The impact of immersion in the acquisition of spanish verb structures: comparison of two siblings using different foreign language methods

Abstract

The main question raised by this paper is aimed at discovering the impact that immersion has in the acquisition of Spanish verb structures. In order to study such an impact, the project is based on a comparison between two English monolingual siblings who study Spanish simultaneously, but who differ in the way they study it. While one sibling has studied Spanish in school for several years, the other one has had short time instruction, as well as a short time immersion period. The two siblings collaborated in the project by doing three carefully selected tasks focused on the tense, aspect and mood of the verbs found in each one of the proposed exercises. The results show that the sibling who has had an immersion period obtains better results than the sibling who has not. Thus, in this case study, immersion means a benefit in the acquisition of Spanish verb structures.