Cognitive and Psychosocial Factors in the Long-term Development of Implicit and Explicit Second Language Knowledge in Adult Learners of Spanish at Increasing Proficiency

Abstract

This study examined the second language (L2) development of adult learners of Spanish at three levels of proficiency during and after a semester of instruction.A fundamental goal was to identify cognitive and psychosocial individual differences (IDs) that can explain betweenlearner variation over time in order to expand our understanding of the role learner IDs play in L2 learning and retention.This study also advances a line of research aiming to improve the validity and reliability of tests designed to measure knowledge of (implicit) and about (explicit) L2 grammar.Eighty-seven learners in their 2nd, 4th, and 6th semester of university Spanish instruction completed four tests of cognitive ability measuring L2 aptitude, working memory capacity (WMC), phonological short-term memory (PSTM) and processing speed as well as two Likerttype questionnaires measuring different facets of L2 motivation.Implicit and explicit knowledge of ten linguistic structures in Spanish were measured through an elicited oral imitation task and untimed grammaticality judgment task used in previous research with several methodological improvements to strengthen their construct validity.A multi-faceted statistical approach was taken to answer research questions employing both traditional and innovative hierarchical linear modeling techniques.Results suggest that 2.5 months of classroom instruction significantly enhanced performance on both measures of L2 knowledge for all proficiency groups with continued gains one month later.Higher proficiency groups significantly outperformed lower proficiency groups at each point in time and there was evidence of faster and more efficient use of implicit linguistic knowledge with increasing proficiency.However, exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses revealed that the validity of a two-factor model varied according to learners' proficiency level, suggesting that implicit and explicit knowledge in instructed learners is best viewed as a continuum.For lower proficiency groups, several strong relationships were found between cognitive capacity, L2 motivation, and performance on measures of implicit and explicit knowledge; however, learner IDs did not explain performance variance for the advanced group.Relationships among ID constructs also highlight their likely interaction and dynamic influence on L2 development over time.Findings are discussed in terms of their implications for second language acquisition (SLA) theory, assessment, and pedagogy.v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Writing a dissertation has been truly humbling and I feel tremendous gratitude for the support and lessons I have received along the way.To Cristina Sanz, my mentor and friend: I admire you in so many ways, but especially as a scholar, teacher, and superwoman in general.Thank you for believing in my ideas and in my ability to pursue them from the beginning, and for the laughter and many entertaining metaphors in your office that involved onion layers and forests.I am beyond grateful for your clarity, scholarly guidance, excellent feedback, and for the many times you have renewed my confidence in this process during the last five years.To Ron Leow, my 'boss' and friend: Thank you for the many opportunities you have given me, for encouraging me to think deeper and question assumptions in our field, and for your many famous reminders, my favorite of which is to have fun and enjoy the journey!You have undoubtedly pushed me to grow as a scholar, teacher, and administrator.To Nuria Sagarra, who has been an invaluable committee member and friend: I remember meeting in a café in Barcelona to "chat" about working memory, automatization, and L2 proficiency and feeling grateful, though maybe surprised, that you were on board with this kitchen sink project.Thank you for your continuous flexibility and sharp feedback, which has truly improved my dissertation and future research.I also owe a great deal to our resident statistician, Rusan Chen, for his ever cheerful guidance in carrying out statistical analyses, even when I asked questions I should have already known the answer to, and for the refreshing view of the Potomac river from his office window.It brightened my day many times.To the beginning, intermediate, and advanced Spanish instructors at Georgetown who let me invade their classrooms and to their students who volunteered to participate in this research: You deserve many years of good karma.Thank you for your curiosity and commitment to taking vi part in this study, despite the frequent classroom interruptions, annoying reminder emails, and endless hours spent with me in a language lab.Your smiles and positive attitudes were contagious.To my own students who I have had the privilege of teaching over the last five years: Thank you for being an outlet of creativity in the classroom, for your good humor and hard work, and for reminding me on a daily basis of why I am lucky to teach and research language.

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