Cognitive Science Program

A comparison of copula choice: Native Spanish speakers and advanced learners (2003)
Kimberly L Geeslin
Language Learning, 53 (4), 703-764

Abstract

Research on the acquisition of copula choice has shown that learners are not accurate with this structure, even after several years of instruction (Briscoe, 1995; Ryan & Lafford, 1992). Previous research has also shown that the language development of novice learners can be assessed through a multifeature contextual analysis, similar to those used in sociolinguistic research, thereby allowing for the inclusion of native‐speaker variation in the design (Geeslin, 2000). The current investigation compares contextualized questionnaire data from advanced learners of Spanish (N = 28) to data from native Spanish speakers (N = 25). The analysis shows that semantic and pragmatic features interact to predict the appearance of the copula estar, and that the factors that predict the appearance of estar are different for the two groups.

Second language acquisition of variable structures in Spanish by Portuguese speakers (2006)
Kimberly L Geeslin and Pedro Guijarro‐Fuentes
Language learning, 56 (1), 53-107

Abstract

This study provides a model for examining the second language (L2) acquisition of structures where the first language (L1) and L2 are similar, and where native speaker (NS) use varies. Research on the copula contrast in Spanish (ser and estar mean “to be”) has shown that an assessment of learner choice cannot rely on an error analysis (Geeslin, 2001, 2003a; Geeslin & Guijarro‐Fuentes, 2004). Obligatory contexts are difficult to identify because norms for copula use with adjectives are changing (Silva‐Corvalán, 1994; Guijarro‐Fuentes & Geeslin, in press) and NSs vary in their choices for a given context (Geeslin, 2003a). A more effective approach to assessing the acquisition of variable structures incorporates statistical models that identify features of the discourse that best predict copula choice for NSs and nonnative speakers (NNSs). Our research design, which incorporates semantic and discourse‐pragmatic …

A new approach to the second language acquisition of copula choice in Spanish (2000)
Kimberly Geeslin
Spanish Applied Linguistics at the Turn of the Millennium: Papers from the 1999 Conference on the L1 & L2 Acquisition of Spanish and Portuguese, 50-66

The development of L2 Spanish intonation during a study abroad immersion program in León, Spain: Global contours and final boundary movements (2010)
Nicholas C Henriksen, Kimberly L Geeslin and Erik W Willis
Studies in Hispanic and Lusophone Linguistics, 3 (1), 113-162

Abstract

The current study is the first technically-principled examination of second language Spanish intonation as it develops in a study abroad context. As such, it aims to identify patterns of development related to overall F0 contours and final boundary movements by creating individual profiles for each L2 learner at the beginning and the end of their stay abroad. Our data come from 5 English-speaking learners of Spanish enrolled in a study abroad immersion program for 7 weeks in León, Spain. We collected data through a computerized production task that elicited three context-based sentence types: declaratives, absolute interrogatives, and pronominal interrogatives. This task was administered once upon arrival to León and again at the end of the 7-week program (approximately 6 weeks elapsed between tasks). In our analysis, we calculated the initial and final tonal levels in addition to the Low and High tones of pitch …

Sociolinguistics and second language acquisition: Learning to use language in context (2014)
Kimberly L Geeslin and Avizia Yim Long
Routledge.

Abstract

Although grammatical competence has generally been the dominant concern of researchers in the field of second language acquisition, it is widely recognized that the development of sociolinguistic competence is essential in order for a learner to communicate effectively. The ever-increasing body of research that bridges the gap between the fields of sociolinguistics and second language acquisition has explored the variety of ways in which social context influences the acquisition of a second language. Learners face variation in the input they receive, which is constrained by the characteristics of the speaker, the geographic location of the interaction, and the context in which the interaction takes place. Moreover, they must learn to correctly interpret the social information included in the input they encounter. Additionally, learners must acquire the ability to vary their own speech as a reflection of these social factors in …

Comparing interview and written elicitation tasks in native and non-native data: Do speakers do what we think they do (2008)
Kimberly L Geeslin and Aarnes Gudmestad
Selected proceedings of the 10th Hispanic linguistics symposium, 64-77

Abstract

Research on the second language acquisition (SLA) of Spanish has identified grammatical structures for which an analysis of errors for second-language (L2) learners is inappropriate (Geeslin, 2003; Geeslin & Guijarro-Fuentes, 2006; Gudmestad, 2006). This is because the norms of use for such structures are changing, and prescriptive grammars do not coincide with actual language use. Thus, in order to examine such sociolinguistically-variable grammatical features in learner language, researchers have shifted to an analysis of the predictors of use of a given variant, rather than an assessment of accuracy (Geeslin, 2000). Investigations following this approach on structures such as copula choice and mood choice have been largely based on written contextualized tasks (WCT), where use is contextualized and participants indicate a preference for one of the two possible variants. The advantage of this type of task is twofold. First, in comparison with grammaticality judgment tasks, participants are not forced to select one (presumably the only) grammatical sentence from the options provided. Consequently, the WCT is more in line with the idea that variation is indeed an acceptable, and even irrefutable, part of native-like speech. Secondly, in comparison with tasks that elicit less directed production, the WCT assures that each participant will respond to the same tokens (both lexically and in terms of the contextual features that predict selection of a given variant) and that each participant will provide sufficient data for analysis. Nevertheless, while the aforementioned advantages of this methodology are clear (Chaudron, 2003), the degree to which …

An exploration of the range and frequency of occurrence of forms in potentially variable structures in second-language Spanish (2010)
Kimberly L Geeslin and Aarnes Gudmestad
Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 32 (3), 433-463

Abstract

This article adds to the growing body of research focused on second-language (L2) variation and constitutes the first large-scale study of the production of potentially variable grammatical structures in Spanish by English-speaking learners. The overarching goal of the project is to assess the range of forms used and the degree to which native and L2 speakers of Spanish differ in several independently defined syntactic or discourse-based contexts. The contexts examined in the current study have been the object of sociolinguistic research in monolingual environments and include the following: copula contrast, mood distinction, past-time reference, future-time reference, and subject expression. Interview data from 16 English-speaking learners and 16 native speakers of Spanish from a variety of countries, all of whom are part of a single speech community in the United States, are examined. The analysis focuses on …

The acquisition of Spanish copula choice and its relationship to language change (2002)
Kimberly L Geeslin
Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 24 (3), 419-450

Abstract

This paper argues that crossing the boundaries between sociolinguistics and second language acquisition (SLA) is essential to both fields of study (Giacalone Ramat, 1995; Preston, 1993). Specifically, data collected in an investigation of the SLA of copula choice by 77 English-speaking learners of Spanish are examined in terms of similarities to data collected in studies of language change (Gutiérrez, 1992; Silva-Corvalán, 1994). The variables used to analyze these data, Frame of Reference and Susceptibility to Change, have been shown to be useful for examining the process of the extension of estar to new [copula + adjective] contexts from a sociolinguistic perspective. The application of these variables to SLA data allows an investigation of the mirror-image relationship predicted to exist between the process of language loss and the process of language acquisition.

The acquisition of copula choice in instructed Spanish: The role of individual characteristics (2005)
Kimberly Geeslin and Pedro Guijarro-Fuentes
Studies in the Acquisition of the Hispanic Languages: Papers from the 6th Conference on the Acquisition of Spanish and Portuguese as First and Second Languages, 66-77

Abstract

The current project addresses the effects of native language, and length of exposure and type of input, on the acquisition of copula choice in Spanish. Specifically, we investigate two sources of learner variation: knowledge of languages other than the second language (L2)(both first (L1) and additional languages), and characteristics related to the input. The features of this second source of variation to be examined are exposure to Spanish in a study abroad setting (in addition to the classroom experience that all participants have had) and the length of time of study. This study tests some generally held assumptions that have not been examined for copula choice in the research conducted to date. First, it is assumed that the research conducted on American English speakers’ acquisition of the Spanish copula contrast will generalize to learners with different L1s. Secondly, it is generally assumed that learners benefit from study abroad experience and that increased length of study will affect a learner’s developing grammar. These assumptions will be examined in a critical review of previous work prior to the report of our findings. 1

Crossing disciplinary boundaries to improve the analysis of second language data: a study of copula choice with adjectives in Spanisch (2005)
Kimberly L Geeslin
Lincom Europa.

Variation in contemporary Spanish: Linguistic predictors of estar in four cases of language contact* (2008)
Kimberly L Geeslin and Pedro Guijarro-Fuentes
Bilingualism: Language and cognition, 11 (3), 365-380

Abstract

In some contact situations between Spanish and English there is an acceleration of the process of the extension of estar that may be due to lack of access to the formal written standard, features of English in particular or general processes of simplification that result from the cognitive demands of bilingualism (Silva-Corvalán, 1994). In our large-scale analysis of data from a contextualized preference task collected in four areas of the lberian Peninsula where Spanish is in contact with a regional language (Basque, Catalan, Galician and Valencian) and in monolingual regions of Spain, we identify differences in the numbers of unanimous responses, and frequency and predictors of estar selection across populations. We show that more frequent selection of estar is not a characteristic of all bilingual groups, and several linguistic predictors of estar are common to all groups. Additionally, we find that more frequent …

The acquisition of variation in second-language Spanish: An agenda for integrating studies of the L2 sound system (2008)
Kimberly L Geeslin and Aarnes Gudmestad
Journal of Applied Linguistics, 5 (2),

Abstract

The current study aims to stimulate further interest in interdisciplinary studies of variation in the second-language sound system, to outline the issues that must be considered to establish respect across the various disciplines implicated in this line of research, and to present findings from original research that constitutes a first step toward examining this area of second-language acquisition. By examining the acquisition of two phonetic variants in second-language Spanish, one that is largely geographic (/ϑ/) and one that is conditioned by a range of social factors (/s/-weakening), we show that a large participant pool is needed to study the acquisition of second-dialect features and that the frequency and graphemic contexts in which learners use these features vary We also identify a range of individual characteristics that appear to be related to the acquisition of a second dialect and show that explaining why some …

Variable subject expression in second-language Spanish: A comparison of native and non-native speakers (2008)
Kimberly Geeslin and Aarnes Gudmestad
Selected proceedings of the 2007 second language research forum, 69-85

Abstract

Research on the second language acquisition (SLA) of sociolinguistic variation in Spanish is in emergent stages. While the process of learning to vary language use like a native speaker (NS) has been examined more thoroughly in French (eg, Mougeon, Rehner, & Nadasdi, 2004) and English (eg, Adamson & Regan, 1991), studies on second language (L2) Spanish have been limited to mood distinction, copula choice, and task-based variation (Geeslin, 2003; Geeslin & Gudmestad, in press; Geeslin & Guijarro-Fuentes, 2006; Gudmestad, 2006). Findings in Spanish indicate that there are important differences between even very advanced non-native speakers (NNSs) and NSs of Spanish and that the contrasts between NSs and NNSs can be described by the frequency of selection of a variant and those linguistic and social factors that condition its use. Nevertheless, these conclusions must remain tentative given the limited number of grammatical structures studied. One important goal of the current study is to expand our knowledge of variation in L2 Spanish and to continue to refine a research program for the study of the subtle differences between NSs and NNSs of Spanish. Subject expression in Spanish, the focus of the current investigation, can take a variety of forms (eg, a lexical noun phrase, a pronoun, or non-overt subject) and has been the focus of extensive research on NSs (eg, Bayley & Pease-Álvarez, 1997; Cameron & Flores-Ferrán, 2004; Flores-Ferrán, 2004; Silva-Corvalán, 1982). In contrast, SLA research on subject expression has focused on the formal theoretical implications of L2 data (eg, Al-Kasey & Pérez-Leroux, 1998 …

Variation in L2 Spanish: The state of the discipline (2011)
Kimberly L Geeslin
Studies in Hispanic and Lusophone Linguistics, 4 (2), 461-518

Abstract

The field of second language (L2) variation, focusing mostly on English and French, has existed for over 30 years, documenting the effects of linguistic context, social context and individual characteristics on learner language. Research on the L2 acquisition of variation in Spanish has experienced tremendous growth over the past decade and currently includes empirical studies of the acquisition of nearly a dozen variable structures based on data elicited using a variety of measures from a range of language learners. The current paper explores this research, noting where the greatest advances have been made and also where additional research would be beneficial. The paper covers a range of variable structures, including the copula contrast, mood selection, verbal subjects and objects, several markers of tense and aspect and several features of the L2 sound system. The acquisition of these structures is an …

Student self-assessment in the foreign language classroom: The place of authentic assessment instruments in the Spanish language classroom (2003)
Kimberly L Geeslin
Hispania, 857-868

Abstract

Recent research on the teaching and learning of Spanish shows an increased focus on student-centered learning environments and corresponding methods of evaluation. Such renovations encourage students to take responsibility for learner outcomes and to individualize goals and tasks. The implementation of student self-assessment is an important mechanism through which learners interact with instructors and develop the requisite introspective skills to evaluate their own progress. Self-assessment rubrics can be applied to student activities such as class participation, long-term projects and portfolios with varied content. In addition to an increased clarity of instructor expectations, such methods improve student outcomes by delineating clear paths toward progress. Instructors of Spanish can adapt student self-assessment methods to meet individual pedagogical needs for a variety of levels of instruction.