Address Forms in Spanish as a Second Language: A Proposal for Better Practices

Authors

  • María C. Sampedro Mella Universidade de Lisboa
  • Claudia H. Sánchez Gutiérrez

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.26378/rnlael1327331

Keywords:

Address forms, Spanish as a Second Language, second language textbooks, corpus analysis

Abstract

The usage of address forms in Spanish is a complex subject due to the great variability that they present from both a formal and linguistic use viewpoints. Despite the vast linguistic literature about this matter, the criteria that influence la selection of forms of address have not been clearly delimitated. In this context, the present study aims to offer an insight into the treatment of this complex subject in the teaching of Spanish as a Second Language. Therefore, we carried out a systematic revision of a selection of elementary Spanish textbooks, in order to analyze how address forms are presented in those teaching materials, according to factors such as sociolinguistic variables, characteristics of the activities included in the books, types of explanations, etc. Finally, we propose a way to improve the current presentation of those based on the findings of the textbook analysis.

Author Biographies

María C. Sampedro Mella, Universidade de Lisboa

She holds a PhD in Spanish Language from the University of Salamanca and a Master's Degree in Teaching Spanish as a Foreign Language. She has worked as a researcher and teacher of several subjects related to linguistics, didactics and Spanish for foreigners at the universities of Salamanca, Lisbon and Sorbonne Nouvelle-Paris 3. She is currently a postdoctoral research fellow of the Xunta de Galicia at the universities of Santiago de Compostela and Sorbonne Nouvelle-Paris 3.

Claudia H. Sánchez Gutiérrez

She holds a PhD in Hispanic Linguistics from the University of Salamanca. She is currently Professor of Second Language Acquisition and Spanish at the University of California, Davis. She specializes in teaching/learning vocabulary with a psycholinguistic approach and has published articles in leading journals in both Spanish and English.

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Published

2019-11-26

How to Cite

Sampedro Mella, M. C., & Sánchez Gutiérrez, C. H. (2019). Address Forms in Spanish as a Second Language: A Proposal for Better Practices. Nebrija Journal of Applied Linguistics to Language Teaching, 13(27), 182–200. https://doi.org/10.26378/rnlael1327331

Issue

Vol. 13 No. 27 (2019): Issue 27

Section

Miscellanea

License

The copyright holder(s) consent to the distribution of their article under the license CC BY ND.

Creative Commons License