I hold a Ph.D. from Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (2017), and graduated form Universidad de Salamanca where I also earned a MA in Teaching Spanish as a Second Language. After five years in the US, teaching at Colby College, Emory University and The University of Texas at Austin, where I got my second masters in language acquisition, I went back to Spain for eight years and taught at NYU, Stanford, Middlebury, Syracuse University, IES Abroad, SUNY Madrid, and in the Master Program of Teaching Spanish as a Foreign Language at UDIMA. Currently, I am a lecturer and Assistant Coordinator at the University of Pittsburgh.
This research shows the outcomes of the investigation about the use of English (the mother tongue... more This research shows the outcomes of the investigation about the use of English (the mother tongue of the students) by the instructors in a college second semester Spanish class. The research shows that the instructors chose consciously the language that they were speaking with, as well as when and how they use it in class. It seems that the experience of the instructors made them use less English whereas less experienced teachers used more English in the classroom. As well, instructors who had a better knowledge of their L2 (independently of which was their L2) used less English in class. However, the always and everywhere cited and expected uses of the mother tongue in class (the logistic and pedagogical one) were not the most common in this research. Instructors, in this case, used English for social reasons, to keep the unity of the class and a good relation with their students.
***Para poder consultar el corpus, haz click en el enlace arriba.*** El objetivo de este corpus e... more ***Para poder consultar el corpus, haz click en el enlace arriba.*** El objetivo de este corpus es enriquecer el campo de la enseñanza de la competencia comunicativa en el aula, concretamente el componente pragmático, y dentro de este, los aspectos que están relacionados con la cortesía. Teniendo en cuenta que la pragmática ha sido una faceta del lenguaje no suficientemente atendida, no solo en la planificación de las clases de español, sino también en los programas de las asignaturas, así como en los materiales disponibles para profesores, este corpus multimodal contrastivo original aporta intervenciones de hablantes nativos y no nativos del español, y podrá ser utilizado para enseñar pragmática fácilmente en el aula de español a través de vídeos de hablantes nativos y no nativos, sus transcripciones y la etiquetación de estas.
Este estudio investiga la producción a través del role-play de tres actos de habla en español por... more Este estudio investiga la producción a través del role-play de tres actos de habla en español por parte de tres grupos diferentes de hablantes: nativos de español, nativos de inglés con un nivel avanzado de español, y nativos de inglés con un nivel intermedio de español. Se han tenido en cuenta variables como el nivel de los estudiantes, su experiencia en el extranjero, cuántos años llevaban estudiando la lengua o su propia autopercepción del nivel que tienen. Las transcripciones de los 108 vídeos grabados se han clasificado de acuerdo con los tres actos de habla, los tres grupos, y las estrategias de acción y reacción de cada acto de habla que habían establecido investigaciones anteriores. Los resultados muestran que los grupos difieren entre sí tanto en la interpretación de cada uno de estos actos de habla como en las estrategias utilizadas para producirlos y reaccionar a ellos, tanto verbal como gestualmente, demostrando así que la competencia pragmática no se ha adquirido al mismo nivel que la competencia gramatical en los estudiantes del grupo avanzado. Se ha podido observar, pues, transferencia negativa tanto en las estrategias utilizadas, como en la extensión y el número de los turnos producidos en los grupos de hablantes no nativos. Como producto final, además de esta tesis, se ha creado un corpus multimodal al cual tanto investigadores como profesores y alumnos podrán acceder fácilmente a través de internet para poder trabajar con los vídeos y sus transcripciones, las cuales pueden ser descargadas fácilmente.
Palabras clave: corpus, corpus multimodal, pragmática, actos de habla, competencia pragmática, lenguaje no verbal, ELE, adquisición de segundas lenguas, adquisición de lenguas extranjeras, SLA, FLA, FTA, actos amenazantes para la imagen, pragmática intercultural, pragmática sociocognitiva, sociolingüística, rechazo, cumplido, disculpa.
This study had as its goal to investigate how nonnative speakers (NNSs) of Spanish were able to p... more This study had as its goal to investigate how nonnative speakers (NNSs) of Spanish were able to perform pragmatics which in various ways resembled that of native speakers (NSs). The study focused on three advanced NNSs of Spanish who had contributed data six years earlier to a corpus of NS and NNS speech acts of complimenting, apologizing and refusing. The purpose was to do a contrastive analysis comparing the pragmatic performance of NNSs and NSs in order to capture both similarities and areas where highly competent NNSs displayed knowledge gaps, however subtle. The subjects responded to a language background questionnaire regarding their learning of Spanish and also completed a learning style preference survey. They were then asked to revisit their earlier performance in pragmatics from the corpus data and to describe the strategies that they used to produce their highly-rated performance in Spanish pragmatics at that time. The findings revealed ways in which the three subjects di...
When foreign language learners face a new language, besides learning a new grammar and vocabulary... more When foreign language learners face a new language, besides learning a new grammar and vocabulary, they should learn to see the world through new pragmatic rules, in order to avoid pragmalinguistic and sociopragmatic mistakes. The corpus website presented here is an advanced resource built to teach pragmatics in a SL/FL class at different levels. It analyzes and compares three different speech acts that are controversial and difficult for foreign language learners (compliments, refusals, and apologies). Moreover, given its multimodal nature, non-verbal language differences, gestures, as well as voice tone and proxemics are analyzed. The corpus allows to download the transcriptions in three different modes (with or without annotations and tags) for their study.
This research shows the outcomes of the investigation about the use of English (the mother tongue... more This research shows the outcomes of the investigation about the use of English (the mother tongue of the students) by the instructors in a college second semester Spanish class. The research shows that the instructors chose consciously the language that they were speaking with, as well as when and how they use it in class. It seems that the experience of the instructors made them use less English whereas less experienced teachers used more English in the classroom. As well, instructors who had a better knowledge of their L2 (independently of which was their L2) used less English in class. However, the always and everywhere cited and expected uses of the mother tongue in class (the logistic and pedagogical one) were not the most common in this research. Instructors, in this case, used English for social reasons, to keep the unity of the class and a good relation with their students.
This study had as its goal to investigate how nonnative speakers (NNSs) of Spanish were able to p... more This study had as its goal to investigate how nonnative speakers (NNSs) of Spanish were able to perform pragmatics which in various ways resembled that of native speakers (NSs). The study focused on three advanced NNSs of Spanish who had contributed data six years earlier to a corpus of NS and NNS speech acts of complimenting, apologizing and refusing. The purpose was to do a contrastive analysis comparing the pragmatic performance of NNSs and NSs in order to capture both similarities and areas where highly competent NNSs displayed knowledge gaps, however subtle.
The subjects responded to a language background questionnaire regarding their learning of Spanish and also completed a learning style preference survey. They were then asked to revisit their earlier performance in pragmatics from the corpus data and to describe the strategies that they used to produce their highly-rated performance in Spanish pragmatics at that time. The findings revealed ways in which the three subjects differentially imitated NS behavior, and provided insights as to how they arrived at native-like behavior in their facial expressions, use of clicks, physical contact practices, colloquial language, and cursing. The subjects’ reported learning style preferences appeared to be generally consistent with the strategies that they reported using for dealing with the pragmatic features of interest, such as the way that they dealt with cursing.
Revista Nebrija de Lingüística Aplicada a la Enseñanza de Lenguas (RNAEL), 2020
RESUMEN Cuando los aprendientes de una lengua extranjera se enfrentan a ella, además de asimilar ... more RESUMEN Cuando los aprendientes de una lengua extranjera se enfrentan a ella, además de asimilar una nueva gramática y un vocabulario diferente, con el fin de evitar errores pragmalingüísticos y sociopragmáticos, deben aprender a ver el mundo a través de una nueva pragmática. La web del corpus que se presenta es un recurso avanzado pensado para enseñar pragmática en una clase ELE a diversos niveles. A su vez, analiza y compara en nativos y no nativos la realización de tres actos de habla conflictivos para los aprendientes de una lengua extranjera (los cumplidos, el rechazo y las disculpas). Además, dada su naturaleza multimodal, también se pueden analizar y comparar las diferencias en el lenguaje no verbal, en los gestos, la proxémica y el tono de voz. El formato descargable de las transcripciones permite tres versiones de las mismas (sin anotaciones, con anotaciones y con etiquetaciones) para su explotación. Palabras clave: corpus, multimodal, pragmática, actos de habla, comunicación intercultural. ABSTRACT When foreign language learners face a new language, besides learning a new grammar and vocabulary, they should learn to see the world through new pragmatic rules, in order to avoid pragmalinguistic and sociopragmatic mistakes. The corpus website presented here is an advanced resource built to teach pragmatics in a SL/FL class at different levels. It analyzes and compares three different speech acts that are controversial and difficult for foreign language learners (compliments, refusals, and apologies). Moreover, given its multimodal nature, non-verbal language differences, gestures, as well as voice tone and proxemics are analyzed. The corpus allows to download the transcriptions in three different modes (with or without annotations and tags) for their study.
Most of the more serious mistakes we make in our second or third languages are not linked to gram... more Most of the more serious mistakes we make in our second or third languages are not linked to grammar, but to pragmatics (Félix-Brasdefer, 2008; Kasper & Rose, 1999; Olshtain & Blum-Kulka, 1985; Rose & Kasper, 2001). While language textbooks are often focused on grammar content distributed throughout a communicative syllabus (Lázaro Ruiz, 2014; Lörscher & Rainer Schulze, 1988), students are still missing the pragmatic rules that are behind the behaviors of native speakers and their use of language. This chapter talks about the creation and use of a multimodal corpus that allows for the analyzation and comparison of three conflictive speech acts (compliments, refusals, and apologies). Through the recordings and transcriptions of native and non-native speakers, the Multimodal Corpus of Spanish Speech Acts (COR.E.M.A.H.) shows the differences in their strategies when faced with each speech act. In this chapter, we will also see how to use this advanced resource in different ways to teach pragmatics in a class of Spanish as a foreign language.
This research shows the outcomes of the investigation about the use of English (the mother tongue... more This research shows the outcomes of the investigation about the use of English (the mother tongue of the students) by the instructors in a college second semester Spanish class. The research shows that the instructors chose consciously the language that they were speaking with, as well as when and how they use it in class. It seems that the experience of the instructors made them use less English whereas less experienced teachers used more English in the classroom. As well, instructors who had a better knowledge of their L2 (independently of which was their L2) used less English in class. However, the always and everywhere cited and expected uses of the mother tongue in class (the logistic and pedagogical one) were not the most common in this research. Instructors, in this case, used English for social reasons, to keep the unity of the class and a good relation with their students.
***Para poder consultar el corpus, haz click en el enlace arriba.*** El objetivo de este corpus e... more ***Para poder consultar el corpus, haz click en el enlace arriba.*** El objetivo de este corpus es enriquecer el campo de la enseñanza de la competencia comunicativa en el aula, concretamente el componente pragmático, y dentro de este, los aspectos que están relacionados con la cortesía. Teniendo en cuenta que la pragmática ha sido una faceta del lenguaje no suficientemente atendida, no solo en la planificación de las clases de español, sino también en los programas de las asignaturas, así como en los materiales disponibles para profesores, este corpus multimodal contrastivo original aporta intervenciones de hablantes nativos y no nativos del español, y podrá ser utilizado para enseñar pragmática fácilmente en el aula de español a través de vídeos de hablantes nativos y no nativos, sus transcripciones y la etiquetación de estas.
Este estudio investiga la producción a través del role-play de tres actos de habla en español por... more Este estudio investiga la producción a través del role-play de tres actos de habla en español por parte de tres grupos diferentes de hablantes: nativos de español, nativos de inglés con un nivel avanzado de español, y nativos de inglés con un nivel intermedio de español. Se han tenido en cuenta variables como el nivel de los estudiantes, su experiencia en el extranjero, cuántos años llevaban estudiando la lengua o su propia autopercepción del nivel que tienen. Las transcripciones de los 108 vídeos grabados se han clasificado de acuerdo con los tres actos de habla, los tres grupos, y las estrategias de acción y reacción de cada acto de habla que habían establecido investigaciones anteriores. Los resultados muestran que los grupos difieren entre sí tanto en la interpretación de cada uno de estos actos de habla como en las estrategias utilizadas para producirlos y reaccionar a ellos, tanto verbal como gestualmente, demostrando así que la competencia pragmática no se ha adquirido al mismo nivel que la competencia gramatical en los estudiantes del grupo avanzado. Se ha podido observar, pues, transferencia negativa tanto en las estrategias utilizadas, como en la extensión y el número de los turnos producidos en los grupos de hablantes no nativos. Como producto final, además de esta tesis, se ha creado un corpus multimodal al cual tanto investigadores como profesores y alumnos podrán acceder fácilmente a través de internet para poder trabajar con los vídeos y sus transcripciones, las cuales pueden ser descargadas fácilmente.
Palabras clave: corpus, corpus multimodal, pragmática, actos de habla, competencia pragmática, lenguaje no verbal, ELE, adquisición de segundas lenguas, adquisición de lenguas extranjeras, SLA, FLA, FTA, actos amenazantes para la imagen, pragmática intercultural, pragmática sociocognitiva, sociolingüística, rechazo, cumplido, disculpa.
This study had as its goal to investigate how nonnative speakers (NNSs) of Spanish were able to p... more This study had as its goal to investigate how nonnative speakers (NNSs) of Spanish were able to perform pragmatics which in various ways resembled that of native speakers (NSs). The study focused on three advanced NNSs of Spanish who had contributed data six years earlier to a corpus of NS and NNS speech acts of complimenting, apologizing and refusing. The purpose was to do a contrastive analysis comparing the pragmatic performance of NNSs and NSs in order to capture both similarities and areas where highly competent NNSs displayed knowledge gaps, however subtle. The subjects responded to a language background questionnaire regarding their learning of Spanish and also completed a learning style preference survey. They were then asked to revisit their earlier performance in pragmatics from the corpus data and to describe the strategies that they used to produce their highly-rated performance in Spanish pragmatics at that time. The findings revealed ways in which the three subjects di...
When foreign language learners face a new language, besides learning a new grammar and vocabulary... more When foreign language learners face a new language, besides learning a new grammar and vocabulary, they should learn to see the world through new pragmatic rules, in order to avoid pragmalinguistic and sociopragmatic mistakes. The corpus website presented here is an advanced resource built to teach pragmatics in a SL/FL class at different levels. It analyzes and compares three different speech acts that are controversial and difficult for foreign language learners (compliments, refusals, and apologies). Moreover, given its multimodal nature, non-verbal language differences, gestures, as well as voice tone and proxemics are analyzed. The corpus allows to download the transcriptions in three different modes (with or without annotations and tags) for their study.
This research shows the outcomes of the investigation about the use of English (the mother tongue... more This research shows the outcomes of the investigation about the use of English (the mother tongue of the students) by the instructors in a college second semester Spanish class. The research shows that the instructors chose consciously the language that they were speaking with, as well as when and how they use it in class. It seems that the experience of the instructors made them use less English whereas less experienced teachers used more English in the classroom. As well, instructors who had a better knowledge of their L2 (independently of which was their L2) used less English in class. However, the always and everywhere cited and expected uses of the mother tongue in class (the logistic and pedagogical one) were not the most common in this research. Instructors, in this case, used English for social reasons, to keep the unity of the class and a good relation with their students.
This study had as its goal to investigate how nonnative speakers (NNSs) of Spanish were able to p... more This study had as its goal to investigate how nonnative speakers (NNSs) of Spanish were able to perform pragmatics which in various ways resembled that of native speakers (NSs). The study focused on three advanced NNSs of Spanish who had contributed data six years earlier to a corpus of NS and NNS speech acts of complimenting, apologizing and refusing. The purpose was to do a contrastive analysis comparing the pragmatic performance of NNSs and NSs in order to capture both similarities and areas where highly competent NNSs displayed knowledge gaps, however subtle.
The subjects responded to a language background questionnaire regarding their learning of Spanish and also completed a learning style preference survey. They were then asked to revisit their earlier performance in pragmatics from the corpus data and to describe the strategies that they used to produce their highly-rated performance in Spanish pragmatics at that time. The findings revealed ways in which the three subjects differentially imitated NS behavior, and provided insights as to how they arrived at native-like behavior in their facial expressions, use of clicks, physical contact practices, colloquial language, and cursing. The subjects’ reported learning style preferences appeared to be generally consistent with the strategies that they reported using for dealing with the pragmatic features of interest, such as the way that they dealt with cursing.
Revista Nebrija de Lingüística Aplicada a la Enseñanza de Lenguas (RNAEL), 2020
RESUMEN Cuando los aprendientes de una lengua extranjera se enfrentan a ella, además de asimilar ... more RESUMEN Cuando los aprendientes de una lengua extranjera se enfrentan a ella, además de asimilar una nueva gramática y un vocabulario diferente, con el fin de evitar errores pragmalingüísticos y sociopragmáticos, deben aprender a ver el mundo a través de una nueva pragmática. La web del corpus que se presenta es un recurso avanzado pensado para enseñar pragmática en una clase ELE a diversos niveles. A su vez, analiza y compara en nativos y no nativos la realización de tres actos de habla conflictivos para los aprendientes de una lengua extranjera (los cumplidos, el rechazo y las disculpas). Además, dada su naturaleza multimodal, también se pueden analizar y comparar las diferencias en el lenguaje no verbal, en los gestos, la proxémica y el tono de voz. El formato descargable de las transcripciones permite tres versiones de las mismas (sin anotaciones, con anotaciones y con etiquetaciones) para su explotación. Palabras clave: corpus, multimodal, pragmática, actos de habla, comunicación intercultural. ABSTRACT When foreign language learners face a new language, besides learning a new grammar and vocabulary, they should learn to see the world through new pragmatic rules, in order to avoid pragmalinguistic and sociopragmatic mistakes. The corpus website presented here is an advanced resource built to teach pragmatics in a SL/FL class at different levels. It analyzes and compares three different speech acts that are controversial and difficult for foreign language learners (compliments, refusals, and apologies). Moreover, given its multimodal nature, non-verbal language differences, gestures, as well as voice tone and proxemics are analyzed. The corpus allows to download the transcriptions in three different modes (with or without annotations and tags) for their study.
Most of the more serious mistakes we make in our second or third languages are not linked to gram... more Most of the more serious mistakes we make in our second or third languages are not linked to grammar, but to pragmatics (Félix-Brasdefer, 2008; Kasper & Rose, 1999; Olshtain & Blum-Kulka, 1985; Rose & Kasper, 2001). While language textbooks are often focused on grammar content distributed throughout a communicative syllabus (Lázaro Ruiz, 2014; Lörscher & Rainer Schulze, 1988), students are still missing the pragmatic rules that are behind the behaviors of native speakers and their use of language. This chapter talks about the creation and use of a multimodal corpus that allows for the analyzation and comparison of three conflictive speech acts (compliments, refusals, and apologies). Through the recordings and transcriptions of native and non-native speakers, the Multimodal Corpus of Spanish Speech Acts (COR.E.M.A.H.) shows the differences in their strategies when faced with each speech act. In this chapter, we will also see how to use this advanced resource in different ways to teach pragmatics in a class of Spanish as a foreign language.
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Los resultados muestran que los grupos difieren entre sí tanto en la interpretación de cada uno de estos actos de habla como en las estrategias utilizadas para producirlos y reaccionar a ellos, tanto verbal como gestualmente, demostrando así que la competencia pragmática no se ha adquirido al mismo nivel que la competencia gramatical en los estudiantes del grupo avanzado. Se ha podido observar, pues, transferencia negativa tanto en las estrategias utilizadas, como en la extensión y el número de los turnos producidos en los grupos de hablantes no nativos.
Como producto final, además de esta tesis, se ha creado un corpus multimodal al cual tanto investigadores como profesores y alumnos podrán acceder fácilmente a través de internet para poder trabajar con los vídeos y sus transcripciones, las cuales pueden ser descargadas fácilmente.
Palabras clave: corpus, corpus multimodal, pragmática, actos de habla, competencia pragmática, lenguaje no verbal, ELE, adquisición de segundas lenguas, adquisición de lenguas extranjeras, SLA, FLA, FTA, actos amenazantes para la imagen, pragmática intercultural, pragmática sociocognitiva, sociolingüística, rechazo, cumplido, disculpa.
The subjects responded to a language background questionnaire regarding their learning of Spanish and also completed a learning style preference survey. They were then asked to revisit their earlier performance in pragmatics from the corpus data and to describe the strategies that they used to produce their highly-rated performance in Spanish pragmatics at that time. The findings revealed ways in which the three subjects differentially imitated NS behavior, and provided insights as to how they arrived at native-like behavior in their facial expressions, use of clicks, physical contact practices, colloquial language, and cursing. The subjects’ reported learning style preferences appeared to be generally consistent with the strategies that they reported using for dealing with the pragmatic features of interest, such as the way that they dealt with cursing.
Los resultados muestran que los grupos difieren entre sí tanto en la interpretación de cada uno de estos actos de habla como en las estrategias utilizadas para producirlos y reaccionar a ellos, tanto verbal como gestualmente, demostrando así que la competencia pragmática no se ha adquirido al mismo nivel que la competencia gramatical en los estudiantes del grupo avanzado. Se ha podido observar, pues, transferencia negativa tanto en las estrategias utilizadas, como en la extensión y el número de los turnos producidos en los grupos de hablantes no nativos.
Como producto final, además de esta tesis, se ha creado un corpus multimodal al cual tanto investigadores como profesores y alumnos podrán acceder fácilmente a través de internet para poder trabajar con los vídeos y sus transcripciones, las cuales pueden ser descargadas fácilmente.
Palabras clave: corpus, corpus multimodal, pragmática, actos de habla, competencia pragmática, lenguaje no verbal, ELE, adquisición de segundas lenguas, adquisición de lenguas extranjeras, SLA, FLA, FTA, actos amenazantes para la imagen, pragmática intercultural, pragmática sociocognitiva, sociolingüística, rechazo, cumplido, disculpa.
The subjects responded to a language background questionnaire regarding their learning of Spanish and also completed a learning style preference survey. They were then asked to revisit their earlier performance in pragmatics from the corpus data and to describe the strategies that they used to produce their highly-rated performance in Spanish pragmatics at that time. The findings revealed ways in which the three subjects differentially imitated NS behavior, and provided insights as to how they arrived at native-like behavior in their facial expressions, use of clicks, physical contact practices, colloquial language, and cursing. The subjects’ reported learning style preferences appeared to be generally consistent with the strategies that they reported using for dealing with the pragmatic features of interest, such as the way that they dealt with cursing.