Individual differences and linguistic factors in the development of mid vowels in L2 Spanish learners: A longitudinal study
Year: 2017
Type: dissertation
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: This study was a longitudinal investigation into how learner individual differences (IDs) and linguistic factors shape developmental trajectories of second language (L2) production of the Spanish mid vowels /e/ and /o/.Adult English-speaking learners enrolled in 2 nd semester (Intro II, N = 13) and 6 th semester (Advanced II, N = 31) university-level Spanish courses completed a written elicitation production task three times over the course of a semester and measures of ID variables (i.e., L2 aptitude, working memory capacity, phonological short-term memory, L2 motivation, and L2 proficiency level) once during the semester.The production measure elicited /e/ and /o/ in tonic syllables of Spanish target words.Acoustic analysis was used to measure vowel duration and normalized F1 and F2 formant values (Bark units) for each vowel.Since even native and bilingual speakers produce vowels within a range of acceptable values, development was operationalized as movement toward the mean duration and mean F1 and F2 Bark values of bilingual speakers, as well as minimization of the dispersion of these values.Findings demonstrated that over the course of the semester, Intro II learners exhibited more movement toward the bilingual means than Advanced II learners.Statistical improvements were largely related to vowel duration, with less statistical change observed for F1 and F2 iv formant measures.The results also suggest that learners acquire accurate production of /e/ before /o/.With regard to learner IDs, multiple regressions indicated a role for WMC, PSTM, and L2 proficiency level with the overall learner sample, yet the directionality of these correlations was mixed depending upon the production variable examined.L2 aptitude (LLAMA D) also emerged as a predictor of development in course level regressions.Most statistical correlations were observed at the Advanced II level, suggesting that cognitive IDs are more important at later stages of development for L2 phonology.This contrasts with Serafini & Sanz (2015), who found cognitive IDs to be important at earlier stages of development for morphosyntax.These findings contribute to our understanding of L2 phonological development trajectories for Spanish vowels at different stages of acquisition and the role that learner IDs play in that development.v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Writing a dissertation is a long, arduous process, one that is often compared to training for and running a marathon, due to the requirements of perseverance, dedication, and determination to continue on, even in the painful moments when one may want to just stop and one questions their own sanity in signing up for the race.As a marathoner myself, I appreciated the metaphor and knew that the lessons I have learned in running would help me to finish my dissertation.Yet, for me, when my advisor, Cristina Sanz, compared writing the dissertation to giving birth to a child, this metaphor seemed a bit more apt.Writing a dissertation can take a long time to complete and at times, feels rather painful, requiring a lot of blood, sweat, and tears.Yet, at the end, there is a beautiful product of which you can be proud.In addition, it also is not something that is completed alone, but rather with the expertise, help and support of many, many individuals along the way.In my very long labor of completing this dissertation, there are several people that I must thank for their help.To Cristina Sanz and Alfonso Morales Front, for providing incredible expertise and insights, for challenging me to become a more informed scholar and researcher, for their patience, encouragement, and nudges and pushes when I felt stuck, and for providing clarity and moments of inspiration along the way.To Luke Plonsky, for providing invaluable expertise and assistance with my statistical analyses, helping me make sense of some of my results, and referring me to incredible sources that helped become a more informed scholar and researcher.To the many student volunteers in Intro II and Advanced II classes who agreed to spend so much of their time completing speaking and listening tasks in a sound booth, this study would not have been possible without you and your willingness to complete all of the many tasks in this study.vi To many friends and colleagues in the department, who provided so much help along the way, as participants, by recording stimuli for my tasks, by helping me with coding and scripting, by serving as a sounding board for my ideas, or even just sharing a coffee, a hug, and a smile.All of you helped me so much along the way and provided so much inspiration.In particular, I want to thank Dan Riggs, for providing invaluable expertise about microphones and recording, for helping me write and modify scripts to analyze my data, and for providing great conversation and moments of laughter over the years.To many friends over the years who have provided the emotional and moral support I needed.For being there for conversations when I felt overwhelmed, for allowing me to vent out frustrations on a run, for keeping me smiling and laughing, for providing encouragement, and for reminding me that there is an end to this seemingly endless process.To my sister, Caitlin: for providing lots of moments of laughter and continuous support along the way, as well as cups of coffee to keep me going on long days and nights.You've always known the silly things that will make me laugh and brighten my day and perhaps your incredible ability to imitate accents is what got me interested in this field in the first place.Finally, this dissertation would not have been possible without my parents who have loved me and supported me unconditionally throughout my life and have always encouraged me to do my best, no matter what the goal.To Mom and Dad: Thank you for always believing in me and encouraging me, even in the darkest, toughest moments when I wasn't sure I would be able to finish.You have always provided the encouragement I needed, helped me to keep perspective and reminded me what matters most, and have helped me slay the perfectionist monster by reminding me that perfection is the enemy of good enough, even if I'm still working on that one.
Author: Colleen Moorman
Language: English
Subfield: Experimental and Cognitive Psychology
Field: Psychology
Domain: Social Sciences
SDG: Quality education
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2781719035