Written pragmatic competence of heritage speakers and foreign language learners of Spanish: Exploring the use of discourse markers
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.56683/rs232091Keywords:
discourse markers, heritage language speakers, foreign language learners, Spanish as a second language, writing strategiesAbstract
The present study investigates the use of discourse markers (DM) in compositions of heritage language learners (HLL) and foreign language learners (FLL) of Spanish. Previous studies state that HLL differ from FLL in fluency in oral pragmatics due to their greater exposure to the L2 outside the classroom (Alonso-Marks, 2016; Gatti & O’Neill, 2017). Nevertheless, HLL are not as exposed to compositional skills as FLL, resulting in a written competence marked by the oral fluency with which they communicate in the L2 (Alonso-Marks, 2016). To explore this further, this study focuses on DM, as they contribute to the fluency of written discourse (Martínez, 2004). There is little research about HLL’s use of DM in compositions despite their importance in L2 acquisition.
14 US students of Spanish, 7 HLL and 7 FLL, enrolled in the same advanced composition course participated in the study. Data were pulled from 9 compositions submitted by each participant. DM were coded in terms of frequency and classified into interpersonal, textual, and modal categories. Results revealed significant differences in the frequency of DM usage between groups, and particularly in their use of textual DM. FLL used them more frequently than HLL.The difference is attributed to the role of the instruction received.
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