The effect of short-term study abroad on second language Spanish phonetic development

This study explores the impact of study abroad (SA) on second language Spanish phonetic development. Twenty-seven English-speaking learners of Spanish, 15 who were participating in a 4-week SA program in the Dominican Republic and 12 who were studying at their home (AH) institution, were recorded 5...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Studies in Hispanic and Lusophone linguistics 2015-09, Vol.8 (2), p.243-283
Main Authors: Bongiovanni, Silvina, Long, Avizia Y., Solon, Megan, Willis, Erik W.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Learning outcomes
phonetic development
Phonetics
Pronunciation
second language acquisition
Spanish as a second language learning
Study abroad
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Summary:This study explores the impact of study abroad (SA) on second language Spanish phonetic development. Twenty-seven English-speaking learners of Spanish, 15 who were participating in a 4-week SA program in the Dominican Republic and 12 who were studying at their home (AH) institution, were recorded 5 weeks apart (at the approximate beginning and end of their respective programs). Recordings were analyzed acoustically, and four groups of segments were examined: word-initial /p t k/, intervocalic /b d ɡ/, intervocalic /ɾ/ and /r/, and word-final /l/. Productions at Time 1 and Time 2 as well as between the SA and AH groups were compared. Results suggested a minor benefit of the SA environment for phonetic development of some of the segments but with notable individual variation in both groups.
ISSN:1939-0238
2199-3386
DOI:10.1515/shll-2015-0010