Spanish is just the beginning: helping Spanish speakers grow while boosting world language enrollments

Presenter Information

Chris CJ JacobsFollow

Author ORCID Identifier

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5287-5066

Document Type

Paper Presentation

Presenter Language

English

Research Area

Applied linguistics

Location

MBSC Gallery Room 308

Start Date

17-10-2024 12:00 PM

End Date

17-10-2024 12:30 PM

Abstract

Communities in the United States, generally, continue to diversify, yet in its periodic reports, the Modern Language Association (MLA) repeatedly cites declining world language enrollments in higher education—especially in languages other than Spanish. Concerned about their survival, world language departments often find themselves brainstorming strategies to counteract this trend. Fortunately, proven additive recruitment strategies exist.

Departments can convince speakers of one language, such as Spanish, to learn additional (i.e., L3) languages alongside Spanish. (Here, “speakers” refers to all L1, L2, and L3 speakers). Spanish speakers represent a highly recruitable population in the U.S. due to their large and growing numbers. Furthermore, research has shown that students of one world language willing learn another—especially when that language resembles a language they already know. Due to the low linguistic distance, Spanish speakers find French, Italian, and Portuguese particularly logical choices, and with the right strategies, they can mobilize their previous knowledge to acquire these languages more quickly than those without knowledge of Spanish. Even Spanish speakers pursuing a much more linguistically distant L3 (i.e., Arabic, Japanese) can learn to apply their existing learning strategies to acquire these languages more quickly than an L2 learner.

This presentation seeks to provide a how-to guide for language teachers and administrators working at postsecondary institutions with large populations of Spanish speakers to boost their enrollments in languages other than Spanish without negatively impacting Spanish enrollments. After a brief yet thorough review of the literature on L3 acquisition processes and the experiences of learners of Spanish learning another language, this presentation will propose proven strategies to recruit Spanish speakers to learn additional languages. Considering the expected HLS audience, this presentation will focus on the case of Spanish (speakers), yet much of the information will apply to other language groups, too. Attendees will walk away with practical strategies that they and their colleagues can apply to boost world language enrollments in their professional contexts.

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Oct 17th, 12:00 PM Oct 17th, 12:30 PM

Spanish is just the beginning: helping Spanish speakers grow while boosting world language enrollments

MBSC Gallery Room 308

Communities in the United States, generally, continue to diversify, yet in its periodic reports, the Modern Language Association (MLA) repeatedly cites declining world language enrollments in higher education—especially in languages other than Spanish. Concerned about their survival, world language departments often find themselves brainstorming strategies to counteract this trend. Fortunately, proven additive recruitment strategies exist.

Departments can convince speakers of one language, such as Spanish, to learn additional (i.e., L3) languages alongside Spanish. (Here, “speakers” refers to all L1, L2, and L3 speakers). Spanish speakers represent a highly recruitable population in the U.S. due to their large and growing numbers. Furthermore, research has shown that students of one world language willing learn another—especially when that language resembles a language they already know. Due to the low linguistic distance, Spanish speakers find French, Italian, and Portuguese particularly logical choices, and with the right strategies, they can mobilize their previous knowledge to acquire these languages more quickly than those without knowledge of Spanish. Even Spanish speakers pursuing a much more linguistically distant L3 (i.e., Arabic, Japanese) can learn to apply their existing learning strategies to acquire these languages more quickly than an L2 learner.

This presentation seeks to provide a how-to guide for language teachers and administrators working at postsecondary institutions with large populations of Spanish speakers to boost their enrollments in languages other than Spanish without negatively impacting Spanish enrollments. After a brief yet thorough review of the literature on L3 acquisition processes and the experiences of learners of Spanish learning another language, this presentation will propose proven strategies to recruit Spanish speakers to learn additional languages. Considering the expected HLS audience, this presentation will focus on the case of Spanish (speakers), yet much of the information will apply to other language groups, too. Attendees will walk away with practical strategies that they and their colleagues can apply to boost world language enrollments in their professional contexts.