995/rlyla.2019.10007SWORD1171291

An executive function training programme to promote behavioural and emotional control of children and adolescents in foster care in Spain

This study assessed the effectiveness of an executive function training programme aiming at reducing the behavioural and emotional problems of 87 minors, aged between 8 and 17, in residential care within the Spanish foster care system. Participants’ executive functions were assessed with the Spanish adaptation of the Behaviour Rating Inventory of Executive Function (BRIEF®2). For the assessment of their emotional and behavioural problems, the Spanish adaptation of the Assessment System for Children and Adolescents (SENA) was used. The results revealed an improvement in initiative and task supervision. After the intervention, the minors reported having fewer problems with their classmates and fewer symptoms related to traumatic events. According to the educators, those minors also presented better integration and social skills, a greater willingness to study, less isolation, less symptoms of depression, fewer emotional problems and a higher level and variety of personal resources

Quantitative and Qualitative Approaches to the Assessment of Oral Accuracy of Migrant Learners of Spanish

El objetivo del presente estudio fue examinar el grado de corrección lingüística del discurso oral de hablantes rumanos y marroquíes, aprendientes de español como lengua de migración, utilizando diferentes procedimientos de evaluación, a saber, descriptores de una escala analítica, medidas basadas en la cuantificación de los errores y análisis cualitativo de los mismos. Según los resultados obtenidos, no hubo diferencias estadísticamente significativas entre los dos grupos con respecto a su corrección lingüística evaluada a través de los descriptores de la escala analítica y de la mayoría de las medidas cuantitativas utilizadas. No obstante, se observaron diferencias en la naturaleza y en el tipo de errores cometidos. En concreto, los rumanos cometieron más errores en pronombres y sustantivos, mientras que los marroquíes en artículos y verbos. Asimismo, un análisis complementario que se llevó a cabo mostró que la edad puede ser un factor determinante del grado de corrección lingüística alcanzado y, en concreto, de la corrección gramatical en el discurso oral.Palabras clave: español como lengua de migración, errores, corrección lingüística, discurso oral, evaluación.The aim of the present study was to examine the degree of linguistic accuracy in oral production of Romanian and Moroccan learners of Spanish as a language for migrants using different assessment procedures, namely, descriptors of an analytical assessment scale, measures based on the quantification of errors, and qualitative analysis of these errors. According to the results obtained, there were no statistically significant differences between the two groups with respect to their linguistic accuracy as it was assessed through the use of the analytical scale and most of the quantitative measures. However, differences were observed in the nature and type of errors made by the participants. Specifically, Romanians made more errors in pronouns and nouns, while Moroccans in the use of articles and verbs. Moreover, a complementary analysis showed that age may be a determining factor of the degree of linguistic accuracy, and more precisely of grammatical accuracy in oral discourse.Keywords: Spanish as a language for migrants, errors, linguistic accuracy, oral discourse, assessment