Language learners’ representations of Spanish-speaking countries: How can they inform language pedagogy?

Abstract

A number of studies have focused on language learners' images of Spain and Spanishspeaking countries, however, none of these investigations was conducted in an Asian educational context. The current study has addressed this gap in research literature. It investigated not only representations but also salience and favourability of students' images of the target language countries, which has not been done in earlier studies. The respondents were 31 beginner learners of Spanish. Firstly, they were asked to write images that they have about Spain; secondly, they were asked to write the names of Spanish-speaking countries that they know and provide several images for each of these countries. In addition, the students were asked to assign a favourability rating to each of the images in their lists. The findings revealed that the language learners' images of Spain were multifarious and had a richer structure compared to the representations of Latin American countries. Despite this difference, students had predominantly positive attitudes toward Spanish-speaking countries. The article concludes by discussiong how language learners' representations of a target language country can inform language pedagogy and offers some practical suggestions. ResumenMuchos estudios anteriores se han centrado en las imágenes que tienen los estudiantes de lenguaje (español) sobre España y los países de habla hispana, pero ninguna ha sido conducida en un contexto educativo asiático. El presente estudio intenta llenar este vacío en la literatura existente. Se investigó no solo las representaciones, sino también la relevancia y las preferencias de las imágenes de los estudiantes acerca de los países de la lengua meta, lo que no ha sido abordado en los estudios anteriores. Los encuestados eran 31 alumnos aprendices de español. En primer lugar, se les pidió que escribieran las imágenes que tenían acerca de España; en segundo lugar, se les solicitó que escribieran los nombres de los países de habla hispana que conocieran y que dieran varias imágenes sobre cada uno de estos países. Además, se les solicitó asignar una calificación de favoritismo o preferencia a cada una de las imágenes en sus listas. Los hallazgos revelaron que las imágenes de los estudiantes de lengua sobre España eran múltiples y tenían una estructura más rica en comparación con las representaciones que ellos tenían sobre los países latinoamericanos. A pesar de esta diferencia, los estudiantes manifestaron actitudes predominantemente positivas hacia los países de habla hispana. El artículo concluye con una discusión sobre cómo las representaciones que tienen los estudiantes del idioma sobre el país del idioma de destino pueden informar sobre una pedagogía de la lengua y ofrecer sugerencias prácticas.Palabras Clave: Pedagogía de las lenguas extranjeras, representaciones, estereotipos, países de habla hispana, lingüística aplicada.

Para lá da tarefa: implicar os estudantes na aprendizagem de línguas estrangeiras no ensino superior

“…Estas características oferecem informação sobre o tipo de representações que os alunos têm de outros grupos sociais diferentes e são adquiridas na própria socialização através do ensino formal e informal (meios de comunicação, família, amigos, etc.) (Nikitina, 2017).…”

Stereotypes as an interdisciplinary construct: Implications for applied linguistics research

“…Only a small number of investigations in applied linguistics has examined stereotype salience. The available studies conducted by Nikitina (2017) and Nikitina and Furuoka (2013) used techniques developed in cultural anthropology (J. Smith et al 1995) and anthropological linguistics (Sutrop 2001).…”

“…Recently, empirical research has been initiated in this direction and its aim is to demonstrate how in the process of teaching culture, endogenous stereotypes that language learners bring into the classroom can be linked to stereotypes embedded in a target language and culture (Nikitina 2017).…”

“…While a number of innovative pedagogical techniques have been proposed and implemented in order to address erroneous stereotypical notions about a target language country (Abrams 2002;Allen 2004;Houghton 2010;Nikitina 2017), there is only one study that holistically addresses various kinds of stereotypes that are present in the language (i.e., Byram and Kramsch 2008). Recently, empirical research has been initiated in this direction and its aim is to demonstrate how in the process of teaching culture, endogenous stereotypes that language learners bring into the classroom can be linked to stereotypes embedded in a target language and culture (Nikitina 2017).…”

“…For this reason, studies on stereotypes in the field of applied linguistics have been mainly pedagogically motivated. Researchers aimed to use their findings for devising effective pedagogical strategies that promote the development of the students' intercultural knowledge and competence (Abrams 2002;Allen 2004;Drewelow 2013;Houghton 2010;Nikitina 2017;Níkleva 2012;Webber 1990).…”