The effect of short-term study abroad on second language Spanish phonetic development

• Silvina Bongiovanni ^[1] ; Avizia Y. Long ^[1] ; Megan Solon ^[2] ; Erik W. Willis ^[1]
  1. [1] Indiana University
  2. [2] University at Albany
• Localización: Studies in Hispanic and Lusophone linguistics, ISSN-e 2199-3386, ISSN 1939-0238, Vol. 8, Nº. 2, 2015, págs. 243-283
• Idioma: inglés
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• Resumen

  • This study explores the impact of study abroad (SA) on second language Spanish phonetic development. Twenty-seven English-speaking learners of Spanish, 15 who were participating in a 4-week SA program in the Dominican Republic and 12 who were studying at their home (AH) institution, were recorded 5 weeks apart (at the approximate beginning and end of their respective programs). Recordings were analyzed acoustically, and four groups of segments were examined: word-initial /p t k/, intervocalic /b d ɡ/, intervocalic /ɾ/ and /r/, and word-final /l/. Productions at Time 1 and Time 2 as well as between the SA and AH groups were compared. Results suggested a minor benefit of the SA environment for phonetic development of some of the segments but with notable individual variation in both groups.