First-language use in learning the Ser/Estar distinction in Spanish as a third language

Abstract

This study examines the effect of L1 use as a possible aid in L3 Ser-Estar grammar instruction, the learners’ L1 use as a cognitive tool in a collaborative writing task, their perspectives about L1 use in language teaching and their multilingual language learning awareness. The participants are L1 Turkish, L2 English and L3 Spanish multilinguals who are expected to have better cognitive development and language awareness than monolinguals and bilinguals (Cenoz & Genesee, 1998). Two groups (Spanish-only and Turkish-aided) received pre-emptive FFI type of Ser-Estar grammar instruction for four hours. In Spanish-only group, grammar instruction for 10 minutes was in Spanish while input in Turkish-aided group was provided in Spanish accompanied with Turkish. To measure L3 learning, Ser-Estar language tests were used. Besides, the learners’ use of L1 as a cognitive tool (LREs) was investigated in a collaborative L3 writing task. In addition, qualitative data was also collected through interviews to explore the participants’ perceptions regarding the L1 use in the L3 instruction and to investigate the multilingual language awareness of the participants. The results showed that FFI has an effect on the target structure learning. TL-only group improved more than L1-aided group. It reveals that L1 use in FFI does not offer an additional useful benefit. In line with literature, the results did not reveal any significant difference in the amount and categories of LREs between the groups nor any significant difference between the OPT and WPT scores of the groups.