The Impact of Task Complexity and Language Proficiency on the Written Production of Second-Generation Spanish Heritage Speakers
Although there have been numerous studies investigating the effects of task complexity on second language performance, a limited number (cf. Torres, 2013, 2018) has examined the impact of task complexity and language proficiency on Spanish heritage speakers’ written production. This presentation will discuss how changes in task complexity manipulated along ± reasoning demands (resource-directing cognitive factor) of Robinson’s (2007) Triadic Componential Framework impact the complexity, accuracy, and fluency (CAF) of second-generation Spanish heritage speakers’ argumentative writing. Likewise, this presentation will explore if their performance differs according to their linguistic competence as tested through a modified version of the DELE exam. Results will be discussed in relation to the Cognition Hypothesis (Robinson, 2001) and pedagogical implications will be addressed.
Presenter: Vivian H. Franco Díaz is a Ph.D. candidate in Hispanic Linguistics in the Department of Spanish and Portuguese Studies at the University of Minnesota. Her research focuses on the acquisition of Spanish as a second and heritage language, specifically academic writing development; language ideologies; and Spanish heritage language education.