Beatriz Lado - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Beatriz Lado

Journal of Spanish Language Teaching, Nov 22, 2023

This paper examines the impact of a curriculum designed to develop students’ Critical Language Aw... more This paper examines the impact of a curriculum designed to develop students’ Critical Language Awareness (CLA) in two postsecondary Spanish advanced grammar courses and a Hispanic Linguistics Master’s course in a public institution of the US Northeast. The study includes a unique population of Latinxs, most of them born and raised outside the US, in the Dominican Republic. Quantitative analyses reveal CLA development in the areas of language variation, linguistic diversity, language ideologies, Spanish in the US, bilingualism, and translanguaging. Qualitative data shows that students approached the course experiencing linguistic insecurity and interrogating their own academic knowledge of grammar, whereas, after taking the course, learners move from feeling “grammarless” (students’ perception of their Spanish as lacking grammar) to understanding linguistic structures, the sociopolitical nature of language, and developing agency as future language teachers.

Journal of Spanish Language Teaching, 2023

The Cambridge Handbook of Corrective Feedback in Second Language Learning and Teaching

Critical Multilingualism Studies, Nov 17, 2020

Although Spanish is a local language in the USA, US Spanish varieties are mostly absent from the ... more Although Spanish is a local language in the USA, US Spanish varieties are mostly absent from the language classroom. This practice perpetuates monoglossic language ideologies, which are limiting and detrimental to language learners (García and Sylvan 2011). Conversely, critical approaches take into account the sociohistorical context (Leeman and Serafini 2016) and students' backgrounds to help learners "gain critical understanding of how language is intertwined with social and political structures" (Leeman, Rabin, and Roman-Mendoza 2011b: 481), which may allow students to develop critical language awareness (Fairclough 1992) to identify the production and reproduction of hegemonic language ideologies, and to resist their domination. This project adopts a critical approach to the teaching of Spanish at the college level while incorporating local Spanish and students' backgrounds into the classroom. The study focuses on a first semester Spanish course where the majority of students are language-minoritized multilinguals and racialized learners with connections to the Latinx community. A small number of students are also Latinxs. Through questionnaires, journals, and semi-structured interviews at the beginning and end of the semester, we describe three case studies to examine how the introduction of a critical approach helps students negotiate their language ideologies, capital, and identities while being engaged in the language learning process. The project draws from research on Norton's identity work (Norton 2000, 2013), language ideologies (Kroskrity 2000, 2004), and Darvin and Norton's (2015) framework to investigate how ideology, identity, and capital intersect and impact learners' investment in the practices and learning of Spanish and their additional languages. Keywords: critical pedagogy w identity w ideologies w investment w language minorities LADO & QUİJANO w Ideologies, Identity, Capital, and Investment

Hispania, 2017

Experience with a second language (L2) has been shown to facilitate learning of a third or subseq... more Experience with a second language (L2) has been shown to facilitate learning of a third or subsequent language (L3) (Sanz 2000). However, little is known about how much L2 experience is needed before benefits for L3 development emerge, or about whether effects depend on type of L3 instruction. We report two experiments investigating initial learning of semantic role (agent/patient) assignment in L3 Latin by native English speakers at different levels of formal experience in L2 Spanish (Beginning, Intermediate, Advanced, Very Advanced). In Experiment 1, (N 5 76), learners engaged in a computerized Latin practice session that included metalinguistic information in feedback. In Experiment 2, (N 5 0), feedback indicated only if learners' responses in practice were right or wrong. Development was operationalized as improvement in accuracy and/or reaction time. Results showed that when feedback was metalinguistic, an intermediate level of formal L2 experience was enough to yield an advantage, however only those learners with very advanced L2 experience showed longer-term retention of that advantage. In contrast, in the absence of metalinguistic feedback, very advanced experience was required for any advantage to appear. These results inform classroom accommodations for learners with different levels of previous language experience.

Research Methods in Language and Education, 2016

Applied Linguistics, 2014

ABSTRACT The article summarizes results from two experimental studies (N = 23, N = 21) investigat... more ABSTRACT The article summarizes results from two experimental studies (N = 23, N = 21) investigating the extent to which working memory capacity (WMC) intervenes in ab initio language development under two pedagogical conditions [ AE gram-mar lesson + input-based practice + explicit feedback]. The linguistic target is the use of morphosyntax to assign semantic functions in Latin. Results suggest that with the more traditional pedagogical approach [+ grammar lesson], WMC does not predict learner outcomes. In contrast, in an approach that immediately im-merses learners in meaning-focused practice with the same explicit feedback, WMC predicts gains on interpreting aural and written input. Thus, it appears that pre-practice grammar explanation &#39;levels the field&#39; for learners of varying WMC, while WMC may play more of a role when metalinguistic information is limited to reactive feedback. These results extend previous research (Robinson 2002, 2005b; Erlam 2005; Goo 2012; Li 2013; Sagarra and Abbuhl 2013a, 2013b; Tagarelli et al. 2014), and further call attention to the importance of interactions between pedagogical tools and individual differences in explaining language development.

Applied Psycholinguistics, 2016

ABSTRACTThe article summarizes results from a study investigating the role of aptitude on initial... more ABSTRACTThe article summarizes results from a study investigating the role of aptitude on initial learning of Latin morphosyntax. The study includes two different computerized conditions: with or without metalinguistic information, provided during input-based practice with right/wrong feedback. Four aptitude measures were included: linguistic analytic ability, rote memory, working memory, and phonological short-term memory. The results revealed that linguistic analytic ability gave learners an advantage under the metalinguistic information condition when processing sentences for meaning, although only working memory (and rote memory to a lesser extent) had a role in development of grammatical sensitivity to the form. In contrast, except rote memory in immediate aural interpretation, none of the aptitude measures predicted learning under the nonmetalinguistic information condition.

Language Learning, 2009

The article summarizes results from two experimental studies on reactivity. In the first experime... more The article summarizes results from two experimental studies on reactivity. In the first experiment, 24 college-age participants received a computerized treatment that delivered a grammar lesson, practice, and feedback on assignment of semantic functions in Latin. Verbalizations did not induce reactivity on accuracy, but they slowed down posttest This is one in a series of reports on The Latin Project, developed by Sanz, Bowden, and Stafford at Georgetown University to investigate the relationship among individual differences and pedagogical variables in the acquisition of nonprimary languages. This publication reports findings from Lado's and Lin's PhD qualifying papers and includes data gathered by an excellent group of graduate students: Mariona Anfruns,

Heritage Language Journal

This article describes the development and validation of a placement exam designed to identify an... more This article describes the development and validation of a placement exam designed to identify and place Spanish heritage language learners in the heritage language program at Lehman College, the City University of New York (CUNY), an urban institution located in Northeastern United States (Bronx, New York City). Building upon previous research (e.g., Fairclough et al., 2010; Potowski et al., 2012), we provide an overview of the process we followed, including selecting content, computerization of the exam, and reliability analysis. A combination of quantitative analyses and qualitative observations during the pilot phase allowed us to identify the linguistic areas that were better at discriminating among levels, and the socio-affective factors that had to be taken into account to understand learners’ needs. As we continue to improve subsequent versions of the exam, this approach will allow us to better place students while reassessing and redesigning the curriculum.

Heritage Language Journal, 2022

L2 Journal

The goal is to develop students' critical knowledge of the cultural, political, and social dimens... more The goal is to develop students' critical knowledge of the cultural, political, and social dimensions of language. To this end, Del Valle (2014) suggests the inclusion of language-related content units taught in the first or shared language from the early stages of language learning. This proposal entails revising strong beliefs such as the use of the non-target language in the new language classroom. The purpose of our research is to investigate whether including language-related content in English (the shared language) in an elementary Spanish language course helped students develop CLA without hindering class performance. Additionally, we explored if providing this content increased learners' investment in the language. Results revealed that incorporating the CLA units did not influence overall class performance. Qualitative analyses indicated that students connected the content with their own social experience, which led to greater investment in the language. Finally, the content contributed to developing students' critical awareness of linguistic ideologies and their impact on the construction of inequality as well as in enabling social change.

Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, 2014

The present study follows the role of the first (L1, English) and second (L2, Japanese or Spanish... more The present study follows the role of the first (L1, English) and second (L2, Japanese or Spanish) languages in ab initio third language (L3, Latin) acquisition. Participants (N = 25) were L2 classroom learners without immersion experience. In order to complement previous generativist studies and to offer a fuller developmental account of how transfer operates at the morphosyntactic level, the Competition Model (CM) was adopted as theoretical framework. Positive changes in overall accuracy and sentence processing patterns in role assignment in L3 Latin show L3 development as largely modulated by the L1, suggesting that higher levels of L2 resonance are necessary for integrated patterns of L1 and L2 cues to emerge.

Bound typescript. Thesis (M.A.)--Northwestern State University of Louisiana. Includes bibliograph... more Bound typescript. Thesis (M.A.)--Northwestern State University of Louisiana. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 112-116).

International Journal of Multilingualism, 2011

... Multilingualism in Tokyo: A look into the linguistic landscape. International Journal of Mult... more ... Multilingualism in Tokyo: A look into the linguistic landscape. International Journal of Multilingualism , 3(1): 5266. ... Backhaus (20063. Backhaus, P. 2006. Multilingualism in Tokyo: A look into the linguistic landscape. International Journal of Multilingualism , 3(1): 5266. ...

... 288 Appendix I 289 Appendix J 290 Appendix K ... in their ability to separate word ... more ... 288 Appendix I 289 Appendix J 290 Appendix K ... in their ability to separate word and meaning (Ben-Zeev, 1977; Bialystok, 1988; Ricciardelli, 1992). ...