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Article published In:
International Journal of Learner Corpus Research
Vol. 6:2 (2020) ► pp.125–162

Pragmatic development during study abroad

L2 intensifiers in spoken Spanish

| Purdue University
| Purdue University
The current investigation examined the development of second language (L2) intensifier use in spoken Spanish over a 6-week immersion program in Madrid (n = 45). Native Spanish speakers from Madrid (n = 10) served as a comparison group to represent the local ambient input or sociopragmatic norm to which L2 learners were exposed. Data were extracted from semi-structured interviews. Results exposed different developmental trends over the program for intensifier frequency, intensifier lexical diversity, and intensifier collocations. While learners already had a strong sense of which intensifiers were most frequent in Spanish and how to use them in appropriate linguistic environments at the beginning of the program, the immersion program had positive impacts on the development of intensifier frequency and intensifier lexical diversity. The findings also highlighted different intensifier frequency developmental trends among learners, which collectively suggested that learners adjusted to the sociopragmatic norm of intensifier use in Madrid over the immersion experience.
Keywords: intensifier frequency, intensifier collocation, intensifier lexical diversity, second language (L2), L2 pragmatics, Spanish, study abroad, immersion
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Intensifiers
    • 2.1L2 intensifier use
    • 2.2Intensifier development during study abroad
    • 2.3The current investigation
  • 3.Methods
    • 3.1Participants and program
    • 3.2Instruments: Interviews and corpus description
    • 3.3Analyses
      • 3.3.1Intensifier identification and relative frequency
      • 3.3.2Statistical and collocational analyses
  • 4.Results
    • 4.1Intensifier frequency across L2-pre, L2-post, and NS groups
    • 4.2Relationship between L2 change in intensifier frequency and initial use
    • 4.3Qualitative changes in learners’ intensifier use over short-term study abroad
  • 5.Discussion
    • 5.1The impact of immersion on L2 intensifier use
    • 5.2Remaining questions about intensifier frequency
  • 6.Conclusion
  • Notes
  • References
Published online: 10 December 2020
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/ijlcr.19006.cze
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