La originalidad del trabajo radica en el propio tema que plantea, en los problemas de adquisición y enseñanza de las construcciones existenciales y locativas para los hablantes no nativos de español, desde un punto de vista descriptivo y explicativo, ya que lo aborda desde la gramática, la semántica, la pragmática y el discurso.

La innovación didáctica de esta investigación se manifiesta en los objetivos, en las hipótesis y en la resolución del planteamiento didáctico, con un tratamiento basado en el procesamiento del input con atención especial a la forma lingüística, pero trabajando muy particularmente los procesos de interpretación semántica de las expresiones de existencia y localización.

Entre los méritos científicos y técnicos destaca el hecho de que recurre a un marco teórico multidimensional e interdisciplinar dentro de las subdisciplinas de la teoría lingüística, así como en los modelos gramaticales descriptivos que tratan de las estructuras con haber y estar.

La reseña de las diferentes posturas de los gramáticos da cuenta con toda claridad de la complejidad del tema tratado, de su falta de definición clara en las diferentes gramáticas, tanto en las descriptivas como en las pedagógicas. De ahí viene la oportunidad y la necesidad de este trabajo, ya que el tema está presente en todos los programas de español para extranjeros, pero su tratamiento didáctico, demasiado simplificado en la mayoría de los casos requiere otros procedimientos que incluyen factores sintácticos y semánticos, pero también pragmáticos y discursivos.

Los estudios experimentales que han aportado los datos a esta investigación se han llevado a cabo en la Universidad G d’ Annunzio de Pescara (Italia), bajo la dirección del Dr. Julián Santano Moreno.

This dissertation investigates how social networks influence understandings, judgments, and uses of L2 pragmatics. The pragmatic target is the particle hasta ‘until’ as it is used orally and in writing to mark inception with and without negation in Spanish. This study examines how L2 students of Spanish understand, judge, and use hasta when they are members of social networks in university Spanish classes based on (a) pedagogy practice, (b) class level, and (c) mode of expression, and when, outside of university Spanish classes, they are integrated into social networks that involve exposure to different dialectal varieties of Spanish.

Data were collected from 72 students of Spanish. Statistical analysis revealed that (a) students’ attitudes towards L2 pragmatics are influenced by the linguistic norms propagated by their L2 instructors; (b) correlations are not always positive between class level and understandings, judgments, and uses of L2 pragmatics; (c) mode of expression affects only oral production of L2 pragmatics; and (d) outside the classroom, membership in social networks that expose individuals to particular Spanish dialects affects L2 pragmatics in speech and writing in opposite ways.

This study contributes to (1) Spanish pragmatics, by showing that (a) pragmatic change can be built on semantic and syntactic interaction, (b) NPI formation in Spanish can be affected by the scope of negation, and (c) aspectual markers in Spanish can derive from contextually-influenced verbal situations and may be dialect-specific; (2) Spanish sociolinguistics, by demonstrating that (a) there is value in using network analysis to study language variation and change in Spanish, (b) approaching Spanish L2 classrooms as social networks is worthwhile, and (c) social network analysis may provide a viable alternative or complement to SLA approaches in the study of L2 pragmatics in Spanish; and (3) Spanish L2 pedagogy, by highlighting (a) the didactic importance of influencing student ideologies toward L2 pragmatics, (b) that students might benefit from being introduced to L2 pragmatics at the beginning stages of their Spanish language study, and (c) the need for teachers of L2 Spanish to revise currently held expectations for appropriate student understandings, judgments, and uses of L2 pragmatic forms.

Native speech is directed towards native listeners, not designed for comprehension and analysis by language learners. Speed of delivery, or economy of effort, produces a speech signal to which the native listener can assign the correct words. There are no discrete words in the speech signal itself therefore there is often a linguistic barrier in dealing with the local spoken language.

The creation, development and application of the Dynamic Spanish Speech Corpus (DSSC) facilitated an empirically-based appreciation of speaking speed and prosody as obstacles to intelligibility for learners of Spanish. “Duologues”, natural, relaxed  dialogues recorded in such a manner that each interlocutor’s performance can be studied in isolation, thus avoiding problems normally caused by cross-talk and backchannelling, made possible the identification of the key phonetic features of informal native-native dialogue, and ultimately, the creation of high quality assets/ research data based on natural (unscripted) dialogues recorded at industry audio standards. These assets were used in this study, which involved documenting productive and receptive intelligibility problems when L2 users are exposed to the Spanish speech of native speakers. The aim was to observe where intelligibility problems occur and to determine the reasons for this, based on effects of the first language of the subjects, and other criteria, such as number of years learning/using Spanish, previous exposure to spoken Spanish and gender. This was achieved by playing recorded extracts/ snippets from the DSSC to which a time-scaling tool was applied.

The current study produces several original contributions to the field of Spanish connected speech, and ELE language learning and teaching by:

• Adopting a new methodology and a novel approach to the study of the segmentation of the speech signal with the aim to enhance the body of knowledge regarding the study of prosody in the Spanish tradition.

• Critically reviewing CALL and CAPT applications and advocating for a change in the use of language in didactic materials: from scripted to authentic, from an orientation of linguistic competence to one of communicative competence which enriches the understanding and use of the communicative, pragmatic functions of the language.

• Identifying, by way of contrast, those features of connected speech upon which a reflection on the didactic implications regarding the teaching of Spanish to Anglophones can be elaborated.

• Generating a unique research and analysis corpus (audio resource) of informal NS-NS Spanish speech recorded at a high level of audio quality, amenable to linguistic analysis, and based on genuine dialogues of informal speech using the ‘duologue’ system.

• Investigating the application of an innovative language learning resource, i.e., the DSSC, which exposes ELE language learners to authentic, natural Spanish speech, and documenting language learners performances in a real, contextualised environment which affords them access to L1 prosody.

• Exploring the use and effectiveness of a slow-down algorithm to assist ELE learners by enhancing speech reception and aid their oral production of the native acoustic ‘blur’ and intonation patterns of L1 speakers.

These contributions form the basis of future investigation into effective perception and acquisition of natural Spanish speech for ELE learners, and as such represent novel work in this field.

Esta tesis presenta los resultados de una investigación educativa cuantitativa y cualitativa que tuvo como objetivo general evaluar el currículum de la carrera de Letras con habilitación en Español de la Universidade Federal da Bahia (UFBA), en la formación inicial de profesores de esa lengua extranjera en la Educación Básica. Se ha centrado en el análisis del programa curricular de la carrera de Letras con Español y en el estudio de la perspectiva de los sujetos participantes: estudiantes del último año académico y profesores formadores de docentes de ELE. Los datos fueron recogidos in situ, mediante la utilización de entrevistas semiestructuradas individuales. Para el análisis comprensivo del contenido se utilizó un procedimiento simplificado de análisis de contenido en la parte cualitativa. Para el análisis cuantitativo se utilizó el conteo simple individual. Este estudio permitió evaluar la formación inicial del profesor de ELE que se gradúa en la UFBA en cuatro dimensiones: en lo que se refiere a una valoración general del programa, a los conocimientos teóricos, a la conexión entre la teoría y la práctica y a las actividades de práctica en el aula. Los resultados hacen posible concluir que: de forma amplia, tanto los profesores formadores como los estudiantes, evalúan la carrera de Letras con Español como regular; aunque perciban que la cantidad y la cualidad de los contenidos teóricos son satisfactorias, señalan que hay una carencia en lo que se refiere específicamente a los contenidos de lengua y literaturas de lengua española; indican que no hay conexión entre teoría y práctica y exponen las consecuencias de la ausencia de una formación en la que el trabajo de investigación en la Educación Básica sea prioridad. Por consiguiente, se hace imprescindible proponer una reestructuración curricular de la carrera de Letras con Español, en el contexto investigado, para que se ajuste a las necesidades y demandas actuales del profesor de ELE en formación.