Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Conclusion

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Comprehending and Speaking about Motion in L2 Spanish

  • 198 Accesses

Abstract

This chapter concludes the book by summarizing the main findings and themes of the study. As an independent measure of implicit learning, the results of the three groups of Anglophone learners suggested differential levels of sensitivity to the idiomatic preferences of Spanish for comprehending and speaking about motion. Crucial indicators were the comparison of trends in the receptive task, the composition of the vocabulary of motion verb types, and the proportions of highest path token frequencies of learners in their fifth and sixth semesters compared to those of the control group. The evidence showed that when mastery of Spanish and accumulated exposure to the language was still limited, learners tended to rely more on first-language knowledge to comprehend and produce motion expressions. Prolonged formal instruction combined with immersion in a Hispanic community appeared as reasonably safe predictors that the advanced learners would in time entrench the path conflation across usage events. For a conceptual category like motion, about which Anglophone learners of Spanish hear, and read about, listen to, and even enact within and outside of an instructional context, the lexico-semantic tendencies established by the first-language seem less firmly and definitively shaped. Learners, then, may be able to incorporate into their interlanguage systems, those of an additional language. The chapter ends by proposing further research to address limitations of the study and corroborate the interesting results obtained.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution

Subscribe and save

Springer+ Basic
$34.99 /Month
  • Get 10 units per month
  • Download Article/Chapter or eBook
  • 1 Unit = 1 Article or 1 Chapter
  • Cancel anytime
Subscribe now

Buy Now

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 39.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 54.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 54.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Birdsong, D. (1992). Ultimate attainment in second language acquisition. Language, 68(4), 706–755.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bybee, J. (1995). Regular morphology and the lexicon. Language and Cognitive Processes, 10, 425–455.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bybee, J., & Hopper, P. (2001). Introduction to frequency and the emergence of linguistic structure. In J. Bybee & P. Hopper (Eds.), Frequency and emergence of linguistic structure (pp. 337–359). Amsterdam: John Benjamins.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Bybee, J., & Thompson, S. (1997). Three frequency effects in syntax. Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the Berkeley Linguistics Society, 23, 378–388.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Clahsen, H., & Felser, C. (2006). How native-like is non-native language processing? Trends in Cognitive Science, 10(2), 564–570. doi:10.1016/j.tics.2006.10.002.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Corder, P. (1967). The significance of learners’ errors. International Review of Applied Linguistics, 9, 147–159.

    Google Scholar 

  • Daller, M., Treffers-Daller, J., & Furman, R. (2011). Transfer of conceptualization patterns in bilinguals: The construal of motion events in Turkish and German. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, 14, 95–119.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Derwing, T. M., & Munro, M. J. (2005). Second language accent and pronunciation teaching: A research-based approach. TESOL Quarterly, 39(3), 1545–7249.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Doughty, C. (2003). Instructed SLA: Constraints, compensation, and enhancement. In C. Doughty & M. Long (Eds.), The handbook of second language acquisition (pp. 256–310). Cornwall, UK: Blackwell Publishing.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Ellis, N. (2002a). Frequency effects in language processing. A review with implications for theories of implicit and explicit language acquisition. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 24(2), 143–188.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ellis, N. (2002b). Reflections on frequency effects in language processing. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 24(2), 297–339.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ellis, N. (2008). Usage-based and form-focused language acquisition: The associative learning of constructions, learned attention, and the limited L2 endstate. In P. Robinson & N. Ellis (Eds.), Handbook of cognitive linguistics and second language acquisition (pp. 372–405). New York and London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ellis, R. (1994). The study of second language acquisition. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Flege, J. E., Frieda, E. M., & Nozawa, T. (1997). Amount of native-language (L1) use affects the pronunciation of an L2. Journal of Phonetics, 25(2), 169–186.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gass, S. M., & Mackey, A. (2002). Frequency effects and second language acquisition: A complex picture? Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 24, 249–260.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gass, S. M., & Selinker, L. (2008). Second language acquisition: An introductory course. New York: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gregersen, T., Olivares-Cuhat, G., & Storm, J. (2009). An examination of L1 and L2 gesture use: What role does proficiency play? The Modern Language Journal, 93, 195–208.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Han, Z. (2004). Fossilization in adult second language acquisition. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hohenstein, J., Eisenberg, A., & Naigles, L. (2006). Is he floating across or crossing afloat? Cross-influence of L1 and L2 in Spanish-English bilingual adults. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, 9(3), 249–261.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Holme, R. (2009). Cognitive linguistics and language teaching. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Kellerman, E., & Van Hoof, A. (2003). Manual accents. IRAL, 41, 251–269.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kolers, P. A. (1973). Three stages of reading. In F. Smith (Ed.), Psycholinguistics and reading (pp. 28–49). New York: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lightbown, P. (1985). Great expectations: Second language acquisition research and classroom teaching. Applied Linguistics, 6, 173–189.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lightbown, P., & Spada, N. (2015). How languages are learned. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Long, M. (1990). Maturational constraints on language development. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 12, 251–285.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Long, M. (2000). Focus on form in task-based language teaching. In R. D. Lambert & E. Shohany (Eds.), Language policy and pedagogy: Essays in honour of A. Ronald Walton (pp. 179–192). Philadelphia: John Benjamins.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Magiste, E. (1979). The competing linguistic systems of the multilingual: A developmental study of decoding and encoding processes. Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behavior, 18, 79–89.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Magiste, E. (1986). Selected issues in second and third language learning. In J. Vaid (Ed.), Language processing in bilinguals: Psycholinguistic and neurolinguistic perspectives (pp. 97–122). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

    Google Scholar 

  • Magiste, E. (1992). Second language learning in elementary and high school students. European Journal of Cognitive Psychology, 4, 355–365.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Marcus, G. F. (1993). Negative evidence in language acquisition. Cognition, 46(1), 55–85.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McLaughlin, B. (1990). Restructuring. Applied Linguistics, 11, 113–128.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Meisel, J., Clahsen, H., & Pienemann, M. (1981). On determining developmental stages in natural second language acquisition. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 3(2), 109–135.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Navarro, S. (2012). Conversing in Spanish at a seniors’ center: A brief experience of community-based and foreign language learning. Sino-US English Teaching, 9(10), 1590–1600.

    Google Scholar 

  • Navarro, S. (2013). Teletandem Canada-Chile: Enhancing communication in Spanish and English beyond the classroom. In Proceedings of the 7th International Technology, Education and Development Conference (pp. 2256–2262). Valencia, Spain, IATED.

    Google Scholar 

  • Navarro, S. (2014, November). Learner autonomy and authentic Spanish use during unsupervised language activities. Paper presented at the Annual Conference of the American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese, Guelph, ON.

    Google Scholar 

  • Navarro, S. (2015). Thinking outside the classroom for practicing Spanish. In E. Guntly, Z. Lam, A. Anghelescu, & N. Weber (Eds.), Proceedings of 1st Okanagan Workshop on Innovation in Language Teaching (OWILT) (pp. 21–34). University of British Columbia Working Papers in Linguistics 41.

    Google Scholar 

  • Navarro, S. (2017). Empowering learners with linguistic autonomy for successful communication beyond the classroom. Manuscript in preparation.

    Google Scholar 

  • Negueruela, E., Lantolf, J., Jordan, S., & Gelabert, J. (2004). The “private function” of gesture in second language speaking activity: A study of motion verbs and gesturing in English and Spanish. International Journal of Applied Linguistics, 14(1), 113–147.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Norrik, N. (2000). Conversational narrative: Storytelling in everyday talk. Philadelphia: John Benjamins.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Pavesi, M. (1986). Markedness, discoursal modes, and relative clause formation in a formal and an informal context. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 8(1), 38–55.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pavlenko, A. (2000). L2 influence on L1 in late bilingualism. Issues in Applied Linguistics, 11, 175–205.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pelletieri, J. (2011). Measuring language-related outcomes of community-based learning in intermediate Spanish courses. Hispania, 94(2), 285–302. doi:10.1353/hpn.2011.0041.

    Google Scholar 

  • Piske, T., MacKay, I. R. A., & Flege, J. E. (2001). Factors affecting degree of foreign accent in an L2: A review. Journal of Phonetics, 29, 191–215.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sherman, J., & Nicoladis, E. (2004). Gestures by advanced Spanish-English second-language learners. Gesture, 4(2), 43–56.

    Google Scholar 

  • Silverberg, S., & Samuel, A. G. (2004). The effect of age of second language acquisition on the representation and processing of second language words. Journal of Memory and Language, 51, 381–398.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Slobin, D. I. (1991). Learning to think for speaking: Native language, cognition, and rhetorical style. Pragmatics, 1, 7–26.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stam, G. (2006). Thinking for speaking about motion: L1 and L2 speech and gesture. IRAL, 44, 145–171. doi:10.1515/IRAL.2006.006.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stam, G. (2010). Can an L2 speaker’s patterns of thinking for speaking change? In Z. Han & T. Cadierno (Eds.), Linguistic relativity (pp. 59–83). Bristol: Multilingual Matters.

    Google Scholar 

  • Swain, M. (1991). French immersion and its offshoots: Getting two for one. In B. Freed (Ed.), Foreign language acquisition: Research and the classroom (pp. 91–103). Lexington, MA: Heath.

    Google Scholar 

  • Talmy, L. (1988). The relation of grammar to cognition. In B. Rudzka-Ostyn (Ed.), Topics in cognitive linguistics (pp. 165–205). Amsterdam: John Benjamins.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Tannen, D. (1989). Talking voices. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tomasello, M. (2006). First steps toward a usage-based theory of language acquisition. In D. Geeraerts (Ed.), Cognitive linguistics: Basic readings (pp. 439–458). Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • VanPatten, B. (1993). Grammar teaching for the acquisition-rich classroom. Foreign Language Annals, 26(4), 435–450.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • VanPatten, B., Williams, J., & Rott, S. (2004). Form-meaning connections in second language acquisition. In B. VanPatten, J. Williams, S. Rott, & M. Overstreet (Eds.), Form-meaning connections in second language acquisition (pp. 1–26). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Verspoor, M., Lowie, W., & Van Dijk, M. (2008). Variability in second language development from a dynamic systems perspective. The Modern Language Journal, 92(2), 214–231. doi:10.1111/j.1540-4781.2008.00715.x.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • White, L., Spada, N., Lightbown, P., & Ranta, L. (1991). Input enhancement and L2 question formation. Applied Linguistics, 12(4), 416–432. doi:10.1093/applin/12.4.416.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Williams, J. N. (2004). Implicit learning of form-meaning connections. In B. VanPatten, J. Williams, S. Rott, & M. Overstreet (Eds.), Form-meaning connections in second language acquisition (pp. 203–218). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

    Samuel A. Navarro Ortega

Authors
  1. Samuel A. Navarro Ortega
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2017 The Author(s)

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Ortega, S.A.N. (2017). Conclusion. In: Comprehending and Speaking about Motion in L2 Spanish. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-49307-7_8

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-49307-7_8

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-49306-0

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-49307-7

  • eBook Packages: Social SciencesSocial Sciences (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation