| dc.description.abstract | How do we explain when high school students graduate and are barely able to
communicate Spanish? With the growth of global interdependence, students within the
United States need to be realistically prepared for an international world around them.
And yet, our second language instruction continues to produce beginning-level speakers,
while many other world players produce bilingual adults. The classroom environment is
integral to understanding this discrepancy, and so this research compares high school
second language instruction in Buenos Aires, Argentina and College Station, Texas.
The purpose of this study is to explain theoretical and motivational pedagogical
strategies, as well as to understand the differences in motivation and how they affect
teaching and learning. Through a literature review of the development of second
language instruction, classroom observations, and teacher interviews, this study reveals
the interplay of education and culture. One classroom from each country was observed
four times.
While no "correct" classroom exists, certain factors appeared to positively influence
language learners? experiences. Each classroom demonstrated culturally-influenced
factors such as technology in Texas and cultural exposure in Argentina. While ideally
Texas would increase the mandatory years of instruction, this study pragmatically
suggests that Texas teachers should explain the importance of L2 acquisition to students
and enhance student motivation by using technology to provide cultural exposure. | en |
