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Theses and Dissertations

1984

A Comparison of Spanish Language Proficiency as Related to A Comparison of Spanish Language Proficiency as Related to

Location and Length of Stay in a Foreign Language Environment Location and Length of Stay in a Foreign Language Environment

Karen Minnette Dawson McKenna Brigham Young University - Provo

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BYU ScholarsArchive Citation BYU ScholarsArchive Citation McKenna, Karen Minnette Dawson, "A Comparison of Spanish Language Proficiency as Related to Location and Length of Stay in a Foreign Language Environment" (1984). Theses and Dissertations. 4930. https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/etd/4930

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pijPAJaldaidMcom6t

A comparison OF SPANISH LANGUAGE proficiency AS RELATED TO

LOCATION AND LENGTH OF STAY IN A

FOREIGN LANGUAGE environment

A thesithesischesi s

presented to the

department ofo spanishf and portuguese

brigham young university

in partial fulfillmentof the requirements for the degree

master ofo artsf

by

karen minnette dawson mckenna

december 1984

ma

dad4 vartmentvartment

this thesis by karen minnette dawson mckenna is

accepted in its present form by the department of spanish

and portuguese at brigham young university as satisfying the

thesis requirements for the degree of master of arts

Q

james S taylor committee chairman

y f

R alan meredith committee member

olt y Fdate thomas E lyon department chairman

i i

3elt

TABLE OF CONTENTS

LIST OF TABLES i v

chapter1I introduction 1

II11 REVIEW OF THE literature 5

III111ili THE STUDY 23

IV RESULTS OF THE STUDY

49

.5151

i i i

iv

a a a a a a 0 a 0 41

a

31

45

.3131

V SUMMARY AND conclusions .4545

bibliography

APPENDIX

4048

ak4k a a a a a a 0 & a a a a a 0 a a a

aa2a

LIST OF TABLES

1 table one

a a a a a a a a a a a a 0 a a a a a a .3434

distribution of mean scores by location3 table three a a a a a a a 0 0 a a a a a a 0 a a .3535

distribution of mean scores by length of stay

4 table four a a a a a a a a a As a a a a a a D a a .3939

distribution of mean scores with V of speaking

5 table five a a a a a a a a a a a 40.40

activities in the language environment

6 table six a a a a a a a a a a a a a 0 a a M a a .4242

distribution of mean scores and time back

7 table seven a IV a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a .4444

distribution of mean scores and two lengths of stay

i viv

33

34

35

39

42

44

.3333

number of subjects in each location and length of

stay

2 table two

I1

chapter one

introductionintroductintroduceIntro iduct on

few people wouldmouldmouid deny that residence in an

environment where the spanish language is spoken can be an

effective way to learn the spanish language examples of

this approach are the study abroad and foreign exchange

student programs these experiences allow the student to be

placed in an area where the learning of the spanish language

is vital for communication and survival although thiswould be ideal for spanish language acquisition relativelyfew students ever get a chance to actually study abroad or

be a foreign exchange student also many of these programs

are of a very short duration commonly one to two months

an ideal program time in which to learn a foreign language

in its environment would be one year to two years since

most students cannot afford to spend this much time in a

foreign language environment for one reason or another

numbers of such students are few and therefore it would

be impractical to conduct research studies to evaluate

language proficiency of such students who have spent a

considerable amount of time in such an environment

however since spanish is spoken in several

different areas around the world it would be useful to know

2

if the location and length of stay in a given area affectsacquired language proficiency A much needed and valuable

study could be done if one could locate students or otherpersons who have spent considerable time in a spanish

language environment preferably longer than a year in

programs other than the study abroad and total immersion

programs the language proficiency of such persons could be

evaluated particularly in relation to location and length

of time spent in the particular area where they stayed

the purpose of this study is to evaluate the

language proficiency in spanish as related to the location

and length of stay in a spanishspeakingspanish environmentspeaking of

persons who have spent considerable time in such an

environment the research questions to be answered are 1

Is there a difference in language proficiency among those

who lived in one spanish speaking environment compared to

those who lived in another for example are persons who

lived in various countries in south and central america more

proficient than those who lived in spain or perhaps in a

spanishspeakingspanish areaspeaking in the united states ie new york

texas or california or vice versa 2 how much difference

is there in language proficiency when assessment is made of

length of time spent in a foreign language environment forexample how much more proficient is a person who spent

more than eighteen months in a spanish language environment

than say one who only spent twelve to eighteen months or

twelve months or less 3 what aids such as study

englengi i sh i s rare I1 y

3

materials or public mediamedla are used most by those who have

spent time in a spanish language environment and which are

most beneficial

it would be assumed that a higher language

proficiency would be directly related to a purer spanish

language environmentenvbenv thosei placesdonmenronmen wheret english is rarelyseen or heard but no empirical evidence to prove such a

point was found it might also be assumed that the longer a

person is submerged in a spanish language environment the

higher the language proficiency will be achieved

to find the answers to these questions thisresearcher administered a questionnaire to students who had

resided in a foreign language environment and then latercompleted a spanish diagnostic test these students were

enrolled in spanish 321 at brigham young university in

provo utah A comparison of the answers to the

questionnaire with the scores on the diagnostic test was

assessed to see what differences there were in location and

length of stay in a spanishspeakingspanish environmentspeaking A copy of

the questionnaire is in the appendix

it is anticipated that this study will show what

differences there are in language proficiency as they relateto location or length of stay in a spanish language

environment it will also suggest possible uses of thisinformation for improvement of spanish language instructionany information revealed could be used to improve spanish

instruction in such institutions as the missionary training

mater i al s pub i c med i a

prof i c i ency wouaou I1 d d i rec t I1 y re I1 atedabed span i sh

I1 p I1 acesacee

4

center or any spanish class at either the high school or

college level information could also be given as to which

outside aids were used most frequently in supplementing

spanish study and which are most beneficial especially if

the chances of living in a foreign language environment are

not available or even probable

defini tion of terms

the term proficiency as it is used in this study

is defined as the score achieved on a comprehensive grammar

diagnostic testthe term residence refers to a period of time of

two months or more during which the student spends

twentyfourtwenty hoursfour of each day in the foreign language

envbenv i ronmentrosmentron

spanish

ment

language environment refers to any area

where spanish is spoken not only in central and south

america and spain but also areas in the united statesdelimidelici tationslations

this study involves students of spanish and

comprises principally students enrolled in advanced grammar

classes at brigham young university the large majority

being returned missionaries of the church of jesus christ of

latterdaylatter saintsday since the language proficiency is being

assessed of this particular population conclusions may not

be applicable to other situations of foreign language

resireslreel dence

environment

residence

dealdeai i nan9 w i th

chapter two

review of the literature

it is proposed in this thesis to study spanish

language proficiency in relation to length of stay and

location in a spanish language environment to see what thisrelationship is one question asked is what makes one

proficient in spanish or what specific things aid one in

becoming more proficientin the review of the literature concentration has

been placed on articles closely related to the thesis topic

and on studies of those persons who have had residency in a

spanish speaking environment for a considerable length of

time to find out just what affects their proficiency many

articles have been oundfoundaund dealing with total immersion

classes which try to simulate an countryincountryin experience but

these experiences still do not evaluate spanish language

proficiency with length of stay and location in a

spanish speaking environment other topics which try to

simulate countryincountryin experiences without actually living in

another country are camp and weekend programs and intensiveprograms these types of programs offer innovative ways for

students to participate in total immersion or study

abroadtypeabroad programstype and experience a variety of activitiesof a different culture without actually having to travel to

5

ar t i c I1 es f immers i on

6

another country to do so still these programs are so

diversified that each one has its own characteristics to

make it unique and to claim success it was felt that even

though these programs were good in that they try to offer

something valuable without the cost of living abroad they

could not be compared or related to this thesis topic which

deals with persons who have actually spent time in a spanish

language environment nhatwhat is wanted is a study of what

attributed to the language fluency of these individuals the

aids or specific activities they did which were most

beneficial in reaching a higher level of proficiency

after measurement of proficiency this researcher

wanted to find out if length of stay in a spanish language

environment made a difference in proficiency articlescomparing proficiency with the different amounts of time

spent in spanishspeakingspanish environmentsspeaking could not be found

research to find out if the achievement of good

proficiency in spanish was acquired because of the intensitywith which a person was submerged in a spanish speaking

environment was also wanted take an example of a person

who goes to southern california and spends a great deal of

time talking in spanish with the people of hispanic descent

and spending a large amount of time using and living the

spanish language yet there are many traces of the

english speaking environment around him such as store signsmagazines newspapers radio and television stations which

are for the most part in english compare hisherhigheraisher situation

st i I1 I1

f i nd i f I1 i n span i sh I1 anguagelanguage

7

with a person who goes to a country in south america where

not only associations with other people are in spanish but

also the store signs magazines newspapers and totalenvironment are in the spanish language surely both are

in spanish speaking environments but the latter environment

tends to be a more pure spanish environment than the former

one the purity of the spanish environment in both of these

cases is varied again no research was found relating to

these types of situationsassessment of personal effort with the language

proficiency of persons who had had residence in a

spanishspeakingspanish environmentspeaking was wanted given any of the

circumstances mentioned earlier did the individuals take

and create advantages helping themselves to achieve a

higher level of proficiency did they study and read the

newspapers books texts or listen to television and radioprograms available in the area

one area being questioned is whether differentlocations offer different advantages in attaingattaint proficiency

ie of the spanish environments in south america central

america and the united states do the people who go to one

area achieve a higher level of proficiency than those who go

to another area even though both may be in those differentareas approximately the same amount of time in the review

of the literature no such studies or papers dealing with

language proficiency and comparing different areas where

spanish or any other languages are spoken and attributing

8

language proficiency to the location of the spanishspeakingspanish

environment

speaking

were found

answers to the questions concerning levels of

proficiency with length and stay in a spanish language

environment were wanted in the review of the literaturevery little research was found dealing with these particularquestions two studies similar to the thesis topic were

found one by bialystok deals with strategies used by

high school students while learning a foreign language the

other by armstrong a study abroad program reports from

the participants the success of the program and shows thatan countryincountryin experience is most valuable when proficiency

is desiredA supporter for attaining language proficiency

through a real life foreign language environment isbialystok she states that the most functional situationwould likely occur outside of the classroom in a natural

setting where conveying the message is the only essentialgoal of the language occasion 24 here the foreign

language learner is trying to communicate something to a

native speaker and most likely texts are not availablebialystok feels that correction from native speakers is good

and can be very helpful

bialystok conducted a study in which strategies used

by high school students learning a foreign language were

assessed to see the effects of their use on various types of

language achievement to do the study a questionnaire and

he I1 pf u I1

9

four achievement tests were used the questionnaire asked

to what extent did the students engage in various activitiesto help them study or achieve proficiency in the target

language after each question the student answered with 1

often 2 sometimes 3 rarely and 4 never the

questionnaire was designed to cover four areas of both oral

and written study these four areas arel formal

practice oralwrittengoraluritten 2 monitoring oralurittendralwritten 3

functional practice oralwrittenoralurittenOralUOralorai andrittenWritten 4

inferenciferenciinferenceIn ng oraleroralur i ttenaten

the suggestion of activities for each category

previously stated are

1I formal practice oral did you listen toeach of the following sources in order to learnstructursstructuresstruc orturs improve pronunciation radioradlotelevision movies people formalpractice written did you read the following tolearn new words or structures newspapers andmagazines labels on packages books brochures andpamphlets

II11I1 monitorI1 ingngmon oraioralonali didtor youi do thefollowing when speaking planpian exactly how you willsay something before you say it avoid using wordsor structures you are unsure of correct errors youmake while speaking monitoring written did youdo the following when writing write only what youknow is correct check for spelling or grammarerrors and correct them rewrite incorrect parts ofassignments examine errors on assignments andcorrect them in your mind

111IIIililii functional practice oral did youlisten to each of the following out of interest inthe content radioradlo television movies peoplefunctional practice written did you read each ofthe following because of the meaning newspapers andmagazines labels on packages books brochures andpamphlets

IV inferencing oral did you do each ofthe following when you did not understand somethingbeing spoken use the general meaning of the speech

structuresnewspapers

speakingplan

writingwrite

mean i ng

inferencing oralwritten

arel

radios

Is18

to figure out the unknown parts use the gestures ofactivities of the speaker to help you understanduse objects or cues in the environment to arrive atthe meaning inferencing writtenUr diditten you do thefollowing when coming across an unknown word whilereading check to see if it reminds you of anenglish word you know try to figure out the meaningfrom the context of the passage look at thebeginning or ending of the word to figure out atleast what part of speech it is try to use otherinformation such as pictures for your own knowledgeabout the subject to figure out the meaningbialystok 28

bialystok concluded that the students considered the

strategies to be meaningful in that the activities mentioned

were described specifically the understandability of these

attitudes by the second language learners gives a positive

indication of the teachability of these strategies 02bialystok stated that the strategy most responsible for high

achievement on all tasks was functional practice it was

expected that the effects would be more pronounced for

functional tasks but the results showed that functional

practice facilitated performance on all four tasks examined

therefore language exposure in communicative situations is

relevant to performance when the performance requires

attention to meaning 33

A study abroad program in a high school in indiana

which has data supporting countryincountryin experiences and reports

success has the students living in germany france or

mexico the students live with families in the differentcountries to qualify for the program the high school

student must be a third year foreign language student and

must take an exam and score high enough to be chosen to go

readingcheck

32

I1 I111

for there are many more who apply to go90 than there are

vacancies in fact the program is very competitive and

sometimes the selection is made afteraeter oral interviews of the

applicants after the students have been chosen for the

program and are placed in the country that corresponds to

the language they are studying the students must sign oaths

of no engiiengie sh

the exclusion of the mother toungelounge has longbeen the backbone of the programs effectivenessparticipants vow to live both the spirit and letterof the law befoebedoe leaving those who do not abide bythe rules once abroad are promptly given theopprtunityopportunity to comply or abbreviate their stayarmstrong 365

the students who participated in the program thatwent to san luis potosi mexico in the summers of 1979 and

19881980 made remarkable progress the students were given both

prepro and post tests which measured skills in listeningreading and writing the tests to measure these skills were

tests that could be evaluated through a written test the

cooperativemlacooperativeMLA spanish language proficiency test form MA

advanced for oral evaluation the students were given the

foreign service institute exam FSIFSD both types of testswere given the first and final days of their stay in mexico

with a time lapse in between being six weeks these

students of the study abroad program were compared with

students who study spanish during one full school year at

the high school the average gains from third to fourthyear classroom students are

some t i mesmeb se I1 ec t i on i s af ter i n tervberv i ewsaws

english

foifol lowuplow

12

GAINS BETWEEN THIRD AND FOUTH YEAR STUDENTS

tested area gain in points

listening a8

reading 6

urluriwri ting 12.5125

after just six weeks of study in mexico the gains in

the same areas are

GAINS OF THE SIX WEEKSUEEKS STUDY ABROAD PROGRAM

tested area gain in points

listening 1818161816.18101810.18

reading 9.292ur i t i ng 15

this shows remarkable improvement in all areas afteronly six weeks of study just think what level of language

proficiencyproficiecy could be gained if the studenstudents spent sixgix months

to a year or more in a foreign language environment

A followupfollow surveyup was given to the same

participants of the mexico study abroad program of the one

hundred and twenty surveyed eightyeighteighty answeredeight

sixtytwosixty oftwo seventy one who studied at the college level

started their college coursework at an advance level of

spanish third level or above most all credited theirfluency to the time spent in mexico on the study abroad

program thirtytwothirty saidtwo that they scored 568560 to 880890800bob on the

CEEB college placement test in spanish eightytwoeighty percenttwo

writing

writing

prof i c i ecy cou I1 d ga i ned i f ts spenepen t s i x mon thsohs

125

92

oreionoreiqn language annalsyann&jsyannalse buscaglia barrutia martin

kurlansykurlanskyKur andlansy breschinsky all support countryincountryin experiences

to aid in attaining foreign language proficiency many

explain their programs and their successes advocating such

types of experiences to best attain proficiency but none

give data which support their theoriesnot too long ago the united states of americasamerica

presidential commission on foreign language and

international studies overviewedover whatviewed is being done in the

high schools across the nation and what is lacking in

foreign language study and what programs are being used

although there are probably countless different programs

13

said that they would definatelydefinitelydefina continuetely their spanish

study thirtyeightthirty percenteight said that they were majoring in

spanish or in careers that required the use of spanish

armstrong 368 all students said that their experience in

mexico helped their selfconfidenceself inconfidence using spanish and

speaking seventytwoseventy oftwo the persons surveyed said thatthey were planning more trips abroad that they appreciated

their experience and that it helped them to overcome biasesof people from a different culture armstrong 369

the testimonials of these students who had such

positive effects from their study abroad experience only

prove that an actual countryincountryin experience to learn a

foreign language is the best way to attain foreign lanuagelanguage

prof i c i ency

the following reports from articles by gaddy

foreign

proficiency

s

14

being offered in the high schools in foreign language study

the main focus will only be on a couple that deal with

intensive language study and study abroad programs

one exchange program that has been in progress for a

couple of years is an exchange program between high schools

in the united states and high schools in france and

venezuela this program exchanges the participatingteachers and students who live in the country for a school

year where the students not only experience an immersion in

the foreign language but also immersion in the foreign

culture experiencing the literature art customs food

schools and politics according to gaddy this exchange

program broadens the students horizon and gives them a new

perspective on the people and on life in general of another

country 14

another program similar to the previously mentioned

program is one which proposes an international high school

international 183 promotion of the program compares

learning a second language to learning to ride a bike that

it is difficult to learn either one from a book

intern ationalactional 186

other immersion programs may be presentedvicarouslyvicariously but even these are but poor substitutesfor living in another culture and having to speakthe language and follow the customs of that culturethe international school should therefore seekways to provide such experiences preferably throughan immersion curriculum or alternatively eitherthrough artificial immersion weeks or weekendsthrough summer abroad programs or through semesterexchange programs international 186

international

su bstabst i tu testeg

I1 i v i ng

15

the purposes of this program which offers the

students cultural and linguistic experiences will give the

students a wellroundedwell experiencerounded in a foreign country

international 186 although this international school

carefully states the objectives of its course no researchwas found to back up its success and effects on the studentswho participated the main problem with this type of

program is the fact that it probablprobably costs a great deal of

money thereby limiting the number of students who could

participate even so such an opportunity would wellweil be

worth the time and money and an experience which one would

never forget and as stated earlier no experience helps

one to attain fluency in a foreign language more than living

the language in a foreign language environment

the presidents commission is not the only group

that has recognized a need to change the nationsnation language

programs buscaglisbuscaglioBus hascaglis suggested that to offer more

communicative goals in the course requirements would

increase enrollementenrol inlement the nationss programs 47 other

suggestions given to increase enrollementenrol arelement to have skitsclass presentations and real life situations as part of the

curriculum involving the students as much as possible

rather than relying on lecture type lessons to alsoinclude many visualsvisualsq televisions and talk and game shows

are also suggested buscaglia 48

i s f ac t i t y

part i c i pate oppor tun i ty wouaou I1 d we I1 I1

at ta i n f I1 uencybency i n fore i agngn I1 anguagelanguage

s

I1 i f e I1 i vesvee

16

the more variety a class has the more likely it is to be a

success with the students enrolled As buscaglia indicates

it has long been known by foreign languageteachers that our educational systems cannot do aswell in one two or even three years of languageinstruction as the student can do for himself withonly one school year abroad furthermore anexperience in a new cultural milieu stimulates theintelectualintellectualinte developmentlectual of a student far beyond theacquisition of a second language it broadens thestudents general education and gives new depth tohis academic interests 233

this article contains no data of studies supporting

the effectiveness of study abroad programs but barrutiastrongly advocates study abroad programs and is convinced

that an experience abroad cannot be even closely matched

with the normal classroom 234 the areas in which ithelps the students are endless the student becomes more

independent in his studies and more independent in control

of his life it broadens his value system and gives him a

new perspective of hishie own way of ilfelife and alsoaiso the lives of

people from a different culture he states that there are

many study abroad programs in the high schools and colleges

around the nation but many of them have a few basic problems

to be worked out before these programs can have theirfullest value and impact on students one of the major

problems is that many students go to a country to live but

do not try do adapt to the country instead they fill theirsemester abroad by living like tourists rather that tryingto absorb the culture and its potential impact but he

reminds this type of experience still develops the

perspec t i ve h i s al so

requdequ i remen t shoughou I1 d expecexpect ted

17

students foreign language proficiency and ability far above

that of the student who spends a year studying the same

language at the college 234

barrutia suggests that students enrolled as foreign

language majors be required to spend two semesters abroad

for partial fulfillment of graduation requirements in

fact he believes that that requirement should be expected

of foreign language majors he also suggests that the

american association of teachers of spanish and portuguese

and the modern language association set funds to aid in

these ideas by doing so this type of program would most

certainly raise the value of teaching efficiency of foreign

languages in the united states 234

one study abroad program for spanish language

majors at an urban university has had great success with a

program in mexico the program is especially for spanish

majors but is open to other studentsstuden as wellweliweil the mainmaln ideadeaof the experience is to have the students submerged in a

different culture after arriving in the country the

students are encouraged to explore the town and surrounding

area in small groups of two to four persons without a

supervisor the directors of the program want the studentsto do this to learn how to handle themselves appropriately

in the many situations that may confront them and to learn

to deal with the unexpected the more formal part of the

program has the students meeting in the mornings for lessonsin reading and to discuss experiences of the previous day

f ac t be I1 i eves

maj orsorg bu t i s ts we I1 I1 ma i n i

18

in the afternoon they are left on their own again to explore

the area and experience the true mexican culture they

are required to keep records of their own experiences in a

diary or journal of some sort try to associate with the

people of mexico and perhaps make friends and try to get a

taste of the mexican daily life martin 487

before going to mexico students on the study abroad

program are required to take a mini class in this classthe students study brochures and pamphlets about mexico and

plan out the places that they want to go not just the main

tourist attractions but off the beaten path places too itis also during this class that they learn about legal

concerns how to buy insurance if they so desire where to

obtain medical help if they should need it how and where to

change their money to get the best exchange rates they

also learn the vocabulary words which are characteristic to

the mexican culture martin 4884138

uhliewhile the students are in the country they have a

special project to work on complete and present as soon as

they return from their stay in mexico this project can

include practically any topic but must be something that the

students can learn from through study and their experiences

in mexico the advocates of this program feel it has

achieved a major acompiishmentacomplishmentaccomplishment in that it has the studentsexperiencing the mexican way of life fairly close to the way

mexicans experience it they want the students to

I1 i ve w i th

19

experience the ups and downs of mexican ilfelife the delays

the food and the various activities martin 490

here again is another example of programs that claim

immersion in the country is best in attaining good foreign

language fluency but there was no test administered to

measure the fluency attained by the students who

participated in the study abroad program in mexico

an article by kurlanskykurlansyKur entitledlansy students and

colleges profit from american study programs in france

favors yet another study abroad program for americans which

immerses them in the culture and language of a differentcountry this time it is france this program takes

students who have studied french for at least two semesters

to france and has them study french with french professorsone program places the students in sweet briar for the firstfive weeks after that the students are enrolled in regular

classes at the university of paris here the studentsstudy courses such as economics or history right along with

native french students 49 this type of program would be

very difficult for the student who has only studied french

for a short time because the total immersion experience in

the country just aeterafter five weeks woud make studying very

difficultthere are many programs for the french language

student in france that are held in other cities besidesparis students in such program may go to tours nice or

countiesscountless other cities where they live with other families

exper i ence mex i can I1 i f e de I1 ays1

af ter f i ve study i ng

coun t I1 eseess c i t i es f am i I1 i es

2620

or on their own to experience the french way of lifeilee which

is quite different from the busy parisian life allprograms are not without problems some of the major

problems with study in france are the problems in obtaining

visas and meeting the seven month registrationpreregistrationpre

requirement in order to attend school another problem is

the fact that the visas usually run out before the end of

the term thereby not allowing the students to finish alsoa problem is that it is practically impossible for a

nonfrench citizen to obtain work in france without many

hassles or without working illegally but even with the

problems all the students who have gone have had great

experiences and feel that the troubles were well worth the

efforts kurlansky 51

this study program in france which was reported on

by kurlansky seems like a good experience that helps the

student gain good proficiency in french but this articledoes not provide any empirical data to support its strengthsand successes

another study abroad program is housed at the

leningrad state university or the puskin institute of the

russian language in moscow this program is mostly for

russian teachers or future russian teachers breschinsky

19 whileuhlie in moscow the participants are first given

exams to see what level of proficiency they have in russian

afterwordsafterwardsAfter theywords are divided into groups according to theirspecific level here the participants are given class

lefevlifev

prob ems w i th i n prob ems i n obtaoata i n i ng

non french

21

instruction in five different areas 1 practical

instruction 2 norms of modern russian 3 methodology

and psychology 4 russian and soviet literature and 5

social sciences classes are held from 939930 in the morning

to 280289200 in the afternoon and are only for participantsenrolled in the program on some afternoons participants

visit red square museums and art galleries students have

limited freedom and are not allowed to associate much with

native russian students at the university they are kept

close together although the russian instructor is native

russian about the only experience that they have with

native speakers of russian is with him with the exception

of any interaction that may occur during one of the planned

activities for the course the participants do not livewith families as in other foreign language study abroad

programs and therefore do not get to experience the

culture of the russian daily life and family life in a

russian home although this is not the ideal situation for

learning a language in a study abroad program they do

experience to some extent russian culture and get to

experience the language first hand in russia still many

advocate this type of experience for learning russianespecially for those who plan to be teachers of russian

rather than no countryincountryin experience at all breschinsky

22

all of these programs which promote in country

experiences for achieving language proficiency including

st i I1 I1

22

the program given in the article by breschinsky are similarto this thesis topic but none present data to support theirtheor i es

of the material mentioned in this chapter thisresearcher has tried to find subjects and topics that relateto the study of language proficiency as related to location

and length of stay in a foreign language environment most

of the material found has dealt with the attainment of

foreign language proficiency in high school and college and

relates to intensive immersion weekendneeUee campkend and study

abroad programs all of the literature advocates thatexperiences in the country of the target language or

experiences which simulate that type of experience as the

most helpful in attaining proficiency with the exception

of the study by armstrong of the proficiency of the studentswho went on the study abroad program to san luis potosi

mexico which is similar to this thesis topic a review of

the literature did not reveal the existence of any other

similar studies to this researchers knowledge there are

no studies demonstrating that there is a correlationdirectly relating higher language proficiency and

achievement to the location and length of stay in a foreign

language environment the next chapter will discuss the

study and explain how the evaluation was carried out

theories

I1languageanguagelanguage proficiency

as related to length of stay and location in a foreign

language environment it was necessary to have a fairly large

population who had spent considerable time in a foreign

language environment the population for this study was

taken from spanish 321 classes which are third year grammar

and composition classes at brigham young university in

provo utah only those students who took and completed the

spanish diagnostic testy called the cumulative studentreport which is given at the first part of each semester

were involved in the study the diagnostic test which

evaluates mastery of grammar principles was the sole

measure of proficiency for this study participants from

the 321 spanish classes were chosen because it was necessary

to find persons who had spent considerable lengths of time

in a spanish speaking environment who had also taken and

completed the spanish diagnostic test brigham young

university has a unique advantage in that there is a very

large population of men and women who have served missions

for the church of jesus christ of latterdaylatter saintsday many

of these missions have been served in spanishspeakingspanish

23

speaking

proeprof i c i ency

testtegt

chapter threedescription of study

to evaluate the thesisthesichesi topic ofeval uateaate s top i c

24

environments this study included principally returned

missionaries as subjects since the majority of the students

enrolled in spanish 321 is returned missionaries

nevertheless there were exceptions to this rule therewere some persons in spanish 321 who had spent time in a

spanishspeakingspanish environmentspeaking without serving as

missionaries some were study abroad students others had

been tourists the questionnaire was designed to

accommodate almost any circumstance the focus of the

questionnaire was not on returned missionaries per se but

rather on spanish language proficiency as affected by length

of stay and location in a foreign language environment plus

background and experience in that environment there were

originally 180190100188 participants from these classes but studentswhose native language was spanish were deleted from the

survey also deleted from the survey were those who had

never spent any time in a foreign language environment

excluding these groups of persons plus others who did not

answer the questionnaire properly and therefore had to be

deleted from the study left the number of totalparticipants at seventy four

the diagnostic test is designed to evaluate the

degree of control that a person has over the structuralstrucpatterns

Aural

of spanish the selection of the grammatical

concepts which are evaluated was based on an analysis of the

most common mistakes made by persons learning spanish as a

second language the test is divided into four sections

earseara

STser and estarballanhallad comparisons interrogatinterrogateInter irogat vesveg diminutives and

Augmentaugmentat ives time writinguniting in spanish miscellaneousandmiscellaneousI1 itemsternstermsterng

this researcher felt that this diagnostic testevaluated the students knowledge of the spanish language

25

with each section taking approximately one hour to take

the subject material tested consists of the followingPART I1 gender of nouns singular and plural use

of other wordsnords as nouns subject pronouns direct objectpronouns indirect object pronouns reflexive objectpronouns object of preposition pronouns relative pronouns

use of definite articles use of indefinite articles and

adject i ves

PART II11 adverbs negation prepositionspossession demonstratives person and number agreement

present tense preteritePret anderite imperfect future conditionalpresent participle progressive and past participle and

compound tensesPART 111IIIlii subjunctive forms subjunctive in noun

clauses subjunctive in adjective clauses subjunctive with

conjunctions miscellaneous uses of subjunctive formal

commands familiar commands contrary to fact use of

reflexive impersonal passive gustarbustard tydetype verbs and

passive voice

PART IV uses of infinitives idiomatic verb

expressions gender agreement personal A por and par ay

S i ngu I1 ar

adjectives

interrogativesaugmentatives andat

26

very thoroughly and therefore wouldmouldmouid be a good source to

measure language proficiency

aeterafter the participants had completed allaliail four areas

of the diagnostic test they answered a questionnaire

concerning their language experiences the questionnaire

asked specific questions about the students experiences in

a foreign language environment ie length and location of

stay in the foreign language environment and language study

previous to and during stay in the foreign language

environment A copy of the complete questionnaire is found

in the appendix the questionnaire was divided into four

parts asking questions concerning 1 prior to an

countryincountryin experience 2 missionary training center MTC

experience if the participants had one 3 in country or

spanishspeakingspanish areaspeaking experience and 4 language learning

activities that is a list of activities they may have used

on a regular basis to improve their mastery of spanish

to measure their spanish study prior to living in a

spanish speaking environment the participants were asked if

their native language was spanish since this study was

measuring only the knowledge of attainment of spanish from

non native spanish speakers as mentioned previously anyone

who answered that spanish was their native language was

deleted from the study it was also asked if the

participants studied to any degree the spanish language

prior to going to a foreign language environment not

counting their MTC experience this question was asked to

af ter par t i c i pan ts comp I1 e ted al I1 f our

1 anguagelanguage I1 earn i ng

27

measure the number of those who had actually studied spanish

prior to going to a foreign language environment and what

number of the participants had had their first experience

with spanish either in the MTC or actual residence in a

spanish speaking environment the questions dealing with

the sujectssuiectssubjects spanish language background before living in a

spanish speaking environment asked whether the students had

studied spanish at home in the elementary junior and high

schools and college and asked how long they had studiedspan i sh

the second part of the questionnaire asked about the

MTC experience if the participant did not have thatexperience heshebeshe was instructed to skip this section and

continue with the next section of the questionnaire thissection was designed mainly to see who had studied in the

MTC and for what length of time they had studied there itwas anticipated to see if the students who had studiedspanish prior to going into the MTC had spent the same

length of time in the MTC as those who had never studied

spanish before entering the MTC the MTC trains the

missionaries in foreign languages for eight weeks before

sending them to the foreign language environment

sometimes if prior knowledge of the foreign language is

sufficient such missionaries may spend only up to four

weeks in the MTC

the third part of the questionnaire asked about the

countryincountry andor spanish speaking environment experience

spanish

in

28

questions in this section were directed at determining

whether the participant had ever lived in a spanish language

enviromentenvironment and if so where that environment and was

for purposes of evaluating this study a list of all

the spanishspeakingspanish environmentsspeaking was made there were

sixteen different locations in all because the populations

of spanish language environments were so large and variedthey were grouped into six areas for purposes of arranging

homogeneous numbers and localities and also by spanish

regions where the surrounding countries are fairly similarin the actual spanish spoken there these areas were

arranged by logical and regional locality they are 1

the south american cone argentina uruguay and chile 2

the rest of south america peru bolivia ecuador colombia

paraguay and venezuela 3 spain 4 puerto rico 5

central america honduras costa rica guatemala and mexico

and 6 the united statesafter determining which spanishspeakingspanish

environments

speaking

the participants lived in they were asked how

long they had lived in that environment the purpose of

this question was to correlate the diagnostic test scores

with the length of time spent in a foreign langugelanguage

envbenv i ronmentrosmentron

the

ment

next question asked the participant to tellunder what circumstances heshebeshe was in the country iewhether heshebeshe was a missionary student or tourist then

the participants were asked if they lived with a

environment

29

spanishspeakingspanish familyspeaking while in the foreign language

environment and if they had a roommate or companion who

spoke spanish they were then asked to approximate how much

of the time they actually heard and spoke spanish these

questions were asked in order to evaluate the approximate

accessibility of spanish to the participant in the spanish

language environment and to see how much heshebeshe was

submerged in the spanish language no matter what type of

language environment heshebeshe might have lived in

the fourth part of the questionnaire was concerned

with language mastery and asked the participants to indicate

what they did on their own to improve their mastery of

spanish here the participants were asked if they studied a

grammar book studied with a companion or roommate took

classes read newspapers magazines books or scripturestalked with the people lived with a family listened to the

radio watched the television or saw films the

participants were asked to answer yes to the questions

concerning mastery of the language only if they engaged in

the activities on a regular basis

the last part of the survey asked the participantshow long they had been back from the spanish speaking

environment it was to assess how much of the language was

lost if any among the participants who had been back from

the foreign language environment for a period of time and

had not studied the language

30

analysis of variance was used to compare the answers

to the questionnaire with the scores on the diagnostic testto see what difference if any there was in location and

length of stay in a foreign language environment

bjbi

calcai culcui atedabed

chapter four

results of the study

the basic purpose of the study was to determine if a

relationship existed between languaguagelanquaguagelangualanqua proficiencyguage and

length of stay and location in a spanish language

envbenv i ronmentrosmentron

to

ment

determine this relationship the scores from the

spanish diagnostic test were compared to the questionnaire

which is explained in detail in chapter three the model

for this analysis which is analysis of variance is yijkdijkjj A i E with Y representing the test score u

as the mean A as the location of the foreign language

environment B as the length of time spent in the foreign

language environment and E as the error the F ratio was

19572631.957263957263.9572631957263957263 and the PF va1uevaguevalvai isue 0110.11ollolioiloiii

the

s

test

0

scores

11

are calculated by totaling the four

segments of the diagnostic test A score of 480400 is the

highest possible score and each individual test is worth

180100 the mean scores for the participants in each of the

six groups are

31

environment

ai

1

total i nan9 f our

I11

venezuela n

I11

mexmexicoi npco

colcoi ombamb i

group one the south american cone

argentina jn 13

uruguay r 1

ch i 1 e n

TOTAL n 22 MEAN

4

bolboi i v i a n 2

ecuador n 6

colombi a n 3

paraguay JDL

3

TOTAL n 19 MEAN

n n 8

TOTAL n 8 MEAN

3

TOTAL n 3 MEAN

2

costa rica n

7

TOTAL n 11 MEAN

32

n

n

chile

bolivia

n

n

2628004526286045262.86045262.80045

group four puerto ricopuerto rico n

I11

guatemala n

282.952829528295group two the rest ofo southf america

peru n

265.532655326553group three spain

spainspal

252.325232523group five central america and mexico

honduras lisIIs

25655256.5525855

33

group six spanish speaking areas in the US

US n 11

TOTAL n 11 MEAN

so am cone 010

rest of so am 0

spain 2

puerto rico 0

cantrcentr am & mex 2

US 0

13 to 18 mo

21

15

5

3

6

11

19 mo or

1

4

1

e

3

e0

the duncan multiple range test was used to compare

the mean scores of each of the six locations the following

table shows how the mean scores compare with each other

U S

n

fo owing

245.272724527272452727

the following table shows the number of participantsin each of the six locations and the length of time spent in

the foreign language environment the time categories are

correlated with the six locations and divided into three

sections twelve months or less thirteen to eighteen months

and nineteen months or longer

TABLE ONE

NUMBER OF SUBJECTS IN EACH LOCATION AND LENGTH OF STAY

length of stay

location 12 mo or

270279

llli

34

TABLE TUOTWO

distribution OF MEAN SCORES BY LOCATION

P value

22

19

8

3

11

11

mean scores

220 245 295

X

X

X

X

X

X

the mean scores for the six locations indicate thatthe proficiency measured by the diagnostic test showed that

those who were in the south american cone scored the

highest level of proficiency with the rest of south america

and spain scoring second to the highest both being very

closely related next is puerto rico and central america

and mexico also being closely related with locations in

the united states scoring the lowest although these data

show differences in mean scores compared with differentlocations in spanish speaking environments since the

numbers of the groups are unequal and the j value level is

0110.11oiloii the reason for the difference in scores is probably

due to chance alone it was hypothesized that there would

be a signifcantsignificant difference in language proficiency due to

the location of residence in a spanishspeakingspanish environmentenvironspeaking

but

mentyments

the fP value level is not high enough to draw such a

134

TABLETWO

location n

1

P

.1111

locatcocat i on

so am cone

rest of so anam

spain

puerto ricocent am & mex

US

JT

278270

lill

35

conclusion from these data only assumptions can be made

and further study must be done to conclude what seem to be

tendencies in this study

comparing the diagnostic test scores with the length

ofo timef spent in the foreign countries showed that there was

a significant correlation with length of time spent in a

foreign language environment showing that the longer the

time spent in the foreign language environment the higher

the language proficiency achieved this finding

corroboratescorraboratescorra withborates john carrollscarrellsCar articlerolls which stated that

the longer the stay the higher the language proficiency134 the following table shows the correlation of

language proficiency with length of time spent in the

foreign language environment

TABLE THREE

distribution OF MEAN SCORES BY LENGTH OF STAY

P value

13 to 18 mo

12 mo or

mean scores

n

9

61

4

210216 240 300

X

X

X

the mean scores of the diagnostic test in comparison

with the length of time spent in a foreign language

environment on this table show that the mean scores of those

who spent nineteen months or longer with a mean of 282.667282667

P

P .1111

lengths of stay

19 mo or

I1 eve I1 I1 fiftyf onei atf thety secondary levellevei and sixteen at the

university level it seems apparent that the majority did

study spanish to some degree before living in a

spanish speaking environment whenuhen the question was asked

regarding the number of years they studied spanish prior to

a foreign country residence the answers were fairly evenly

I1 eve I1

sigvigJ36116

scored higher than those who spent thirteen to eighteen

months with a mean of 2602015426026154260.26154260.20154 a difference of 12

points and considerably higher than those who spent twelve

months or less in a foreign language environment with a

mean of 218.252182521825 a difference of 64 points those who spent

thirteen to eighteen months scored higher than those who

spent twelve months or less in the foreign language

environment a difference of 42 points again with a

P value level of 0110.11 it could be that there is a

correlation between language proficiency and length of time

spent in a foreign language environment specifically the

longer the stay in the language environment the higher the

language proficiency attained however it might also be

that these results are due to chance

of all of the participants who were enrolled in

spanish 321 fifty nine said that they had studied spanish

before going to the foreign language environment not

counting their MTC experience if they had one of those who

learned spanish in some degree or another before the

in country experience four said they had studied spanish at

home eight said they had studied spanish at the elementary

levellevei s i x teen

majority

saxsay i nan9

37

distributed with twenty three saying that they had only

studied spanish one year or less twenty fiveelve saying thatthey had studied spanish one to two years eleven stating

that they had studied spanish three to four years and with

no one claiming to have studied spanish eorfor five years or

more althoughthough it was not evaluated in thisthiethle study theremay be a high correlation between having studied spanish

prior to serving an LDS mission and being called to serve a

mission in a spanish speaking environment

of the participants who studied at the MTC

seventy said that they had studied there with only oneonekonei

staying one to two weeks none staying three to four weeks

four staying five to six weeks and sixty five staying seven

to eight weeks the normal stay in the MTC for missionarieswho are going to foreign countries or where a foreign

language is spoken is eight weeks this questionnaire

showed that the majority of the missionaries stayed inirkirilri the

MTC the normal alloted time for missionaries who serve in

foreign language enviromentsenvironments only five of the missionariesstayed shorter that the required time perhaps the previous

spanish study for most was not adequate to have them leave

earleari y

the next question asked of the participantsparticipant was ifthey had lived for a period of time in a foreign country or

an area where spanish was spoken of the participants allwho said they had were the seventy four subjects used in

this study table one see p 31 which shows the division

2 7

d i str i bu ted w i th twenawen ty on I1 X

f ivelve

c I1 a i m i ng stud i ed span i sh for f i ve

al i t eval uatedbated i n th i s

earlys

38

of the length of time spent in foreign language environment

as it relates to the location indicates that four of the

participants spent less than twelve months that sixty one

spent thirteen to eighteen months and that nine spent more

than nineteen months of the seventy four participantsseventy were in the spanishspeakingspanish environmentspeaking as

missionaries the other four as students or touristsregarding a interpersonal experience with

spanish speaking persons fortysevenforty hadseven lived with a

spanishspeakingspanish familyspeaking and 6068 had had spanish speaking

companions or roommates at some point in their stay in the

spanish speaking environment nhenuhenwhen asked to estimate the

total percentage they actually heard and spoke spanish while

in the foreign language enviromentenvironment nine claimed to have

spoken it 3830 or less thirty four spoke it 30 to 70 V and

thirty one spoke it more than 70

the mean scores for these three groups were taken

the mean score of the nine who claimed to have spoken

spanish av3v30 or less was 245.66672456667 the mean score of the

thirtyfourthirty whofour claimed to have spoken spanish 30 to 70 was

2650588265.05882658588 the mean score of the thirtyonethirty whoone claimed to

have spoken spanish av7v70 or more was 269.516269516 the following

table shows the mean scores for the three groups

3630 to 70

av3v30 or

I1 anguagelanguage profproe i c i ency

lill

39

TABLE FOUR

MEAN SCORES nithUITHWITH percentage OF TIME SPANISH SPOKEN

P value

n

31

34

9

mean scores

249240 258250 268269 270

Xav7v78y

X

or

X

here it can be seen that there may be a factor

relating spanish proficiency to the amount of spanish used

while in a foreign language environment A comparison of

the language proficiency of these three groups indicated

that those who spoke spanish the most scored the highest

the scores indicate there is not much difference in the

groups who claimed to have spoken spanish 30 to ava7va and more

than ava7va but there is a large difference in the range of

scores made by those who only spoke spanish 30 or lessone section of the questionnaire posed questions

concerning language mastery that is those activities they

did on a regular basis to improve their mastery of spanish

the following table shows the activity the numbers of those

who participated in each activity those who did not

participate in the activity the mean score for each group

and the f value P val

13 9

re I1 at i ng span i sh prof i c i ency span i sh

i ndiadi catedbated

71b

70

P

.1111

spoke spanish

4840

TABLE FIVE

activities IN THE SPANISH LANGUAGE environment

act i v i ty

study grammar book

study wcompanions

take classesread newspapers

read magazines

read books

read scriptures

li vedqed wfami1ywfamilywflistened

amily

to radio

matchedwatched tvfi1mstvfilmstv

partmepartmeanbartmePart

films

anMeMean

1

41

0585

sas2n

activity partmean

wcompan i onsong

im Ca I1 J

lived 63

1 1

sln

part Mean

05

amean

2796279.62790279.0

22

264.659264659264659

35

241.02410241019

268.563268563268563

62 267.774267774267774

44 268.523268523268523

24 2630263.0263034 264.588264588264588

non par tmean33

269.295269295269295

55

263.852638526385

P val

5.5

5.5

.0505

1.1

1.1

5.5

2.2

3.3

5.5

5.5

the formula used to determine the P value level for

each of these activities isxaxlx1 x2xa

of the ten activitesactivities shown in the table six show a

gain in the mean scores of those who participated in an

activity to increase spanish proficiency those six

activities are 1 study a grammar book 2 read

newspapers 3 read magazines 4 read books 5 read

scriptures and 6 lived with a family from these six

activities only three are anywhere close to the 05.05

261.286261286

13

278181278.181

16

263.909263909

39 267051267.051

61

259.254259254

52 258461258.461

58 263.155263155

12 246.502465030 258.166258166

50 265.362653640

41

confidence level those three activities are read

newspapers magazines and scriptures the four activitieswhich received higher mean scores by those not participatingin an activity are 1 studying with companions 2

taking classes 3 listening to the radio and 4 watching

television and films of these four activities only one is

in the 85.85 confidence level taking classesfrom these observations this researcher concludes

that the activities most beneficial in achieving higher

spanish language proficiency are those activities which

involve reading it might be noted that of the seventy four

participants only thirteen had taken classes prior to an

in country experenceexperienceexper notence counting the MTC experience of

these thirteen four were the study abroad students these

students only spent an average of two months in the spanish

language environment and therefore were most likely the

cause of the lower mean score for that particular group

their scores on the diagnostic test were considerably lower

than those who had spent nineteen months or longer itmight be concluded that taking classes is beneficial for

starting out in the study of spanish language but the activeuse of the language over a long period of time by

communication with native speakers and extensive reading are

much more beneficial in raising spanish proficiency and

overwhelms the classroom experience this experience has

the student actually participating in the language ratherthan just studying the language

watch i ng

85

ilii

iiil

42

nhenuhenwhen asked how long the students of 321 had been

back from the spanishspeaking environment forty three

indicated they had been back less than six months with a

mean score of 271106271.106 twelve had been back seven to

twelve months with a mean score of 249.2524925 nineteen had

been back thirteen months or longer with a mean score of

258.582585825858

the following table shows the relationship of the

mean scores to the amount of time the participants had been

back from the spanishspeaking environment

TABLE SIX

distribution MEAN SCORES WTIMEUTIME BACK FROM SP environment

J value

7 12 mo

13 mo or

r

43

12

19

mean scores

245 255 265 275

X

X

X

with the same model as the first four tables thischart has a .1111 confidence level it may be concluded that

those who had been back the least amount of time from a

spanish speaking environment retained more spanish it isinteresting to note that although those who had been back

longer than thirteen months scored lower than those who had

been back six months they did score higher than those who

had been back seven to twelve months it was felt that

spanish speaking

spanish speaking

P

n

.1111

time back

6 mo or

43143

perhaps the difference in these scores was because of the

length of time of service change for missionaries from two

years down to one and a half years

scores were then evaluated foreor those who had been

back thirteen months or more with length of stay in the

spanish language environment none of those who had been in

a spanish speaking environment for less than six months had

spent more than eighteen months in that environment

therefore those from this group were not used to compare

mean scores with two lengths of stay in a spanish speaking

environment the same was true of those who had been back

seven to twelve months in the last group which had

nineteen persons and had been back thirteen months or more

there were six who had been in the spanish speaking

environment for twenty four months and there were eleven who

had been in that environment for eighteen months the othertwo had been in the spanish language environment less than

that time and were excluded from this comparison of mean

scores the following table shows the mean scores of those

who had been back twelve months or more from a spanish

language environment with a length of stay in the

environment as 1 18 months and 2 24 months

halhai f

f or

I1i

slism nl

confcone i dence I1 eve I1

shlshin2na 2

the f value level for this table is .472747274727 thisresearcher believes that even though the mean scores seem to

show a significant difference between those who had been

back twelve months or longer and had been in the spanish

language environments for different lengths of time because

the groups were uneven in numbers the conclusions drawn may

or may not be correct this author believes that the

tendencies in the data of mean scores could be true but

because the P value level is at 4.4 these differences in

scores may be misleading

xax1 xax2sas3 pd I11

44

TABLE SEVEN

distribution OF MEAN SCORES nithUITHWITH TUOTWO LENGTHS OF STAY

f value

280 290

18 mo 11 x

24 mo 6 x

the formula used to determine the confidence levellevei

for this table isalxl 1x2

JLV nl nan2

wheres2 n2na

pd s nl

f ormudormu I1 a de term i ne

1 n 2

s lpd

s

s LI

47

thee

salad

.4747 mean scores

lengths of stay n 260 270

I1lengths of stay and language proficiency those who

stayed longer in a spanish speaking environment attained a

higher level of proficiency than those who stayed shorter

45

I1 anguagelanguage prof i c i ency

chapter five

summary and conclusions

summary

in this study language proficiency was evaluated as

related to length of stay and location in a foreign language

environment the language proficiency was evaluated by a

spanish diagnostic test of persons who had spent a

considerable amount of time in a spanish speaking residence

these scores were then compared to a questionnaire which

asked the participants about their spanish learning and

residence experiences also asked were questions relatingto the activities the subjects participated in on a regular

basis to aid their over all mastery of spanish

conciusiConc onsongiusilusi

dividing the participants into three groups ieless than six months seven to twelve months and thirteenmonths or more it was found that there were differencesbetween

conclusions

46

lengths of time this coincides with the findings of john

carrollcarrolcarroi who also stated that a foreign language residence isvery beneficial in obtaining fluency 134

As for finding out if one spanish location offers a

better environment for attaining spanish fluency over

another no direct conclusions can be made even though

there was a fairly large population of participants and

almost every spanish speaking country was represented the

six locations were not equal in the number of participantsin fact some countries were only represented with one

person because of the unequal groups these data most

likely lean one way or another because of sample error

the activities found to be best in helping attainhigher language fluency are those that require direct actionby the learner direct action is defined as those

activities that have the learner actively participating in

use of the language reading printed material and

communicating with natives are examples of activeparticipation it was shown that the more the person triesto communicate in the target language the more likely a

higher language proficiency will result other activitieswhich might be labeled as passive activities those that do

not actually involve the language learner in active

participation such as listening to the television or

radio may have their benefits but are not as beneficial as

active activities

isiimilsi end I1 earnrecorecoimi

47

recommendationsrecommendatRecommend i onsong

the findings from this study lead this researcher to

recommend to spanish learners that the best way to learn

spanish is to study and live in a spanishlanguagespanish

environment

language

it is also recommended that foreign exchange

and study abroad programs be lengthened to the longest time

period possible perhaps at least twelve months to help the

students reach a high level of proficiency this would

definitely enrich the language experience for the

part i c i pants

it is also suggested that the most beneficial

activities to use in acquiring better spanish are those

which require active use and participation by the learnersuch as reading and speaking with native speakers

this researcher has stated that many of the findingsin this data have not had as high confidence levels as

desired nor as high as needed to obtain conclusive resultsit is felt that these confidence levels were not as high

because the numbers in many of the groups were so uneven

it is suggested that more conclusive data would be obtained

in a similar type of study but using a much largerpopulation and homogeneous number groups representing the

different lengths of stay and locations in the

spanish speaking environment by having larger and

homogeneous groups this author feels that significantfindings dealing with language proficiency and length of

span i sh I1 earners

participants

at

48

stay and location in a spanish speaking environment would be

foundf

bibliography

49

russiruggi anlangkalslanguagelanguals journal 35 nos 121 2 1981 192519

buscaglia

25

michael and lyielyle R polly communicativecompetence and ancilliaryAncill conversationiary courses infrench

learinbearin s

bibliography

armstrong gregory K language study abroad for highschool students foreign language annals 15

1982 365783657036578365 7870

barrutia richad study abroad modern language journal55 1971 232 4

bialystok ellen the role of conscious strategies inlinsecond language proficiency modern languagejournal 65 1981 24 35

breschinsky zinaida A the OSUPURDUE language studyprogram at the puskin institute in moscow

foreign language annals 14 1981 47 50

carrollcarrolcarroicarnol 1 john foreign language proficiency levelsattained by language majors near graduation fromcollege foreign language annals 1 1967131 151

gaddy james R and linda kelly international educationexchange A perspective the clearing house 54

1980 11314113

the

14

international high school A model proposed by theuniversity of illinois in cooperation with theillinois state board of education and CEMRELincorporated foreign language annals 13 1988183 8

kurlansky mark J students and colleges profit fromamerican study programs in france change 13113 no2 1981 48 51

martin laura and anita stollstoil A foreign study travelprogram for the urban university foreign languageannals 12 1979 4879048798487 9890

5850

1

19825

19719

19819OSU PURDUE

russian9

conwnun i cat i ve

19819

19679

C

19809

119809

ch19810

langu age19799

e

Conwnun

APPENDIX

51

I1 I1

questionnaire for the study

dear studentrecently you took a diagnostic test in spanish uewe

congratulate you for your achievement in spanish andencourage you to maintain and increase your skill may wenow ask you to provide certain information which will behelpful to us as we try to evaluate university and churchprograms for teaching spanish please complete this form byanswering the following questions on the blue answersheetanswer

A

sheetplease use a no 2 pencil

B in the space at the top of the sheet write your namesocial security number class section date and teacherafter the name of your teacher please write the place anddate of your mission or place of foreign residenceresidencesresiresl ifdencesdenceY anyC fill in your name last name irstfirstarst in the name gridD fill in your sex and social security number in the gridsbrovprov i dedE answer with only one response per question

PART 1I prior to an in country experience1 Is your native language spanish

A yes8 no

2 did you study or learn spanish prior to going to aforeign country or language area do not count MTCexper i ence

A yes8 no

if no go to PART II11 question 8if yes continue with question 3

3 did you learn spanish at home

A yesB no

4 did you learn spanish in elementary school

A yesB no

52

f

provided

experience

quest i on

49

53

5 did you learn spanish in secondary school

A yes8 no

6 did you learn spanish at collegeA yes8 no

7 how many years did you study spanish prior to aforeign country residence

A less than one yearB one to two yearsC three to fourpour yearsD five years or more

PART II11il MTC experience

8 did you study at the missionary training center

A yesB no

if no go to PART III111 question 1018if yes continue with question 9

9 how long did you study at the MTC in weeks

A one to two8 three to fourC five to sixD seven to eight

PART 111IIIlii in country or spanish speaking area experience

10 have you lived for a period of time in a foreigncountry or an area where spanish is spoken

A yes8 no

if no go to PART IV question 21if yes continue with question 11

11 how long did you reside in the foreign country orforeign language environment

A less than twelve monthsB thirteen to eighteen monthsC nineteen months or more

f our

uhliewhile

54

12 were you in the foreign language environment as ami ssi onary

A yesB no

13 nerewere you in the foreign language environment as astudent

A yesB no

14 werenere you in the foreign language environment as atour i st

A yes8 no

15 uh i 1 e in the foreign language environment did youlive with a spanish speaking family

16 nhatwhat percent of the time did you actually hear andspeak spanish while in the foreign language enviornment

A less than 387397307B 3830 to 787707C more than av7v78

17 did you have a spanish speaking companion or roommate

A yesB no

if no go to PART IV question 21if yes continue with question 18

18 how long did you have a spanish speaking companion orroommate

A less than six months8 six to twelve monthsC thirteen to eighteen monthsD more than nineteen months

19 did you speak mostly english or spanish with yourspanishspeakingspanish companionspeaking or roommate

A englishB spanish

missionary

tourist

conary

15555

20 what percentage of time did you speak english while inthe foreign language environment

A less than 36308 30 to av7v70C more than ava7va

PART IV language mastery if you did the followignfollowactivities

ignon a regular basis to improve your mastery of

spanish fill in answer A for yes and answer B for no

21 study a grammar book

22 study with a companion or roommate

23 take classes24 read newspapers

25 read magazines

26 read book not scriptures27 read scriptures28 talked with people

29 lived with a family

30 listened to the radio31 watched television or films

post incountryin experiencecountry

32 how long have you been back from the spanish speakingenvbenv i rosmentronmentron

A

ment

less than six monthsB seven to twelve monthsC thirteen to eighteen monthsD nineteen months or longerE was never in a spanishspeakingspanish envioronmentspeaking

thank you for the time you took to fill in this survey

taltai ked w i th peopdeop I1 e

please turn in the question and answer sheets back to yourprofessor

t i me di d eng i sh wh i I1 e i n

70

environment

A comparison OF SPANISH LANGUAGE proficiency AS RELATED TO

LOCATION AND LENGTH OF STAY IN A

FOREIGN LANGUAGE environment

karen minnette dawson mckenna

department of spanish and portuguese

MA degree december 1984

ABSTRACT

this study examined the relationship of spanishlanguage proficiency as related to location and length ofstay in a foreign language environment the participantstook a spanish diagnostic test that measures spanishproficiency through grammar principles and then answered aquestionnaire concerning their language learningexperiences location and length of stay in a spanishlanguage envbenvenvironmenti donmenronmen t

it was found that spanish language proficiencyincreased with longer lengths of stay in the spanishlanguage environment no conclusive data were found tosupport the hypothesis that those in one spanish speakingenvironment attain a higher language proficiency than thosein another spanishspeakingspanish areaspeaking the study aids which weremost beneficial in attaining higher levels of spanishproficiency were those activities which involve reading

it is suggested that more research be done in thisarea using larger populations to assess whether the findingsin this study are actual tendencies or caused only bychance

zuaCOMMITTEE APPROVAL james S taylor committee chairman

I1

R alan meredith committee member

WSWlyczewlycewthomas E lyon partmentdepartmentapartment chairman

A an mered i th comm i t tee

partment

dla

min