From Primary to Secondary School: a Case Study of Changes in Language Attitudes among Students of the Bilingual Programs in Alacant

Abstract

Language attitudes have an important impact for language use, the willingness to learn it and the social status of not only its speakers but also the language. In this cross-sectional case study, it is aimed to investigate how language attitudes towards Castilian and Valencian vary from primary school to high school and between Valencian and Castilian bilingual educational programs based on three dependent variables: linguistic self-confidence, language status, and language appraisal. Taking Sant Vicent del Raspeig (Alacant) as the geographical location, Primary-6 (n=89) from two primary schools and Secondary-4 students (n=69) who previously attended these two primary schools were chosen and compared. The three educational centers accomplished the requirement of offering the bilingual programs. A questionnaire was created and implemented in the locations. Results show that attitudes, with respect to Valencian, significantly decline from Primary-6 to Secondary-4 while remaining neutral. In addition, educational programs may have significant effects on language status and appraisal but not on linguistic selfconfidence. These findings indicate that improvements in the Valencian educational system have to be carried out in favor of educational programs in which children are taught through a second or minority language. This might lead to a more respectful development of language attitudes towards Valencian and Castilian.