Amalia Llombart | California State Polytechnic University at Pomona (original) (raw)

Papers by Amalia Llombart

Hispania, 2018

Abstract:This theoretical position article presents the current state of the research on college-... more Abstract:This theoretical position article presents the current state of the research on college-aged Spanish heritage language learners’ (HL) spelling as well as the limitations of a descriptive approach to spelling research. The article also highlights the need to analyze and understand HLs’ errors based on the underlying cognitive-linguistic processes behind the assignation of graphemes to phonemes. In this article, I analyze Spanish misspellings in college-age HLs within a cognitive-linguistic framework. Spelling is not merely a system of phoneme-grapheme correspondences prescriptively established, but it also requires acquiring and developing awareness of the language’s phonological and morphological codes. This article reviews those two cognitive domains and examines different types of spelling errors made by HLs under this perspective, by showing the role of each of these cognitive skills in the erroneous assignment of graphemes to phonemes. Furthermore, the article suggests lines of experimental research targeting these cognitive-linguistic domains.

Frontiers in Education, 2019

Spelling is an aspect of literacy that causes significant difficulties for Spanish heritage langu... more Spelling is an aspect of literacy that causes significant difficulties for Spanish heritage language learners (HLLs). Because little is known about how spelling skills are developed in this population, instructors often struggle when attempting to teach spelling rules, leading to frustration among both teachers and students in heritage language courses (Beaudrie, 2012). The current research study targets one of the most problematic areas of Spanish orthography: substitution of "s" and "c" letters to represent /s/. An experimental dictation task was designed in order to test two linguistic factors hypothesized to impact spelling accuracy: target letter ("s" vs. "c") and cognate status of the word (cognate vs. non-cognate). Participants (n = 72) were young adults, Spanish HL learners, who completed the dictation task in addition to a standardized measure of proficiency. The results indicate a main effect for cognate status (suggesting facilitative transfer from English), but no effect for letter. These results suggest that "s" is not the default letter for representing /s/, contrary to what had been found in a number of previous studies. We discuss the data in the broader context of pedagogical proposals for targeting spelling among college-aged HLLs.

Hispania, 2017

In recent years, the World Languages field has witnessed an increased interest in service-learnin... more In recent years, the World Languages field has witnessed an increased interest in service-learning (SL) initiatives. Many SL projects focus on the potential that Spanish-speaking communities offer students of Spanish, as a foreign language, to increase their language skills and cultural understanding of these communities. Some authors, however, have expressed reservations about the instrumentalist perspective of the community that some SL initiatives adopt. In addition, the presence of Spanish heritage language learners (HLL) in Spanish classrooms has driven researchers and instructors to rethink the learning objectives of SL. In recent years, some SL proposals have appeared around the critical examination of the social construction of language issues and dominant language ideologies. Despite the benefits for the linguistic, sociolinguistic, and cultural self-esteem and empowerment of Spanish HLL, one of the main challenges and limitations that has been identified in SL courses is the reinforcement of critical attitudes about the Latino community and the resilience of standard language ideologies. The goal of this study was to explore the ways Spanish HLL interact with language issues in their own community and to examine how students negotiate the critical perspective of language acquired in the classroom with language ideologies generally assumed and expressed by the community.

Spanish as a Heritage Language

Book review of: Digital L2 Writing Literacies: Directions for Classroom Practice by Ana Oskoz and... more Book review of: Digital L2 Writing Literacies: Directions for Classroom Practice by Ana Oskoz and Idoia Elola. Equinox Publishing, 2020, 250 pp.

SCRIPTA. Revista Internacional de Literatura i Cultura Medieval i Moderna

Ressenya a Laura Marqués Pascual & Antonio Cortijo Ocaña (eds.) Second and Third Language Acquisi... more Ressenya a Laura Marqués Pascual & Antonio Cortijo Ocaña (eds.) Second and Third Language Acquisition in Catalan-Speaking Regions, Newark, Delaware, Juan de la Cuesta Hispanic Monographs. 2019, 220 pp., ISBN: 978-1-58871-338-4 Review to Laura Marqués Pascual & Antonio Cortijo Ocaña (eds.) Second and Third Language Acquisition in Catalan-Speaking Regions, Newark, Delaware, Juan de la Cuesta Hispanic Monographs, 2019, 220 pp., ISBN: 978-1-58871-338-4

Hispanic Studies Review, 2019

Spanish heritage language learners (SHL) in secondary and postsecondary education experience sign... more Spanish heritage language learners (SHL) in secondary and postsecondary education experience significant difficulties with spelling. This study focuses on a subset of errors found in Beaudrie's (2012) corpus of SHLs' misspellings: errors involving vowel omission, addition, and transposition. The study investigates the hypothesis that these errors are the result of underdeveloped phonological awareness (PA), defined as the ability to manipulate and discriminate speech units independent of meaning (Mattingly, 1972). Eighty-one SHL participants completed one language proficiency task and three PA tasks involving the contrast between monoph-thongs and diphthongs in real words and pseudowords. The results suggest that vowel misspellings involving the letters e and i are not due to orthographic interference of English spelling, but rather to difficulties in pho-nological segmentation and discrimination of these vowels. The paper also discusses the links between syn-chronic and diachronic variability in the Spanish vocalic system and the individual PA development of SHLs.

Frontiers in Education, 2019

Spelling is an aspect of literacy that causes significant difficulties for Spanish heritage langu... more Spelling is an aspect of literacy that causes significant difficulties for Spanish heritage language learners (HLLs). Because little is known about how spelling skills are developed in this population, instructors often struggle when attempting to teach spelling rules, leading to frustration among both teachers and students in heritage language courses (Beaudrie, 2012). The current research study targets one of the most problematic areas of Spanish orthography: substitution of "s" and "c" letters to represent /s/. An experimental dictation task was designed in order to test two linguistic factors hypothesized to impact spelling accuracy: target letter ("s" vs. "c") and cognate status of the word (cognate vs. non-cognate). Participants (n = 72) were young adults, Spanish HL learners, who completed the dictation task in addition to a standardized measure of proficiency. The results indicate a main effect for cognate status (suggesting facilitative transfer from English), but no effect for letter. These results suggest that "s" is not the default letter for representing /s/, contrary to what had been found in a number of previous studies. We discuss the data in the broader context of pedagogical proposals for targeting spelling among college-aged HLLs.

This theoretical position paper presents the current state of the research on college-age Spanish... more This theoretical position paper presents the current state of the research on college-age Spanish heritage language learners’ (HL) spelling as well as the limitations of a descriptive approach to spelling research, and it highlights the need to analyze and understand HLs’ errors based on the underlying cognitive-linguistic processes behind the assignation of graphemes to phonemes. In this paper I have made a first attempt to reanalyze Spanish misspellings in college-age HLs within a cognitive-linguistic framework. Spelling is not merely a system of phoneme – grapheme correspondences prescriptively established, but it also requires acquiring and developing awareness of the language’s phonological and morphological codes. This paper reviews those two cognitive domains and examines different types of spelling errors made by HLs under this perspective, by showing the role of each of these cognitive skills in the erroneous assignment of graphemes to phonemes. Furthermore, the paper suggests lines of experimental research that are needed in order to fully understand the cause of HLs’ spelling errors. Ultimately, this analysis entails—and advocates—expanding the field of HL research to include spelling proficiency development, and to examine possible contributions from the psychology and cognition fields into the area of HL research and educational practices.

Abstract: In recent years, the World Languages field has witnessed an increased interest in servi... more Abstract: In recent years, the World Languages field has witnessed an increased interest in service-learning (SL) initiatives. Many SL projects focus on the potential that Spanish-speaking communities offer students of Spanish, as a foreign language, to increase their language skills and cultural understanding of these communities. Some authors, however, have expressed reservations about the instrumentalist perspective of the community that some SL initiatives adopt. In addition, the presence of Spanish heritage language learners (HLL) in Spanish classrooms has driven researchers and instructors to rethink the learning objectives of SL. In recent years, some SL proposals have appeared around the critical examination of the social construction of language issues and dominant language ideologies. Despite the benefits for the linguistic, sociolinguistic, and cultural self-esteem and empowerment of Spanish HLL, one of the main challenges and limitations that has been identified in SL courses is the reinforcement of critical attitudes about the Latino community and the resilience of standard language ideologies. The goal of this study was to explore the ways Spanish HLL interact with language issues in their own community and to examine how students negotiate the critical perspective of language acquired in the classroom with language ideologies generally
assumed and expressed by the community.

The current debate in second language acquisition and heritage language (HL) learning is no longe... more The current debate in second language acquisition and heritage language (HL) learning is no longer about whether communicative language teaching should include a focus on form, but rather how and when this is most effective. The proposals for courses of Spanish for heritage language learners (HLLs) show a marked preference for an integrated approach to syllabus design, such as content-based and community-based courses. In this article I explore, on theoretical grounds, the suitability of Ellis’s (2002) modular approach to syllabus design for the design of the Spanish for HLLs syllabus, as an alternative to the integrated syllabus. I explain how some of the limitations of the integrated syllabus are even greater in Spanish for HLLs courses. I also provide a rationale for the implementation of a modular approach, based on two fundamental properties: (i) a place for isolated form focused instruction (FFI) and (ii) the specific timing in which this isolated FFI is introduced. I argue here that the type of target features that need to be (re)acquired by HLLs, as well as the characteristics of the HLLs, make the presence of a component for isolated FFI particularly beneficial for Spanish for HLLs’ courses.

El objetivo de este trabajo es determinar el dominio sobre el cual actúa la elipsis nominal. Mi p... more El objetivo de este trabajo es determinar el dominio sobre el cual actúa la elipsis nominal. Mi propuesta es que, contrariamente a lo que generalmente se asume, la elipsis nominal en español no afecta al Nombre únicamente sino al SNum, que incluye al SN. Para ello analizo los sintagmas internos al SD que pueden coaparecer con la categoría vacía y las relaciones que existen entre estos y el núcleo nominal. En concreto, en este estudio, me limitaré únicamente a los SP encabezados por de. Mi propuesta es que los SPs encabezados por de que pueden coaparacer con la categoría vacía en la elipsis nominal y que son generalmente considerados complementos, no son tales complementos sino modificadores. En este estudio trato de justificar la reinterpretación de tales SP como modificadores y muestro dos tipos distintos de relación que estos éstos pueden establecer con el núcleo nominal. Debido a que generalmente se considera que la elipsis nominal en inglés es elipsis de SN y que en español es elipsis de N, también trataré de explicar las diferencias (aparentes) entre estas dos lenguas, y que han llevado a proponer dos estructuras distintas.

Las normas sociales y la interpretación errónea de las violaciones de dichas normas por miembros ... more Las normas sociales y la interpretación errónea de las violaciones de dichas normas por miembros de "otro grupo" son la más importante causa de prejuicio. (Hall, 1959).

Studia Linguistica, 2002

Traditional accounts take anaphoric one to be a pro-form appearing instead of a full noun (Jacken... more Traditional accounts take anaphoric one to be a pro-form appearing instead of a full noun (Jackendoff 1977, Ross 1967, and Hornstein & Lightfoot 1981, among others). I propose that one is a phonological support for the number morpheme in the DP, which is inserted in cases of NP-ellipsis in the head of the Number projection when the conditions that would enable to license an empty Num° are not available. I also argue that the conditions currently assumed to license non-referential empty categories in the NP-ellipsis construction can be reduced to conditions licensing empty functional heads in the DP system.

Hispania, 2018

Abstract:This theoretical position article presents the current state of the research on college-... more Abstract:This theoretical position article presents the current state of the research on college-aged Spanish heritage language learners’ (HL) spelling as well as the limitations of a descriptive approach to spelling research. The article also highlights the need to analyze and understand HLs’ errors based on the underlying cognitive-linguistic processes behind the assignation of graphemes to phonemes. In this article, I analyze Spanish misspellings in college-age HLs within a cognitive-linguistic framework. Spelling is not merely a system of phoneme-grapheme correspondences prescriptively established, but it also requires acquiring and developing awareness of the language’s phonological and morphological codes. This article reviews those two cognitive domains and examines different types of spelling errors made by HLs under this perspective, by showing the role of each of these cognitive skills in the erroneous assignment of graphemes to phonemes. Furthermore, the article suggests lines of experimental research targeting these cognitive-linguistic domains.

Frontiers in Education, 2019

Spelling is an aspect of literacy that causes significant difficulties for Spanish heritage langu... more Spelling is an aspect of literacy that causes significant difficulties for Spanish heritage language learners (HLLs). Because little is known about how spelling skills are developed in this population, instructors often struggle when attempting to teach spelling rules, leading to frustration among both teachers and students in heritage language courses (Beaudrie, 2012). The current research study targets one of the most problematic areas of Spanish orthography: substitution of "s" and "c" letters to represent /s/. An experimental dictation task was designed in order to test two linguistic factors hypothesized to impact spelling accuracy: target letter ("s" vs. "c") and cognate status of the word (cognate vs. non-cognate). Participants (n = 72) were young adults, Spanish HL learners, who completed the dictation task in addition to a standardized measure of proficiency. The results indicate a main effect for cognate status (suggesting facilitative transfer from English), but no effect for letter. These results suggest that "s" is not the default letter for representing /s/, contrary to what had been found in a number of previous studies. We discuss the data in the broader context of pedagogical proposals for targeting spelling among college-aged HLLs.

Hispania, 2017

In recent years, the World Languages field has witnessed an increased interest in service-learnin... more In recent years, the World Languages field has witnessed an increased interest in service-learning (SL) initiatives. Many SL projects focus on the potential that Spanish-speaking communities offer students of Spanish, as a foreign language, to increase their language skills and cultural understanding of these communities. Some authors, however, have expressed reservations about the instrumentalist perspective of the community that some SL initiatives adopt. In addition, the presence of Spanish heritage language learners (HLL) in Spanish classrooms has driven researchers and instructors to rethink the learning objectives of SL. In recent years, some SL proposals have appeared around the critical examination of the social construction of language issues and dominant language ideologies. Despite the benefits for the linguistic, sociolinguistic, and cultural self-esteem and empowerment of Spanish HLL, one of the main challenges and limitations that has been identified in SL courses is the reinforcement of critical attitudes about the Latino community and the resilience of standard language ideologies. The goal of this study was to explore the ways Spanish HLL interact with language issues in their own community and to examine how students negotiate the critical perspective of language acquired in the classroom with language ideologies generally assumed and expressed by the community.

Spanish as a Heritage Language

Book review of: Digital L2 Writing Literacies: Directions for Classroom Practice by Ana Oskoz and... more Book review of: Digital L2 Writing Literacies: Directions for Classroom Practice by Ana Oskoz and Idoia Elola. Equinox Publishing, 2020, 250 pp.

SCRIPTA. Revista Internacional de Literatura i Cultura Medieval i Moderna

Ressenya a Laura Marqués Pascual & Antonio Cortijo Ocaña (eds.) Second and Third Language Acquisi... more Ressenya a Laura Marqués Pascual & Antonio Cortijo Ocaña (eds.) Second and Third Language Acquisition in Catalan-Speaking Regions, Newark, Delaware, Juan de la Cuesta Hispanic Monographs. 2019, 220 pp., ISBN: 978-1-58871-338-4 Review to Laura Marqués Pascual & Antonio Cortijo Ocaña (eds.) Second and Third Language Acquisition in Catalan-Speaking Regions, Newark, Delaware, Juan de la Cuesta Hispanic Monographs, 2019, 220 pp., ISBN: 978-1-58871-338-4

Hispanic Studies Review, 2019

Spanish heritage language learners (SHL) in secondary and postsecondary education experience sign... more Spanish heritage language learners (SHL) in secondary and postsecondary education experience significant difficulties with spelling. This study focuses on a subset of errors found in Beaudrie's (2012) corpus of SHLs' misspellings: errors involving vowel omission, addition, and transposition. The study investigates the hypothesis that these errors are the result of underdeveloped phonological awareness (PA), defined as the ability to manipulate and discriminate speech units independent of meaning (Mattingly, 1972). Eighty-one SHL participants completed one language proficiency task and three PA tasks involving the contrast between monoph-thongs and diphthongs in real words and pseudowords. The results suggest that vowel misspellings involving the letters e and i are not due to orthographic interference of English spelling, but rather to difficulties in pho-nological segmentation and discrimination of these vowels. The paper also discusses the links between syn-chronic and diachronic variability in the Spanish vocalic system and the individual PA development of SHLs.

Frontiers in Education, 2019

Spelling is an aspect of literacy that causes significant difficulties for Spanish heritage langu... more Spelling is an aspect of literacy that causes significant difficulties for Spanish heritage language learners (HLLs). Because little is known about how spelling skills are developed in this population, instructors often struggle when attempting to teach spelling rules, leading to frustration among both teachers and students in heritage language courses (Beaudrie, 2012). The current research study targets one of the most problematic areas of Spanish orthography: substitution of "s" and "c" letters to represent /s/. An experimental dictation task was designed in order to test two linguistic factors hypothesized to impact spelling accuracy: target letter ("s" vs. "c") and cognate status of the word (cognate vs. non-cognate). Participants (n = 72) were young adults, Spanish HL learners, who completed the dictation task in addition to a standardized measure of proficiency. The results indicate a main effect for cognate status (suggesting facilitative transfer from English), but no effect for letter. These results suggest that "s" is not the default letter for representing /s/, contrary to what had been found in a number of previous studies. We discuss the data in the broader context of pedagogical proposals for targeting spelling among college-aged HLLs.

This theoretical position paper presents the current state of the research on college-age Spanish... more This theoretical position paper presents the current state of the research on college-age Spanish heritage language learners’ (HL) spelling as well as the limitations of a descriptive approach to spelling research, and it highlights the need to analyze and understand HLs’ errors based on the underlying cognitive-linguistic processes behind the assignation of graphemes to phonemes. In this paper I have made a first attempt to reanalyze Spanish misspellings in college-age HLs within a cognitive-linguistic framework. Spelling is not merely a system of phoneme – grapheme correspondences prescriptively established, but it also requires acquiring and developing awareness of the language’s phonological and morphological codes. This paper reviews those two cognitive domains and examines different types of spelling errors made by HLs under this perspective, by showing the role of each of these cognitive skills in the erroneous assignment of graphemes to phonemes. Furthermore, the paper suggests lines of experimental research that are needed in order to fully understand the cause of HLs’ spelling errors. Ultimately, this analysis entails—and advocates—expanding the field of HL research to include spelling proficiency development, and to examine possible contributions from the psychology and cognition fields into the area of HL research and educational practices.

Abstract: In recent years, the World Languages field has witnessed an increased interest in servi... more Abstract: In recent years, the World Languages field has witnessed an increased interest in service-learning (SL) initiatives. Many SL projects focus on the potential that Spanish-speaking communities offer students of Spanish, as a foreign language, to increase their language skills and cultural understanding of these communities. Some authors, however, have expressed reservations about the instrumentalist perspective of the community that some SL initiatives adopt. In addition, the presence of Spanish heritage language learners (HLL) in Spanish classrooms has driven researchers and instructors to rethink the learning objectives of SL. In recent years, some SL proposals have appeared around the critical examination of the social construction of language issues and dominant language ideologies. Despite the benefits for the linguistic, sociolinguistic, and cultural self-esteem and empowerment of Spanish HLL, one of the main challenges and limitations that has been identified in SL courses is the reinforcement of critical attitudes about the Latino community and the resilience of standard language ideologies. The goal of this study was to explore the ways Spanish HLL interact with language issues in their own community and to examine how students negotiate the critical perspective of language acquired in the classroom with language ideologies generally
assumed and expressed by the community.

The current debate in second language acquisition and heritage language (HL) learning is no longe... more The current debate in second language acquisition and heritage language (HL) learning is no longer about whether communicative language teaching should include a focus on form, but rather how and when this is most effective. The proposals for courses of Spanish for heritage language learners (HLLs) show a marked preference for an integrated approach to syllabus design, such as content-based and community-based courses. In this article I explore, on theoretical grounds, the suitability of Ellis’s (2002) modular approach to syllabus design for the design of the Spanish for HLLs syllabus, as an alternative to the integrated syllabus. I explain how some of the limitations of the integrated syllabus are even greater in Spanish for HLLs courses. I also provide a rationale for the implementation of a modular approach, based on two fundamental properties: (i) a place for isolated form focused instruction (FFI) and (ii) the specific timing in which this isolated FFI is introduced. I argue here that the type of target features that need to be (re)acquired by HLLs, as well as the characteristics of the HLLs, make the presence of a component for isolated FFI particularly beneficial for Spanish for HLLs’ courses.

El objetivo de este trabajo es determinar el dominio sobre el cual actúa la elipsis nominal. Mi p... more El objetivo de este trabajo es determinar el dominio sobre el cual actúa la elipsis nominal. Mi propuesta es que, contrariamente a lo que generalmente se asume, la elipsis nominal en español no afecta al Nombre únicamente sino al SNum, que incluye al SN. Para ello analizo los sintagmas internos al SD que pueden coaparecer con la categoría vacía y las relaciones que existen entre estos y el núcleo nominal. En concreto, en este estudio, me limitaré únicamente a los SP encabezados por de. Mi propuesta es que los SPs encabezados por de que pueden coaparacer con la categoría vacía en la elipsis nominal y que son generalmente considerados complementos, no son tales complementos sino modificadores. En este estudio trato de justificar la reinterpretación de tales SP como modificadores y muestro dos tipos distintos de relación que estos éstos pueden establecer con el núcleo nominal. Debido a que generalmente se considera que la elipsis nominal en inglés es elipsis de SN y que en español es elipsis de N, también trataré de explicar las diferencias (aparentes) entre estas dos lenguas, y que han llevado a proponer dos estructuras distintas.

Las normas sociales y la interpretación errónea de las violaciones de dichas normas por miembros ... more Las normas sociales y la interpretación errónea de las violaciones de dichas normas por miembros de "otro grupo" son la más importante causa de prejuicio. (Hall, 1959).

Studia Linguistica, 2002

Traditional accounts take anaphoric one to be a pro-form appearing instead of a full noun (Jacken... more Traditional accounts take anaphoric one to be a pro-form appearing instead of a full noun (Jackendoff 1977, Ross 1967, and Hornstein & Lightfoot 1981, among others). I propose that one is a phonological support for the number morpheme in the DP, which is inserted in cases of NP-ellipsis in the head of the Number projection when the conditions that would enable to license an empty Num° are not available. I also argue that the conditions currently assumed to license non-referential empty categories in the NP-ellipsis construction can be reduced to conditions licensing empty functional heads in the DP system.