This article expands the study of registers in conversational and written language with empirical data collected from different situations throughout the daily activities of two bilingual populations at a university in Southern... more
This article expands the study of registers in conversational and written language with empirical data collected from different situations throughout the daily activities of two bilingual populations at a university in Southern California. It explores the importance of register distinction in the classroom. This is done by studying the use of formal and informal register at the university between two bilingual populations throughout the tasks they perform on a daily basis. Language samples used in a normal day were collected and transcribed for analysis. A qualitative analysis was performed using characteristics previously studied by Valdés and Geoffrion-Vinci in 1998: lexical choice, integration versus fragmentation and detachment versus involvement. Results indicated similarities in the use of Spanish register used among the two populations studied. A presence of informal register was found in formal contexts by both bilingual populations. Implications for curriculum and course development including register topics are discussed. Index Terms-heritage language learner, Spanish, discourse analysis, academic register, bilingual populations, informal register, Spanish register analysis
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University EFL students in Ecuador do not have many opportunities to authentically practice English outside of the classroom. This lack of daily connections decreases students' ability to effectively communicate and improve in language... more
University EFL students in Ecuador do not have many opportunities to authentically practice English outside of the classroom. This lack of daily connections decreases students' ability to effectively communicate and improve in language learning. Therefore, an international language exchange program was created with 17 students through video chat platforms. The objective of the research was to give students an opportunity to practice English to increase intrinsic motivation and oral communication. This study followed a mixed method approach using questionnaires, informal interviews and observations over a five-week period. The program showed increased confidence in speaking, students seemed to be more intrinsically motivated to improve and an increase in fluency was seen in overall communication skills.