Patterns of Second Language Retention of
Graduates of a Spanish Immersion Program
MARGUERITE ANN SNOW, AMADO M. PADILLA,
and RUSSELL N. CAMPBELL
University of California, Los Angeles
The renewed interest in foreign language instruction in the United States can
best be summarized in the following recommendation from A Nation at Risk:
The Imperative for Educational Reform (The National Commission on
Excellence in Education 1983):
Achieving proficiency in a foreign language ordinarily requires from 4-6 years of study
and should, therefore, be started in the elementary grades. We believe it is desirable
that students achieve such proficiency because study of a foreign language introduces
students to non-English-speaking cultures, heightens awareness and comprehension of
one's native tongue, and serves the Nation's needs in commerce, diplomacy, defense,
and education. (1983:26)
Downloaded from http://applij.oxfordjournals.org/ at Penn State University (Paterno Lib) on March 5, 2016
This paper reports on a study of the second language retention of students who
completed a seven-year elementary Spanish immersion program. In the study,
the relationship between attitudinal factors, language use, self-assessment of
Spanish proficiency, and second language retention was examined Subjects
were 38 immersion graduates, and 20 currently enrolled Grade 6 immersion
students. The Modern Language Association (MLA) Co-operative Test of
Spanish and a 63-item questionnaire designed to obtain information about
opportunities to use Spanish, interest in foreign languages, parental encouragement, and ethnocentrism were administered to all subjects. Results indicated
that some language loss occurred soon after the formal learning situation was
terminated. Significant differences between MLA scores of students with
continued formal exposure to Spanish and those who had discontinued
Spanish, however, did not develop until high school At the high school level,
significant differences across all four skills (writing, speaking, reading, and
listening) were found with the greatest losses occurring in the productive skills.
Exploratory factor analysis of the questionnaire data yielded four factors which
were labeled: 'Interest in foreign language', 'Encouragement and pride in
work', 'Integrative orientation', and 'ParentaVintegrative orientation'. Crosstabulations revealed significant A? values between three of the factors and the
productive skills. All of the factors, except integrative orientation, were also
significantly related to language-use opportunities. Findings suggest that the
attitudinal predisposition underlying the four factors influences the extent to
which students retain their Spanish skills in writing and speaking. These factors
appear, however, to be unrelated to retention of receptive skills in Spanish.
M. A. SNOW, A. MPADILLA, AND R. N.CAMPBELL
183
Downloaded from http://applij.oxfordjournals.org/ at Penn State University (Paterno Lib) on March 5, 2016
Other reports such as that by the President's Commission on Foreign
Language and International Studies (1979) have called for a strong national
language policy promoting the teaching of foreign languages.
This flurry of activity has revitalized interest in many aspects of foreign
language educational research. One area of interest has been in the factors
affecting the maintenance of a foreign language by individuals who have
devoted substantial amounts of time and energy in the acquisition process. What
happens to an individual's foreign language skills when formal or informal
exposure to the learning environment terminates? What is the nature of the
language attrition process, i.e., is there a differential loss of language skills over
time? Lambert and Freed (1982) note that there has been a paucity of research
studies aimed at answering questions of this type. In a review of more recent
research on language skill attrition, Lambert and Moore (1984) report on
attrition studies that have been undertaken since the 1980 conference on
language loss out of which the Lambert and Freed volume developed.
Oxford (1982) provides a review of studies of language loss focusing on three
areas: (1) research on the optimal age for learning a foreign language; (2) studies
on cognitive aspects of language loss; and (3) investigations of attitudes toward
language learning, maintenance, and loss. She also discusses limitations of
previous language attrition research, particularly with regard to research design
issues, instrumentation, and co-ordination of research.
In two recent reviews of the foreign language attrition literature, van Els
(1985) and Weltens (1987) point out the need for study of the predictor
variables in language attrition. The individual learner or situational characteristics presumed to influence language skill loss must be identified and tested
empirically. Both van Els and Weltens also note that more research attention
should be paid to characteristics of the attrition process such as post-course
exposure to the second language and culture, the rate of attrition over time, and,
particularly, to the length of period of non-use. Furthermore, since most studies
have looked at relatively short periods of non-use (e.g. summer vacation), longer
periods of time should be investigated.
The intent of this study was to examine language retention/attrition of
students who participated in an innovative foreign language program in
elementary school, the Spanish Immersion Program (SEP). The SIP, established
in Culver City, California in 1971, was modeled after successful French
immersion programs in Canada (Campbell 1972). The major premise of SIP is
that children can successfully learn a second language when used as the medium
of instruction, without retardation of first language or scholastic skills.
After twelve years of immersion in the American context, the overall findings
indicate that SEP children perform academically at a level equal to or higher than
their peers who have received all of their elementary school education in
English. Further, the students are generally at grade level on standardized
Spanish achievement tests and have developed a level of communicative
competence rarely, if ever, achieved in a traditional elementary foreign language
program (Campbell 1984).
184
PATTERNS OF SECOND LANGUAGE RETENTION
Downloaded from http://applij.oxfordjournals.org/ at Penn State University (Paterno Lib) on March 5, 2016
Four studies have reported specifically on the language attrition of immersion
students. Cohen (1974) compared speech samples of three SIP children during
the school year and after the students had returned from summer vacation. He
found errors in person inflection, confusion in use of ser/estar, misuse of definite
and indefinite articles, and problems with adjective agreement.
Brack (1983) investigated the predictors and consequences of students who
voluntarily switch out of French immersion programs. Her subjects were
students who were doing poorly in school and whose parents were considering
transferring them out of French immersion programs and into English-stream
classes. While she was primarily interested in describing the linguistic and
attitudinal profile of students who switch out of immersion, she also looked at
the consequences of the loss of substantial amounts of exposure to French (the
students did continue to receive French-as-a-second-language instruction for
forty minutes daily). Brack found that the immersion drop-outs appeared to
have more severe problems with their second language skills, particularly on
tasks which required 'public productions' of French (e.g. oral reading and
speaking). In addition, the drop-out children differed attitudinally from their
immersion peers. They appeared uncomfortable in the second language
situation and did not like school. The French test data revealed that one year
after leaving the immersion program, the drop-out children had generally
maintained the same level of performance (albeit a low level) for most skills
tested with the exception of spelling, where the drop-out children scored
significantly lower than their immersion counterparts. Brack, therefore,
concluded that one year later there is little evidence of language loss among the
drop-out children.
In a follow-up study of 10 of the pilot SEP students who completed the
program in 1978 and moved on to a traditional English curriculum in junior
high school, Snow, Galvan, and Campbell (1983) examined how much Spanish
the students had retained one year after leaving the program. Using the Prueba
de Vocabulario (Calexico Intercultural Design 1976) and a semi-formal
Spanish interview, Snow et al. report that the students' Spanish had not declined
or improved measurably. Further, 8 of the 10 students had continued the
study of Spanish in junior high school.
Snow (1982) reported on three groups of former SEP students who had
moved on to junior high school. Her results indicated that 17 of the students
continued to study Spanish in Grade 7 while 18 chose to discontinue Spanish. A
comparison of the three groups revealed that the class with the most members
continuing in Spanish courses exhibited the most consistent pattern of Spanish
vocabulary maintenance, whereas the group with the fewest members continuing in Spanish demonstrated the greatest loss. At the individual level,
however, there was no significant difference in vocabulary maintenance as a
result of continued study of Spanish. Thus, she concluded, continued coursework alone does not explain the results. Rather, motivation, as measured by
continued interest in Spanish may be the distinguishing characteristic of
successful language retainers. Students in both studies complained about the
M. A. SNOW, A. M. PADILLA, AND R. N. CAMPBELL
185
METHOD
Subjects
Of the 55 total SIP graduates, a subset of 38 was located for participation in the
study. The others had moved away from Culver City, were attending private
schools outside of the district, or were not available during the school day. The
sample consisted of 18 males and 20 females, ranging from Grades 7 to 11.
These students represented the first 6ve graduating classes of the SIP, beginning
with the pilot group who completed Grade 6 in 1978. All of the students in the
sample completed seven years (K-6) of immersion education and were
presently attending Culver City Junior High School (Grades 7-8) or Culver
City High School (Grades 9-11). The former immersion students had several
options for continuing to study Spanish as a school subject (i.e. one period a day)
both in junior high school and in high school. In junior high school the students
could choose from Bilingual Math, Bilingual Science, or Spanish for Native
Speakers. High school choices included traditional foreign language classes:
Downloaded from http://applij.oxfordjournals.org/ at Penn State University (Paterno Lib) on March 5, 2016
Spanish classes available to them; they were offered a remedial-type course
designed for native Spanish speakers, or typical Spanish-as-a-second-language
courses designed for students coming out of traditional elementary school
foreign language programs.
Finally, the work of Gardner and his colleagues in Canada on the role of
motivation is particularly relevant to foreign language retention. Clement,
Smythe, and Gardner (1978) found attitude and motivation differences
between those students who dropped out of foreign language study and those
who continued. Similar results were reported by Gardner, Lalonde, and
MacPherson (1983), who studied the language retention of 82 adult students
who had attended a French summer school program. Retrospective self-report
data on French proficiency and questionnaires designed to tap attitude and
motivation measures were obtained. They found no evidence of language loss
on reading skills; losses on speaking and understanding were interpreted as a
function of attitudes. Students with very favorable attitudes and motivation
showed less decline compared to those with a less favorable attitude and
motivation who demonstrated greater language loss.
The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between certain
predictor variables and foreign language skill attrition in the post-immersion
school setting. The predictor variables chosen for inclusion in this study were
based on previous research in the immersion context (ci. Gardner and Lambert
1972; Snow 1979). We were particularly interested in the influences of language
use, attitudes and motivation, and self-assessment of Spanish proficiency. In
conducting research of this kind, we were hampered by the small pool of SIP
graduates available since only five classes had completed the immersion
program at the time of the study. Despite the small sample size, however, we feel
that this study provides interesting exploratory findings of the relationship
between certain predictor variables and foreign language retention following
seven years of immersion education.
186
PATTERNS OF SECOND LANGUAGE RETENTION
Spanish 1, Spanish 2, etc. Some of the former immersion students chose to
continue Spanish beyond elementary school; others chose to discontinue
Spanish.
In addition to the SIP graduates, the current Grade 6 class of 20 students
(10 males, 10 females) was included in the study for baseline comparison at the
conclusion of the elementary immersion program.
Procedure
The MLA test was administered during the school day at each school site. Upon
completion of the MLA, students were asked to complete the student questionnaire. Students selected to take the Speaking subtest were individually tested
either before the MLA administration or immediately afterwards.
Downloaded from http://applij.oxfordjournals.org/ at Penn State University (Paterno Lib) on March 5, 2016
Instruments
Considering the unique type of language learner that an immersion program
produces, there are no test instruments designed specifically for students with
such an intensive elementary foreign language experience. We chose a test
battery which included two widely used standardized tests, one designed for
high school students, the Modern Language Association (MLA) Co-operative
Test of Spanish, and the other for elementary school students, the Comprehensive Test of Basic Skills in Spanish (CTBS-Espanol).
The MLA consists of four subtests: Listening, Reading, Writing, and
Speaking. For the purposes of this study, Spanish Level L, Form A was selected.
All participating students were asked to complete the Listening, Reading, and
Writing subtests. Because of time considerations, the individually administered
Speaking subtest was not administered to all subjects; a subsample of approximately one-third (24) of the students was randomly selected to take the
Speaking section.
The CTBS has been administered by the Culver City Unified School District
since 1979. Students in the SIP take both the English version (CTBS-S) and the
Spanish version (CTBS-Espanol). CTBS-Espanol is a Spanish-language
adaptation of the CTBS-S Reading and Mathematics tests. The Reading test
consists of two subtests: Reading Vocabulary and Reading Comprehension.
The Mathematics test is composed of three subtests: Computation, Concepts,
and Applications. We will report sixth grade CTBS-Espanol scores for all
students in the sample with the exception of the pilot group (Grade 11) students
for whom the Spanish-language adaptation was unavailable.
Since we were particularly interested in the atn'tudinal correlates of language
retention/attrition, a 63-item questionnaire was constructed. The questionnaire
included items on family demographics, Spanish language use, motivational
orientation, interest in foreign languages, ethnocentrism, need achievement,
parental encouragement, self-assessment of language skills, and metalinguistic
awareness. Many of the items were adapted from the Attitudes and Motivation
Test Battery (Gardner, Clement, Smythe, and Smythe 1979); others were
developed to test notions relevant to the American, specifically Southern
Californian, context
M. A. SNOW, A. M. PADILLA, AND R. N. CAMPBELL
187
The MLA test involves two different kinds of scoring. The Listening and
Reading sections can be scored using the answer key provided by the test
designers. The Speaking and Writing sections are subjectively evaluated using
rating procedures and sample student responses provided in the MLA Handbook. A native speaker of Spanish rated both sections. Comparison of her
ratings with those of another native speaker rating the same students on the
Speaking subtest for a different study (Gray, Rhodes, Campbell, and Snow
1984) resulted in an inter-rater reliability coefficient of .95.
MLA and CTBS Test Score Results
Relationship Between Proficiency Level and Spanish Course-work. Table 1
presents Grade 6 CTBS-Espanol percentile test scores for current junior high
and senior high school students divided by Spanish coursework. These scores
allow us to compare the sixth grade achievement levels of those who chose to
continue Spanish (at least two semesters) or to discontinue study. (Note that
CTBS scores were available from the district for 29/38 subjects.) The subjects
are categorized by current class level (high school or junior high) and by
whether or not they chose to continue to study Spanish after graduation from
the immersion program in Grade 6. While it would have been more desirable to
categorize subjects by grade (7,8, 9, etc.), we were limited by the small sample
size. We opted, therefore, for the grosser distinction of class level so as to
analyze the results with larger cells. Thus, we were able to control for a
minimum of two semesters of continued study, but not for when the courses
were taken or the number of courses taken beyond the two semesters.
Table 1: Grade 6 CTBS-Espanol percentiles for students who elected
to continue or not with course-work in Spanish
Student Level
Total Reading
n
%
sd
High school students
Yes—Spanish course-work
(12)
46.5
Total Mathematics
%
sd
t
t
22.1
67.5
18.7
36.2
18.6
62.3
30.8
81.5
6.4
1.06
No—Spanish course-work
(6)
34.5
23.8
Junior high students
Yes—Spanish course-work
(9)
38.4
25.1
3.38'
-1.9
No—Spanish course-work
•p<01
(2)
73.5
0.71
-0.84
Downloaded from http://applij.oxfordjournals.org/ at Penn State University (Paterno Lib) on March 5, 2016
RESULTS
188
PATTERNS OF SECOND LANGUAGE RETENTION
Downloaded from http://applij.oxfordjournals.org/ at Penn State University (Paterno Lib) on March 5, 2016
Before comparing students who continued in Spanish with those who did not,
it was important to ascertain whether these groups of students differed in their
Spanish ability at the end of Grade 6. Accordingly, a one-way ANOVA was
performed for each grade level (7-10) on each group's Grade 6 CTBS-Espanol
Reading and Mathematics scores. All ANOVAs were non-significant (F<1.0).
The subsequent comparison of high school students reveals that students who
later chose to continue in Spanish (the Tes' group) had higher levels of Spanish
achievement in both Reading and Mathematics in Grade 6. These differences
were significant for the Mathematics test only (t = 3.38, df = 16, p <01). In
contrast, the results from the junior high school students indicate the opposite
pattern. Students who discontinued the study of Spanish finished Grade 6 with
higher levels of reading and mathematics achievement, but neither was significantly different. The small sample (n = 2) of junior high students with no
Spanish course-work must be taken into consideration, however, when interpreting this finding. These conflicting findings make it difficult to state a
relationship between earlier second language proficiency and future disposition
to continue study of the language.
Table 2 presents current MLA mean and percentile scores dichotomized
according to Spanish course-work. Comparisons between students who
continue formal course-work in Spanish and those who do not, show that across
all four subtests students who have continued Spanish in school demonstrate
higher levels of proficiency than those who discontinue Spanish. These
differences are most pronounced at the high school level where all four
comparisons of mean scores were found to be statistically significant. (The
t-tests were computed on the MLA raw scores.) There were no significant
differences between the 'Yes' and "No' group of junior high students.
Table 2 also allows comparison with current Grade 6 students on the four
MLA subtests. The high school *Yes' group performed higher than their
Grade 6 counterparts across all four skill areas; the junior high 'Yes' group, on
the other hand, performed lower than the Grade 6 comparison group on the
four subtests. The 'No' groups at both levels scored lower than the Grade 6
comparisons across the four skill areas.
These findings can be used to address the issue of differential loss of skills
over time. Findings indicate that at the earnest stages of termination of formal
instruction in Spanish, in this case Grades 7 and 8, the first signs of language
attrition occur with the productive skills of writing and speaking. Yet, one or two
years without formal exposure is hardly detrimental to students' listening or
reading at the junior high level. At the high school level, where there were
significant differences for all four tests, the writing and speaking scores showed
the widest disparity between those who had continuous formal exposure to
Spanish and those who had not.
(3)
No—Spanish course-work
Junior high students
Yes—Spanish course-work
No—Spanish course-work
• p<.05
••p<.01
*"p<.001
(22)
(12)
High school students
Yes—Spanish course-work
Grade 6 students
(14)
(9)
n
Student level
27
28
29
28
39
35
59
24
36
28
72
77
0.08
2.50*
13
52
55
83
50
24
23
35
t
41
13
39
31
81
Writing
Score %
22
0.13
2.50'
t
Reading
Score
%
69
71
65
90
Listening
Score %
1.16
4.03"'
t
49
31
41
36
61
98
62
81
58
99
Speaking
%
Score
0.90
3.38*
t
Table 2: MLA Co-operative Spanish Test mean raw scores and percentiles by Spanish course-work and
Grade 6 baseline
Downloaded from http://applij.oxfordjournals.org/ at Penn State University (Paterno Lib) on March 5, 2016
o
oo
o
z
i
O
c/j
190
PATTERNS OF SECOND LANGUAGE RETENTION
Questionnaire Results
Motivational Intensity. A number of items tapped the degree to which the
students were motivated to become actively involved in their language learning
process. Were one available, 43 per cent of the students indicated their willingness to join a Spanish club, and 30 per cent said they would attend once in a
while. The students were asked whether or not they would have enrolled in the
immersion program had it been their decision to make. A total of 40 per cent
said they definitely would have enrolled; 50 per cent said they did not know and
12 per cent would not have enrolled. Also, 14 per cent of the students stated
that they would prefer to have only Spanish spoken in a Spanish class; 76 per
cent prefer a combination of Spanish and English; 10 per cent would have liked
as much English as possible.
Other items asked students to reflect on their SIP experience. Of these, 55 per
cent revealed that in the SEP they had worked very carefully on their Spanish
homework, making sure they understood everything, and 36 per cent said
that they put some effort into doing their homework, but not as much as they
could have; 8 per cent just skimmed over it. Along the same lines, 59 per cent
reported looking over their assignments after getting them back from the
teacher, but did not take time to correct the mistakes; 19 per cent stated that
they usually rewrote assignments, correcting their mistakes, and 21 per cent just
Downloaded from http://applij.oxfordjournals.org/ at Penn State University (Paterno Lib) on March 5, 2016
Spanish Language Use. Results of the questionnaire are reported for the 38
former Spanish immersion students only. The Grade 6 students' test scores
were reported in the previous section to provide a Grade 6 baseline; their
questionnaire responses were not included in the analysis. The first section of
the questionnaire elicited descriptive information about the students' informal
use of Spanish outside of school. When asked if they speak Spanish at home,
53 per cent responded affirmatively; when asked how often, 2 per cent said
'always', 9 per cent frequently', 29 per cent 'sometimes', and 14 per cent
'rarely'. Also, 67 per cent replied that they speak Spanish away from home,
mainly in restaurants, on the street, or with Spanish-speaking neighbors.
Regarding the use of Spanish media, 26 per cent said that they watch Spanish
television programs; 12 per cent said that they listen to Spanish radio programs,
and 57 per cent of the students read in Spanish with books being their main
source. Most of the students (78 per cent) have traveled to some Spanishspeaking country. Mexico was their most frequent destination, although some of
the students have been to Central America or South America. In total, 22 per
cent have been to a Spanish-speaking country more than six times. Of the high
school students, 7 out of the 22 said they would continue to study Spanish in
college, while 5 said that they would like to have a job which required the use of
Spanish, and 12 that they would possibly like to use Spanish on the job. Only
one student stated that he would make no attempt to remember the Spanish he
had learned.
M. A. SNOW, A. M. PADILLA, AND R. N. CAMPBELL
191
forgot about them. If they had a problem understanding something in the SIP,
81 per cent reported asking the teacher for help. Just before an examination 14
per cent asked for help. In the SIP class, 63 per cent indicated that they had
volunteered answers in Spanish as much as possible; 28 per cent answered only
the easier questions, and 8 per cent avoided speaking Spanish in class. When
asked to evaluate retrospectively how they studied Spanish, 63 per cent
reported that they 'really tried to learn Spanish', 25 per cent did 'just enough to
get by', 13 per cent 'passed on the basis of sheer luck or intelligence because I
[they] did very little work'.
Downloaded from http://applij.oxfordjournals.org/ at Penn State University (Paterno Lib) on March 5, 2016
Attitudinal Results. The attitude scales consisted of a set of items designed to
test hypotheses about the role of certain attitudinal dimensions in second
language retention/attrition. Students responded using a seven-point Likert
scale, ranging from 'strongly agree' on the one extreme to 'strongly disagree' on
the other. The following five composite dimensions were hypothesized: (1)
orientation index consisting of items tapping integrative and instrumental
motivation; (2) interest in foreign language; (3) ethnocentrism, both global and,
more specifically, attitudes towards Spanish speakers/Hispanic culture; (4)
psychological variables composed of need achievement and anxiety in Spanish
class, and (5) parental encouragement.
After reviewing all items to insure uniform directionality, the first step in scale
construction was to generate a Pearson correlation matrix. In testing the internal
consistency of the items, a cutting score of ± .30 was applied to eliminate weak
items from the scales. Examination of the item intercorrelations revealed that
16 items (44 per cent of total) did not cluster into any of our hypothesized
dimensions.
Factor analysis was next employed to construct the attitudinal scales. Only
the twenty-five items which were significantly intercorrelated on the hypothesized scales were used. An orthogonal varimax solution was employed. The
results of the factor analysis are shown in Table 3. Using a moderately stringent
criteria of .40 to determine item loadings on a factor, the analysis indicates that
the twenty-five items load onto one of four principal factors. Eight items load on
Factor 1. An analysis of the items themselves reveals that they can be characterized as 'interest in a foreign language' (e.g., Item 1: 'I would study a foreign
language even if it were not required'; Item 5: 'I wish I could speak a foreign
language perfectly').
Factor 2 consists of eight items. The items vary from 'I hate to do a job with
less than my best effort' (Item 11) to'My parents tried to help me with my
Spanish' (Item 16). In addition, Item 3 ('Studying foreign languages is enjoyable') and Item 24 (*My parents stressed the value of Spanish beyond high
school") also showed secondary loadings on Factor 2. The best characterization
of the items loading this factor is that of 'encouragement and pride in work'.
Five items clustered into Factor 3. These items appear to identify an integrative orientation to foreign language learning, which was defined by Gardner and
Lambert (1972) as a willingness to become or be like a member of another
192
PATTERNS OF SECOND LANGUAGE RETENTION
Table 3: Factor correlation matrix resultingfromthe factor analysis of the
25 attitudinal items
Factor 1 Factor 2 Factor 3 Factor 4
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
24.
25.
Would study foreign language even if not required
.76
Would like to learn foreign languages
.68
Study foreign languages enjoyable
.61
Spanish useful in getting job
.55
Wish to speak another language perfectly
.55
Parents encourage study of Spanish
.53
When leave school, will not give up Spanish
.53
Enjoy meeting people of other languages
.50
Visit foreign country, like to speak language
.24
Parents encourage practice as much as possible
.38
Hate to do job with less than best effort
.29
Mexican Americans preserve pride in culture
.11
Need foreign language to get into college
.24
Spanish is important part of any school program
.29
Parents made sure I did Spanish homework
.21
Parents tried to help with my Spanish
-.08
Studying Spanish will help gain Spanish friends
.17
Knowing Mexican Americans, want to know more of
language
.03
If speak other languages, student feels pride
.13
Study Spanish I can then act like Spanish people
.13
Like to know more Mexican Americans
.34
Spanish helps understand Spanish-speaking people
and way of life
.23
Parents feel I should continue studying Spanish
.48
Parents stress value of Spanish beyond high school
.15
Spanish allows conversation with variety of people
.43
.17
.08
.46
.32
.32
.24
.23
.23
.71
.59
.61
.51
.47
.49
.54
.53
.20
.13
.10
.15
.28
-.12
.28
.10
.41
.18
.22
.27
.27
-.28
.08
.08
.47
.78
.05
.26
-.02
.25
.24
.24
.19
.05
.16
.24
.14
.45
.29
.11
.04
.12
.08
-.08
.29
.12
.06
.70
.69
.62
.58
.43
.13
-.14
.43
.21
.19
.45
.09
.27
-.13
.05
.43
.67
64
.61
.53
ethnolinguistic group. An example of the integrative motive is the following
item: The study of Spanish will allow me to think and act like the Spanish
speaking people in their social activities' (Item 20). Several other items whose
primary loading was on another factor also loaded onto Factor 3. These
additional items were 8,16, and 25, all of which appear to be congruent with the
integrative notion.
The final factor consists of four items with primary loadings ranging from .53
(Item 25) to .67 (Item 22). Three other items (12, 18, 21) also loaded on
Factor 4. Perusal of these items suggests that they are related to a parental/
integrative orientation with specific focus on Mexican Americans. Item 23
reflects the parental orientation: 'My parents feel I should continue Spanish all
through school', while Item 22 reflects the integrative motive: 'Study of Spanish
helps me better understand Spanish speaking people and their way of life.'
Downloaded from http://applij.oxfordjournals.org/ at Penn State University (Paterno Lib) on March 5, 2016
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
M. A. SNOW, A. M PADILLA, AND R. N. CAMPBELL
193
Table 4: Summary of cross-tabulations: significant chi-square values
Final Factors
1. Interest in foreign
language
2. Encouragement and
pride in work
3. Integrative orientation
4. Parental/integrative
MLA
Retention
Language Use
Writing, Speaking
Spanish at home
Writing
Travel to Spanishspeaking countries
—
Spanish Media,
Spanish outside
of home, travel
to Spanish-speaking
countries
Writing, Speaking
Self-assessment
Academic abilities
—
Factors by Language Use. Chi-squares were computed for the four factors by
each of the original four categories of language use: 'Spanish at home', 'Spanish
media', 'Spanish outside of the home', and travel to Spanish-speaking
countries'. Factor 1 was significantly related (X2 =• 5.58, p < .05) to 'Spanish at
home'. Factor 2 was significantly related (X2 = 7.46, p < .01) to 'travel to
Spanish-speaking Countries' (see Table 4). Factor 3 was not significant for any
of the language use categories. There were significant chi-squares for Factor 4
on 'Spanish Media' (X2 = 9.80, p < .01), 'Spanish outside of the home' (X2 =
6.52, p < .01), and travel to Spanish-speaking countries' (X2 = 8.35, p < .01).
Thus, Factor 4 was most strongly associated with Spanish language use.
Factors by Self-Assessment. The questionnaire contained six items which asked
subjects to self-assess their Spanish language skills. During the analysis, the selfassessment items were collapsed into two categories: academic language skills
Downloaded from http://applij.oxfordjournals.org/ at Penn State University (Paterno Lib) on March 5, 2016
Relationship Between Factors and MLA Subtests. In order to determine how a
student's attitudinal disposition influenced performance on the MLA, items
with primary loadings on a factor were combined as a scale from which it was
then possible to obtain a score for each subject Scores on each of the four factor
scales were then dichotomized into 'high' and 'low* using the mean score as the
cut-off point. Using the chi-square test, these dichotomized group mean scores
were then compared to high and low scores using the mean score as the cut-off
point on each of the four subtests of the MLA. Results indicated that there were
no significant X2S for any factors on the Listening and Reading subtests.
However, on the Writing subtest there were significant X2S for Factor 1 (X2 =
5.59, p < .05), Factor 2 (X2 - 6.89, p < .01), and Factor 4 (X2 - 4.43, p < .05).
For the Speaking subtest there were significant X^ for Factor 1 (X2 = 5.53, p <
.05) and Factor 4 (X2 = 3.84, p < .05). Factor 3 was not related to any of the
subtests of the MLA. Table 4 presents a summary of these findings.
194
PATTERNS OF SECOND LANGUAGE RETENTION
and social language skills. An example of an academic self-assessment item is
'Rate your ability to read social studies materials in Spanish'; an example of a
social self-assessment item is 'Rate your ability to give accurate directions to
your school in Spanish.' Chi-squares were computed for the four factors by each
of the original four categories of language use: 'Spanish at home', 'Spanish
media', 'Spanish outside of the home', and 'travel to Spanish-speaking countries'. Chi-squares were computed on the four factors by self-assessment. A
significant chi-square (X2 = 5.65, p < .05) was found for Factor 2 with academic
self-assessment. No other significant chi-squares were revealed.
Downloaded from http://applij.oxfordjournals.org/ at Penn State University (Paterno Lib) on March 5, 2016
DISCUSSION
Results from the MLA-Co-operative Test of Spanish provide some interesting
findings in the investigation of Spanish language retention/attrition among
immersion program graduates. As noted, the first evidence of language attrition
occurred in junior high school. At this time the greatest differences were found
in the productive skills of writing and speaking, although these differences were
not statistically significant. By high school, however, the pattern of language loss
was apparent. While there were significant differences across all four skills, the
productive skills of writing and speaking showed the greatest losses. Thus, these
findings confirm a differential loss of language skills over time, with productive
skills being lost sooner and receptive language abilities retained longer.
The student questionnaire was designed to test certain attitudinal correlates
of language retention/attrition. Three of the five dimensions originally hypothesized were retained in the factor analysis and a fourth factor emerged. This
approach contributes to our understanding of the attitudinal attributes of 'the
good language retainer', in much the same fashion as Naiman, Frohlich, Stern,
and Todesco (1978) identified the characteristics of 'the good language learner'.
Specifically, the four factors which have been identified may serve as a kind of
attitudinal disposition which would either favor language retention or conversely, lead to language attrition.
Since 'orientation index' is a much-discussed construct in the second language
acquisition literature (e.g. Gardner, Gliksman, and Smythe 1978), it is interesting to note how this index fared in the Spanish immersion context. The
questionnaire contained both integrative and instrumental items, and yet after
statistical analyses, no instrumental factor emerged. The instrumental items
either did not intercorrelate and subsequently were dropped from the analyses
or they clustered in other factors. Perhaps the low prestige of Spanish in the
Southern California context mitigates against the development of a strong
instrumental motive.
Integrative motivation, on the other hand, was supported by the factor
analysis. Factor 3 is made up of items with integrative-like content. In addition,
the integrative motive is also seen in Factor 4, which was labeled "parental/
integrative', since it was composed of both parental encouragement and
integrative motivation items.
M. A. SNOW, A. M. PADILLA, AND R. N. CAMPBELL
195
Downloaded from http://applij.oxfordjournals.org/ at Penn State University (Paterno Lib) on March 5, 2016
The relationship between the four attitudinal factors and the MLA test scores
showed evidence that there is a clear division between the productive and
receptive skills. There was a significant relationship between three of the four
factors and the productive skills of writing and speaking. Students who were
high on writing retention, for example, were high on Factor 1, Factor 2, and
Factor 4. In contrast, there were no significant relationships found for retention
of the receptive skills of listening and reading on any of the factors. Thus, the
findings suggest that the attitudinal disposition shown by the factors influences
the degree to which students retain their Spanish skills in writing and speaking,
but is unrelated to retention of the receptive skills of reading and listening.
Three of the four factors were also significantly related to various kinds of
language-use opportunities. For instance, students high on the parental/
integrative factor also reported frequent use of Spanish media and Spanish
outside of the home, and reported frequent travel to Spanish-speaking
countries. Therefore, students with the attitudinal dimensions identified in the
factors found ways to use their Spanish outside of the formal school learning
environment.
In spite of the fact that items tapping integrative motivation were observed in
two factors, Factors 3 and 4, there was no significant relationship between
integrative motivation, MLA retention, language use, or self-assessment. Thus,
there is good support for integrative motivation as a construct relevant to the
second language acquisition process, but in our results it seems to be unrelated
to language retention/attrition. Generally, orientation index proved to be a
disappointing dimension for examining the attitudinal correlates of second
language retention/attrition. More research is required to completely understand the absence of an integrative motive in our language attrition research
since this same index has proven so important in a variety of language acquisition studies (Snow and Shapira 1985).
While the results of this study offer some preliminary insights into the process
of second language attrition and its relationship to attitudinal factors, our
conclusions are clearly limited by the small sample size and the non-random
nature of the sample. A project of this type poses a research dilemma.
Immersion programs offer the best setting available for exploring the language
retention/loss patterns of adolescents who have made a substantial investment
in the learning of a foreign language. Yet, our subject pool is necessarily limited
by the relative newness of immersion programs in the United States. Even the
Culver City SIP, the oldest in the country, had only 55 graduates as of June
1983. Hence, while we were admittedly hampered by the small subject samples,
we chose not to abandon our efforts in hope of contributing exploratory
findings to this relatively new area of research inquiry. By including Grade 6
subjects in our projects, we now have baseline data for a longitudinal study of
SIP graduates. With a longitudinal design such as that recommended by Oxford
(1982), we will be able to describe with greater accuracy students' proficiency
levels and attitudinal disposition at the conclusion of SIP, and be able to assess
with greater confidence their patterns of language retention/loss.
196
PATTERNS OF SECOND LANGUAGE RETENTION
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This study was supported by the National Institute of Education, Cooperative
Agreement No. 00-CA-80-0001 to the National Center for Bilingual
Research. The authors want to extend their appreciation to Mr Eugene Ziff,
Principal, El Rincon Elementary School, Culver City Unified School District,
for his long-time support to researchers interested in the Spanish Immersion
Program. Gratitude is also extended to Mrs Beebee Neutzman, Vice Principal,
Culver City High School, for her help in making this study possible. Finally, we
want to thank Dr Angel Sanchez for his statistical consultation and assistance.
REFERENCES
Brack, M. 1983. Tredictors and consequences of switching out of French immersion
programs.' Paper presented at the Seventh Annual TESOL Convention, Toronto,
Ontario, Canada.
Calexico Intercultural Design. 1976. Prueba de Lectura C.I.D. Calexico, California:
Calexico Unified School District
Campbell, R. N. 1972. 'Bilingual education in Culver City.' Workpapers in Teaching
English as a Second Language 6:87-91.
Campbell, R. N. 1984. The immersion approach to foreign language teaching' in
California State Department of Education: Studies on Immersion Education: A
Collection for United States Educators. Office of Bilingual Bicultural Education.
Clement, R., P. C. Smythe, and R. C. Gardner. 1978. 'Persistence in second language
study: Motivational considerations.' Canadian Modem Language Review 34:688-94.
Cohen, A. 1974. The Culver City immersion program. How does summer recess affect
Spanish speaking ability?' Language Learning 24:55-68.
Gardner, R. C, R. Clement, P. C. Smythe, and C. L. Smythe. 1979. Attitudes and
motivation test battery—revised manual. London, Ontario: University of Western
Ontario.
Gardner, R. C, L. Gliksman, and P. C. Smythe. 1978. 'Attitudes and behavior in second
language acquisition: A social psychological interpretatioa' Canadian Psychological
Review 19:173-86.
Downloaded from http://applij.oxfordjournals.org/ at Penn State University (Paterno Lib) on March 5, 2016
Our discussion thus far has been largely confined to issues of theoretical
interest in second language acquisition research. The findings, however, have
very practical implications as well. In view of the growing interest in foreign
language education and the recognition of the benefits of such instruction, the
issue of investment in instructional time must be taken seriously. The immersion
model provides unprecedented opportunities for native English speakers to
acquire a second language and yet, without continued involvement in the
learning process beyond elementary school, the opportunity to maintain these
skills and to further sharpen them is lost. If young people are to serve 'the
Nation's needs' with their foreign language abilities, then their opportunities for
language development must be extended throughout their educational experience. It will be a challenge for educators to plan programs which will make the
long-term language learning investment a successful one.
(Received September 1986)
M. A. SNOW, A. M. PADILLA, AND R. N. CAMPBELL
197
Downloaded from http://applij.oxfordjournals.org/ at Penn State University (Paterno Lib) on March 5, 2016
Gardner, R. C , R. Lalonde, and R. MacPherson. 1983. The socio-educational model of
second language acquisition: Investigation using LISREL causal modeling.' Journal of
Language and Social Psychology.
Gardner, R. C. and W. E. Lambert 1972. Attitudes and motivation in second-language
learning. Rowley, Mass.: Newbury House.
Gray, T. C , N. C. Rhodes, R. N. Campbell, and M. A. Snow. 1984. Comparative
Evaluation of Elementary School Foreign Language Programs. Final Report to the US
Department of Education, International Research and Studies Program, Grant No.
G00-82-01527.
Lambert, R. D. and B. F. Freed. 1982. The loss of language skills. Rowley, Mass:
Newbury House.
Lambert, R. D. and S. J. Moore. 1984. 'Recent research on language skills attrition.'
ERIOCLL News Bulletin 8/1.
Naiman, N., M. Frdhlich, H. H. Stern, and A. Todesco. 1978. The good language
learner. Research in Education Series No. 7. Toronto, Ontario: Ontario Institute for
Studies in Education.
Oxford, R. L. 1982. 'Research on language loss: A review with implications for foreign
language teaching.' Modem Language Journal 66:160-9.
Snow, M. A. 1979. 'Self-report of Attitudes and Language Use by Students in a Spanish
Immersion Program.' Unpublished Master's thesis, University of California, Los
Angeles.
Snow, M. A. 1982. 'Graduates of the Culver City Spanish Immersion Program: A followup report' Paper presented at the Sixteenth Annual TESOL Convention, Honolulu,
Hawaii.
Snow, M. A., J. Galvan, and R. N. Campbell. 1983. The pilot class of the Culver City
Spanish Immersion Program: A follow-up report after the seventh grade or what ever
happened to the immersion class of '78?' in K. Bailey, M. Long, and S. Peck (eds.):
Second Language Acquisition Studies. Rowley, Mass.: Newbury House.
Snow, M. A. and R. G. Shapira. 1985. The role of social-psychological factors in second
language learning' in M. Celce-Murcia (ed.): Beyond Basics in TESOL. Rowley, Mass.:
Newbury House.
The President's Commission on Foreign Language and International Studies. 1979.
'Strength through wisdom: A critic of US capability: A report to the President from the
President's Commission on Foreign Language and International Studies, November,
1979.' Modern Language Journal 64/1:9-54.
The National Commission on Excellence in Education. 1983. A Nation At Risk: The
Imperative for Educational Reform. Report No. 065-000-00177, April 1983.
Washington, DC: US Government Printing Office.
van Els, T. 1985. 'Errors and Foreign Language Loss.' Unpublished manuscript.
Weltens, B. 1987. The attrition of foreign language skills: A literature review.' Applied
Linguistics 8/1:22-38.