Spanish and Portuguese Language and Literature Commons^™

Effectively Teaching A Second Language: Principles And Practices, Alexander Gatica

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

This portfolio is the amalgamation of the author’s research and experience during his time in the Master of Second Language Teaching program. The first section contains the Teaching Philosophy, which centers on applying effective teaching methods, increasing learner motivation, and incorporating technology into the classroom. The next section consists of three artifacts in which the author further investigates specific aspects of language teaching. The language paper focuses on the effect that identity has on motivation to learn a language. The literacy paper discusses how to increase vocabulary acquisition via a mobile-assisted language learning application called Duolingo. The culture paper addresses …

The Immersion Process: Cross-Cultural Language Learning, Rachel Lunsford

Senior Theses

This study seeks to analyze the effects of motivation, awareness, and the immersion process through study abroad on foreign language production. Three participants were analyzed, two of which studied abroad and one who did not (my control case). Two of the three participants lacked the variable of awareness, measured as perception and reflection on language learning development, while only one participant (Participant M) who studied abroad in both Costa Rica and Spain, was made aware of her own learning process via a language learner’s journal and monthly recorded conversations. By studying abroad in two Spanish-speaking countries, Participant M selfreported the …

Bilingual (Spanish-English) Marketing As A Catalyst For Cultural Awareness: The Effect On Parents In The Toy Market, Margo K. Bailey

Honors Scholar Theses

Due to globalization, multinational companies are increasingly cognizant of the language used in marketing materials. The growing Hispanic population in the U.S. and the increasing desire to learn and consume English in Spain makes marketers think twice about how they use language. This research is multi-method, using in-depth interviews and an experiment to learn more about how languages are used in advertisements to target monolingual and bilingual consumers within a country, and how consumers respond to monolingual and bilinguals advertisements.

I started by interviewing two marketing managers with experience in bilingual advertising in various media to better understand their decisions …

Racismo Y Lenguaje, Michele Back, Virgina Zavala

Faculty Published Works

Este libro busca contribuir al estudio de los procesos de racialización y de la construcción discursiva de nuevas identidades en el Perú contemporáneo. En lugar de abordar el racismo desde una dimensión cognitiva, se interesa por el rol que las prácticas lingüísticas cumplen en su constitución. Las diez contribuciones que integran este volumen examinan los discursos y las prácticas del racismo en ámbitos diversos y discuten las sutiles formas en las que se construye a un «otro» desde un criterio aparentemente no racial, pero bajo retóricas raciales de modo subyacente. Todos los artículos abordan la forma en que la raza …

Defining Spanglish: A Linguistic Categorization Of Spanish-English Code-Switching In The United States, Leah Mernaugh

Honors Projects

This paper will linguistically explore the forms of Spanish spoken by Spanish-English bilinguals in the United States in order to argue that Spanglish is a complex linguistic system governed by a set of specific linguistic rules and patterns. I will do this by drawing on previous research in this field that examines the phonological patterns, morphological trends, and syntactic constraints that govern acceptable code switches between English and Spanish (Otheguy, 1993; Rodriguez-Gonzalez and Parafita-Couto, 2012; Rothman and Rell, 2005; Lipski, 2008; et al.). This evaluation of Spanglish will also include description and assessment of different arguments regarding how it can …

Evaluative Reactions To Nonnative Spanish, Nyssa Knarvik, Cecily Corbett

Languages, Literatures, and Cultures Other Graduate Student Scholarship

This study investigates whether there is a relationship between the native Spanish “Rater” evaluative reactions of Spanish spoken by second-language learners, called “Talkers,” based on the distance of their first language from Spanish. The Talkers’ first languages are grouped by distance from Spanish: close (Brazilian Portuguese and French), mid (Serbian and Polish), and far (Korean and Chinese). The Raters (n=50) are played recordings of the six Talkers reading the same story in Spanish and they are asked to rate each Talker on a 7-point Likert scale in 15 different categories (e.g. unintelligent/intelligent, easy/difficult to understand, and outgoing/shy). Results show statistically …

A New Test For Exemplar Theory: Varying Versus Non-Varying Words In Spanish, Anne Pycha

Linguistics Faculty Articles

We used a Deese-Roediger-McDermott false memory paradigm to compare Spanish words in which the phonetic realization of /s/ can vary (word-medial positions: bu[s]to ~ bu[h]to ‘chest’, word-final positions: remo[s] ~ remo[h] ‘oars’) to words in which it cannot (word-initial positions: [s]opa ~ *[h]opa ‘soup’). At study, participants listened to lists of nine words that were phonological neighbors of an unheard critical item (e.g., popa, sepa, soja, etc. for the critical item sopa). At test, participants performed free recall and yes/no recognition tasks. Replicating previous work in this paradigm, …

A Minority's Minority: An Ethnographic Study Of Sephardic Jewish Community In Atlanta, Zachary J. Dooley

DISCOVERY: Georgia State Honors College Undergraduate Research Journal

This paper explores the Sephardic Community in Atlanta through the lens of an ethnographic study of a micro-culture. The methodology that was employed in order to complete this research was that of a standard ethnography, i.e. interviews, observations, and comparison with current research on the community. Throughout the paper, the Sephardic culture is contrasted with its larger Eastern European counterparts, the Ashekenazim. Their cultures, as they exist internationally as well as the Atlanta area, are a focal point of the paper so as to have a well established point of reference to which to compare the Sephardic Atlanta culture. The …

Toggling The Switches, Zach Thomas

Bridges: A Journal of Student Research

In this paper, I use Richard Lanham's work within the field of rhetoric to explore the rhetorical implications of multilingualism and code switching. Specifically, I will discuss and question some of the basic assumptions of employing another language: What is at stake when we communicate with others in another language, especially native speakers? How might using an L2 language and recognizing/using different dialects within that language cause a speaker to reconsider their native tongue? What does the presence of numerous regional peculiarities and nonstandard varieties within languages say about our desire for "ideal" or "standard" speech?

La Transgresora Fetichista: Los Efectos De La Dictadura Franquista En La Evolución Del Discurso Sexual Español, Marisa Lee Iola Yerkes

Senior Independent Study Theses

Para una perspectiva teórica del feminismo interseccional, analizo tres obras subversivas sobre la época franquista/posfranquista hacía la transición hacia la democracia en España. Este análisis interseccional toma en cuenta la variedad de factores que contribuyen a la discriminación que afronta una persona. Las obras analizadas son dos novelas (Las hogueras de Concha Álos y Las edades de Lulú de Almudena Grandes) y una película (El Calentito de Chus Gutiérrez). Estos tres trabajos revelan las expresiones de la sexualidad de las mujeres que vivieron durante estos períodos y demuestran un cambio significativo en el discurso sexual español.

La primera …

Paradojas De La Narrativa Colonial: Representaciones De La Gente Indígena En El Arte Indigenista Y La Obra Plástica De Enriquestuardo Álvarez, Erin Gass

Senior Independent Study Theses

No abstract provided.

Agitando Lo Cotidiano. Una Conversación Sobre El Desafío Ⓐnarquista Frente Al Sexismo En El Lenguaje, Mariel Mercedes Acosta Matos, Ernesto Cuba

Publications and Research

Ernesto Cuba entrevista a Mariel Acosta acerca de los hallazgos en sus tesis de maestría, que aborda las propuestas de morfemas de género inclusivo en publicaciones anarquistas de habla hispana, entre las que se halla el uso de " @ " , " x " y otras innovaciones ortográficas que buscan desafiar el sesgo androcéntrico de la lengua. Palabras clave: Lenguaje no-sexista; anarquismo; ortografía; sociolingüística; estudios de lenguaje y género; español.

Ernesto Cuba interviews Mariel Acosta about the findings in hers master's thesis, which addresses the proposals of inclusive gender morphemes in Spanish-language anarchist publications, among which is the use …

The Crafting Of The Self In Private Letters And The Epistolary Novel: El Hilo Que Une, Un Verano En Bornos, Ifigenia, Querido Diego, Te Abraza Quiela, And Cartas Apócrifas, Angelica A. Nelson

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The inherent flexibility of the letter form or epistolary mode of writing frees the writer within the framework of salutations and closings to use vocabulary and language to create, to omit or to invert conventional constraints imposed on women by a patriarchal society. The letter begins as a blank page but becomes the space for writing one’s personal thoughts and emotions to the absent other in a communicative effort to minimize the separation.

This dissertation examines the female narrator in actual letters written during the Spanish emigration to the New World in the sixteenth century and four epistolary novels written …

Input Y Fonf En La Adquisición De La Doble Negación En Español Por Angloparlantes, Yolanda Pangtay Chang

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Dos factores importantes en la adquisición de una L2: estructura a adquirir y metodología de enseñanza, se estudian en esta tesis. En la negación en español L2, el cambio de la forma del inglés a una forma en principio más sencilla, puede necesitar reestructuración. El segundo factor, la metodología utilizada en su enseñanza, puede variar de manera importante de una clase a otra. Por lo tanto, surgen los siguientes cuestionamientos:

1) ¿Existe la reestructura de la L1 a la L2?

2) ¿Qué tipo de metodología ayuda a la reestructuración?

3) Si hay reestructuración, ¿es ésta permanente o no?

Para el …

Broadcasting The Crisis: Spanish Television As Critique, Eva Velasco Pena

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Television is often thought of as monolithic and totalizing, controlling viewers and upholding the status quo. This project will propose different understandings of the mass-medium. In order to historically contextualize my study, I will begin with a brief discussion of the role of television in democratic Spain (from c.1978-present). The thesis will primarily consist of an analysis of two sides of contemporary Spanish TV: fiction and politics; and will explore the way that certain programs, alternately catalyze critical thought and actions or enable spectators to, following John Ellis, “work through” traumatic events. I furthermore propose that imaging a concept might …

A Linguistic Comparison: Stress-Timed And Syllable-Timed Languages And Their Impact On Second Language Acquisition, Madeline M. Conlen

Honors College Theses

Acquisition of a second language can be a challenging task because no two languages are alike in their structure, syllabification, pronunciation, rhythm, etc. Also, after speaking one language for any amount of time, the speaker becomes accustomed to the specific qualities of that language; therefore, learning to speak another language takes extra effort because it is essentially rewiring the brain to think differently in many ways. One important element of language is prosody, or the patterns of stress and intonation in language (Dilley et al 237). The subsector of prosody that is to be studied is rhythm, explicitly isochrony and …

Antología De La Clase: Creative Writing In Spanish, Britton W. Newman

Student Scholarship

Creative Writing produced for Spanish 441 in the Spring semester of 2016.

Constructing Marianismo In Colonial Mexico, Kathryn A. Buchanan

Chancellor’s Honors Program Projects

No abstract provided.

Beneficial Worship Patterns Within Bilingual Spanishi-English Christian Churches In The United States, Madeline Bloom

Honors Program Projects

Language diversity within the U.S. is on the rise; this generates a unique cultural shift. Change in language diversity impacts the overall nature of government, schools, and churches. In response, many Christian churches are developing alongside the surrounding culture, notably in the form of bilingual services. In order to remain relevant the church must address new evangelistic and congregational needs. Religion is naturally perceived through a personal cultural lens, but cultural identity at its core is integrated with language. With this in mind, churches desiring to successfully integrate multiple languages in a worship setting must prepare for a long-term commitment …

Medical Education Through The Fiction Of Julio Cortázar, Blake Barton

Chancellor’s Honors Program Projects

No abstract provided.

Una Entrada En La Vida De Las Mujeres Inmigrantes: Una Exposición Visual Para Representar Las Experiencias De Mujeres Inmigrantes De México A Través De Retratos Y Entrevistas, Ashley Ables

World Languages and Cultures

Una entrada en la vida de las mujeres inmigrantes:

Una exposición visual para representar las experiencias de mujeres inmigrantes de México a través de retratos y entrevistas

Ashley Ables

California Polytechnic State University

Intent:

The intent of my project is to research the lives of migrant, farm-working women who have migrated from Mexico and now live and work in California. The other purpose is to present the findings to the Cal Poly and San Luis Obispo communities through interviews and artistic expression.

Methodology:

In order to research and present the lives of these women, I plan to do the following: …

Perception And Production Of Phonetic Stress In Spanish: An Investigation Of Native Speakers And Non-Native Learners, Benjamin Stoltenberg, Elizabeth Enkin

UCARE Research Products

In recent years, foreign language studies have become an area of great interest, given that students must be prepared to take on a career in a globalized world. Consequently, there is a growing incentive to learn a second language, and especially Spanish given that it is the most-studied foreign language in the United States. Language courses designed for majors and minors generally center on the analysis and discussion of sounds, morphological processes and grammatical constructions. However, little is known about the nature of specific difficulties that may arise for native speakers of English when they interpret spoken speech in Spanish. …

How Far Can They Go?: Non-Native Speakers Of Spanish And Wh- Questions, Maria Turrero Garcia

Doctoral Dissertations

The wh- island is a syntactic phenomenon that constitutes a constraint on wh- movement with implications for interpretation (the speaker must be aware of the distinction between arguments and adjuncts, and of the effects of the [-QU] feature on the middle wh- word against extraction) and for production (the speaker needs to know the limited, short distance scope of the fronted wh- word in adjunct questions). In Spanish, each wh- word carries a referential value that affects its classification as an adjunct or an argument, hence affecting the extractability of each wh- word from a complex question containing a wh- …

Fearless Friday: Erin Meachem, Erin M. Meachem

SURGE

In this round of Fearless Friday, SURGE is honoring the work of Erin Meachem ‘16!

Erin is originally from Queensbury, New York and is currently in her senior year at Gettysburg, majoring in English and Spanish. She has been heavily involved with student senate, serving as the senator for the Class of 2016 over the last three years. Erin currently works as the Student Liaison for the Career Development Center, advertising career development events to people who participate in student senate. In addition, she worked as the Peer Learning Assistant for a First-Year Seminar last semester and helped First Years …

Motivaciones Comunicativas Para La Expresión De Sujeto En Secuencias Clausales Correferenciales En Español, Berenice Darwich

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation examines subject expression in co-referential clauses in Spanish from a functional and discourse perspective. The purpose of this quantitative and qualitative investigation is to provide a strategy of communication that accounts for the presence or absence of subject expression in the second clause of a co-referential clausal sequence. Specifically, it is proposed that that subject expression, in this environment, is a discourse strategy for the use of the meanings of the personal pronouns and nominal phrases available for the speaker’s communicative purposes, and that this discourse strategy forestalls the competition for the status of discourse theme in the …

El Español En Los Estados Unidos: Panorama De Estudios Sociolingüísticos, Lotfi Sayahi, Juanita Reyes, Cecily Corbett

Languages, Literatures and Cultures Faculty Scholarship

The aim of this paper is to present the principal areas of sociolinguistic research concerning Spanish spoken in the United States. In doing so, we focus on a variety of topics ranging from macro-sociolinguistic issues, such as the sociology of language, to micro-sociolinguistic features having more to do with language variation and change. In our discussion of bilingualism and sociology of language, we explore the situation faced by Spanish speakers in the United States, including discussions of language policies and bilingual education. We also examine cases of contact between various dialects of Spanish in the United States, and some variable …

Short-Term Study Abroad: Perspectives On Speaking Gains And Language Contact, Todd A. Hernandez

Spanish Languages and Literatures Research and Publications

Previous studies have shown that study abroad has a positive effect on second language (L2) learning outcomes for students who spend at least a semester abroad. It is unclear, however, whether a short-term experience also has a measurable impact on L2 development. The present study examines the relationship between speaking proficiency gains made by students during a short-term study abroad program and their target language use outside of class in the host environment. To determine the potential relationships between speaking gains and language use, a background information questionnaire, a two-part modified language contact profile (LCP), and a pre-program and post-program …

Comparing The Opi And The Opic: The Effect Of Test Method On Oral Proficiency Scores And Student Preference, Troy L. Cox, Gregory L. Thompson, Nieves Knapp

Faculty Publications

While studies have been done to rate the validity and reliability of the Oral Proficiency Interview (OPI) and Oral Proficiency Interview–Computer (OPIc) independently, a limited amount of research has analyzed the interexam reliability of these tests, and studies have yet to be conducted comparing the results of Spanish language learners who take both exams. For this study, 154 Spanish language learners of various proficiency levels were divided into two groups and administered both the OPI and OPIc within a 2-week period using a counterbalanced design. In addition, study participants took both a pre- and postsurvey that gathered data about their …

Fuerzas Narrativas Femeninas En El Ingenioso Hidalgo Don Quijote De La Mancha, Margaret Fishback

Senior Independent Study Theses

No abstract provided.

Fronteras Entretejidas: Texto, Textil, Y La Formación De Una Narrativa Mestiza En Las Obras De Sor Juana Inés De La Cruz, Gloria Anzaldúa, Y Sandra Cisneros, Claire R. Billingsley

Senior Independent Study Theses

No abstract provided.