Towards a linguistic-communicative profile of the student of Spanish as a Foreign Language for Academic Purposes

Abstract

Foreign students who are not native to Spanish, even if they have studies in ELE, do not always have an adequate academic Spanish for their university studies. They must interact with their teachers and know the academic genres according to the discipline of their careers. In this context, we present the results of a descriptive study with a sample of 62 university exchange students. The general objectives are: 1) to define a linguistic-communicative profile and 2) to determine the needs for each skill in ELE for academic purposes. The results show a profile of the student characterized by an intermediate level in ELE, with a proficiency of English as a lingua franca, with face-to-face classes for more than a year in a peninsular variant, without certification. As for the needs of ELE for academic purposes, the most difficult academic discourses are the classes, interviews and oral presentations, reading comprehension of disciplinary texts and writing scientific articles and research reports.