Cover not available
Article published In:
Bringing Figurative Language into Real L2 Classrooms: The challenges of empirical testing
Edited by Ana M. Piquer-Píriz and Reyes Llopis-García
[Review of Cognitive Linguistics 22:2] 2024
► pp. 374–401
Special issue article

Pedagogical potential of Cognitive Grammar descriptions for the pluperfect in Spanish

Language users’ judgements and corpus searches as pre-experimental validation criteria

| University of Granada
| University of Granada
Second/foreign language grammar studies usually focus on the validation of grammatical conceptualizations with learners, sometimes overlooking the paramount need to test these conceptualizations against users’ judgements and corpus searches as a way of verifying the relevance, frequency and suitability of the items, examples or explanations before the experimental phases. This paper deals with three pre-experimental validation criteria employed to measure the pedagogical potential of Cognitive Grammar descriptions for the Spanish pluperfect: (1) learner corpus searches based on caes – Corpus de Aprendices de Español –, (2) native-speaker corpus searches by means of EsTenTen-18-subcorpus from Sketch Engine, and (3) language users’ judgements. This tense rarely receives enough attention in learning materials due to its apparent simplicity in terms of both morphology and functional import. However, learner corpus searches show certain instability in its use. This paper explores the steps taken within the research project imagine in relation to this tense, including grammatical descriptions developed within the Cognitive Grammar framework and from a temporal-epistemic perspective in an attempt to account for the variety of uses of this tense.
Keywords: Cognitive Grammar, Spanish pluperfect, empirical validation of pedagogical grammar, corpus searches, language users’ judgements
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
    • 1.1Research framework
    • 1.2Justification of this study
    • 1.3Research goals and methodology
  • 2.Grammatical conceptualizations of the pluperfect
    • 2.1Pluperfect in narrative contexts
    • 2.2Pluperfect in contexts relevant to the current sphere
    • 2.3Pluperfect in unreal/counterfactual contexts
  • 3.Research results
    • 3.1Native-speaker corpus searches
      • 3.1.1Example of a pluperfect construction proved valid by corpus searches
      • 3.1.2Example of a pluperfect construction discarded after corpus searches
    • 3.2Users’ judgements
      • 3.2.1Research question 1
        • Research question
        • Results
      • 3.2.2Research question 2
        • Research question
        • Results
      • 3.2.3Research question 3
        • Research question
        • Results
      • 3.2.4Research question 4
        • Research question
        • Results
  • 4.Conclusions
  • References
Published online: 29 August 2024
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/rcl.00199.san
References (18)
References
Cadierno, T., & Hijazo Gascón, A. (2014). Cognitive linguistics approaches to second language Spanish. In K. L. Geeslyn (Ed.), The Handbook of Spanish Second Language Acquisition. West Sussex: Wiley Blackwell.Google Scholar
Castañeda Castro, A. (2023). A vueltas con la oposición imperfecto / pretérito perfecto simple. Ventajas descriptivas y pedagógicas de un enfoque temporal-epistémico. ELUA, 40 1, 33–61. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Castañeda Castro, A., & Sánchez Cuadrado, A. (2021). The role of metonymy in teaching the Spanish verbal system to L2/FL learners of Spanish. Círculo de Lingüística Aplicada a la Comunicación, 87 1, 71–94. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Croft, W. (2006). The role of domains in the interpretation of metaphors and metonymies. In D. Geeraerts (Ed.), Cognitive Linguistics: Basic readings (pp. 269–302). Berlin & New York: Mouton de Gruyter. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Fernández, S. (1997). Interlengua y análisis de errores en el aprendizaje del español como lengua extranjera. Madrid: Edelsa.Google Scholar
García Fernández, L. (1995). La interpretación temporal de los tiempos compuestos. Verba, 22 1, 363–396.Google Scholar
García Manga, M. C. (2023). Análisis del tratamiento de había cantado en materiales didácticos de ELE. Descripción, uso e interrelaciones. Círculo de Lingüística Aplicada a la Comunicación, 95 1, 35–48. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Geeslin, L. K. (2014) (ed.). The handbook of Spanish second language acquisition. West Sussex: Wiley Blackwell.Google Scholar
Ibarretxe-Antuñano, I., Cadierno, T., & Castañeda Castro, A. (2019). Lingüística cognitiva y español LE/L2. London & New York: Routledge. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Langacker, R. W. (1987). Foundations of cognitive grammar. Volume I: Theoretical Prerequisites. Stanford: Stanford University Press.Google Scholar
(1991). Foundations of cognitive grammar. Volume II: Descriptive application. Stanford: Stanford University Press.Google Scholar
(2008). Cognitive grammar. A basic introduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Littlemore, J., & Low, G. (2006). Figurative thinking and foreign language learning. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Llopis, R., & Hijazo Gascón, A. (Eds.) (2019). Applied Cognitive Linguistics and L2 acquisition and learning: research and convergence. IRAL, 57 (1).Google Scholar
Martínez-Atienza, M. (2004). La expresión de la habitualidad en español. In L. García Fernández & B. Camus Bergareche (Eds.), El pretérito imperfecto (pp. 346–377). Madrid: Gredos.Google Scholar
Radden, G., & Dirven, R. (2007). Cognitive English grammar. Amsterdam & Philadelphia: John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Robinson, P., & Ellis, N. C. (Eds.) (2008). Handbook of Cognitive linguistics and second language acquisition. New York & London: Routledge. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Tyler, A. (2012). Cognitive linguistics and second language learning. Theoretical basics and experimental evidence. New York & London: Routledge. DOI logoGoogle Scholar