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Article published In:
Revista Española de Lingüística Aplicada/Spanish Journal of Applied Linguistics
Vol. 37:1 (2024) ► pp.109–142

Spanish enrollment decline and students’ beliefs and attitudes

Does gender matter?

ORCID logo | Washington University in St. Louis
| Washington University in St. Louis
| Washington University in St. Louis

Universities across the USA are experiencing a decline in foreign language enrollment and in advanced Spanish courses (Looney & Lusin, 2019; Lusin et al., 2023), with a trend of higher female enrollment (Brantmeier et al., 2019; Chavez, 2001). Literature in Second Language Acquisition and Sociopsychology has studied how beliefs can influence a student’s thoughts and actions regarding their decision to enroll in a particular course (Mills & Moulton, 2017; Omrod, 2011; Taylor & Mardsen, 2014). The present study aims to investigate advanced Spanish learners’ awareness, beliefs, and attitudes toward four language learning skills and their differences by gender. Overall results indicated that participants from two different advanced Spanish courses had more positive beliefs and attitudes toward speaking and listening than reading and writing. Additionally, a higher proportion of female students had more positive beliefs toward the four skills than male students. Pedagogical implications and future directions on student uptake are suggested in this study.

Keywords: awareness, attitudes, beliefs, gender, listening, reading, speaking, writing, uptake, advanced Spanish
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Literature review and operational definitions
    • 2.1Studies on learners’ beliefs and attitudes in second and foreign language settings
    • 2.2Studies on gender in undergraduate Spanish language programs
    • 2.3Studies on learners’ beliefs, attitudes, gender and uptake in Spanish and other foreign languages
  • 3.Methods
    • 3.1Participants
    • 3.2Data collection instruments
    • 3.3Procedures
    • 3.4Analyses
  • 4.Results
    • 4.1RQ1. Which of the four skills LSRW do advanced Spanish learners identify as relevant for their L2 learning, specifically for their L2 proficiency and fluency?
    • 4.2RQ2. What are the beliefs and attitudes of advanced Spanish language learners toward LSRW?
      • 4.2.1Beliefs
      • 4.2.2Attitudes
        • 4.2.2.1Do advanced Spanish learners’ beliefs and attitudes differ by gender?
          • 4.2.2.1.1Beliefs and gender
          • 4.2.2.1.2Attitudes and gender
        • 4.2.3Do their beliefs and attitudes differ by the type of advanced Spanish course in which they are enrolled, Grammar and Composition, Advanced Reading and Writing?
        • 4.2.3.1Beliefs and type of advanced Spanish course
        • 4.2.3.2Attitudes and type of advanced Spanish course
  • 5.Discussion and implications
  • 6.Conclusion
  • Acknowledgements
  • References
Published online: 18 January 2024
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/resla.21030.bal
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