Esther Hur - Academia.edu (original) (raw)
Uploads
Papers by Esther Hur
Languages, 2021
This study investigated how the attitudes and expectations of heritage languages (HL) courses dif... more This study investigated how the attitudes and expectations of heritage languages (HL) courses differ between Spanish and Korean. Spanish and Korean are two of the biggest heritage languages (HLs) taught across American universities, but represent different trends of HL in the US. Ninety-two adult heritage speakers (HSs) completed a 41-question online questionnaire on their perceived HL proficiency as well as on what aspects of HL courses should target and what activities would be more beneficial for them. The results showed that the two groups of HSs present different attitudes and expectations towards HL instruction. Spanish HSs value their HL classes as a way to prepare for professional success and expect to receive more explicit instruction in the classroom. On the other hand, Korean HSs favor cultural components and take HL courses as a tool for reconnection with their community and cultures.
Languages, 2021
Gender has been extensively studied in Spanish heritage speakers. However, lexical frequency effe... more Gender has been extensively studied in Spanish heritage speakers. However, lexical frequency effects have yet to be explored in depth. This study aims to uncover the extent to which lexical frequency affects the acquisition of gender assignment and gender agreement and to account for possible factors behind heritage language variability. Thirty-nine heritage speakers completed a lexical knowledge screening task (MiNT) along with an Elicited Production Task (EPT), a Forced Choice Task (FCT), and a Self-Rating Lexical Frequency Task (SRLFT). Heritage speakers performed more successfully with high frequency lexical items in both the EPT and the AJT. Noun canonicity also affected their performance in both tasks. However, heritage speakers presented differences between tasks: we found an overextension of the masculine as well as productive vocabulary knowledge effects in the EPT, whereas the FCT showed an overextension of the feminine and no productive vocabulary knowledge effects. We suggest that lexical frequency, determined by the SRLFT, and productive vocabulary knowledge, as measured by the MiNT, account for the variability in the acquisition of gender assignment but not on gender agreement supporting Putnam and Sánchez's (2013) view that production is more challenging than comprehension for bilinguals.
The Acquisition of Differential Object Marking, 2020
This chapter examines the effect of lexical frequency of the verb on heritage speakers' (HS) prod... more This chapter examines the effect of lexical frequency of the verb on heritage speakers' (HS) production of Differential Object Marking (DOM) in Spanish. Specifically, it examines whether HS are more likely to use DOM with animate direct objects that are the complement of high frequent telic verbs, as opposed to low-frequency telic verbs. Thirty HSs of different levels (intermediate and advanced) and 15 Spanish-dominant controls (SDC) completed an elicited production task (EPT). Results revealed that intermediate heritage speakers produced more DOM with high-frequency verbs but such an effect was not found in the advanced group. In explaining our data, we follow the activation approach that argues that the variability of DOM among HS is due to how frequently the HS activates the functional features (FF) of the heritage language (HL) for production purposes.
Languages, 2021
This study investigated how the attitudes and expectations of heritage languages (HL) courses dif... more This study investigated how the attitudes and expectations of heritage languages (HL) courses differ between Spanish and Korean. Spanish and Korean are two of the biggest heritage languages (HLs) taught across American universities, but represent different trends of HL in the US. Ninety-two adult heritage speakers (HSs) completed a 41-question online questionnaire on their perceived HL proficiency as well as on what aspects of HL courses should target and what activities would be more beneficial for them. The results showed that the two groups of HSs present different attitudes and expectations towards HL instruction. Spanish HSs value their HL classes as a way to prepare for professional success and expect to receive more explicit instruction in the classroom. On the other hand, Korean HSs favor cultural components and take HL courses as a tool for reconnection with their community and cultures.
Languages, 2021
Gender has been extensively studied in Spanish heritage speakers. However, lexical frequency effe... more Gender has been extensively studied in Spanish heritage speakers. However, lexical frequency effects have yet to be explored in depth. This study aims to uncover the extent to which lexical frequency affects the acquisition of gender assignment and gender agreement and to account for possible factors behind heritage language variability. Thirty-nine heritage speakers completed a lexical knowledge screening task (MiNT) along with an Elicited Production Task (EPT), a Forced Choice Task (FCT), and a Self-Rating Lexical Frequency Task (SRLFT). Heritage speakers performed more successfully with high frequency lexical items in both the EPT and the AJT. Noun canonicity also affected their performance in both tasks. However, heritage speakers presented differences between tasks: we found an overextension of the masculine as well as productive vocabulary knowledge effects in the EPT, whereas the FCT showed an overextension of the feminine and no productive vocabulary knowledge effects. We suggest that lexical frequency, determined by the SRLFT, and productive vocabulary knowledge, as measured by the MiNT, account for the variability in the acquisition of gender assignment but not on gender agreement supporting Putnam and Sánchez's (2013) view that production is more challenging than comprehension for bilinguals.
The Acquisition of Differential Object Marking, 2020
This chapter examines the effect of lexical frequency of the verb on heritage speakers' (HS) prod... more This chapter examines the effect of lexical frequency of the verb on heritage speakers' (HS) production of Differential Object Marking (DOM) in Spanish. Specifically, it examines whether HS are more likely to use DOM with animate direct objects that are the complement of high frequent telic verbs, as opposed to low-frequency telic verbs. Thirty HSs of different levels (intermediate and advanced) and 15 Spanish-dominant controls (SDC) completed an elicited production task (EPT). Results revealed that intermediate heritage speakers produced more DOM with high-frequency verbs but such an effect was not found in the advanced group. In explaining our data, we follow the activation approach that argues that the variability of DOM among HS is due to how frequently the HS activates the functional features (FF) of the heritage language (HL) for production purposes.