Second Language and background language influences on the oral production of Spanish words and phrases as a third language among 5-6 year old students
This study aimed to discover the possible factors that contribute to the oral production of words and phrases among 5-6 year old kindergarten students learning Spanish as third language in an international school in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Six subjects were involved in the study with three differ...
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Format: | Thesis |
Language: | English English |
Published: |
2017
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Subjects: | |
Online Access: | http://ur.aeu.edu.my/146/1/Second%20Language%20and%20background%20language%20influences.pdf http://ur.aeu.edu.my/146/2/Second%20Language%20and%20background%20language%20influences.pdf http://ur.aeu.edu.my/146/ https://online.fliphtml5.com/sppgg/oeyy/?1596443895400 |
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Summary: | This study aimed to discover the possible factors that contribute to the oral production of words
and phrases among 5-6 year old kindergarten students learning Spanish as third language in an
international school in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Six subjects were involved in the study with
three different mother tongues; namely, of Chinese, Hindi and Indonesian language (Bahasa
Indonesia) and English was the medium of instruction in school. The study was conducted
over a period of one school year and specifically examined the role of English proficiency (L2)
in the production of English-Spanish cognates, the role of mother tongue (L1) and crosslinguistic
awareness in the production of Spanish words and phrases. Also examined were the
influence of parental support and role of songs on the oral production Spanish words and
phrases.
Data was collected through in-depth interviews with the young subjects and observations of
Spanish teaching-learning sessions which were videotaped. Questionnaire were passed on to
parents followed by telephone interviews to corroborate information about the home
environment of subjects, types and frequency of support. An interview was also conducted
with the Spanish teacher to obtain a more in-depth understanding of the behaviours of subjects
during class sessions.
The results of the study showed that among the different mother tongues, subjects with Hindi
as their mother tongue (L1) produced the most number of Spanish words and phrases which
may be attributed to Spanish and Hindi originating from the same language branch. In terms
of the English-Spanish cognates that were produced, generally subjects who were proficient in
English (L2) produced more cognates compared to subjects who were less proficient (based on
WIDA scores) with the exception of one subject. Also, subjects were able to produce more
Spanish phrases and words that were introduced using songs. Subjects who demonstrated
cross-linguistic awareness, especially in terms of awareness of the similarities between learning English and Spanish produced more Spanish words and phrases. However, parental support
and support outside the class did not influence the production of Spanish words and phrases.
The findings of the study support the Typological Primacy Model, L2 Status Factor,
Developmentally Moderated Transfer Hypothesis and Cumulative Enhancement Model to a
certain degree.
Exposing children to a third language at such a young age is a valuable endeavor. It is proven
that younger students can learn multiple languages at one time when given the opportunity. |
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