Journal of Linguistics and Language Teaching (JLLT)

Journal of Linguistics and Language Teaching

Volume 9 (2018) Issue 2
pp. 213-242

Praxis: How Service-Learning Promotes Understanding and Control of Verbal Aspect in Spanish L2 Learners*

C. Cecilia Tocaimaza-Hatch (Omaha (NE), USA) & Ashwini Ganeshan (Athens (GA), USA)

Abstract (English)

Service-learning (SL) provides learners with opportunities for genuine language negotiation (Caldwell 2007, Abbott & Lear 2010, Barreneche 2011, Uehara & Raatior 2016, Zapata 2011, Askildson, Kelly & Mick 2013, Tocaimaza-Hatch & Walls 2016). This investigation explores how SL improves learners’ conceptual development and use of verbal aspect in oral narrations. For the pre-test and post-test, learners narrated Mercer Mayer’s book Frog Goes to Dinner providing spontaneous performance data. Immediately after, learners were prompted to discuss their aspectual choices. Finally, after the post-test, learners answered open-ended questions on whether and how their ability to narrate improved over time. While findings show no evidence of improvement in use and control of verbal aspect, there is improvement in SL learners’ conceptual understanding of verbal aspect. The open-ended questions suggest learners perceived SL helped in improving their narration skills, and they recognized SL as a setting where theory and practice, i.e., praxis, come together. Overall, learners’ reflections on the SL experience demonstrated increased confidence in language abilities. SL, in this investigation, provided learners with opportunities to simultaneously develop affective and cognitive processes and in this way, SL proved to be a beneficial and enriching experience for language learning.

Keywords: Service-learning, sociocultural theory, verbal aspect, acquisition.

Abstract (Español)

El aprendizaje a través de servicio (AS) brinda a los estudiantes oportunidades reales de negociación lingüística (Caldwell 2007, Abbott & Lear 2010, Barreneche 2011, Uehara & Raatior 2016, Zapata 2011, Askildson, Kelly, & Mick 2013, Tocaimaza-Hatch & Walls 2016). Esta investigación estudia cómo AS mejora en los estudiantes la comprensión conceptual y el uso del aspecto verbal en las narraciones orales. Para las pruebas anterior y posterior, los estudiantes narraron el libro de Mercer Mayer, Frog Goes to Dinner, así proporcionando datos espontáneos. Inmediatamente después, se les pidió que reflexionaran y explicaran sus elecciones aspectuales. Finalmente, después de la prueba post, los estudiantes respondieron a preguntas abiertas sobre mejorías en su habilidad de narrar. Si bien los resultados no muestran evidencia de mejoría en el uso y control del aspecto verbal, indican un desarrollo en la comprensión conceptual del aspecto verbal en los estudiantes. Las preguntas abiertas sugieren que los estudiantes percibieron que AS les ayudó a mejorar sus habilidades de narración, y reconocieron AS como un entorno donde la teoría y la práctica, es decir, la praxis, se unen. En general, en las reflexiones sobre la experiencia AS, los estudiantes demostraron una mayor confianza en sus habilidades con el idioma. AS, en esta investigación, proporcionó a los estudiantes oportunidades para desarrollar simultáneamente procesos afectivos y cognitivos, y de esta manera, AS fue una experiencia beneficiosa y enriquecedora para el aprendizaje de idiomas.

Palabras claves: Aprendizaje a través de servicio, teoría sociocultural, aspecto verbal, adquisición.

1 Introduction

Experiential education connects academia with the community in various capacities, including internships, teaching practicums, and volunteering. In each modality, the balance between learners reaching academic goals and performing community service varies; e.g., in volunteerism, the focus is on the service rendered while teaching practicums seek to benefit only the individual needing opportunities for career development (Wurr 2017). In service-learning (SL), the modality implemented in the current study, there is a balanced focus on both learning and service. The application of SL in higher education has proven beneficial: learners create connections between classroom theory and real-world practice (e.g. Roessingh 2012, Holmes & Thompson 2014, Sun & Yang 2015), develop a sense of civic duty (Overfield 2007, Barreneche 2011, Faszer-McMahon 2013), and become more engaged and resourceful (Simmons & Roberts-Weah 2000, Edgerton 2001, Kramsch 2006).

In language classrooms, evidence points to SL being an effective means to extend instruction beyond the classroom where learners are afforded opportunities for genuine language negotiation, improved proficiency (Caldwell 2007, Askildson, Kelly, & Mick 2013, Uehara & Raatior 2016), cultural and pragmatic awareness (Abbott & Lear 2010, Barreneche 2011, Zapata, 2011), and vocabulary gains (Tocaimaza-Hatch & Walls 2016). The current investigation contributes to the growing body of research on SL in language teaching by examining Spanish L2 learners’ understanding and control of verbal aspect (i.e. the relationship between the verb and its constituents, and the temporal view expressed by them, as manifested in the distinction between preterite and imperfect tenses) as a result of participation in SL. Here, the SL program consisted of a story-time program where learners interacted with bilingual children in Spanish.

In this investigation, the examination of learners’ understanding and control over verbal aspect in SL is framed in the concept of praxis. Praxis refers to the intersection between theory and social activity; that is, the dialectically unified theory where human cognition is connected with the circumstances where it develops (Lantolf 2008). From this stance, this study aimed to explore how learners’ conceptual development and use of verbal aspect in oral narration were supported by means of concrete, every day activity made possible through SL.

In the next section, verbal aspect in language teaching is discussed, which is followed by an introduction to Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory of mind (SCT) and the role of praxis. This literature review concludes with an overview of prior studies relevant to the scope of this investigation and the research questions proposed for this study.

2 Literature Review

2.1 Verbal Aspect in the L2 Setting

The notion of aspect relates to the relationship between the verb and its constituents and the temporal view expressed by them. Comrie explains that aspect refers to the “different ways of viewing the internal temporal constituency of a situation” (Comrie 1976: 3).¹ Aspect itself can appear in two ways: lexical and grammatical aspect; where, in the former, the lexical meaning of verbs themselves defines aspect, while in the latter, the grammatical aspect embedded in the verb’s morphology overrides lexical aspect. The two main perspectives on aspect that are most relevant to this paper are the aspect hypothesis and the discourse hypothesis, given that several studies suggest that a combination of both accounts for the distribution of tense-aspect morphology in second language learning in a more complete way (Bardovi-Harlig 1998, López Ortega 2000).

Both hypotheses are relevant to this study. The aspect hypothesis links lexical and grammatical aspect which occurs in Spanish, the target-language in this study, and the discourse hypothesis is relevant to our study because of the task of story-telling. The aspect hypothesis proposes that preterit is used for completed and bounded events while the imperfect is used for incomplete and unbounded events (Liskin-Gasparro 2000, López-Ortega 2000, Salaberry 2000, Potowski 2005, Castañeda 2011). That is, there is a tendency to use the imperfect, if a verb is a state, such as temer (‘to fear’), which expresses an incomplete and unbounded state; and the preterit is generally used if a verb expresses an achievement, such as llegar (‘to arrive’), or an accomplishment, such as construir (‘to construct’), which express completed and bounded events.

The discourse hypothesis focusses on narrative structures and proposes that foreground information is marked in the preterit as it expresses the backbone or plotline of the story-moving events forward; while background information is marked in the imperfect as it expresses elements already present in the story, focusing on the description as states (Hopper 1979, Bardovi-Harlig 1994, Westfall & Forester 1996, Blyth 1997, Ozete 1998, López-Ortega 2000).

Cognitive linguists have added that speaker intention is of great importance when selecting past-tense verbal morphology in discourse (Frantzen 1995, Negueruela 2003, Negueruela & Lantolf 2006, Yañez-Prieto 2008, Elola 2017). That is, an event can be described in many ways and it is the speaker who decides how to portray the event based on their perspective. This particular idea of speaker perspective in narrating past events is not easy to transmit to Spanish L2-learners whose L1 is English because, as pointed out by several researchers (Salaberry 1999, Slabakova & Montrul 2002, Comajoan Colomé 2013, Elola 2017), English does not exhibit the aspectual characteristics of Spanish. Specifically, the overt preterit-imperfect choice in Spanish does not have a direct morphosyntactic correlation in English. English can use the progressive -ing form (e.g. Él comía sopa  He was eating soup) and the used to form (e.g. Él comía sopa  He used to eat soup) to transmit the idea of the imperfect. With regards to Spanish, however, the English simple past is ambiguous or neutral to aspectual differences (e.g. He ate  When he was a child, he ate soup everyday / Yesterday he ate soup) (Salaberry 1999, Slabakova & Montrul 2002). Moreover, as Slabakova & Montrul (2002) observe, the English –ing and the Spanish imperfect are not equivalent in meaning, and the Spanish imperfect can be translated in multiple ways into English.

In addition to the aspectual differences in English and Spanish in relation to the past forms, in the L2 classroom settings, there are two factors that do not necessarily aid in the conceptual development of aspect:

Studies have shown that learners are not aware of aspectual nor conceptual differences even in their L1 (Salaberry 1999, Bardovi-Harlig 2000, Negueruela 2003), and often teachers do not intervene explicitly to create awareness of the L1 and L2 in learners.
Textbooks instead of presenting a conceptual analysis of aspect, repeatedly only introduce binary rules (i.e. ‘rules of thumb’) that are too simplistic and result in a superficial and frequently incorrect use of the preterit and imperfect by learners (Frantzen 1995, Negueruela 2003).

Overall, the preterit and imperfect pose a challenge to learners at multiple levels of instruction because understanding and mastering the preterit and the imperfect use involves many linguistic parts that are different in English and Spanish. Learners need to process information regarding aspect, grammatical form, and narrative features at the same time, and this requires a significant degree of linguistics awareness and knowledge on part of the learners (Comajoan Colomé 2005, 2014, Salaberry 2008, Elola 2017). Nevertheless, there seems to be hope, since, over time, as their experience with language increases, learners are able to show improvement in their use of preterit and imperfect (Salaberry 2008, Comajoan Colomé 2013). The present study examines one way in which learners’ understanding and control of verbal aspect can be addressed, from a praxis perspective where theory and practice come together in SL.

2.2 Sociocultural Theory: Theory and Practice

Sociocultural Theory (SCT) is a psychological theory that views learning as a semiotic process attributed to participation in socially-mediated activities; therein lies SCT’s appropriateness in the analysis of learning in SL contexts (Boyle & Overfield 1999). In laying the groundwork for this theory, Vygotsky introduced SCT’s foundational principle, mediation, which explains how mental processes are enabled by tools, such as language, signs, and symbols (Lantolf 2000). Thus, in SCT terms, mental processes are mediated by tools that allow individuals to take control and master their environment according to their motives.

Vygotsky (as cited in Lantolf & Appel 1994) illustrated mediation in quantitative operations. He explained that the ability to see ‘two’ as a combination of ‘one plus one’ results from humans’ initial use of concrete objects in the counting activity. Initially, counting was dependent on external stimuli from the physical environment, but, eventually, with decontextualization, the counting activity was separated from the physical environment. With this shift from an activity that relied on the environment, to an activity of the mind, which occurred with the help of tools (i.e. counting), the development of higher mental functions was furthered. Therefore, the application of SCT to the study of language learning views language as a cognitive and symbolic tool that enables learning (Donato 2000, Norris & Ortega 2000).

Even though symbolic mediation is central to SCT, Vygotsky also argued that theory could not be separated from practice. Indeed, for Vygotsky, the highest test of a theory was practice (Lantolf 2011). The dialectal unity of theory and practice is known as praxis. From this stance, “theory is not just a lens for observing learning processes but a means for making them happen” (Lantolf 2011: 22). In other words, in praxis, theory and practice are intrinsically connected in such a way that theory guides practice and practice shapes theory (Feryok 2017).

Praxis in educational settings calls for the teaching of scientific rather than spontaneous concepts (Lantolf 2008). While spontaneous concepts are automatic, concrete, and emerge from every-day personal experience, scientific concepts originate in theoretical scientific investigation and require time and implementation in practical activity for the individual to achieve automatic control of them. Thus, although more difficult to build, scientific knowledge ultimately provides greater flexibility in that it is detached from any one setting and can be applied to any context. Therefore, in praxis, the basic unit of instruction is conceptual knowledge as formulated in scientific research; and, it is in practical activity where conceptual knowledge comes to be (Lantolf 2008: 22).

While several studies exemplify an SCT praxis-based approach to language instruction (e.g. van Compernolle 2011, van Compernolle & Kinginger, 2013, Poehner & Infante 2017), the investigations by Negueruela (2003) and Yañez-Prieto (2008) on verbal aspect are most relevant to the current study because the methodology was drawn from them. Negueruela and Yañez-Prieto conducted instruction on verbal aspect through Systemic-Theoretical Instruction (STI), which proposes that meaning be constructed through systematic and explicit conceptual categories (scientific knowledge) rather than simplistic explanations and rules of thumb (Williams, Abraham & Negueruela-Azarola 2013). STI seeks to engage learners in efficient problem solving by means of cultural tools that empower them to transform their environment rather than a pedagogical model that accrues right and wrong answers (Lantolf & Thorne 2014). Thus, STI recognizes the close connection between theory and practice - or praxis - required in educational settings.

STI comprises multiple phases (Gal’Perin 1992):

In the first phase, learners are presented with a Schema of a Complete Orienting Basis of an Action (SCOBA), which functions as a cognitive map or tool that they rely on as they navigate activities related to the target concepts. The integration of a SCOBA is meant to prevent learners from memorizing verbal explanations without true understanding of concepts. Instead, these visual models serve as concrete reminders of the knowledge necessary to engage in action (Poehner & Lantolf 2014).
In the second phase, and because the act of speaking helps learners transition actions from the material to the mental plane, STI incorporates two sub-phases of verbal action: dialogic thinking (speaking to oneself) and communicated thinking (speaking to others). Verbalization is viewed as an “instructional tool for attention focusing, selection analysis, and synthesis, and thus is directly connected with internalization and concept formation” (Negueruela & Lantolf 2006: 86).
In the final phase, learners master the concept through dialogic speech (inner speech) and their knowledge becomes mental so that it does not rely on material reminders any longer. At this point, learners are ready to creatively use the concept in different contexts, which demonstrates automatization or internalization of conceptual knowledge (Lantolf 2008).

Negueruela (2003) aimed to foster conceptual and comprehensive understanding of preterit and imperfect in an intermediate Spanish L2 class. Data for analysis were collected prior and following STI instruction and included conceptual development data, which consisted of learners’ definitions of grammatical concepts designed to access their conscious and explicit knowledge of concepts, spontaneous oral and written performance data, and learners’ home recordings in which they explained to themselves grammatical concepts relying on explanatory charts provided by the instructor (verbalization). The author concluded that in regards to a coherent use of preterit and imperfect, there was much variability in learners’ performance with gains more apparent in the written than in the oral task. In her study, Yañez-Prieto (2008) incorporated a SCOBA built on speaker’s perspective. Tasks included the analysis of literary pieces, communicated thinking about verbal aspect, and learners’ narration of their own stories. Both Negueruela and Yañez-Prieto found that learners, although they struggled to abandon rules of thumb learned in previous courses (e.g. ‘imperfect for descriptions’), realized the potential of modeling their own speaking and writing through their broadened understanding of aspect.

Therefore, the current investigation on verbal aspect is framed within praxis parameters where the end goal is the development of conceptual knowledge that is then applicable to spontaneous communicative situations. With this purpose in mind, the study explored Spanish L2 learners’ engagement in STI for the promotion of a conceptual understanding of aspect with their subsequent participation in an SL program where past tense narration was commonplace. The overarching inquiry that guided this exploratory study was: how did SL promote understanding and control of verbal aspect in Spanish L2 learners? This was investigated from various angles, as described in the working research questions:

How did SL change Spanish L2 learners’ control of aspect in terms of use?
How did SL change learners’ conceptual understanding of verbal aspect?
What were learners’ perceptions regarding the role of SL on their control and understanding of aspect?

3 Methodology

3.1 Participants

This study included participants from three intact Spanish L2 classes at a state university in the Midwest of the United States. This design had the purpose of facilitating the identification of features in SL, which were unique to the learning experience of only one of these groups, and that had an effect on learners’ understanding and control of verbal aspect. Twenty-four Spanish L2 learners (eight males and sixteen females) participated in this study (Table 1). Their ages ranged from 18 to 29. Most individuals had been born in the Great Plains in the U.S.; English was their first language and they did not speak Spanish outside of class. Most learners had taken some Spanish in high-school.

Group 1 (N=9) STI & SL	Group 2 (N=8) STI & No SL	Group 3 (N=7) No STI & No SL
G1_P1	G2_P1	G3_P1
G1_P2	G2_P2	G3_P2
G1_P3	G2_P3	G3_P3
G1_P4	G2_P4	G3_P4
G1_P5	G2_P5	G3_P5
G1_P6	G2_P6	G3_P6
G1_P7	G2_P7	G3_P7
G1_P8	G2_P8
G1_P9

Table 1: Participants

Participants were enrolled in three third-year courses; nine of them attended a conversation class (Group 1), eight a grammar and composition course (Group 2), and seven participants a reading course (Group 3). It is worth noting that learners who were enrolled in more than one of these classes (e.g. a learner taking both the conversation and the reading course) were not included in the analysis. Although overall instruction in Group 1 and Group 2 had different pedagogical foci, they shared the same instruction modality and content for the topic of verbal aspect (Section 3.2). They also differed in that the conversation group (Group 1) engaged in an SL project where past tense narration was commonplace (also discussed in Section 3.2) while the grammar and composition class (Group 2) did not provide a comparable extension to classroom instruction. The reading class (Group 3) had the purpose of fostering reading comprehension in Spanish and exposing learners to various literary genres. This group did not engage in verbal aspect instruction or SL. The three classes were required for Spanish majors and minors.

3.2 Procedure

3.2.1 Verbal Aspect Instruction

Groups 1 and 2 received instruction on verbal aspect, which the instructors for both courses designed together; the first author was the instructor for Group1. Instruction was built on tenets for STI and adapted from Yañez-Prieto (2008), and took place before learners in Group 1 began their participation in the SL program. Aspect instruction occurred over two weeks (both courses met twice a week). The instructor for Group 3 indicated that although no formal instruction was provided on aspect, they regularly corrected learners on aspectual choices during class discussions and, when necessary, briefly reviewed rules of thumb for the use of preterit and imperfect.

In Groups 1 and 2, STI unfolded as follows. On Day One, the instructor explained that the purpose of the new framework was to provide learners with more freedom in creating meaning as speakers and writers of Spanish. The instructor then defined the concepts of aspect and tense; learners were introduced to the SCOBA (adapted from Yañez-Prieto 2008) and were instructed to describe it and discuss it in dyads (communicated thinking). On Day Two, learners reviewed SCOBA in dyads once more. As some participants were skeptical about this new approach and indicated a preference for rules of thumb, on Day Three, learners completed activities with the purpose of confronting them with a literary piece in which the author’s aspectual choices collided with rules of thumb (e.g., using the preterit for one-time events or using the imperfect for repeated actions in the past). Once again, learners engaged in communicated thinking and also in a creative writing task. On Day Four, learners worked on a literary piece where they experimented with aspectual choices in terms of the speaker’s perspective (Appendix A includes a sample activity).

3.2.2 Service-Learning

Group 1 participated in SL, which consisted of a story-time program in Spanish for bilingual children who attended after-school programs at a non-profit organization. The 12-week SL program served two groups of children: the first included 17 children aged 5 and 6 and the second, 12 children aged 4 to 8. As part of the program, one-hour Spanish lessons a week were offered to each children’s group. Thus, each learner in Group 1 co-taught with another learner a total of four lessons over the duration of the program. In addition, two more activities were part of the SL experience, although not part of this study:

learners attended the organization outside of the reading program hours to provide homework support for any subject, not just Spanish, and
they hosted an end-of-program party (at the university campus) for the children and their families.

In preparation for their service, learners worked in dyads to prepare their lessons, which they taught together. Each lesson was based on two children’s books that had been pre-selected by the instructor, based on their content- and age-appropriateness for the children; lesson preparation followed a lesson plan outline adapted from Kostelnik et al., (2015). A requirement for each lesson was that, after concluding the reading of each book, learners would retell the story, with the children’s participation, using the past tense. SL activities were worth 30% of the final grade for the course.

3.2.3 Data Sources

Following Negueruela’s (2003) methodological design, data for analysis were collected during the first month of the semester (prior to verbal aspect instruction) and again during the last three weeks (after instruction and SL experience). For the pre-test, learners met either with Group 1’s instructor or with Group 3’s instructor. During this meeting, learners were asked to narrate Mercer Mayer’s book Frog Goes to Dinner. First, participants had two minutes to look over the book, and, second, they retold the story using past tense, which provided spontaneous performance data. The interviewer took notes of learners’ narrative, which were used during the last part of the meeting to prompt learners to reflect on their aspectual choices. These conceptual data demonstrated learners’ definitions of grammatical concepts and provided a glimpse into their conscious and explicit knowledge of concepts.

The post-test consisted of the same format as the pre-test. However, following learners’ narratives and reflections on aspectual usage, the meeting turned into a debriefing interview where the following open-ended questions were addressed:

Do you feel that your ability to narrate in the past has improved this semester?
What were some factors that may have helped you improve your past-tense narration?
Follow-up questions were drawn from learners’ responses.

These meetings lasted between 15 and 30 minutes and were recorded for transcription and analysis.

It is worth noting that, as is customary in SL, throughout the semester, learners engaged in reflections on their SL activities. They reflected on other lessons learned, beyond language learning, that impacted their civic engagement and social responsibility, among others. These findings are beyond the scope of the current article but are discussed in Tocaimaza-Hatch (2018).

3.2.4 Data Analysis

Three sources of data resulted from the data collection process described before: narratives (spontaneous performance data), reflections on aspectual choice (verbalization of conceptual knowledge), and learners’ perspective and perceptions regarding the role that the SL program had on their development of verbal aspect. Data were analyzed as follows:

Narratives:

Drawing from Negueruela (2003), the analysis of narratives was built on the coherent and incoherent use of preterit and imperfect. A coherent use shows that leaners made aspectual choices of preterite and imperfect that were supported by context of use. Incoherent use signals that learners employed infinitives, present morphology, present subjunctive morphology, words in English, and preterit in place of imperfect and vice versa, or that their aspectual choices were not supported by context of use. Morphology was only considered a factor as far as the meaning conveyed by it was not coherent with the context of use. Uses of other tenses, such as present tense for introducing the narratives or historical present, or imperfect subjunctive for a request in the past, were not counted. As the frequencies of use varied with each learner, percentages were calculated that represent the occurrence of coherent use for preterit and imperfect use in the pre- and post-tests for a descriptive analysis of the data. Percentages facilitate the comparison across learners and groups. A sample analysis is included in Appendix B. The authors analyzed, separately, each of the narratives. They later compared their analyses; their agreement ranged between 88% and 94%, for an average of 91% agreement in the overall analysis. Disagreements were solved jointly through a collaborative coding process. As noted in Smagorinsky (2008), this type of collaborative coding promotes a clear understanding of the data since each decision stems from a thoughtful and thorough exchange.

Verbalization:

Table 2 includes the scale (from Williams et al. 2013) used to rate learners’ verbalizations on aspectual choice. The authors analyzed the data separately and later compared their findings, which resulted in 100% agreement:

Rating pre-test	Rating post-test	Description
0	0	Unclear and/or irrelevant explanation
1	1	Explanation supported only by rules or thumb/specific triggers
2	2	Combination of rules or thumb/specific triggers and SCOBA/concept-based explanation
3	3	SCOBA/concept-based explanation

Table 2: Verbalization scale adapted from Williams et al. (2013)

Perspectives and perceptions:

A thematic analysis of recurrent and relevant themes was carried out of learners’ commentary during the debriefing interview. Once more, the researchers did the analysis on their own and later convened to discuss their findings. After several passes through the data, the researchers identified several items of relevance to the development of aspectual knowledge as fostered in each of the groups participating in this research, including the SL experience.

4 Results

The presentation of results is systematically organized based on the three inquiries that guided this investigation. A preliminary analysis is included here in preparation for a broader discussion on the effects of the SL experience reported in this research in targeting verbal aspect.

4.1 Spanish L2 Learners’ Control of Aspect

Table 3 includes percentages that represent the occurrence of coherent use of preterit and imperfect in the pre- and post-tests.

For Group 1, in the pre-test, the average score for imperfect use was 80% (SD=20) and 78% for preterit (SD=26). In the post-test, the average score was 63% (SD=37) for imperfect and 89% for preterit (SD=9).

For Group 2, in the pre-test, the average score for imperfect was 39% (SD=33) and 72% for preterit (SD=30). In the post-test, the average score for imperfect was 75% (SD=26) and 92% (SD=7) for preterit.

Lastly, for Group 3, the average score in the pre-test was 92% (SD=20) for imperfect and 92% (SD=5) for preterit, in the post-test, 58% (SD=39) for imperfect and 95% (SD=4) for preterit.

Based on these descriptive statistics, Group 2 appeared to make gains. They started behind their peers but surpassed them (imperfect use) or got level with them (preterit use). Groups 1 and 3 both saw drops for imperfect and only slight gains, possibly not meaningful ones, for preterit.

Thus, although Groups 1 and 3 engaged in drastically different experiences, they performed more similarly than Groups 1 and 2 did, which shared the same aspect instruction. Here, it is possible that learners in Group 2, because they were enrolled in a grammar class, were more attuned to the material than learners in Group 1, for whom aspect instruction may have been perceived as ancillary to the SL experience and not central to their performance in the (conversation) course:

Groups	Participant	Pre-test Imp %	Pre-test /Pret %	Post-test /Imp %	Post/Pret %
Group 1 STI & SL	G1_P1	81	100	83	90
	G1_P2	72	25	11	75
	G1_P3	100	100	57	100
	G1_P4	80	50	87	100
	G1_P5	92	100	100	100
	G1_P6	50	100	0	95
	G1_P7	100	90	90	84
	G1_P8	100	72	100	80
	G1_P9	46	70	44	83
Group 2 STI & No SL	G2_P1	100	20	44	86
	G2_P2	66	85	100	81
	G2_P3	0	83	28	100
	G2_P4	77	33	81	90
	G2_P5	92	88	78	90
	G2_P6	91	100	77	100
	G2_P7	100	71	92	90
	G2_P8	87	100	100	100
Group 3 No STI & No SL	G3_P1	100	91	75	93
	G3_P2	100	92	100	90
	G3_P3	100	100	33	100
	G3_P4	46	88	25	100
	G3_P5	100	100	0	100
	G3_P6	100	91	75	93
	G3_P7	100	84	100	92

Table 3: Learners’ Scores for Aspect Use

These findings on spontaneous use of aspect merit some considerations regarding the nature of the task utilized for data collection and the challenge that verbal aspect represents in L2 learning.

First, the current analysis is based on learners’ oral account of a story. Negueruela (2003) found that the task format had an impact on learners’ performance: participants in his study performed better in written than oral tasks. In the current study, with only oral data being targeted, it is not possible to determine if learners would have presented a different outcome in a written task.

Second, in attempting to frame these results with prior STI investigations, it is challenging to create points of comparison when other investigations had a narrower linguistic scope in comparison to verbal aspect. For instance, van Compernolle and Kinginger (2013) and van Compernolle (2011) investigated the use of second-person pronouns tu and vous (‘you’) and the proclitic negative particle ne, respectively, in French L2 learners. The researchers found that participants did alter their linguistic behavior based on their own linguistic intentions as a result of instruction conducive to developing metapragmatic conceptual knowledge of the target items. However, in those studies, learners were faced with having to make binary decisions and where morphology was practically inconsequential, thus, the mental load (i.e., the multidimensional demands that performing a given task impose on a learner’s cognitive system, Paas & Van Merriënboer 1993) required by actively using aspect in an oral task might be greater than that required by other tasks (oral vs. written) and linguistic scopes (e.g., verbal aspect vs. second-person pronouns). Lastly, in Negueruela (2003) and Yañez-Prieto (2009), there were no points of comparison with learners who had not experienced STI; the analysis was based on the individual learners and their abilities prior and after interventions, which framed the overall teaching / learning experience over the course.

4.2 Learners’ Conceptual Understanding of Verbal Aspect

The analysis of learners’ conceptual knowledge for the pre- and post-tests is summarized in Table 4. Learners in Groups 1 and 2 demonstrated comparable abilities to verbalize their aspectual choices based on conceptual knowledge that relies on a combination of rules and concepts. Learners in Group 3 continued to rely on explanations based entirely on rules, exceptions, and triggers. These findings suggest that STI instruction fostered conceptual knowledge of aspect for the two groups that partook in instruction; the SL program seemed to have no additional effect.

Thus, STI, although it spanned for four-class periods over two weeks, appeared to have some effect on learners’ reconceptualization of aspect as observed in their verbalizations. This finding agrees with Gánem-Gutiérrez & Harun (2011), who found that after only one day of instruction, most learners benefited from STI treatment in strengthening their understanding of the conceptual definition of aspect.

However, in this study, changes in learners’ understanding of aspect did not carry through in learners’ performance data, as seen in the previous section. This suggests that learners had not fully mastered the concepts and were not ready to creatively apply them to new contexts, thus signaling a lack of internalization (Lantolf 2008). Findings appear to indicate that participants achieved a preliminary step in internalizing aspectual concepts but these were not transformed into declarative knowledge, as seen in the gap between their understanding of aspect and the coherent and functional application of concepts in speech. This gap between procedural and declarative knowledge is illustrated by G2_P6, who explained that she needed to rely on writing as a preliminary step to produce a past tense narrative: “I’m good at writing sentences but I’m not good at saying them until I write them down.”

Groups	Participant	Pre- test conceptual knowledge	Post-test conceptual know
Group 1 STI & SL	G1_P1	1-Rules and triggers	3- Concept-based explanation
	G1_P2	1-Rules and triggers	No change
	G1_P3	1-Rules and triggers	2- Rules and concepts
	G1_P4	1-Rules and triggers	2- Rules and concepts
	G1_P5	1-Rules and triggers	No change
	G1_P6	1-Rules and triggers	No change
	G1_P7	1-Rules and triggers	2- Rules and concepts
	G1_P8	1-Rules and triggers	2- Rules and concepts
	G1_P9	1-Rules and triggers	No change
Group 2 STI & No SL	G2_P1	1-Rules and triggers	No change
	G2_P2	0-Unclear, irrelevant explanation	2- Rules and concepts
	G2_P3	1-Rules and triggers	3- Concept base explanation
	G2_P4	1-Rules and triggers	No change
	G2_P5	1-Rules and triggers	No change
	G2_P6	0-Unclear, irrelevant explanation	2- Rules and concepts
	G2_P7	1-Rules and triggers	2- Rules and concepts
	G2_P8	1-Rules and triggers	2- Rules and concepts
Group 3 No STI & No SL	G3_P1	1-Rules and triggers	No change
	G3_P2	1-Rules and triggers	No change
	G3_P3	1-Rules and triggers	No change
	G3_P4	1-Rules and triggers	No change
	G3_P5	1-Rules and triggers	No change
	G3_P6	1-Rules and triggers	No change
	G3_P7	1-Rules and triggers	No change

Table 4: Learners’ conceptual understanding of aspect ²

4.3 Learners’ Perceptions regarding the Role of SL on their Control and Understanding of Aspect

The thematic analysis of learners’ comments during the interview points to several themes that signal how the language learning setting for each group had an effect on how they perceived their changing control and understanding of aspect. This section explores these findings. t begins with an exploration of comments produced by participants in Group 3 (no STI, no SL), which are then followed by those of Groups 2 (STI, no SL) and 1 (STI & SL). Commonalities and differences in all three groups are discussed with the purpose of more clearly highlighting how SL shaped learner’s perceptions. Learners’ unedited comments are weaved into the narrative to illustrate themes.

When prompted about factors that promoted their understanding and control of aspect, about half of the participants in Group 3 found that narrating and retelling stories during class discussions had been useful. However, several learners, in all groups, pointed out that the type of speaking they engaged in during class was not the type of full-fledged narration they performed as part of this investigation. For instance, G2_P6 stated “I never speak about…stories, if I talk, it’s always about the same thing.” Indeed, many argued that they had never been in a situation before where they had to retell such a complex story in their L2. This is in agreement with Donato & Brooks (2008), who argued that learners lack opportunities to engage in advanced speaking tasks in class. The other half of the learners in Group 3 emphasized the value of doing written assignments and homework, thus highlighting written over oral tasks to target aspect.

Similarly, those in Group 2 observed that completing (mechanical and structured) assignments and doing homework (written tasks) solidified their learning of aspect. Also, more than half of the learners in Group 2 acknowledged the value of STI; the rest found this approach too abstract and preferred using rules of thumb. Those who valued STI emphasized their desire to sound more like a native speaker and be creative with the language, which, they observed, was not possible with reliance on rules of thumb only. All in all, and as seen also in Negueruela (2003) and Yañez-Prieto (2008), learners had mixed feelings regarding STI. Participants in Group 1 presented similar opinions.

However, what distinguished Group 1 from the other groups was SL. When inquired about factors over the semester that had promoted their control over aspect, all, except for two learners, enthusiastically recalled the various pieces that made the SL experience. Learners emphasized how SL had given them the opportunity to visualize and apply in real life and in a high-stakes context the theory that they had studied in class. Excerpt 1 illustrates how theory and practice came together in SL. This is at the core of praxis in education, where theoretical concepts and theories are appropriately exercised through instructional practice in order to promote L2 development (Poehner & Lantolf 2014):

Excerpt 1: Praxis in SL

SL is where theory intersects with application. Learning temporal fundamentals is extremely useful to me, and that is tempered through exposure to native-level usage of the grammatical process in context. [G1_P1]

Furthermore, SL, as seen in Excerpt 2, not only provided a place to practice the theory learned in class, but it truly engaged learners in uses of language for real purposes. As explained by G1_P2, often in other Spanish classes, interactions “are limited mostly to answering questions.” In SL, learners were pushed to expand the range of their interactions and encounter new interlocutors from the community that speaks the target language in the US:

Excerpt 2: SL facilitates the implementation of theory

[SL] gave me more practice, real life practice, conversational, not um, like, uh, kind of set things, like just like answering, um, normal questions like in the other Spanish classes I’ve taken. We had to make up like half the book since there’s not a whole lot of words in there. Um, and then sometimes just talking to the kids, we would tell them about, like, our past experiences with stuff [G1_P2]

In addition, learners’ close interactions with books as cultural artifacts encouraged heightened attention to aspect use, which informed their own narration. As noted by G1_P3, “the SL books provided context on how to properly apply this knowledge.” G1_P1, in the excerpt that follows, comments on how conceptualizations of time gained through STI penetrated their study of the past tense narration in children’s books:

Excerpt 3: Models for aspect usage in books

Preterit vs. imperfect were confusing, but now I saw it many times. You see preterit and imperfect in the same sentence in an illustrated context of a child’s book, it gives you a strong sense of what the author means and I think about grammar form a lot… and I’ve tried to kind of practice it. This happened bound, while this unbound thing happened, and how they intersect temporally. [G1_P1]

Here, the context created by SL proved useful in exposing learners to texts, which served as models, for their own crafting of storytelling. As proposed by Poehner & Lantolf (2014), learners’ ability to identify models for their own use is an example of imitation in L2 learning.

Lastly, most learners in Group 1 acknowledged having gained renewed confidence in past tense narration skills because of SL, as seen in G1_P2’s comment, “I feel that my ability to narrate in the past tense has gotten much better and now I am more proficient at telling stories.” G1_P7, in excerpt 4, argues that increased confidence and improvements in past tense narration were due to key features of the SL program: spontaneous speaking opportunities, hands-on experience, actively performing actions through language, and participation in the real world:

Excerpt 4: Increased confidence in narration skills through SL

I am more comfortable speaking in past tense. I know more. It’s not as difficult. Practice makes perfect. Because I was in the moment. I am a hands-on person and when I have to do something in the real world, I learn more than in class. [G1_P7]

Therefore, learners in Group 1 confidently argued that they had improved their ability to narrate in the past tense. The following comparison of G1_P2’s narration and verbalization (included in brackets) in the pre- and post-tests illustrates how increased confidence permeated participants’ overall performance. Translations follow each excerpt:

Excerpt 5: Narration and Verbalization, Pre-test

Juan dijo adiós [Pretérito porque pasó, una vez, es posible que es habitual para Juan pero en este caso él dijo una vez. ¿Es pretérito o no? El verbo es pretérito pero no sé si es correcto] a su perro y su tortuga, pero su rana se escurró en su bolsillo de su chaqueta.

Translation: Juan said good-bye [Preterit because it happened, once, it is possible that it is habitual for Juan but in this case he said only once. Is is preterit, or not? The verb is preterit but I don’t know if it is correct] to his dog and turtle, but his frog slipped in the pocket of his jacket […].

La persona fue sorpresada cuando veó la rana a su mesa [Pretérito. No estoy muy seguro, mi intención fue decir, como describir su cara, no sé exactamente, no tengo explicación].

Translation: The person was surprised when he saw the frog in his table [Preterit. I am not very sure, my intention was to say, like describing his face, I don’t know exactly, I don’t have an explanation]. [G1_P2]

Excerpt 6: Narration and Verbalization, Post-test

Él dijo [Pretérito. Es en el momento, no sigue, como un snapshot de la cámara] a su perrito adiós pero él no, en este momento no dio la cuenta que su rana estaba en el bolsillo de su chaqueta.

Translation: Juan said [Preterit. This is in the moment, it does not continue, like a snapshot of the camera] goodbye to his little dog but he did not, in this moment did not realize that his frog was in his pocket of his jacket.

Después de eso la rana saltó [Pretérito. La rana saltaba, pero este momento saltó, bounded, with a start and end, it seemed to him focusing on him landing on the salad] desde la banda a una ensalada. La rana besó [Pretérito. Snapshot with los labios de la rana, specific point of bounded action, snapshot of action] la nariz de una persona en el restaurante.

Translation: After that the frog jumped [Preterit. The frog was jumping, but in that moment it jumped, bounded, with a start and end, it seemed to him focusing on him landing on the salad] from the band to a salad. The frog kissed [Preterit. Snapshot with the frog’s lips, specific point of bounded action, snapshot of action] the nose of a person in the restaurant. [G1_P2]

This comparison of G1_P2’s narration and verbalization in the pre- and post-tests demonstrates an understanding of aspect built on scientific concepts, that transcends rules of thumb, and that allows the learner to confidently take control of his narration.

Therefore, this section reported on results that answer the three working questions for this study on the effects of a SL program on Spanish L2 learners’ control of aspect in terms of use and conceptual understanding, and their perceptions on the effect of SL on their developing verbal aspect. In sum, based on pre- and post-test comparisons, learners in Group 1 (STI and SL) did not present improvements in terms of use and control of verbal aspect; improvements in their conceptual understanding seemed to stem from participation in STI. However, learners perceived the SL experience to be valuable in building their ability to narrate in the past. In their interaction with books as cultural artifacts, they identified models for imitation. They emphasized how the SL program had provided a setting where theory and practice came together, i.e., praxis, and how the experience had made them more confident and proficient in their past-tense narration.

5 Discussion

The overarching inquiry that guided this exploratory study was how SL promoted understanding and control of verbal aspect in Spanish L2 learners. This question was analyzed from various perspectives, which were detailed in the previous section. The current discussion turns to findings that point to ways in which SL supported Spanish L2 learners as they tackled the topic of verbal aspect, including interaction with cultural artifacts, imitation in language learning, and, most importantly, the often-ignored role of emotion in the learning process. This section concludes with limitations of this investigation and proposes new directions for the study of verbal aspect in SL.

In this investigation, learners participated in a story-time program with bilingual children where they delivered lessons built on children’s books. The integration of books as culturally constructed artifacts enabled mediation of cognitive development as it gave learners the opportunity to observe how the authors used language to tell stories. Learners observed that texts served as models for their own story-telling. As argued by Poehner & Lantolf (2014), learners’ identification of models for their own use is an example of imitation in L2 learning. Here, imitation does not refer to the immediate parroting of a given pattern, rather, imitation in L2 learning occurs with delay, which allows learners to analyze linguistic information that they later implement in speech (Aimin 2013). Imitation “entails understanding that the means is used to reach the goal, that is, the intention behind the behavior” (Feryok 2009: 282). Indeed, Chappell (2012) notes that persistent imitation, as opposed to simple imitation, is intentional and directed towards achieving a given goal. It implies an experimentation component where learners take the model provided by the expert. Persistent imitation often emerges in private speech, or speech often produced out loud but with the purpose of self-mediation. Thus, the importance of imitation lies in its essential role in internalization, i.e., the development of higher mental processes (Chappell 2012). In this research, learners observed models in the printed material of a children’s book and saw potential for reproducing a new version of their own.

Moreover, through SL participation, learners argued that they had been able to bridge theory to practice, improved their story-telling skills, and gained confidence (as also seen in the SL experience reported in Sun & Yang 2015). Indeed, one important aspect to note is that learners in this current investigation, acknowledged enthusiastically, perceived improvement in language skill. This enthusiasm is crucial in ensuring that learners continue to persist in their language learning efforts and is perhaps one of the most valuable gains from the SL experience in this current study.

Swain (2013) rightly points out that in most SLA studies the focus is only on cognitive processes completely ignoring emotional processes.³ However, cognition and emotion cannot be separated. Vygotsky argues that the affective and intellectual unite in a dynamic way (Mahn & Steiner 2002). Learners’ affective and intellectual expression are inextricably tied to each other and the range of emotions learners experience, whether it be frustration, sadness, happiness, excitement, satisfaction, mediate learning outcomes (Swain 2013). Research on affective factors find that including affective expression leads to sustained confidence and that emotional scaffolding through collaborative and cooperative learning allows learners to reach the goal of confidence by sharing objectives and taking risks to achieve these objectives (Mahn & Steiner 2002). In this investigation, learners who participated in SL had the opportunity to engage in collaborative and cooperative learning with bilingual children and with each other. Some emotional aspects indirectly observed in the interviews were confusion, confidence, and enthusiasm. However, it is highly probable that learners experienced a range of other emotions such as nervousness, frustration, satisfaction, or happiness, as they engaged in meaningful interaction with children and peers and as they worked together towards achieving the shared objective of narrating a story.

As mentioned before, learners noted improved confidence through the SL experience and commented that SL gave them exposure to how native speakers use the language. This observation is encouraging since previous research has shown self-confidence to be central to successful language learning (Dion et al. 1990, Noels et al. 1996). Mills et al. argue that “[l]inguistic confidence is a key factor in one’s ability to learn a L2, seek intercultural communication, and ultimately identify with the foreign culture” (Mills et al. 2007: 421). Additionally, a lot of research in language learning has connected self-confidence to lower levels of anxiety (Clément et al. 1994, MacIntyre et al. 1997, Cheng et al. 1999). Thus, the learners’ SL experience, by building self-confidence, arguably might have decreased anxiety levels as well.

Another important concept, related to self-confidence, that is pertinent in this investigation is self-efficacy. While self-confidence is a socially defined construct, self-efficacy is cognitively defined (Dörnyei 2005). Self-efficacy is often defined as an individual's belief in their capacity to achieve a goal or outcome (Bandura 1977, 1986, 1997). Research on self-efficacy has also shown that learner perceptions of self-efficacy have a strong impact on their learning (Bandura 1986, Multon et al. 1991, Mills et al. 2007). Perceptions of self-efficacy often predict academic performance more consistently when compared with other motivational constructs (Graham & Weiner 1996). Perceptions of self-efficacy “influence motivation; they determine the goals individuals set, the effort they expend to achieve these goals, and their willingness to persist in the face of failure” (Wong 2005: 248). Specifically, in language learning, research has shown that the enhancement of self-efficacy leads learners to improved language learning (Horwitz et al. 1986, Oxford & Shearin 1994). In this investigation, the learners’ perception of how SL has helped them achieve goals and outcomes they set - in this case, the successful narration of stories to bilingual children -, is very positive. Learners’ perception was that SL gave them the opportunity to apply the theory to practice effectively, and again, their optimistic perspective is key to continued efforts in language learning.

Finally, another area of study in language learning, related to self-confidence and self-efficacy, is metacognition. Metacognition is broadly defined as “an individuals’ awareness and management of their learning processes” (Raoofi et al. 2013: 37). Research on metacognition has shown that learners that are aware of their learning and that learners encouraged to engage in self-directed learning and autonomy tend to be most successful in language learning (O’Malley & Chamot 1990, Goh 1997, Vandergrift 2002, 2003, Raoofi et al. 2013). In this investigation, through the interview questions, learners were encouraged to put into words their awareness of the language learning process. It is in the SL group that learners were most able to articulate this metacognition, and it seems that the SL context is what made them be more aware of the language learning process.

In the context of the importance of affect and specifically reflecting on the connections between emotions and self-confidence, self-efficacy, and metacognition, SL seems to be an experience that enhances the interweaving of affect and cognitive processes. SL is a lived experience, and in this particular case, SL with children represents an experience that affects emotions. Learners who have had SL verbalize the impact SL had on their affect, on their perceptions of self-confidence and self-efficacy. The SL experience enriches learners because it helps them develop affective and cognitive expressions through human connection of social interaction, all of which are key in Vygotskyian Sociocultural Theory.

6 Pedagogical Implications

Two pedagogical implications are drawn from this study. First, because of the importance of imitation in the internalization process, modeling and promotion of imitation in language learning activities need to take a more central role. Indeed, teachers can describe the construct of persistent imitation and raise learners’ awareness on how it can be instrumental to language learning. Language courses that prime reading authentic texts can be an ideal setting for the active promotion of imitation, which can meet, in one small way, some of the limitations reported in such learning settings (as seen in this study and in Brooks & Donato 2008).

Second, and given the link that emotions have on cognition, teachers can consciously work to include learners’ affective expression in order for them to be able to grow as learners. SL might be one way to promote this. SL, by being a lived experience, gives learners the opportunity to connect language learning with an affective experience beyond the classroom. To make learners more aware of the affective process, teachers could include prompts that encourage reflections on activities pertaining to SL, perhaps through journaling, blogging, and interviewing. Actively making learners reflect on the connection between affective and cognitive processes could have a positive impact on learner perception of self-confidence, self-efficacy, and metacognitive processes. All of this would allow learners to pursue language learning more optimistically, and in the long run, they would be more successful.

7 Limitations and Future Research

The present study aimed to investigate the effects of SL on the developing verbal aspect of Spanish L2 learners. Descriptive data suggested that the SL component had no effect on learners’ use and control of aspect. Three issues might have had an effect on these results.

First, the SL program was limited to four occasions in which participants interacted with the children. More opportunities for repeated dialogic verbalization may have promoted the continued internalization of the concepts developed during STI.

Second, it might be possible that the course setting, a conversation class, and the SL program, made the topic of verbal aspect an ancillary component of the experience, where, in learners’ views, communication preceded in importance over accuracy.

Third, it might be possible that the SL setting did not provide the opportunities for mediation that had been anticipated and that may have been more easily attainable in a more formal interactive setting or in exchanges with adults.

Based on these limitations, a future study should be implemented where the SL program is strengthened and past-tense narration constitutes a more defining feature of the experience.

8 Conclusions

This investigation explored SL affected learners’ conceptual development and use of verbal aspect in oral narration. While there was no evidence of improvement in terms of use and control of verbal aspect in SL learners, the conceptual understanding of verbal aspect seems to have developed and, more importantly, the self-perception of learners was that they made advances in language use from participation in SL. Specifically, the SL experience in this study was perceived by learners to be useful in improving their narration skills, and they recognized SL to be a setting where theory and practice, i.e., praxis, came together. The learners’ comments and reflections on the SL experience also demonstrated greater confidence in their language abilities, which, in turn, might, in the longer term lead to sustained efforts and improved language skills. Overall, SL is a beneficial and enriching experience for language learning, given that it provides learners with the opportunity to simultaneously develop affective and cognitive processes.

Appendix A

Sample Activity

(a) We are going to work with the book The very busy spider (Eric Carle). If you are unfamiliar with the story, you can watch it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dz05diaKZmk

(b) With your partner, write a summary of the story in English.

(d) Complete the story below using the SCOBA. Think about the meaning of each of verb form and how it contributes to the meaning of the story.

Un día, muy temprano, el viento (soplar) ___________________ una araña en el campo.

La araña (dejar) ___________________ un hilo sedoso y delgado con su cuerpo.

La araña (llegar) ___________________ a un poste cerca del patio de una finca.

Y (comenzar) ___________________ a tejer una telaraña con su hilo sedoso.

“Hiii, hiii,” (relinchar) ___________________ el caballo. “Quieres dar un paseo”