https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5120-8181
![Sample our Language & Literature journals, sign in here to start your FREE access for 14 days]({"type":"image" , "src" : "/sda/5941/TOC-Subject-Sample-2021-Language-Literature.jpg"})
ABSTRACT
This paper investigates the attitudes towards English of autochthonous and immigrant students in Catalonia (Spain) by focusing on their region of origin and their language competence. The research examines the individual and the joint effect of both variables in the development of language attitudes. A questionnaire was administered to 954 students of Secondary Education. Results reveal that region of origin and language competence are influential in the development of language attitudes, and there is no joint effect when both variables are included in the same model. Attitudes towards English are predominantly favourable with significant differences between local and immigrant participants. Our results may contribute to a better understanding of the interplay between language and intercultural communication and its implications for education.
RESUMEN
Este artículo investiga las actitudes hacia el inglés de estudiantes autóctonos e inmigrantes en Cataluña, centrándose en la región de origen y la competencia lingüística. La investigación examina el efecto individual y conjunto de ambas variables en el desarrollo de actitudes hacia el inglés. Se utilizó un cuestionario con 954 alumnos de Educación Secundaria. Los resultados revelan la región de origen y la competencia lingüística influyen en las actitudes lingüísticas, aunque no hay un efecto conjunto cuando se analizan en el mismo modelo. Las actitudes hacia el inglés son claramente positivas, con diferencias entre los participantes locales y extranjeros.
Acknowledgements
This work is part of a larger research project funded by funding details should be entered for publication.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
Notes
1 Spanish National Statistics Institute: http://www.ine.es/en/welcome.shtml. Accessed on 10th September 2020.
2 Eurostats: https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/. Accessed on 10th September 2020.
3 Catalan Statistics Institute: http://www.idescat.cat/. Accessed on 10th September 2020.
4 By integration, we refer to the creation of a common public culture which may be understood as a ‘shared space for communication, coexistence, acknowledgement and participation of our diverse and differentiated society, so that the Catalan nation continues to be the referent for all the people who live and work in Catalonia’ (Generalitat de Catalunya, Citation2008, p. 49). The overarching principle is to promote a common multilingual framework where languages are the key tool that facilitate multicultural communication and social mobility and cohesion.
5 This is an education stage in the Spanish system following Secondary Education. After completing it, students can take the university entrance exam or access vocational training.
6 English as a foreign language is a compulsory subject in Secondary Education in Catalonia, where students have 3 h per week. Other languages can be taken as optional subjects, although students have less tuition hours per week.
7 The joint effect examines the impact of both variables together. Beyond analysing the influence of the place of birth and language competence separately, our model assesses what happens when both elements are present in the generation of language attitudes (i.e. if one is more prominent or if it modulates the influence of the other).
8 The region of origin has been operationalised as a variable to group the two main sources of immigrants considered in the study: Participants from Latin America (coming from Spanish-speaking countries) and Maghreb (coming from non-Spanish speaking countries). Regarding autochthonous students, all participants are bilingual speakers of Spanish and Catalan.
9 Cronbach’s alpha is a statistical test used to measure internal consistency reliability. This is a figure ranging between 0 and 1: The higher the score, the more internal consistency (see, for instance, Dörnyei & Taguchi, Citation2010, p. 112).
10 When collecting the surveys, teachers provided the language competence for every student which was noted down in each; sheets where coded, so the surveys could be identified while keeping anonymity.
Additional information
Funding
Notes on contributors
Alberto Fernández-Costales
Alberto Fernández-Costales, Associate Professor at the University of Oviedo (Spain). My research interests lie primarily in foreign language teaching, bilingual education, Content and Language Integrated Learning, and the use of Audiovisual Translation in language teaching. Since 2020, I am Associate Editor of Perspectives: Studies in Translation Theory and Practice.
Cecilio Lapresta-Rey
Cecilio Lapresta-Rey, Lecturer in Sociology at the Department of Geography and Sociology of the University of Lleida (Spain). His research focuses on language and identity, language attitudes and integration in the case of children of immigrants in Catalonia. Currently, his work focuses on the analysis of the integration processes of these youngsters.
Ángel Huguet Canalís
Ángel Huguet Canalís, Full Professor in Developmental and Educational Psychology at the Department of Pedagogy and Psychology of the University of Lleida (Spain). His research interest includes bilingual education, second-language acquisition, psycholinguistics and sociolinguistics.
Xosé Antón González-Riaño
Xosé Antón González-Riaño, Associate Professor at the Department of Educational Sciences of the University of Oviedo (Spain). His research interest includes language attitudes, multilingualism, language and pedagogy, sociolinguistics, and the interrelation of language, culture and the curriculum.