CfP 19 Monographic section: The importance of individual factors in the learning of Spanish as a foreign language/ heritage language/ host language: towards a more inclusive education
Learning a foreign/ heritage/ host language, in general, is a process influenced by various individual factors that can facilitate or hinder the acquisition of new language skills. These factors range from cognitive and emotional characteristics to social and personality aspects, and also include individual characteristics such as gender and sexual orientation, race, culture, etc.
Tomlinson (2001), with his differentiated instruction, suggests that teachers should vary the content, process, and product of teaching to address individual differences, since students have different needs and learning styles. This can include using diverse materials, implementing activities that cater to different learning styles (visual, auditory, kinesthetic), and creating customized projects that allow learners to demonstrate their learning in ways that align with their individual strengths.
Going a little deeper into the different factors:
Cognitive factors include memory, intelligence, and learning strategies. Memory, especially short-term memory, is crucial for the retention of vocabulary and grammatical structures. Baddeley (2003) stresses the importance of working memory in the processing and storage of linguistic information. Intelligence also plays an important role. Carroll (1981) introduced the concept of linguistic aptitude, which refers to the individual's ability to learn a language based on specific cognitive skills such as auditory perception and the ability to analyze and synthesize grammar.
Emotional factors include motivation, anxiety, and attitude toward learning. Gardner and Lambert (1972) demonstrated that integrative motivation, which implies a desire to integrate and participate in the community of speakers of the target language, is a significant predictor of success in foreign language learning. Anxiety, on the other hand, can have a negative effect. According to Horwitz, Horwitz, and Cope (1986), language-specific anxiety can inhibit students' ability to process and produce language effectively. Reducing anxiety through a positive and supportive learning environment is critical to improving performance.
Personality also influences the learning of a foreign language. For example, Brown (2000) points out that characteristics such as extroversion can facilitate speech practice and interaction, while introversion can limit opportunities for language use in communicative contexts.
Social factors include family environment, previous experiences with foreign languages, and exposure to the target language. According to Vygotsky (1978), learning is a social process mediated by interaction with others. Frequent interaction with native speakers and participation in cultural activities related to the target language can enrich learning and provide authentic contexts for practice.
On the other hand, within the social factors that affect students, in contemporary education, more and more critical proposals are emerging that seek to challenge inequities and promote a more inclusive and emancipatory teaching, in which there is no discrimination, while at the same time "making visible" the people who have always been on the margins: women, indigenous people, Afro-descendants, the LGBTQ+ community, immigrants... These studies point to a critical pedagogy, based on the ideas of Paulo Freire (1987), who advocates an education that empowers students to question and transform reality, emphasizing the need to promote critical awareness and the active participation of the subject in the classroom and in society.
Intercultural education also promotes the recognition and appreciation of cultural diversity, understanding that individuality and difference should be celebrated.
Similarly, incorporating an anti-racist approach into the curriculum implies reviewing and modifying educational content and practices to dismantle racist structures. This includes the equitable representation of the histories and experiences of racialized communities, since students' academic success often comes at the expense of their cultural and psychological well-being, as indicated by Ladson-Billings (1995, p. 475), who advocates a culturally relevant pedagogy, which helps students to recognize, understand, and criticize social inequalities (p. 476) and in which the other person is not just something exotic (p. 483). As Van Dijk (2009, p. 105) points out, "many studies have shown that most textbooks reproduce a nationalist, ethnocentric or racist worldview, both of other peoples and of ethnic minority groups".
Remembering the words of hooks (2021, p. 46):
Teachers who work to transform the curriculum so that it does not reflect prejudices or reinforce systems of domination are most of the time the same ones willing to take the kind of risks that committed pedagogy requires and make their teaching practices a place of resistance.
In summary, integrating these factors into the design of language teaching programmes can improve learning effectiveness. An individualized approach that takes cognitive, emotional, and social strengths and weaknesses into account, and considers that students from many different social backgrounds, races, cultures, and other differences can provide them with more effective and personalized support.
Therefore, this monographic section aims to accommodate works that consider the characteristics and situations of students as individuals. Examples of studies that are welcome:
-Theoretical studies on how individual factors play a crucial role in learning Spanish as a foreign/heritage/host language.
-Studies on the use of different methodologies and approaches that favour language learning by taking into account individual factors in the class: communicative approach, task-based learning, differentiated approach, cooperative learning, autonomous learning...
-Practices/activities carried out in class (or proposals) in which it is appreciated that those who teach consider these factors to maximize the potential of each student.
-Research with quantitative/qualitative analyses on how the implementation of certain practices oriented to the individual favors, if applicable, the learning of Spanish or modifies attitudes towards this language and its learning.
-Revisions of materials such as textbooks in which the shortcomings or contributions of these are pointed out in terms of individual factors.
References
Baddeley, A. D. (2003). Working memory and language: An overview. Journal of Communication Disorders, 36(3), 189-208. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0021-9924(03)00019-4
Brown, H. D. (2000). Principles of language Learning and Teaching. Longman.
Carroll, J. B. (1981). Twenty-five years of research on foreign language aptitude. In K.C. Diller (Ed.), Individual differences and universals in language learning aptitude (pp. 83-118). Newbury House.
Freire, P. (1987). La educación como práctica de la libertad. Siglo XXI.
Gardner, R. C., y Lambert, W. E. (1972). Attitudes and motivation in second language learning. Newbury House.
hooks, b. (2021). Enseñar a transgredir. La educación como práctica de la libertad. Prólogo y traducción de Marta Malo. Capitán Swing Libros.
Horwitz, E. K., Horwitz, M. B., y Cope, J. (1986). Foreign language classroom anxiety. The Modern Language Journal, 70(2), 125-132. https://doi.org/10.2307/327317
Ladson-Billings, G. (1995). Toward a theory of culturally relevant pedagogy. American Educational Research Journal, 32(3), 465-491. https://doi.org/10.3102/00028312032003465
Tomlinson, C. A. (2001). How to differentiate instruction in mixed-ability classrooms. Pearson Education.
Van Dijk, T. A. (2009). Discurso y poder. Gedisa.
Vygotsky, L. S. (1978). Mind in society: The development of higher psychological processes. Harvard University Press.
Manuscript submission information
Full-length articles in between 4,000 and 8,000 words (excluding bibliographic references) are invited. Submissions must comply to the author guidelines (https://revistes.ub.edu/index.php/didacticae/about/submissions) and APA guidelines (7th edition).
Submissions must be original and should not have been published previously or be under consideration for publication elsewhere while being evaluated for this journal (unless a proper explanation is provided in the comments to editor section). All manuscripts will go through a double blind peer-review process.
Papers must be submitted through the journal’s online platform by selecting the corresponding option in the drop-down tab and/or in the available space for observations and comments to the editor. Authors need to register with the journal prior to submitting or simply log in, if already registered.
The journal accepts manuscripts in Spanish, English, and Catalan. Should the number of manuscripts accepted exceed the maximum allotted for the monographic section, the journal has the right to include the extra ones in subsequent issues.
Timeline
Submission of manuscripts: March 31, 2025
Publication: March 2026
For any questions relating specifically to the monographic section and its content, please contact: Teresa Fernández-Ulloa tfernandez_ulloa@csub.edu
For any other queries, please contact: didacticae@ub.edu
