Towards effective instruction on aspect in L2 Spanish

Abstract

This study investigates whether L2 instruction on the Spanish aspectual system containing a recognition task of the learners' L1 (Dutch) aspectual system helps the learner to understand and interiorise the L2 system. Second year Dutch university students (N=20) took part in the experiment. In weekly groups of two to four, the students received the experimental instruction and completed three tests with standardised exercises and eight weekly compositions. Results on both the tests and the compositions show that experimental instruction positively affects the performance of the students. Instruction involving a recognition task where Dutch students of Spanish are made aware of how the aspectual system works in their own language allows them to understand the L2 aspectual system better than if the differences and similarities between the two languages are not presented.