The growth in the popularity of studying abroad has led to the proliferation of programs of various lengths, among which is the short-term study abroad (SA), typically lasting around one month. Much needed investigation remains regarding the effectiveness of short-term SA programs, and this study aims to understand the level of effectiveness through the lens of dialect feature acquisition. Specifically, in southwestern Andalucía, there exists a phenomenon in which local speakers of Spanish employ the 3rd person plural pronoun ustedes with 2nd person plural morphosyntactic realizations. The current study examines whether adult second-language learners become sensitive to these regional variants through a one-month SA program. Results show individual variation with more proficient learners moving toward the regional norm.
ENThe book reviewed here may serve as an excellent resource for advanced undergraduate students of linguistics, as well as graduates and scholars in the field and related disciplines. It comprises five chapters that explore, through three Spanish bilingual communities, the following topics: basic concepts in bilingualism, such as code-switching and language transfer; a brief historical review of Spanish bilingualism; proposed definitions of bilingualism and the different ways in which bilinguals may be classified according to factors such as language competence and age of acquisition; the effect of bilingualism on the brains and minds of bilingual speakers, such as increased cortical activation and enhanced literacy; and, finally, the development and outcomes of bilingualism on the linguistic representations of bilingual speakers. The authors cover a breadth of research, rendering it accessible by succinctly reviewing findings, and further identify areas for future research.
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