Research has demonstrated that features of lexical and lexicogrammatical use are important predictors of productive second language (L2) proficiency (e.g. Kyle et al. 2018). While some features of lexical use have been studied with L2s other than English (e.g. Tracy-Ventura 2017), multivariate lexical and lexicogrammatical approaches in these L2s…

The present study examines the lack of representation of minority communities in the existing literature by examining the representation of Afro-Latinxs in texts and visuals in seven Spanish as a Heritage Language (SHL) textbooks, and the ideologies behind these representations. Drawing upon Norman Fairclough's (1995) model for conducting Critical…

Previous review studies do not have a broad and comprehensive perspective on the usage of ACF tools in language learning. To address this gap, we reviewed 82 articles on the use of ACF tools published in the last five years. Results indicate that 43 ACF tools were used in studies to assist writing, grammar, spelling, and collocation and word use.…

The extensive literature on subject expression in Spanish makes for rich comparisons between generative (formal) and usage-based (functional) approaches to language acquisition. This article explores how the problem of subject expression has been conceptualized within each research tradition, as well as unanswered questions that both approaches…

This essay contributes to the research on the emergence of tense/aspect morphology by reviewing the results and task conditions of studies supporting either the Aspect Hypothesis (AH) or the Default Past Tense Hypothesis (DPTH) for second language (L2) learners of Spanish. The AH has found that past marking emerges based on inherent aspectual…

Spanish is one of the most widely spoken languages in the world. Quechua is the largest indigenous language family to constitute the first language (L1) of second language (L2) Spanish speakers. Despite sheer number of speakers and typologically interesting contrasts, Quechua-Spanish second language acquisition is a nearly untapped research area,…

This paper provides an overview of recent developments in the science of linguistics, and considers their relevance to the teaching of Spanish in Puerto Rico. First, three significant trends are explained and summarized: (1) structuralism, which emphasizes phonetics, pattern, and distribution, and rejects meaning as a tool of analysis; (2)…

Contrasts the hypothetical conditional or "modo potencial" in Spanish with the subsequence conditional. Passages from "El habla de la ciudad de Mexico" and from works by Carballido and Borges are cited as examples. Other grammatical studies of the Spanish conditional are reviewed. (LMO)

Discussion of the sequence of tenses and the subjunctive in Spanish language textbooks demonstrates that there is a lack of mechanical morphonological agreement and that subjunctives may have a temporal value independent of that of the matrix with associated semantic differences; that is, subjunctives do not function as neutralized forms…

Discusses theories and findings concerning the status of the present perfect in American Spanish. In Spain, the present perfect is preferred to the preterite whereas the simple preterite is more frequently used in South America. The lessened usage of the past perfect parallels the narrower usage of the present perfect in Latin America. (Author/LMO)

An assessment of the substantive progress made regarding the study of language contact and bilingualism in the Hispanic world explores research concerning language contact and grammars, the bilingual speech community and linguistic structure, and bilingual discourse. (45 references) (CB)

Presents an abbreviated version of a large scale investigation of second language attrition covering 50 years. Results yield benefits to teachers and students of foreign languages by leading to an understanding of how various procedures of acquisition affect the rate of loss and ultimately minimize the potential for later attrition. (SL)

Multiple regression analysis of data regarding college students' oral proficiency in using the present subjunctive after residence in a Spanish-speaking country found a significant positive relationship between length of residence and subjunctive proficiency, and a nonstatistically significant positive relationship between formal study and…

The pedagogical use of commands in second-language learning is addressed. Current textbooks are shown to expose students to many morphologically complicated command forms, and it is suggested that command use may be facilitated by offering students a reduced system of commands. (33 references) (Author/LB)

The general objective of this study is the investigation of some of the cognitive processes underlying adult second language acquisition through the analysis of the development of morphological markers of temporality in the acquisition of Spanish as a second language (L2) among native English speakers. It is argued that analysis of data on the…