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dissertation entitled

Socio—Affective Factors, Learning Strategies
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Joaquin Salvador Vila Barreto

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SOCIO-AFFECTIVE FACTORS, LEARNING STRATEGIES IN
PIDGINIZATION: A STUDY OF THE LEARNING OF
ENGLISH IN PUERTO RICO

By

J oaqufn Salvador Vila Barreto

A DISSERTATION

Submitted to
Michigan State University
in partial fulfillment of the requirements
for the degree of

DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY

Department of Linguistics

1991

ABSTRACT
SOCIO-APPECTIVE EACTORS, LEARNING STRATEGIES, AND

PIDGINIZATION: A STUDY OF THE LEARNING OF
ENGLISH IN PUERTO RICO

BY
Joaquin Salvador Vila Barreto

The present study sought to investigate the validity of
claims made by two models of second language acquisition (ZLA)
namely: the Social-Psychological Model and the Pidginization
Model. The study focused on data gathered among first- and
second-year students of English as a second language (ESL) at

VMME
the University of Puerto Rico in Mayagfiez. Obtained data was
analyzed in terms of attitudes and motivation of learners, ESL
achievement, and learning strategies (i.e. simplification and
transfer).

Analysis revealed that the learners in the sample
(N=2,142) had positive attitudes towards learning English,
towards the North American culture, and speakers of English.
Learners also exhibit both a strong positive integrative and
instrumental motivation towards English. However, no
significant correlations were found between socio-affective
variables and ESL achievement. Results from standardized
tests showed that in the second year there appears to be
little improvement in proficiency. Social context is seen as
the causative factor.

It was hypothesized that learners in Puerto Rico rely on

strategies such as simplification and transfer as they

Joaquin Salvador Vila Barreto
move close to the target language (TL). Journals from eight
students were analyzed for evidence of simplification of four
morphemes: "to be", "simple past (-ed)", "plural (-s) and
"negation". The underlying assumption was that Puerto Rico
provided a pidginogenic ESL environment because of limited
need for English outside the classroom.

Though tenuous, findings reveal that students move
through four identifiable stages of negation. There was also
indication of reduction in the extent to which students rely
on learning strategies as they become more proficient in the
TL.

It is suggested that learners may have reached a plateau
in their ESL development by the end of their second year of
instruction. Findings suggest evidence of the effect of a
learning environment that does not provide enough
opportunities for contact and interaction with speakers of
English. Such a context may lead learners to exhibit the
pidginized characteristics reported in the research
literature. Moreover, learners may have stopped moving in the
direction of the TL while favoring moving towards a non-
standardudialect.oflEnglish.that.exhibits lexical and semantic
transferred features from Spanish. Suggestions for further

research are provided.

A.mi querida familia y a todos los buenos
amigos de ayer y hoy, por el gran amor,
el insistente apoyo, y la inalterable

confianza que siempre me han conferido.

iv

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Many people have contributed in various ways to the
successful completion of this dissertation and it is fair and
fitting to acknowledge their contribution. I am profoundly
indebted to:
Dr. Ruth M. Brend, chairperson of my doctoral committee, for
her thorough comments and advice, for her insightful
observations regarding the needs for English in Puerto Rico,
and most of all, for her continued and patient support as I

undertook this difficult task;

Drs. Grover Hudson, Paul Munsell and Pat Lunn, committee
members for their constructive criticism and persistent
encouragement through the different drafts of this
dissertation, as well as for teaching me so much about second

language teaching;

Dr. Susan M. Gass, Graduate School Representative, for her
insightful comments and questions during the oral defense and
forhher'observations regarding the role of interactional input

in 2LL:

Professor' James P. Wang, committee member, for all the
support, encouragement, and advice freely given since I first

came to MSU, and most of all, for coming out of his retirement

V

just for me;

Dr. Carol M. Scotton, for guiding me through the writing of
the research proposal, for her support and understanding, and
for steering my interest in sociolinguistics toward more

productive and challenging goals.

To the faculty, and students of the English Department at the
University of Puerto Rico at Mayaguez for their kind
assistance and collaboration in the course of this study.
Special thanks to Dr. Robert T. Sherwin and.Dr..Alejandro Ruiz

for their trust and support;

and to my colleagues and friends who stood beside me and
nourished me with their faith. My special gratitude for my
colleagues and dearest friends Dr. Francisco Betancourt and
Dr. Darnyd Ortiz; to my "family" while studying at MSU Dr.
Maria Suarez, Dr. ArlyntGarcia, Dr. Amy Piper, Mr. David P. De
Graaf, and Mr. David Elsinger, Mr. Gary and Ruth Abbot; to my
brethren Mr. Arnaldo Alvarez, Ms. Maria Garcia, Ms. Benilde
Pérez, Mr. Marcos and Ester Camacho, and Don René and Myrna
Otero. Truly, without their help and encouragement I would

not have undertaken, much less completed, this task.

vi

LIST OF TABLES.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

LIST or rIGms O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O

Chapter

I.

II.

INTRODUCT ION O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O

1.1 The Research Questions. . . . . . . . . . . .

REVIEW OF RELEVANT LITERATURE . . . . . . . . . .

2.1 A Social-Psychological Model of 2LL. . . . .

2.1.1

2.1.2

2.1.3

2.1.4

2.1.5

Addit

2.2.1

2.2.2

Cognitive vs. Affective Factors. . . .

The Relevance of Affective Factors in
2LLO O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O

The Role of Attitudes in 2LL. . . . .

The Relationship of Attitudes and
Motivation in 2LL. . . . . . . . . . .

The Role of Motivation in 2LL. . . . .

2.1.5.1 Criticism of the Attitudinal-
Motivational Model. . . . . .

ional Models of 2LL. . . . . . . . . . .
Interlanguage and 2L Development. . .
2.2.1.1 Defining Interlanguage. . . .

2.2.1.2 IL Development and
Fossilization. . . . . . . . .

2.2.1.3 II. Development and Social
Factors. . . . . . . . . . . .

Pidginization and Creolization as
2LL. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

vii

xi

18
18

18

23

26

31

33

40
46
47

47

49

52

57

III.

IV.

VI.

2.2.2.1 On the Origin of Pidgins and
creOIeSO O O O O O O O O O O O

2.2.2.2 2LL as Pidginization. . . . .
2 . 2 . 2 . 3 Variants of the Pidginization
Model. . . . . . . . . . . . .
2.3 Learning ESL in Puerto Rico. . . . . . . . .
2.3.1 The Puerto Rican ESL Classroom. . . .
EYPOTEESES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
3.1 General Hypothesis. . . . . . . . . . . .'. .
3.2 Specific Hypotheses. . . . . . . . . . . . .
3.2.1 First Set of Hypotheses. . . . . . . .
3.2.2 Second Set of Hypotheses. . . . . . .
3.3 Chapter Summary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
METHODOLOGY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
4.1 Measurement Instruments. . . . . . . . . . .
4.1.1 Socio-affective Questionnaire. . . . .
4.1.2 Assessment of English Proficiency. . .
4.1.3 Student Journals. . . . . . . . . .
4.2 Subjects. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
4.3 Procedure. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
FINDINGS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
5.1 General Findings. . . . . . . . . . . . . .
5.2 Findings for First Set of Hypotheses.
5.3 Findings for the Second Set of Hypotheses.
DISCUSSION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

6.1 Interpretation of Findings. . . . . . . . .

viii

57

64

66

70

73

81

81

83

84

86

89

92

92

92

94

97

99

102

109

109

109

125

139

139

6.1.3

6.1.4

6.1.5

Explanation of Proficiency
Differences. . . . . . . . . . . .

Possible Effect of the Course
Syllabus. . . . . . . . . . . . .

Possible Effect of Socio-Affective
Factors. . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Possible effect of Social Milieu.

Summary of Findings. . . . . . . .

6.2 General Conclusions. . . . . . . . . . .

6.3 Implications. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

APPENDICES . . .

APPENDIX 1: English Language Attitude Questionnaire

APPENDIX E: Cuestionario de actitudes hacia el
aprendizaje del inglés . . . . . . . .

APPENDIX c: Release Letter for Participants . . . .

APPENDIX D: Permiso de participacion . . . . . . .

APPENDIX E: Tanscript of Student Journals . . . . .

I. First Year Students. . . . . . . . .

II. Second Year Students. . . . . . . .

BIBLIOGRAPHY . .

ix

139

141

143

147

153

156

161

165

166

172

177

179

181

181

198

216

LIST OF TABLES

Table Rap

1 Q;1gn§g;ign_1ng§x- Reasons for studying English.
Entries in columns 1 to 5 represent numbers of
students wharchose this rating. (N=2,142).. . . . . . 116

2 Matrix of correlations among reasons for studying
English. (N=609, p<.001). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
3 Correlations between English Achievement Measures
and reasons for studying English. . . . . . . . . . . 118
4 Correlations between Achievement Measures and liking
EngliShO (Ngsog' p<O°01) O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O 119

5 uptiygtign_lnggx- Motivation for studying English.
Entries in columns 1 to 5 represent number of students
who chose the rating. (N=2,142).. . . . . . . . . . . 120

6 Correlations between English achievement measures
and motivational intensity reasons. (N=609).. . . . . 121

7 E9rei9n_Language_and_§ulture_5ttitude_lndex- Entries
in columns 1 to 5 represent the number of students
who chose this rating: S-strongly agree, 4-agree,
3-no opinion, 2-disagree, 1-strongly disagree.

(N=2'142) O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O 122
8 Percentages of morphemes supplied in obligatory

contexts per year. (N=l35). . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126
9 Percentages of morphemes supplied incorrectly per

year. (N=l35).. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
10 Actual number of transfer occurrences in data (i.e.

1,609 sentences). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130
11 Percentages of negation morphemes correctly supplied

in obligatory contexts (i.e. 1,609 sentences).. . . . 136
12 Stage of negation for each year of study. . . . . . . 137

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure Exp

1

Simplified representation of the relationship of at-
titudes to motivation and achievement in 2LL (Taken
from Gardner, 1979:206).. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

Gardner's model for 2LL (Taken from Gardner, 1979:
196) O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O 35

Simplified illustration of Putative Processes charac-
teristic of different ends of the 2LL continuum.

(Adapted from Andersen, 1979b:112). . . . . . . . . 68
ESLAT mean scores for student population. . . . . . 110
MT mean scores for student population.. . . . . . . 112

MT mean scores for ENGL 3201-3202 population groups. 114
Simplification percentages as indicated by errors

in obligatory contexts for "simple past (-ed)"
morpheme O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O l 3 3

Transfer percentages as indicated by errors
originating from lexical items.. . . . . . . . . . . 134

xi

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1-1 WW-

During the past several years, researchers in the field
of Second Language Learning (2LL) have been exploring the role
of social and psychological variables in the learning process.
Some of the findings from this research have led some
investigators (e.g. Schumann 1974a, 1974b, 1978a, 1978b;
Stauble 1978, 1980; Andersen 1979a, 1980a, 1981; Bickerton
1977) to suggest that certain social and psychological factors
are common to 2LL and what has come to be called the
pidginization process. Indeed, some of the data obtained
reveal what seem to be significant similarities between a
continuum in the process of pidginization and creolization and
a parallel continuum in the early and later stages of 2LL.
These similarities appear in the acquisition of grammatical
structures and also in the use of specific specific learning
strategies (e.g. simplification, transfer, over-
generalization). It seems likely that not only are such
strategies available to language learners as they go about
their second language acquisition task but moreover, that such
strategies could be directly related to increased competence
in the target language (TL) as well as related to the

appearance of certain grammatical structures characteristic of

2
given stages in language development.

The present study focuses on the role of the language
learning context, more specifically the social milieu, and
related affective variables in the 2LL process as viewed from
the perspective of Schumman's (1978a) pidginization model. In
brief, this model holds that pidgins, such as Hawaiian Pidgin
English and Guyanese Pidgin among others, are but one instance
of the process of pidginization which may characterize early
stages of 2LL in general (Schumann 1978a:110). Schumann goes
on to hypothesize that the pidginization process is
characteristic of "secondary hybridization" defined by Whinnon
(1971) as indicative of pidgin language development. He also
suggests that pidginization is the result of a restriction in
the functions of the learners' 21. competence (i.e. a
restriction in the communicative vs. expressive function of
language) due to social and psychological distance from the TL
group. This suggestion is of particular importance since it
assumes that social and affective factors directly affect 2L
development.

An additional hypothesis presented by Schumann is that
all 2LL "begins with a pidginized stage where the target
language is reduced and simplified due to cognitive
constraints" (1978b:373-374). Though not fully identified,
these constraints are said to influence both the processing
and production of language and involve some of the strategies
mentioned above, such as, for example, simplification

manifested as a tendency to eliminate redundancy and maximize

3

use of language rules (see Ferguson 1971; Meisel 1983). Data
reported by Schumann indicate that grammatical structures
likely to be the product of simplification and found in the
interlanguage of early-stage 2L learners seem identical to
examples obtained from pidgin speakers. Further data examined
by Ferguson (cited above) and Ferguson and DeBose (1977) ,
among others, seem to support this observation. Thus, the
hypothesis that pidginization may be but one instance of the
more complex 2LL process may not be totally unsubstantiated.

The opportunity to bring together diverse views on 2LL
should not be overlooked but rather encouraged since this may
provide the serious language learning researcher with a more
accurate view of this complex phenomenon. From what is
mentioned above it would seem that a closer examination of the
pidginization process is warranted. The desirability of a
closer look at pidginization is made more evident when we
consider the definition provided by Andersen (1983:8) that
regards it as "language. acquisition 'under conditions of
restricted input. " Andersen suggests that given opportunities
for contact with native speakers of the TL and given
availability of input for the learners to internalize the TL,
learners should be able to make progress in acquiring the TL
norm. IMoreover, he suggests that in.a context where there are
restricted contact opportunities with the TL group, a
learner's interlanguage could fossilize at a pidginized stage
(i.e. remain at a given level of proficiency). Fossilization

at such stage would show a somewhat limited proficiency in

4
terms of the TL, but not as limited as to be regarded a "true
pidgin", i.e. "tertiary hybridization."

It should be observed that availability of input is not
in itself a guarantee that the learners will acquire the
language in question. In contexts where input is available,
learners may still fossilize due to affective considerations
such as attitudes toward the TL group or towards 2LL, etc.
That is, it is hypothesized that affective variables could
serve as a "filter" that would prevent the language learner
from taking full advantage of available input (cf. the notion
of ”Affective Filter" as suggested by Dulay et al. 1982:45-
46). Schumann suggests that whether a given learner
progresses toward the TL or remains at a pidginized stage
would depend in part on the language learning context and a
variety of socio-affective variables such as social distance
from TL speaker or motivation to learn the TL (see Andersen
1983b:8). More specifically, Schumann (1978b:372) states
that,

...even when there is sufficient social contact for

SLA (second language acquisition) to take place,

for attitudinal and affective reasons, there may be

such psychological distance that 'input' generated

in the contact situation never becomes 'intake' for

the learners.

Accordingly, progress toward the TL may depend not only
on whether linguistic input is readily available to the
learners, but also on how the learners perceive themselves in

relation to the TL group, what their attitudes are towards

both language learning in general and learning the particular

5

TL, how willing they are to interact and associate with
speakers of the TL, and how motivated they may be to learn the
language, among other factors. Thus, it is suggested that a
socio-affective component in the 2LA process may be
responsible for the learner's success in learning the TL or
his/her failure to effectively use available input to form
hypotheses about the TL. The latter path may lead to stopping
the 2LL process altogether at a given point or stage, thus
producing fossilization.

Schumann (1978b) revised his original model to suggest an
additional parallel between the process of decreolization and
later stages of 2LL. .Accordingly, 2L learners could continue
to move past the early pidginized state towards the TL norm by
progressing through an entire continuum of "lects". The
revised model hypothesizes that progress towards the TL norm
is regulated by the degree to which the learners "acculturate"
to the TL group. The process of "acculturation", a social-
psychological construct, refers to the degree of social and
psychological integration of the learner into the TL group
(Schumann 1978c, 1978d).

In addition, Stauble (1978, 1980) obtained supportive
data for this hypothesis by comparing the restructuring of
negation in Guyanese Creole and the acquisition of English-
negation in 2L learners of English. She suggests that
decreolization involves gradual incorporation of the TL forms
into the learners' interlanguage. This is accomplished by

relying on strategies such as replacement, restructuring, and

6

complication among others. These contrast with strategies
such as simplification, transfer, overgeneralization, and
reduction which are more characteristic of the pidginization
process described above. Thus, the acquisition of a second
language (i.e. English), or more specifically, an aspect of a
language (i.e. English negation), can. be regarded. as a
continuum of developmental stages each closer to the TL norm
than its antecedent, in which the learning context and
affective considerations influence how far in the continuum
the learners would go (Stauble and Schumann 1983:68).

Other researchers have also investigated the possible
relationship between 2L development and social contexts that
may be labeled as "pidginogenic" in nature» In such.contexts,
a 2L learner would rely on his/her first language or a more
general (innate?) knowledge about language and language
learning; That is, in the absence of adequate input needed to
formulate/test hypotheses about the TL (thus leading to a
limited competence in the TL), the learners would likely fall
back on their prior linguistic knowledge (i.e. L1) when in a
situation which requires them to perform beyond their level of
TL competence. Andersen (1983b:27) observes that,

pidginization arises when there is a need to

communicate clearly at a time when there is
restricted access to input or difficulty of
processing accessible input.

There is data available that suggest that learners do use

L1 and L2 structures in their utterances, as well as

structures that could not be traced back to either of these.

7

Bickerton is one of those researchers that is involved in this
debate drawing most of his data from pidgin languages from
around the world. Generally, he assumes (see Bickerton 1977,
1979, 1981) what has been labeled a "creation approach" to
account for linguistic behavior as mentioned above by
suggesting that utterances that could not be traced back to
either L1 or L2 are the result of what he calls an innate
"bio-program". He argues that this bio-program can account
for the similarities encountered among certain pidgins and
creoles that have no previous history of contact. According
to this view, availability of TL models and opportunities for
contact are major factors in determining whether learners
arrive at either a pidgin or a closer version of the TL
(Bickerton 1977:55).

Andersen (1979, 1980, 1981, 1983) approaches the same
issue but he assumes a somewhat different posture. His
"nativization" model departs from what could be labeled as
traditional pidginogenic contexts, e.g. isolated language
groups immersed in a broader foreign language context such as
in the case of migrant workers, to include 2LL contexts such
as the classroom. Andersen' model, like Schumann's, aims at
bringing together 2L learning and the creation of pidgin and
creole languages so as to include both under a broadly defined
2L acquisition process. He observes that (1983:16),

Pidgin and creole languages are salient

manifestations of the process which carry their

name, but it is reasonable to assume that in other

settings that do not qualify as pidgin/creole
settings or 'normal' first/second learning

8

settings, the same processes would apply given the
appropriate conditions.

It should be observed, however, that Andersen's model
differs from.that of other researchers in that: a) it is based
on data obtained from an instructional (vs. naturalistic)
setting, b) the study was conducted in.a context where English
was not readily available (vs. an English immersion context),
and c) written language (vs. speech) was used as a basis for
analysis. Part of Andersen's sample consisted of eighty-nine
Spanish-speaking university students from Puerto Rico.
Analysis of the compositions written by these students
revealed a number of structures that could not be traced back
to either English or Spanish. Under the "nativization"
framework, it is hypothesized that learners may have created
"non-native form-meaning relationships" as they moved toward
an internal norm under conditions of restricted access to the
TL (cf. Bickerton 1977). Andersen observes that similar forms
are also characteristic of pidgins and creoles, thus providing
support for the pidginization (or nativization) hypothesis of
2LL (Andersen 1980:288).

Though interesting, a limitation of Andersen (1980) is
that it focuses on documenting and describing the particular
grammatical constructions encountered, at the expense of
ignoring‘ the learning' or ‘processing strategies that. may
account for such structures in a more "elegant" manner.
Moreover, it fails to address in any detail how these findings

relate to the particular social context in which the learning

9

took place, and the role played by affective factors in
bringing about the outcome. Schumann (1978a) has argued that
studies on pidginization should not be carried out at the
product level, but rather at the level of "shared and non-
shared processes” (e.g. learning strategies available to all
or some language learners), and that social and psychological
distance are factors of major importance in accounting for any
data.

It seems likely that if pidginization is a viable
construct for 2LL, and if the social and psychological
contexts in which learning takes place are similar to
pidginogenic contexts, then we would encounter not only
similar grammatical structures, but also similar learning
strategies being employed by learners, be it in the 2LL
classroom or in some pidgin-speaking context. These
strategies would be employed by learners and would guide them
through similar stages of language development. The stages of
development described for pidgin speakers would be parallel to
the interlanguage stages of learners in a 2LL context, such as
the one found in Puerto Rico.

Examination of the interaction between affective factors,
social milieu, and learning strategies in a Puerto Rican
context could allow us to further understand the very nature
of early stages in 2LL, and to identify which socio-affective
factors are more likely to influence language development in
a classroom environment. At the same time, such a study would

bridge the gap between research in sociolinguistics and second

10
language acquisition by means of an interdisciplinary model
for 2LL.

For years, research within the field of 2LL has been
somewhat biased towards naturalistic settings while,
overlooking the fact that most of the 2L learners in many
societies are more likely to be found in language classrooms.
Any type of data collection must take into account
instructional environments since these environments might not
only be more relevant to 2LL curriculum design, but also more
representative of the restricted input conditions typical of
pidginogenic contexts, as suggested by Whinnon (1971) . At the
same time, instructional environments may be more
characteristic of the type of learning context a significant
number of a given student population is likely to encounter
(Hakuta 1986; Grosjean 1982). Whether research is conducted
from a sociolinguistic or a second language acquisition point
of view, the desirability of testing hypotheses against data
obtained in instructional settings is made clear by Andersen
(1980:276) as he states that,

Such data, obtained from an instructional setting

would seem to be inappropriate for a study of

pidginization. On the other hand, the limited
access to the TL input characteristic of a non-

English speaking setting might make this data more

appropriate than comparable data from SLA setting

such as in a primarily English-speaking community

within the continental U.S.

Given that most of the research data available to date

has focused on the learning of English in a context where the

target language (i.e. English) is readily available in the

11

environment, further examination of the language learning
situation in Puerto Rico would provide a highly desirable test
case for the hypotheses set forth by the pidginization model.
In such context, two different cultures and languages have
been closely interacting for almost a hundred years (since
1898). Yet English is not widely spoken: nor is it readily
available to most learners except in movies, music, cable TV,
or labels on consumer goods.1

Despite the many and widespread governmental efforts (see
Language Policy Task Force 1978) to provide Puerto Ricans with
a ”functional bilingualism“, Spanish has remained the main
medium of interaction at all levels and in most sectors of
society. Why is this so? Why is it that learners'
proficiency, after twelve years of English Language
instruction, is commonly described as "pidginized English"?
Is the limitation cognitive, or is it social-psychological in
nature? What does all this tell us about learning a second
language?

Though there is a great need to increase our
understanding of the many factors involved in such a 2LL
situation as described above, Puerto Rico remains relatively
ignored as a setting for such research (Carranza 1982:71).
Within the general framework proposed by Schumann, the present
investigation seeks to examine the pidginization hypothesis in
the context of Puerto Rico. Data obtained should permit the
careful examination of the interaction between social milieu

and affective factors in relation to the 2LL process,

12
particularly in terms of the pidginization process, a language
learning process hypothesized to be characteristic of contexts
where input is not readily available to learners in addition
to having rather restricted communicative functions.

The goals of the present study are not entirely
descriptive. That is, data collection and analysis will not
focus solely on the description of learners' utterances and
the developmental sequences in which these utterances appear.
Rather, analysis will focus on identifying the mechanisms
invOlved (i.e. strategies such as transfer, simplification,
etc.) in producing particular structural forms and sequences
that may appear in the data (e.b. absence of copula or past
tense, stage of negation).

Underlying this analysis is the assumption that social
attitudes and motivation (the latter being instrumental or
integrative) are major factors in either the learners'
interlanguage development towards the TL or, as the case may
be, the fossilization of this development at a pidginized
stage. These factors are significant because they seem to be
ultimately responsible for controlling (or directing?) how the
input available in the social context iS‘utilizedtby learners.
The emphasis placed on the affective component derives from
the important role it plays in 2LL. As Giles (1982:viii)
observes,

... attitudes always have been used as explanatory

concepts in sociolinguistic investigations probably

more so than any other social psychological
entities.

13

Though the <data so far collected. on *the so—called
pidginization process in 2LL provide a promising pool of
information against which to test and examine existing
theories and models of 2LL (Huebner 1983: Mfihlhausler 1986:
Gilbert 1987: Adamson 1988: Romaine 1988: Thomanson & Kaufman
1988), the fact remains that most of these data were obtained
in contexts where English was readily available from the
environment. This leaves open the question of whether the
hypotheses set forth in Schumann's pidginization model would
equally hold in different learning contexts, e.g. in contexts
where opportunities for contact with native speakers of the TL
were rather limited, i.e. those contexts where tertiary
hybridization (”true pidginization") is more likely to occur
(see Whinnon 1971: Schumann 1978a-c: Andersen 1983). Indeed,
it would seem a profitable research venture to examine the
power of such hypotheses in a context such as Puerto Rico.
Moreover, the need to collect further data to be used in the
formulation of additional hypotheses and in the re-examination
of the results obtained by previous studies is evident. This
point is made more clear by Tucker as he comments on the value
of socio-affective considerations for understanding 2LL. Ike
observes (1981:32) that,

One point which seems to me to be particularly

clear is that until we examine the power of

theories such as this in other settings, we will

not have a fair test of the theory.

To date, no such studies have ever been conducted in

Puerto Rico. The existing attitudinal studies (e.g. LLado-

l4
Berrios 1978; Van Triste 1985) have focused solely on
attitudes towards speakers of North American English and
achievement in learning the language. These have failed to
take into account the effect of social milieu and natural
learning strategies in accounting for proficiency differences
among subjects.

The study of language in its social context is of great
importance to studies in language learning. This is
particularly evident given the fact.that language is more than
a means of communication: it is also a symbol of social and
ethnic identity and a mechanism for social stratification (as
well as of social mobility). There is a consensus among
researchers in 2LL (e.g. Gardner and Lambert 1972; Krashen
1985: Schumann 1978; Dulay et al. 1982: Ellis 1985: Andersen
1983) that successful 2LL for individuals is somehow related
to the social bonds and beliefs shared by a community of
speakers. Current models of 2LL take this view into account
by regarding language learning from a broad social-
psychological perspective that is intuitively appealing. The
overall usefulness of an approach that brings together the
positions sustained by pidgin and 2LL studies, and thereof
socio- and psycholinguistics, is evident. Despite the
possible limitations our research may encounter, the
significance of the same is made clear by Spolsky (1969:201)
as he concluded that,

We are led. to note the significance of

sociolinguistics to second language pedagogy, for
while psycholinguistics will continue to contribute

15

with data on how second languages are acquired, it

is only when we look at the social dimension that

we understand why.

The present investigation of the pidginization model,
though rather modest in scope, seeks to address the concern
which is outlined above by focusing on data gathered from
Puerto Rican university students. The instruments used
consisted of an Attitude/Motivation Questionnaire, a
Demographic Data Questionnaire, University of Michigan English
Language Proficiency Test, journals written by subjects, and
correlational analysis of data. The following questions were
specifically addressed:

1. Do university English as a second language (ESL)
students in Puerto Rico hold positive attitudes
towards learning English and towards speakers of
the language, and if so, are these attitudes likely
to lead to success in learning the language?

2. Are the students in the sample integratively or
instrumentally motivated? Which is a more likely
predictor of successful 2LL?

3. What learning strategies are most readily available
to these learners and which seem to suggest a
pidginogenic learning process? Is a different set
of strategies available to beginners vs. more
advanced students? Are production strategies such
as simplification or overgeneralization prevalent?
To what extent do we find Ll transfer?

In order’ to further assess the relevance of these
questions, findings from the present study are discussed in
Chapter Six in the light of data available from earlier
research efforts in an effort to clarify the proposed
relationship between the pidginization process, 2LL, socio-

affective factors, and learning context. Data analysis will

focus on three main areas, namely: socio-affective factors,

16

E81. achievement, and samples of the learning strategies
characteristic of pidginization. Findings are also used in
Chapter Seven as a basis for providing recommendations as to
how to develop and implement more effective ESL programs in
Puerto Rico. Given the range of political, social, economic,
and cultural ties between Puerto Rico and the United States,
the extent and scope of English language instruction will
probably continue to be a major source of debate for years to
come.

In the chapter that follows, a more detailed analysis of
the theoretical issues surrounding this research project is
provided. In addition, we will examine the context of Puerto
Rico and its assumed pidginogenic nature as in relation to
learning English. This should provide a framework from which
to answer the questions presented above and suggest future

avenues of research.

1.

17
Endnotes to Chapter One

This reality is best described by Ralph Robinett (cited
in Language Policy Task Force, 1978:97-98) as follows,

In the schools we tend to look on English as
something that exists only in the classroom,
and we know that if all these classroom
minutes were totaled, at the end of twelve
years they would not equal the hours of
contact that a continental child has with
English by the time he enters kindergarten.
We know, too, that many of our children have
never talked to a continental American. It is
possible that some of them may never do so.
To be sure we have no effective measure of the
Puerto Rican's child outside contacts with
English. We flock to American movies. In
areas where there are relatively few
continentals, we buy huge quantities of
English Language paperbacks and. magazines.
Relatives visit us from Long Island and
Philadelphia and Lorain, and in the process of
re-teaching them Spanish we inevitably learn a
little more English. But obviously we cannot
depend on movies and.magazines or relatives to
teach us English. We must pursue carefully
laid plans to achieve this end.

This term. refers to a igeneral language ability' to
'function' in English; that is, to be able meet the most
basic English communicative needs of everyday life. This
entails being able to successfully carry out meaningful
interactions with native speakers, to be able to read
textbooks and periodicals, and provides for a rather
speedy linguistic assimilation in an English-speaking
environment (Language Policy Task Force 1978). See Osuna
1949: Rodriguez Bou 1960; Negron de Montilla 1971; Vifias
de Vézquez 1976.

CHAPTER TIC

REVIEI OE RELEVANT LITERATURE

2-1 WM-
2-1-1 WW-

Rod Ellis (1985:4), observed that "second language
acquisition is not a uniform and predictable phenomenon. " The
accuracy of such observation is evidenced by the large body
of research data on this subject that has become available in
the last twenty years. From this body of research literature
it is evident that learning a second language involves a
variety of complex factors pertaining to the learner, the
language being learned, the learning context, and the overall
social milieu among others. However, a significant number of
research efforts have been aimed at identifying which factors
can both account for achievement differences among learners
and also be used for predicting success in 2LL (e.g. Lambert
and Gardner 1972; Gardner and Smythe 1974a, 1981: Gardner
1968, 1979, 1980, 1985; Carroll 1977, 1981; Spolsky, 1969).

Many of the studies mentioned above relied on complex
statistical proceduresisuch.as "FactoruAnalysis" and "Multiple
Regression" (Gardner 1985:63-78). The data obtained have
allowed investigators to identify factors such as

intelligence, aptitude, and motivation as partly responsible

18

for achievement differences in 2LL and thus being reliable
predictors of successful 2LL.

During the 1950's and 1960's, the concept of aptitude
was favored as a major factor in 2LL, and was thus the object
of much research.1 John B. Carroll has been one of the
researchers examining the nature of aptitude and its role in
2LL. He has also been responsible, along with some
collaborators, for developing aptitude test batteries such as
the Modern Language Aptitude Test (MLAT) . He defines language
aptitude as follows (1981:84),

Aptitude as a concept corresponds to the notion

that in approaching a particular learning task or

program, the individual may be thought of as
possessing some current state of capability of
learning that task ...

In accordance with the definition given above, variation
in 2LL achievement among individuals is said to result from
variation in the individuals' "capacity" for language
learning; This capacity is thought of as being innate and not
likely to change as the result of age or past experience.
Carroll (1981:86) argues that,

What evidence I have suggests that foreign language

aptitude is relatively fixed over long periods of

an individual's life span, and relatively hard to

modify in any significant way.

Thus, some individuals foerhom.language learning comes easily
and quickly are often referred to as having a "gift" for
learning languages. Other learners, with less aptitude, may

experience marked difficulty in 2LL and, consequently, may not

be as successful in the learning task as those with high

19

20
language aptitude (Clarke 1980:223).

Aptitude, as defined by the Modern Language Aptitude Test
(MLAT), comprises four basic abilities (Carroll 1973, 1981).
"Phonetic coding ability" is the ability to listen to the
sounds and words of language and store them in memory.
"Grammatical sensitivity" is the ability to understand the
grammatical functions of linguistic 'unitsi and ‘the rules
governing their use. "Rate-learning or memory ability" refers
to the capacity to remember language material. "Inductive
language learning ability" is the ability to infer the rules
or patterns of language. Resulting scores are used to predict
success in 2LL based on the empirical fact that significant
positive correlations have consistently been found between
test scores (e.g. MLAT) and measures of 2L proficiency (see
Chastain 1974; Gardner and Lambert 1965, 1972: Gardner et al.
1976: Clarke 1980). For instance, Gardner provides a summary
of correlational studies that show a variation ranging from
.25 to .78 with a median of .53. He (1985:23) sums up his
argument by observing that,

As these results indicate, there is ample evidence

to suggest that there is an association between

scores on language aptitude tests and the degree of

proficiency in a second language. Such
associations are typically interpreted as
suggesting that language aptitude is involved in
determining the level of achievement in a second
language.

It is suggested that the abilities identified by the

tests may operate as "mediators" in the language learning

process (Gardner 1985:23). For example, the phonetic coding

21
ability mentioned above may allow learners to successfully
decode:the linguistic input they are exposed to and.thus allow
them to be better able to incorporate the pertinent
phonological or semantic information into memory.

However, this is not to say that aptitude could be
regarded as solely responsible for achievement differences; as
mentioned above, other factors seem to correlate as strongly
with language learning achievement. Gardner (1973:336-337)
reports the following on a lengthy series of studies done in
Canada,

The actual results of these studies indicate that

in fact language aptitude is related to French

achievement, and moreover that a complex of

attitudinal-motivational variables areialso related

to French achievement. . . These two clusters, or

factors, are independent of each other and seem to

involve different aspects of second language
skills.

The fact that data indicate that aptitude and
attitudinal-motivational factors are independent of each other
is of particular importance because it points to two major
domains from which to examine the 2LL process: one cognitive
and.one:social-psychological (Gardner 1985:2). Other research
findings demonstrate that aptitude might be more significant
in contexts where conscious learning is emphasized, such as in
a foreign language classroom that focuses on grammar drills
and memorization (Gardner et al. 1976:198-199; Clarke
1980:223; Krashen 1981:158).

On the one hand, aptitude may be particularly relevant to

learners exposed to direct instruction --i.e. a more

22

"traditional" approach vs. a "natural" or "communicative"
approach (See Krashen 1981:161-162, 1982:31: also consider
Krashen and Terrell 1983: Savignon 1983) . 0n the other hand,
attitudinal factors might be of more importance to the
learners in contexts where communication is emphasized --this
could be in either a formal or informal learning context
(Krashen 1981b:162-163: Gardner and Lambert 1982:214-215:
Gardner 1985:126).

Moreover, researchers are in agreement that language
aptitude seems to be a rather "static variable in that
regardless of its determinants it is a relatively stable
characteristic of the student" (Gardner and Smythe, 1974b:38) .
Or in other words, aptitude for language is something that
learners either have or do not have.2 Researchers have also
found that learners' attitudes and motivation are reliable
predictors of achievement in 2LL, "at times even surpassing
aptitude in predictive strength" (Edwards 1980:481) . This
would leave the attitudinal-motivational factors as likely
resources for assisting a learner approaching 2LL "when the
talents he/she brings to the task are only moderate, or even
minimal" (Carroll 1977:2). It would seem that the top
priority in applying second language acquisition research
findings should be given to the language classroom problems,
particularly to low 2L achievers. This application of
relevant knowledge should mostly focus on those components of
the 2LL process that could somehow be modified and,

consequently, used as successful mediators of learning. These

23
and other related notions are elaborated in further detail in

the sections that follow.

2-1-2 WWW-

It should follow from the research conclusions reported
above that there is not much that could be done about helping
our students in learning a 2L through improving their aptitude
(see Carroll 1981 cited above). It is evident that affective
variables seem to be the most viable alternative to pursue if
we are to provide 2L learners with assistance in those cases
where their skills or abilities may be lacking. However,
these are not the only factors to consider; other sets of
variables could lead to achievement differences in 2LL» That
is, though the relationship between attitudinal-motivational
factors and 2LL has been the focus of the greatest attention
in the research literature, other social and psychological
factors have also been suggested as influential in successful
2LL in ‘varying degrees. For' example, researchers have
identified psychological factors such as self-esteem,
inhibition, extroversion, ego-permeability, and anxiety as
influential in 2LL (see Scovel 1978; Brown 1980, Dulay et al.
1982; Krashen 1981a, 1986; Snow and Shapira 1985; Parsons
1983).

Schumann (1978a, 1978b) reviews research on social
factors such. as cohesiveness, similarity, enclosure, and
attitudes toward the TL group as pertinent to the

relationships between the language groups in contact and

24

successful 211” IHowever, Gardner (1985:25-38) argues that
evidence supporting personality factors as important in 2LL is
far from conclusive (with the possible exception of classroom
anxiety) . He proposes instead that social factors may be more
relevant because of the significant, and often ignored, effect
which social context has on 2LL. This effect is particularly
evident in the development and nurturing of specific
attitudinal and motivational variables that appear to be
closely associated with achievement in 2LL as mentioned above.

The relevance of socio-affective factors in the
systematic study of the 2LL process is pointed out by Brown
(1980:100-101) as he mantains that,

If we were to devise theories of second language

acquisition or teaching' methods which are based on

only cognitive considerations, we would be omitting

the most fundamental side of human behavior. In

recent years there has been an increased awareness

of the necessity in second language research and

teaching to examine human personality in order to

find solutions to perplexing problems.
Accordingly, Lambert and others have focused many of their
research efforts on the affective factors involved in 2LL. IIt
is suggested that the process of learning a second language is
similar to that which a child faces when learning a first
language in terms of the "identification" that may be taking
place between the learner and those around him/her. It is
hypothesized that a child learns language in order to
communicate and become like valued members of his/her family

and, later, like his/her peers or other members of society

(SnOW' and. Shapira l985:4). In. either’ case, learning' a

25
language is strongly associated with the affective and social
factors surrounding the learner. This point is made clearer
by O'Brian (1981:190) as he observes that,

Language is a function of the psychological
organism of human beings, but it is developed and
nurtured in the social and emotional environment in
which the child grows. Without the stimulation of
the environment, there is either retardation or
complete atrophy of first language development.

A series of studies reported by Gardner and Lambert
(l972:3) extend these views to 2LL and propose that successful
2L learners have to identify themselves with members of the TL
ethnolinguistic community and be willing to acquire at least

some aspects of their behavior, of which language is only

one.3

Gardner (1985:125) explains,

On the one hand, the process of acquiring a
language (be it first or second) involves taking on
vocabulary, grammatical functions, pronunciations,
and to some extent an altered or at least
influenced view of the world. It is clearly a
linguistic phenomenon. On the other hand, the
acquisition of language involves a social
adjustment on the part of the individual.
Languages are acquired in order to facilitate
communication, either passive or active, with some
cultural community. When a second language is
involved, this necessitates some form of interest
in another cultural community. It requires
introduction of their vocabulary, their way of
ordering words, their way of pronouncing things,
etc. Regardless of whether or not students have
some desire to integrate with the other group...
they nonetheless are forced with having to cope
with material characteristic of another cultural
community. Emotional adjustments are involved, and
these are socially based.

It is evident that 2LL should not be solely regarded as
the result of an innate ability for acquiring a means of

communication, nor as totally dependent on age or

26
intelligence, nor as the product of carefully constructed
methods of teaching. Since language is a social phenomenon
and language learning must necessarily take place in reference
to a given social context, it would be best to regard the 2LL
process as a primarily social-psychological phenomenon, rather
than a purely pedagogical one (Gardner 1979:93) . Thus, models
that attempt to account for 2LL must incorporate not only the
affective factors that are said to influence 2LL, but also the
important. effect. that the social context exerts on. the
learning process. The intensity of the need or desire to move
toward the TL community is largely dependent on the social
milieu in which the learning takes place. These ideas are
more fully developed below when a "social-psychological model"

for 2LL is discussed.

2.1.3 The 391; 9g Attitudes in 2LL.

In addressing the issues cited above, Gardner and others
have extensively examined the association between affective
factors (e.g. attitudes and motivation) and 2LL. Indeed,
research on this subject has been going on for over two
decades now and a large amount of data has been collected.
Moreover, this research has taken place in a wide variety of
settings“ lMost of the studies were conducted in either Canada
or the United States (e.g. Spolsky 1969; Gardner and Lambert
1972; Gardner 1973, 1979; Gardner et al. 1976; Mueller 1971;
Thompson 1977). Other studies have addressed the same issues

in other geographical contexts such as Israel, Japan,

27

Indonesia, Wales, etc. (e.g. Jones 1949, 1950; Gardner and
Lambert 1972; Chihara and Oller 1978; Lukmani 1972; Asakawa
and Oller 1977; Cooper and Fishman 1977; Fishman 1977; Van
Triste 1985). Though results differ as to exactly which
attitudes correlate more strongly with achievement in 2LL,
most agree that there is some sort of association between the
two.

Gardner (1985:40) observes that the term "attitudes" can
refer to a wide variety of factors. For instance, there are
educationally relevant attitudes such as how a given language
teacher or language course is seen, or prevalent attitudes
toward a particular TL. There are also socially relevant
attitudes that refer to the individual's attitudinal
disposition toward social groups, such as attitudes towards
the speakers of the TL. Additionally, there are some more
general attitudes such as ethnocentrism, or anomie (i.e.
dissatisfaction with one's original social group).

Though the concept of attitude is rather complex and one
on which there is not much agreement, Gardner provides a
definition that incorporates the three basic components of
attitudes: thoughts, feelings, and a predisposition to behave
in a certain way. He defines attitude as "an evaluative
reaction to some referent or attitude object, inferred on the
basis of the individual's beliefs or opinions about the
referent" (l985:9) . Within the parameters of this definition,
researchers have proposed that a learner's beliefs about the

desirability of learning a 2L might somehow influence the

28
degree of success he/she will have in this task. That is,
certain attitudes can act as mediators to facilitate 2LL.
This is the conclusion reached by a number of studies (e.g.
Jones 1949; Spolsky 1969; Gardner and Lambert 1972; Randhawa
and Korpan 1973; Oller et al. 1977).

Attitudes are normally measured in terms of evaluative
reactions to statements thought to represent the subjects
beliefs (Edwards 1985:140). Subjects could be asked to
respond to direct questions about how they feel about learning
a language, the TL community, or the language teacher (Jones
1949, 1950). Spolsky (1969) used, among other measures,
ratings of applicability to oneself in order to assess the
degree to which individuals would identify themselves with the
TL group.

Another attitude measure is obtained by using "matched
guise" procedures developed by Lambert and others (see Lambert
et al. 1960, 1966; Lambert 1972). This technique allows for
indirectly assessing subjects' attitudes toward self or toward
speakers of the TL. Subjects are asked to evaluate bilingual
speakers under different "guises." That is, a bilingual
speaker is recorded speaking in each of the languages being
evaluated. The subjects are played the recording without
being told they are listening to he same person, and then they
are asked to rate the speaker on a series of personality
traits such as integrity, kindness, diligence,
trustworthiness, etc. The subjects evaluations of the voices

are interpreted as indicative of their biases toward the

29
languages presented in the recordings (see Lado-Berrios 1978
for a rather thorough review of the literature on this
subject).

Such research. methodology is largely based on the
assumption that attitudes are "sociogenic" in nature. That
is, they are particularly sensitive to the social milieu that
surrounds individuals in.societyu .Attitudes are said.tolarise
from the basic assumptions or predispositions that a person
has about the self in relation to his/her social environment,
about other'people, about what is right or wrong and desirable
or undesirable in social behavior (Thompson 1975:19-20). The
relationship between attitudes and behavior is made clearer
when we consider that social behavior is a direct function of
behavioral intention.which in turn is an additive function of
attitudes toward the behavior and the influence of the social
environment (Gardner 1985:8-10). Accordingly, 2L learners'
attitudes toward 2LL, a particular TL, or TL speakers for that
matter, are a reflection of (or at least heavily influenced
by) the social attitudes prevailing in the learners' social
milieu (Spolsky 1969; Gardner 1973:235). Consequently,
learning a 2L is likely to be affected by a variety of
attitudinal predispositions present in the individual or in
the social milieu surrounding that individual. Gardner et al.
(1970:332) explain,

Subjects react to ethnic groups in terms of certain

attitudes, primarily because of shared beliefs in

their community concerning the applicability of
these traits to the group in question.

30

Regardless of the associations to be found between
attitudes and 2LL achievement, it should be made clear that
not all attitudes are associated with 2LL.to the same degree.‘
That is, some attitude measures may be more relevant to 2LL
than others. Regarding the correlations of attitudes with
2LL, Gardner (1985:9-10) observes that,

Some attitudes might be more relevant to the

behavior than others... Differing degrees of

relevance would be expected to influence the

magnitude of the correlations of such attitudes

with the behavior in question.
In addition, Gardner (1985:41-42), for example, reports that,
"studies involving attitudes toward learning the language
generally obtain higher correlations with achievement than
studies of attitudes toward the second language community."
This finding is of particular importance given that it may
account for the low correlations between attitudes and
achievement reported by some researchers (e.g. Oller 1977).

Attitudes toward language learning seem to be sensitive
to gender differences, i.e. girls seem to exhibit more
positive attitudes than boys (Randhawa and Korpan 1973; Jones
1949, 1950). Attitudes also seem to be sensitive to a number
of factors related to the learners' upbringing, e.g. place of
residence, language spoken by parents, and attitudes of the
parents toward the TL (Jones 1950; Gardner 1968; Gardner et
al. 1978; Gardner 1985). In addition, it has been
demonstrated that attitudes tend to become less positive with

age (Jones 1949; Gardner and Smythe 1974a). However, the

associations between attitudes and indices oftachievement.tend

31
to increase as students grow older (Gardner 1985:44). It has
also been found that attitudes toward language learning are
independent of measures of intelligence (Clement et al. 1977) .
Gardner (1985:45) observes that,

These findings suggest that the attitude measures

relate to achievement because of important

affective components and not simply because
attitudes covary with ability.

In conclusion. although we have reviewed research
findings that suggest that some attitudes are related to
achievement in 2LL by way of influencing the behavior of the
individual, the exact nature of the association between
attitudes and 2LL has not been made clear yet. Nor have we
discussed in any detail the variation in results reported by
some researchers (e.g. Oller 1977, 1981a, 1981b; Baca et al.
1977; Oller and Perkins 1978a, 1978b) . This issue may be made

clearer if we consider in closer detail the relationship of

attitude and motivation to achievement in 2LL.

2.1.4 1;; Relationship of Attitudes and Motivation in 2LL.

Studies conducted in Canada (Gardner and Iambert 1972)
presented evidence which indicated that certain attitudinal-
motivational measures positively correlate with achievement in
learning a second language. In addition, it was found that
attitudes were influential in 2LL not so much because of a
direct association with proficiency, but mainly because they
serve to support and maintain motivation in the "lengthy task

of acquiring competence in the second language" (Gardner and

32
Smythe 1981:523-524) . A schematic representation of the
proposed association of attitudes, motivation, and 2L
achievement is shown in Figure 1 below.

According to this model, it is assumed that differences
in learners' attitudes will influence their motivation to
persevere in learning the TL, with resulting differences in
achievement. It is also suggested that achievement could in
turn influence learners' attitudes toward language learning in

a sort of cyclic fashion (Gardner 1975:205-207).

 

I
V
J

 

 

 

[> LINGUISTIC

 

 

 

I

r> ATTITUDES D MOTIVATION

D ACHIEVEMENT

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

fi
V

 

[b NON-LINGUISTIC

 

 

 

 

 

Figure 1. Simplified representation of the relationship of
attitudes to motivation and achievement in 2LL
(Taken from Gardner, 1979:206).

Thus we find that in the model proposed by Gardner,
achievement in 2LL would also influence the learners'
attitudes toward learning the language, thus starting the
cycle again (see String 1984, for data suggesting that an
integrative orientation may follow, rather than promote, 2LL) .
Gardner (1981:100) further elaborates cut the relationship,

outlined above by stating that,

It seems necessary to include a concept of attitude
in the general motivational configuration because

33

the acquisition of a second language requires

considerable time and effort, as a result, a

stable attitudinal base is needed to maintain

motivation over these long periods of time.

It should be observed that most of the studies examining
the relationship between.attitudinal-motivational factors and
achievement in 2LL are correlational in nature and should
generally be interpreted as suggestive. However, Gardner et
al. (1985) present data obtained through causal modeling
(using correlational procedures) that are consistent with the
suggestions made above. The relationships between attitudes,
motivation, and 2L achievement are made clearer when we
consider the social-psychological model proposed by Gardner
(1979).5 This model is outlined in Figure 2.

A major asset of this proposal is the fact that by
incorporating associations among contextual, social,
cognitive, and affective variables, it allows for the
interaction of both social and psychological domains of 2LL.
The model consists of four basic components: 1) the social
milieu in which the language is acquired, 2) individual
differences in intelligence, aptitude, and.motivation, 3) the
contexts in which the learning takes place, and 4) the

outcomes of learning.

2.1.5 he Rolgfiof Motivation in 2LL.
Above we discussed the suggestion that attitudes are
social in nature. To some extent, so is motivation.

Motivation refers to the affective characteristics which

34
orient a learner to acquire elements of the 2L (Gardner
1981:103-105). It also involves some degree of effort toward
that goal (Gardnem'a Smythe 1974a:14). Gardner (1985:10) more
clearly defines motivation as,

... the combination of effort plus desire to

achieve the goal of learning the language plus

favorable attitudes toward learning the language.

That is, motivation to learn a second language is

seen as referring to the extent to which. the

individual works or strives to learn the language

because of a desire to do so and the satisfaction
experienced in this activity.
Accordingly, when we have a desire to achieve a goal and
faggrable_attitude§ toward that goal and the effort 9; drive
to achieve it, we are motivated.

Harold Dunkel (1948) observed four decades ago that
motivation basically consisted of two related aspects:
intensity and kind of motivation. "Kind of motivation" was
regarded as synonymous with purpose and likely to influence
motivational intensity. Regarding motivation in 2LL, Dunkel
(1948:100) stated that,

... the motivation of the student who has immediate

professional interest in a language is certain to

be more intense than that of the student who is

merely satisfying a requirement or who thinks to go

abroad sometime.

These views are elaborated by Gardner (1985:50-56) who
identified four basic subcomponents of motivation. These are:

1. a goal or reason for wanting to learn the language

(e.g. "I want to learn French to communicate with

native speakers of the language"),

2. effortfull behavior (e.g. time is spent seeking
and interacting with French speakers),

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36

3. a want or desire to attain the goal (e.g. a desire
to learn French),

4. favorable attitudes toward the activity involved
(e.g. "French is not difficult to learn."). It

It should.be noticed that it.is not suggested.that either
a reason or desire or effort alone are likely to lead to
successful 2LL. Instead, it is suggested that it is the
combination of all of subcomponents such as desire and effort
what will probably correlate with 2L achievement. It is the
combination of desire to achieve the goal with favorable
attitudes and amount of effort applied toward the goal, that
is referred to as motivation (Gardner 1985:11).

In Gardner's model, as we mentioned earlier, attitudes
are of particular importance in 2LL because they are
hypothesized to influence the individual's level of motivation
to learn the TL. Given that successful learning of a language
involves long periods of time, it is suggested that something
else (i.e. a further goal) besides that of just learning the
language is involved (Gardner 1981:101).

.Assuming'that.the learners' goals or reasons for learning
a language are a major contributor to motivation, these goals
could be classified into categories that bring together
similar’ reasons. Such. categories 'would suggest the
motivational orientation that learners may have toward 2LL,
i.e. "ultimate goals for achieving the more immediate goals of
learning the second language" (Gardner 1985:11).

This "orientation" referred to above basically

encompasses the learners' reasons for learning the language.

37

Generally, learner's orientation has been regarded as a
dichotomy in terms of 2LL” "Integrative" orientation is found
in learners who approach the learning task having the ultimate
goal of identifying themselves with the TL.group, of becoming
like valued members of the TL community and communicating with
that group. This same type of orientation has been found in
learners who, though integratively motivated to a lesser
degree, just want to learn more about the TL speakers and
their way of life (Gardner & Smythe 1974a). "Instrumental"
orientation on the other hand, is that of learners who
approach 2LL for utilitarian reasons, such as furthering a
career or similar economic/practical benefits.

A third orientation suggested is a "machiavellian" or
manipulative orientation (Gardner 1985:12). This refers to
wanting to learn a 2L in order to manipulate or exert some
sort of power or control over others. This type of
orientation has not been studied in much detail.

The combination of motivation (including attitudes and
desires) plus the individual's orientation (i.e. reason for
learning the language) is labeled the "integrative motive."6
This construct has been closely associated with achievement
in 2LL though not directly. In order to measure the strength
of the different subcomponents of motivation and the learner's
orientation in a manner that would permit prediction of 2L
achievement, the attitudinal-motivational index (AMI) was
developed (Gardner & Smythe 1974a, 1981; Gardner 1978, 1979,

1981, 1985; Gardner & Gliksman 1982). The AMI consists of

38
sets of questions. Responses to such questions provide a
composite score of the sections- in the questionnaire
corresponding to the subcomponents and orientation towards
2LL. This measure is said to represent a complex grouping of
attitudes and motivation that are particularly pertinent to
2LL.

It is pertinent to observe that factor analytic studies
have shown substantial correlations between "AMI" scores
interpreted as indicative of learners' integrative motive and
diverse measures of achievement in 2LL. These findings
provide further evidence of the relevance of attitudinal-
motivational factors in 2LL (e.g. Gardner & Smythe 1975, 1981;
Smythe et al. 1972). AMI is discussed in further detail in
the methodology section (Chapter Four) of this dissertation.

Gardner and Lambert (1972) reported obtaining higher
positive correlations between measures of integrative
orientation and achievement in 2LL than between measures of
instrumental orientation and achievement. This became the
starting point for a large number of studies which focused on
affective variables and their role in 2LL. These studies are
characterized by the use of "large samples, much replication,
and diverse research settings" (Snow & Shapira l985:3).
Consequently, there is abundant evidence suggesting an
association between the attitudinal-motivational construct and
achievement in 2LL. Moreover, this evidence suggests that an
integrative orientation may be a more reliable predictor of

achievement in 2LL than an instrumental orientation (e.g.

39
Gardner & Iambert 1972; Iambert 1972; Clement et al. 1977;
Gardner 1979a, 1979b, 1981, 1985). Specifically, Jones (1949,
1950) reported finding a positive association between the
attitudes of Welsh students and achievement in the learning of
English.

Mueller 8 Miller (1970) obtained significant correlations
between attitudes toward French people and student grades.
Mueller (1971) reports similar results with students learning
French, and Thompson (1977) found the same with students
learning Russian. Chastain (1975) obtained positive
correlations between affective characteristics of students of
French, German, and Spanish and course grades. Strong (1984)
examined the relationship between integrative and acquired 2L
proficiency. He concluded that for Spanish-speaking
kindergartners in an American classroom, advanced learners
showed significantly more integrative orientation than
beginners thus suggesting a change in the intensity of the
orientation as a result of exposure to the TL.

Additional evidence on precisely how strongly does an
integrative motivation relates to 2LL is reported by Gliksman
(cited in Gardner 1979:108), who obtained data which suggest
that integratively motivated students behave differently in
the classroom when compared to non-integratively motivated
students. The integratively motivated students volunteered
more frequently, gave more correct answers, and received more
positive feedback from their teachers. It is suggested that

this sort of behavior positively affects 2LL. Gardner et al.

40
(1976) report findings that show that integratively motivated
learners are less likely to drop out of their language
courses, and that they are more likely to avail themselves of
opportunities to use the language. Similar findings are also
reported in Clement et al. (1978), (see also Gardner 1985:56-

58, 65-76).

2.1-5-1 Qriti2iaa_21_tha_Attitudisalznetizatignal_agdal-

There seem to be some data that are contrary to the
findings reported.above, i.e. studies that have failed.to find
with positive correlations between attitudes and 2LL. In
addition, some other studies, though not necessarily
contradictory, suggest that an instrumental orientation could
also be a reliable predictor of success in 2LL. Oller
(1977:181) sums up his criticism of the integrative/
instrumental dichotomy by stating,

.. . in several recent studies, factors that are

defined as either integrative or instrumental

orientations, or perhaps both, may either fail to
correlate at all with a proficiency criterion, or
worse yet for the prevailing theoretical positions,

they correlate negatively when the theories predict

relationships.

Examples of data which are not clearly supportive of the
hypothesized association between affective variables and
achievement in 2LL1are found in.a number of studies. .Anisfeld
& Lambert (1961) obtained negative correlations between
measures of anti-semitism and achievement in learning Hebrew

as a second language. Lambert et al. (1963) also report

obtaining negative correlations between positive attitudes

41
toward French speakers and French achievement among advanced
students (as compared to students at the beginning level).
Gardner & Lambert (1972) report on data obtained in the
Philippines which suggest that an instrumental orientation
might be a reliable predictor of achievement in learning
English.

Lukmani (1972) found that among Marathi speaking high
school students in Bombay, instrumental reasons correlated
more highly with achievement in English than integrative
reasons. Hidalgo (1984) studies attitudes toward English in
Mexico, and failed to find the presence of two distinct
motivational orientations toward learning English as a second
or foreign language. However, she did find evidence that
supports the hypothesis on the associations between attitudes
and use, and the relationship between social milieu and
language attitudes. Teitelbaum et al. (1975) report obtaining
low correlations between a positive orientation toward the
local Chicano community and successful acquisition of Spanish
among students at the University of New Mexico. Studies done
by Oller et al. (1977a) with native speakers of Chinese in the
United States, and with Mexican American Women studying
English in New Mexico (1977b), and by Chihara & Oller (1978)
with Japanese students of English, also reported results that
are not parallel to those of Gardner and others (see also
Asakawa & Oller 1977; Oller 1977).

Gardner (1979a, 1979b, 1981, 1982, 1985) has proposed to

account for variations in results by suggesting that context

42

plays a major role in determining which orientation is most
relevant to successful 2LL. More specifically, Gardner
hypothesizes that variations in results could be due, at least
in part, to failure to account for the role of the learning
context in the analysis and interpretation of the obtained
data. For example, the intensity of the associations between
affect and achievement in 2LL may be influenced by the
expectations (regrading the TL) that a given social milieu
imposes on the learners. Moreover, the associations could be
diminished in environments where access to the TL group is
limited or non-existent (Gardner 1985:66-69). Thus, weaker
associations could be expected in situations where contact
with language and/or its speakers is limited to the language
classroom simply because the learners do not have further need
of the language outside that limited. context. Gardner
(1979:200) explains,

It is necessary to consider the role that social

context might play in second language acquisition

because although the concept of motivation refers

to the specific act of learning the language, it

would seem to have a broad social function and thus

any theoretical model must be considered in terms

of social context.

Another explanation in the variation in findings is that
this is the likely result of measurement instruments that.have
failed to take into account the effect of learning context.
That is, attitudes included in an attitudinal questionnaire
which are regarded as integrative in one context could be

7

regarded as instrumental in another. For example. Lukmani

(1972) classified the reason "travel abroad" as instrumental,

43
while Burnstall (cited in Gardner 1985:52) classified "travel
to France" as integrative. Such interpretation of variance in
results is discussed by Clement & Kruidenier (1983:273) which
concluded that contradictory results are likely due to
"ambiguities pertaining to the definitions of the orientations
and the influence of milieu on the acquisition process".

The instruments themselves used in studies cited earlier
have also.been.a major source of criticism on the part of John
Oller and others (see Oller 1977, 1981a, 1981b, 1982; Oller &
Perkins 1978a, 1978b; Oller et al. 1980). Though Oller and
his colleagues do not question the existence or the
relationship of affective factors to 2LL (Oller 1982:183),
they do criticize the validity of measures such as AMI. Oller
& Perkins (1978b:422) observed,

We believe that affective variables are indeed

important to learning in a great variety of ways,

but we do not believe that the validity of the

commonly used measures has been adequately shown.

Others (e.g. Johnson & Krug 1980:248) have argued that
the relationship Ibetween. affect. and cognition is rather
complex, and that constructs like integrativeness and
instrumentality may be in need of revision. It has also been
suggested that "extraneous variables" may influence the
validity of the affective measures and thus influence their
correlation to measures of 2L proficiency (Oller 1982:185).
The major objections are, first, that affective measures could

also be "measures of language proficiency or verbal

intelligence" (Oller & Perkins 1979b). Second, self-reported

44
answers obtained from direct questionnaires are not reliable
measures because of factors such as "self-flattery, " "response
set," and "the approval motive" (Oller 8 Perkins 1978b; Oller
et al. 1980; Oller 1982).

On the other hand, though essentially in agreement with
the conclusions presented by Oller and others, Upshur et al.
(1978) provide heavy criticism on both the research
methodology and data collection procedures by Oller 8 Perkins.
Tucker (1981:32) is also very critical of Oller's arguments
and on the use of questionnaires for data gathering purposes
concludes,

We may simply have to accept the fact that we may

well pg; be able to test, in such elegant fashion

as we might desire, the power of the theories that

we generate.

However, the major criticism of Oller's findings and the
most persuasive defense of the social-psychological model of
2LL comes from Gardner himself. Starting with a series of
exchanges published in Language Learning, Gardner and others
have carefully addressed each of the arguments presented by
Oller and his colleagues and provided statistical, contextual,
methodological, and conceptual support for the validity of,
not only the instruments, but the theoretical interpretations
of the role of affective variables in 2LL (see Gardner 1980,
1985; Gardner 8 Smythe 1981; Gardner 8 Gliksman 1982; Gardner
et al. 1985).

In.reviewing the arguments presented.by Oller and others,

Gardner (1985:74) concludes that,

45

In some studies, furthermore, there is a clear link
between achievement in the second language and the
total attitudinal/’ motivational configuration
referred to as an integrative motive. In most
there is a definite association between the
motivational component and second language
achievement. It is most important to note,
however, that in none of the studies are there
overly large correlations (or factorial
associations) between measures of second language
achievement and attitudes and motivation. Nor
should there be. Attitudes and.motivation are from
one conceptual domain; language achievement from
another. The general expectation (and result) is
that attitudinal/ motivational characteristics
share some variance in common with language
achievement, not all the variance. As a result, it
is reasonable to expect the pattern of
relationships to be relatively unstable, even
though the general relationships are maintained...
There is, therefore, considerable reason for
concluding that a concept like the integrative
motive is implicated in second language
acquisition.

It should be noted that Gardner and his co-workers have
never claimed that affective factors are solely responsible
for achievement differences. Rather, they have pointed out
that there are likely to be many factors involved in such a
complex process of which the affective domain comprises only
one (see Gardner 1985:83). Furthermore, it should be made
clear that the type of research reviewed above refers
primarily to an association which "does not provide
unequivocal answers to causal questions" (Gardner 1985:6).
Nevertheless, given the magnitude and significance of the
correlations reported in the research literature, it is
generally agreed that attitudes and. motivation are
particularly relevant to 2LL (Schumann 1975, 1978c; Richards

1972; Carroll 1977; Fishman 1977; Genesee et al. 1983).

46

A clear implication of the findings summarized above is
that even when an instrumental orientation has been found to
be a reliable predictor of achievement in 2LL, the
consideration continues to be "not the instrumentality per se,
but the motivation" (Gardner 1985:168). That is, regardless
of whether learners exhibit an integrative or instrumental
orientation, it is the combination of these plus desire,
attitudes and effort (i.e. the integrative motive) what is
most significant and what will likely influence achievement in

2LL.

2.2 Wm-

The relevance of the approach discussed herein is
underlined by the fact that other models of 2LL have
incorporated an attitudinal/ motivational component (Snow 8
Shapira 1985:11). For example, Krashen's hypotheses on 2LL
provide for the significant role of input in the 2LL process
and an "affective filter" which is assumed to be highly
attitudinal in nature (Krashen 1978, 1981a, 1982, 1985; Dulay
8 Burt 1977; Dulay et al. 1982).

An example is Schumann's Acculturation Model which
focuses on the social and psychological integration of the
learners to the TL group as they approach the language
learning task. This model has a strong affective component
where attitudes are said to regulate the perceived social/
psychological distance between the learners and the Tl.group.

This "distance" is hypothesized to influence the level of

47
learning reached (Schumann 1976a, 1978d; Stauble 1980).

In spite of the intuitive appeal that the proposed
relationship between affective factors have with 2L
achievement, the true effect of social milieu has not been
fully addressed. Moreover, the question remains of how
achievement is affected in the case where English input is not
readily available from the environment. What happens to
learners who have positive attitudes and a strong motivation
to learn a TL but simply have rather limited opportunities to
interact with speakers of the language? 'These aspects are not
provided for by Gardner's Model.

On the other hand, Schumann's Pidginization Model (1974a,
1974b, 1976d, 1978a, 1978b, 1982) emphasizes the importance of
attitudes and motivation in the 2LL process while suggesting
that the social context of learning may lead learners not to
fully move toward the TL norm. That is, learners may
fossilize at a given stage of 2LL interlanguage development.
This last model is central to the investigation reported in
this dissertation in its attempt to examine the
interrelationship of learning context and the learning of
English as a second language (ESL) in Puerto Rico. The next

section addresses this topic in further detail.

2.2.1 Interlanggage and 2L Development.
2.2.1.1 Defining Interlanggage.

This section addresses some theoretical considerations

regarding the relationship between learning strategies and

48

interlanguage development in 2LL as these are regarded as
fundamental for a discussion of the Pidginization Model. The
relevance of such constructs is made clear by Andersen's
observation regarding the fact that researchers involved in
pidgin and creoles studies as well as those involved with 2LL
may have been "really studying the same phenomenon, each under
a different perspective" (1981:193) . The interaction of
innate and social aspects of language as significant in both
the 2LL process as well as in the development of pidgins and
creoles should not be solely examined because their apparent
bearing on historical or sociolinguistic issues. Rather, such
interactions must be further explored while keeping in mind
the ultimate goal of providing data which would be
instrumental in assessing the reliability of existing 2LL
models. Specifically, such data should provide insights as
to the role of universal acquisition strategies in the 2LL
process.

.A necessary starting point for such discussion is the
consideration of the theoretical construct of interlanguage
(IL). The prevailing definition for this term is attributed
to Selinker (1974)8 as he made reference to a system or rules
2L learners are hypothesized to construct with the purpose of
both understanding and producing utterances in the TL. This
IL is said to be a "psychological structure that is latent in
the brain, activated when one attempts to learn a second
language" (1974:33).9 Furthermore, the IL of 2L learners is

described in terms of intermediate stages of development to be

49

found.between.the native language (NL) of learners and.the:TL.
These stages are made evident as the learners attempt to
produce utterances in the TL and have been observed to exhibit
internal coherence. That is, they are to be regarded as
different language systems and not as simply corrupt versions
of either the NL or TL.1o

Corder (1983) also looks at language acquisition as a
creative process in which learners interact with their
environment to create an internalized representation of "the
regularities they discover in the linguistic data to which
they are exposed," (p. 87). He refers to this internal
representation as interlanguage. According to Corder,
interlanguage, at least in the early stages, consists of
developmental sequences that are independent of outside
influences such as language instruction because of their
reliance on innate language acquisition abilities. He
observes (1983:88),

... learners appear to have some sort of internal

program which operates in such a way as to create

essentially the same sequence of development of the

internal representation so long as there is

adequate data for the acquisition process to
operate on.

2.2.1.2 IL Development and Fossilization.

According to Selinker the mechanism by which IL develops
consists of certain "processes" which learners use to move
towards 'the 'EL. These jprocesses are language ‘transfer,

overgeneralization, strategies of communication, strategies of

50
learning, and transfer of learning (1974:35). Though he
attributes great importance to these strategies, Selinker
recognizes that the nature of these is still to be adequately
defined (1974:39-40),

It cannot be doubted that various strategies on the

part of the second language learner affect to a

large extent the surface structure of sentences

underlying IL utterances. But exactly what these
strategies might be and how they might work is at
present pure conjecture.

One example of such strategies is simplification which is
defined as a tendency on part of 2L learners to reduce the TL
to a simpler system. This is manifested as an inclination to
avoid grammatical formatives such as articles, plural forms,
and past tense (Selinker 1974:40).

Other strategies are also suggested. For instance, a
"strategy of communication" (p. 37) could dictate to the 2L
learners when they have learned enough of the TL in order to
communicate and so they stop learning. It should be noted
that the assumption is that this is an unconscious strategy.
This is referred to as fossilization.

Fossilization is a major component of Selinker's
proposal. He defines it as a mechanism which is responsible
for NL linguistic phenomena, such as rules or linguistic
items, being kept in the IL "no matter age of the learner or
amount of explanation and instruction he receives in the TL"
(p. 36). He also suggests that fossilized items (or rules)

are kept permanently by the learners regardless of their age

or "amount of explanation and instruction" they receive in the

51
TL (p. 36). Scarcella (1983:319-320) also observes that
fossilization involves a cessation of IL learning and that
fossilized 2L production "remains stable, that is, unchanged
over time."

Bickerton (1975:173) argues that fossilization could
arise due to individuals being denied access or opportunity to
interact with native speakers of the TL. This lack of contact
would lead learners to reach. a pidginized stage of IL
development, that is, they reach a plateau and stop moving
towards the TL norm. However, Selinker and Lamendella
(1978:240) define fossilization as "cessation of further
systematic development in the IL," thus emphasizing the
permanent nature of the phenomenon. They further sustain
that fossilization that it could not be dismissed as due to
lack of opportunities to learn as Bikerton seems to suggest.
The basic reason they give is that (p. 48),

... it is most important to note that there appear

to be many cases when individual learners have

clearly had sufficient opportunity to use and

practice the TL in communicative interactions and
nevertheless have persisted with an IL fossilized

far from the TL norm.

However, Schuman (1976a, 1976b, 1978a, l978d) assumes a
different position as he views fossilization as modified by
socio-affective considerations such as the perceived social
distance between the NL and the TL group. As learners cease
to move towards the TL (i.e. stop "acculturating") due to

affective factors such as negative attitudes or lack of

motivation, their Il.will fossilize at ajpidginized stage. It

52
is suggested that the learners' IL will start moving toward
the TL if acculturation would start again. As observed by
Selinker and Lamendella (1978:283), for Schumann,
fossilization is a temporary plateau in IL
learning which may be surmounted by the
establishment of higher degrees of integrative
social motivation and/or a decrease in the

psychological distance between the learner and the
target society.

2.2.1-3 MW-

It should be observed that other researchers have
proposed similar views. Nemser (1974) makes reference to a
phenomenon parallel to 2L interlanguage which he refers to as
approximate systems, thus emphasizing the developmental nature
of the same. Nemser hypothesizes that the learners' system is
continually modified as they move toward the TL. These
modifications to the IL system are referred to as a series of
"leots" which are transient in nature varying in accordance
with the acquired proficiency level (p. 55). Nemser argues
that the transient systems are characteristic of "immigrant
speech" or "utility systems" with.limited semantic functionias
well as limited grammars and lexicons. He specifically
addresses "approximate systems" (Ia), "source language" (1%),
"target language" (T1), and "succesive stages of proficiency
(Lanna)! (1974:56-57). Nemser also calls these systems
"learner pidgins", which are characterized by their focus on
content rather than form. He adds (1974:58),

Moreover these learner pidgins may be preserved in
the language-types customarily as pidgins and

53

creoles , historical ly LA systems usually
incorporating Ls grammatical elements and L, lexical
elements.

Corder (1974) while discussing the "significance of
learners' errors" makes reference to 'what. he labels as
transitional competence (p. 25) . This term refers to the
learners' level of IL development at a given point as made
evident by their errors. Corder (1978) again examines the
notion of IL while delineating its characteristic
heterogeneity. That is, he maintains that IL not only
exhibits differences along a continuum (i.e. from NL to TL),
but also»that.there are similarities aS‘well as differences in
the interlanguage of learners as the language systems of each
is in constant change. He observes (p. 73) as follows,

Language learners do not speak the same

interlanguage any more than infants all speak the

same version of child language. The reason for

this is obvious: their interlanguage is undergoing

constant change in the process of learning. It is

this salient characteristic of interlanguage which

leads us to talk about it as a dynamic system.

In agreement with the researchers referred to above,
Corder (1978) further argues that II.development.is the result
of interaction between a cognitive ability to apply some
innate generalizations about language (a built-in syllabus)
and the environment, i.e. a product of both nature and nurture
(p. 78). IL develops as the learners seek to both
accommodate, i.e. adapt their interlanguage to fit language

input, and assimilate, i.e. fit linguistic intake into the

present.II.grammar, (p. 79). The learners communicative needs

54
are said to be major motivators for IL development to the
point that when the needs to communicate are met, development
stops (p. 83).

Richards (1974) defines IL as a dynamic linguistic system
resulting from the regular application of rules strategies and
hypotheses about the TL. This system is intermediate between
the NL and the T1 and said to be made of rules which are at
the same time linguistic and social in origin (p. 69) . Thus,
his approach is somewhat particular in the sense that he
addresses the notion of IL as characteristic of language
contact situations in which 2LL is determined by the sort of
social relationship holding between the learners and the TL
community". More specifically, he mantains that IL
development for 2L learners is the result of "social and
economic possibilities made available for the group" (p. 66) .

To illustrate his point, Richards compares the situation
faced by German and Puerto Rican immigrants to the United
States. In the case of the former, the immigrants found it
relatively easier to be accepted into mainstream society,
while the latter found it particularly difficult to become
part of "the melting pot." Thus the motivation to acquire the
TL for each group was conditioned by social factors (e.g.
numerical strength, color, race, education). Restricted by
social limitations the learners may or may not proceed to
learn the TL. More specifically, Richards (1974:66-67)
observes regarding learners subject to such limitations,

Whether he goes on to learn standard English or

55

develops a functionally adequate but non-standard

personal dialect of English will depend on the

degree of interaction and integration he achieves
with the English maintained societal structures...

Unfavorable social conditions lead to maintenance

and perpetuation of the immigrant dialect of

English. The economic and social possibilities

available for some immigrants do not make the

learning of standard English either possible, or
even helpful.

Tied in with his discussion on the effect of social
context on IL development Richards also discusses other views
similar to those expressed by other researchers mentioned
above. For example, he suggests that IL development is the
result of the application of certain learning and
communication strategies. Accordingly, development towards
the TL is said to proceed as these strategies are allow
learners (1974:71) to, for example, generate a grammar on
which,

. . . the marked-unmarked distinctions of the target

language are removed, and where preposition, auxiliary

and article usage appears to be simplified.

Simplification is one way in which speakers of different

languages can make a new language easier to learn and

use.

This simplification can result in an English—based pidgin
as social conditions of restricted access to input may lead
the learners to fossilize and a given IL may become "the end
point of the learning process" (p.72). That is, the limited
opportunities for contact with native speakers caused by
prevailing social factors (e.g. socio-economic class, race,

etc.) may lead learners to make use of strategies such as

simplification and consequently to the generation of a "pidgin

56
or'a non-standard form.of English" (p. 76). This suggests the
possibility of significant similarities between IL stages of
2LL and pidgin languages.12 This position is made more
evident as we consider Richards (1974:77) statement as to the
fact that,

we will define a pidgin as an interlanguage
arising as a medium of communication between
speakers of different languages, characterized by
grammatical structure and lexical content
originating in different sources, by
unintelligibility to speakers of the source
languages and by stability.

In the discussion. provided above ‘we can also find
interesting similarities between IL stages of 2LL and pidgin
and creole languages. For example, Selinker's statement
about simplification is also reported in the research
literature as a major characteristic of pidgin languages (e.g.
DeCamp 1971:18-21), thus suggesting similarities between the
processes responsible for IL development and those of
pidginization (at least at the process or strategy level).

Also we find that Nemser's definition of "learner
pidgins" or "utility systems" seems to be quite similar to the
definition of "simplified registers" provided by Ferguson 8
DeBose (1977:117) which views registers of 2L learners
exhibiting evidence of simplification as ensuing from a
process of pidginization.

It follows from such observations that the main
similarities between interlanguage stages in 2LL and pidgins

is at the level of strategies (e.g. simplification) and the

influence of social factors that lead to limited opportunities

57
of contact with native speakers of the TL and thus to
fossilization at a given stage of development in the continuum
between the NL of the learners and the TL. Indeed, it would
seem that Andersen's observation cited above regarding the
possibility that these are similar phenomena may not be
totally unsubstantiated.

Keeping this in mind we turn now to discuss in greater
detail diverse views on the origins of pidgin languages and
how we could reconcile such definitions in a model for 2LL in
general. The desirability of such an approach is made clear
by Richards (1974:90),

The complex and little understood process of

pidginization and the related creole and post-

creole interlingual continuum hence suggest a field

of research which can both illuminate and be

illuminated by the study of second language

learning... our understanding of interlanguage
processes will surely be clarified by the expanding
field of creole studies, illuminating the factors
involved both in the learning of a standard
language and the dimensions that need to be

accounted for in analyzing the development of
interlingual varieties of English.

2.2.2 Pidginization and Creolization as 2LL.
2.2.2.1 On the Origin of Pidgins and Creoles.

At this point. it. might be pertinent to provide a
definition of what pidgin and creole languages are. However,
this may not be an easy task since there seems to be no
consensus between researchers in the field as to precisely
what a pidgin and/or creole language is. DeCamp (l977:3)

states that,

58

There is no such agreement on the definition of the

group of languages called pidgins and creoles.

Linguists all agree that there is such a group,

that it includes many languages and large numbers

of speakers, and that now pidgin-creole studies

have become important in linguistics. Yet even the

authors of this book would not agree on a

definition of these languages.

According to DeCamp some of the definitions prevalent in
the field appear to be based on function, i.e. the role these
languages play in a given community-- e.g. a trade language.
On the other hand we find some definitions that focus on the
historical origin or development of pidgins-— e.g. monogenesis
or spontaneous generation theories. Other definitions are
based on the formal characteristics such as restricted
vocabulary, absence of gender or inflectional morphology. Yet
other definitions present elements common to all of those
mentioned above. For instance, Todd (1990:1-2) defines a
pidgin as,

a marginal language which arises to fulfill
certain restricted communication.needs among people
who have no common language... The syntactic
structure of the pidgin is less complex and less
flexible than the structure of the languages which
were in contact, and though many pidgin features
clearly reflect usages in the contact languages,
others are unique to the pidgin.

For purposes of this dissertation we will define a pidgin
as an interlanguage originating as a means of specialized or
limited communication between speakers of different languages.
This pidgin is normally not the native language of the

speakers but a second language used occasionally and

characterized by a limited vocabulary, a restricted number of

59
grammatical devices such as copula, number and gender, and a
significantly reduced use of redundant features (DeCamp
1971:15).

A creole is a similarly derived language spoken as a
mother tongue. It is a complicated and expanded pidgin that
has acquired any number of native speakers (Sankoff 8 Laberge
1974:74). Though a creole exhibits a tendency to minimize
redundancy in syntax, its complexity and functions are
extended enough so as to fulfill all the communicative needs
of its speakers. The complexity and functions of a creole
are extended enough (as compared to a pidgin) so as to fulfill
all the communicative needs of its speakers (Sankoff 8 Laberge
1974:74). Furthermore, a creole is very similar to a natural
language in the sense that it is the result of a creative
process (i.e. a creole "creates itself" by drawing from
natural cognitive processes and processes of natural language
development, (Schumann 1978b).

In order to further elaborate on the characteristics of
the Pidginization Model for 2LL, it is pertinent to consider
prevailing views on how pidgin languages originate.
Basically, there are three theories on the origins of pidgin
tand.creole languages. ‘The first one is called the Polygenetic
or simplified Language Theory (DeCamp 1977). This view
proposes that pidgins developed from the simplified, broken
language used between, for example, plantation owners and
their workers (or slaves). It is suggested that in order to

communicate with workers that usually did not know each

60
other's language, the owners often used a simplified speech to
allow at least some sort of basic communication. This
simplified speech was in turn learned by the workers in order
to communicate between themselves, thus giving origin to
today's pidgin.

It is further suggested that this simplified speech also
emerged in trade situations with pidgins resulting from
whatever simplified natural language was used in that context.
Bickerton.(1977) rejects this view'as absurd pointing out that
in the case of Jamaica, it is recorded that it was the
plantation owners who were learning the pidgin from the
workers/slaves. (Moreover, the main problem with this position
is found in the striking similarities found among pidgins
which are not geographically nor historically related:§
Bickerton (1977, 1980, 1981) maintains that it is impossible
for given natural languages to be simplified to the extent of
producing such strong similarities among pidgins around the
world which show no trace of common background (e.g. English
Pidgin, French Pidgin, Portuguese Pidgin all show similarities
regardless of the language they supposedly are derived from.) .3

The issue of explaining similarities among pidgins is
addressed by Ferguson (1971) and Ferguson 8 DeBose (1977).
These authors suggest the possibility that similarities in
pidgin languages could be related to the effect of a strategy
of simplification. This strategy is said to provide a
"broken language" to serve as source of input to the learners

(this is said to be similar to "baby talk" in lLA) . Contrary

61

to the hypothesis of polygenesis, Ferguson (1971) and Ferguson
8 DeBose (1977) suggest that in a contact situations between
speakers of different languages, speakers would rely on a
simplified language in order to communicate among themselves.
Such a simplified language would provide a restricted or
limited. input that in. combination. with natural learning
strategies available to learners all over the world, would in
tunr give rise to the similarities between pidgins.

A second proposal regarding the origins of pidgin
languages is called the Monogenetic Theory. This position
maintains that all pidgins could be traced back to a common
ancestor in the same way that European languages are related
to a common proto-indoeuropean language. The name of such an
ancestor is Sabir, a trade language used in the Mediterranean
and now extinct. This lingua franca was used mostly by
slavers and sailors who eventually caused it to spread around
the world. The suggestion by Whinnon (1977) that this
language experienced relexification on repeated occasions
explains both the similarities and the differences among
pidgins nowadays. VLAgain Bickerton (1977) rejects this
position by citing examples of pidgins that could not be
traced back to a common origin or as having no history of
contact, and yet exhibiting noticeable similarities among
them. ~?

A third View on the origins of pidgins is that of
Universals of language acquisition. The main proponent of

this position is Bickerton (1977:49) who suggests that

62

pidginization is "second-language learning with restricted
input, and that creolization is first-language learning with
restricted input." Given that pidgins arise in language
contact situations where opportunities for adequate models are
not readily available, Bickerton suggests that the learners
have to draw on natural strategies of language acquisition in
order to come up with a language to meet their needs. That
is, given a need to communicate, and no source of TL input,
the learners will draw on a "natural semantax", (i.e. innate
underlying principles of language perception/ production”,
(Traugott 1977)), that will direct learning.

Bickerton's views (1981a) hold that given a learning
situation where there is no adequate input available from
which to make generalizations about the TL, the learners are
directed to draw instead on innate abilities. The set of
these abilities available to all learners is called a bio-
program. Such theoretical construct is so labeled in order to
emphasize the assumption that it consists of genetically
transmitted information.“ The bio-program would
eventually determine, not the specific form a language must
take, but rather limit its possibilities of variation. Such
a restricting effect would account for the similarities of
apparently unrelated.pidgin languages in terms of the absence
of copula, limited agreement rules, lack of morphemic
inflections, simplified word order, etc.

Instead of placing an emphasis on the possible role of

such strategies as simplification, Bickerton argues for a

63

strategy he labels relexification (1977:54). This strategy
guides, among others, learners to acquire morphemes from the
TL and then apply to these rules and categories already
existing in their interlanguage. This hypothesis is
confirmed, according to Bickerton, by the fact that certain
pidgin languages exhibit features that could not be traced
back to the original languages. He writes (1977:64),

It is obvious that the process must consist of

internalizing linguistic rules for which there is

no evidence in terms of linguistic outputs. If

such rules are not induced from primary data, they

must be derived directly from the human

m, which must in consequence contain some

kind of analog for the instructions.

Consequently, this reliance on a natural faculty"5 would
account for the significant number of similarities observed in
pidgins and creoles (cf. Givon 1979:33).

Bickerton also extends such views to the development of
creoles which he also sees as the result of improper or
restricted first language learning. The creole develops as
children of pidgin speakers are exposed to the pidgin as a
mother language. Given that this input is simplified and
limited, upon finding the need for a vehicle that meets their
demands for more a complex language, the children are forced
to draw on their innate language (or as Bickerton says,
cognitive) abilities. .Accordingly, a creole is said to result
from a pidgin that, given a growing need to accommodate new
and more diverse demands from the speakers, has developed

(through the process of creolization) more complex and

redundant features. in) the extent that this creole moves

64

closer in the direction of the TL,it is said to decreolise.

Of the three views on the origin of pidgins and creoles
examined above, it is the language universals view that allows
for bringing together pidgin and creoles studies with 2L
acquisition research. It is basically at the strategy level
(e.g. the apparent reliance on simplification and/or transfer)
that an explanation can be found which could account for
structural similarities found in the interlanguage of 2L

learners and pidgin speakers.

2.2.2-2 211_aa_zidsiniaatign.
Cazden et al. ( 1975) reported on a longitudinal study of

six Spanish speakers learning ESL. While examining the
developmental stages of 2LL of these subjects, they noticed
that one of them, a Costa Rican named Alberto, failed to make
progress toward the TL in spite of being surrounded in an
English Speaking environment. A close examination of the
development of negation in the subjects' speech revealed
Alberto's IL development had fossilized instead of continuing
to move toward the TL. They suggest that this learner was
unable to acquire the TL norm because of his failure to
acculturate to the TL group. This acculturation is seen as
the result of the learners' perceived socio-affective distance
from the TL group (Schumann 1976a, 1978c, 1978d).

Schumann (e.g. 1974a, 1974b, 1975, 1976b) draws on the
Alberto data to propose that the processes of 2LL and

pidginization are indeed the same phenomenon. For example,

65

Schumann (1976b) explains how the IL of Alberto was
characterized by features, such as simplifications and
reductions, which are also characteristic of pidgin languages
(p. 394-395), such as English Worker Pidgin, American Indian
Pidgin, English-Japanese Pidgin and Neo-Melanesian Pidgin.
Some of these features are,

1. use of a uniform negative "no" for most utterances

2. no inverted order questions

3. lack of auxiliaries

4. no inflection for the possessive

5. use of unmarked form of the verb

6. deletion of subject pronouns

In agreement with Schumann's observations, Andersen
(1979, 1981) reports on data obtained from comparing
Schumann's data with that obtained from Hawaiian Pidgin
English as reported. by Bickerton and others. .Andersen
concludes that speakers of pidgin languages and 2L learners
reported in these studies showed a reliance on word order
rather than inflections, a basic negation, and unmarked verb
forms. The only difference observed when comparing the data
‘was in.terms of the "degree of pidginization", i.e. the extent
to which the learners had moved toward the TL. For example,
.Alberto seemed to use more the plural marker "-s" possibly
<iue to successful transfer from Spanish (Andersen 1981:191).

Other subjects in Schumann's study were able to
successfully acquire the TL. All subjects seemed to go

through similar pidgin stages of development that were rapidly

66
and successfully left behind as learners moved toward the TL
norm. This serves as a basis for suggesting that at an early
211.stage, and under certain.social conditions, a learner's IL
will tend to exhibit characteristics which are notably similar
to those found among pidgin speakers. Schumann further
suggests that this is due to the fact that all learners share
cognitive universals that would determine the unmarked,
simplified form language may take at an early stage. Under
conditions of limited contact opportunities with TL speakers,
such stage would tend to persist while under others it will
expand and complicate in the direction of the TL. Schumann
(1976b:406) makes this clear by stating,
pidginization in second language acquisition
can.be viewed as initially resulting from cognitive
constraints and then persisting due to social and
psychological constraints. Hence, early second
language acquisition would be characterized by the
temporary use of a non-marked, simple code
resembling a pidgin. This code would be the
product of cognitive constraints engendered by lack
of knowledge of the target language. The code may
reflect a regression to a set of universal

primitive linguistic categories that were realized
in early first language acquisition.

2.2.2.3 Variants of the Pidginization Model.

The discussion in the preceeding section focused on
pidginization, or 2LL at an early stage. However, Schumann
and others have extended the model to provide for a 2LL
continuum covering later stages of 2L development. In this
views we find that 2LL involves a process that stretches from

the NL to the TL involving a series of stages of IL

67

development. These stages are not to be regarded as clearly
identifiable points but rather a a continuum moving ever
closer to the TL. IMoreover, progress along this continuum is
said to involve underlying cognitive strategies that would
allow learners to interact with the environment and make use
of available input to form hypotheses about the TL. Social
and contextual variables are also assumed to influenced the
extent to which learning will take place, e.g. they would
determine how much input is available and accessible to the
learners.

Thus we find proposals for pidginization (e.g. Schumann
1974a, 1974b, 1978a; Andersen 1979b; Bickerton 1977; Valdman
1978b; Washabaugh.8 Eckman 1980), creolization (e.g. Schumann
1974a, 1974b; Andersen 1980a, 1980b), decreolization (e.g.
Valdman 8 Phillips 1977; Stauble 1978; Bickerton 1981;
Schumann.8 Stauble 1983), nativization (e.g. Andersen 1979b),
and denativization (e.g. Andersen 1981, 1983b) in a continuum
covering early to late 2LL. In spite the apparent confusion
in terminology, the fact is that these authors seem to refer
to the same phenomenon (Figure 3 below).

To sum up the point, though the views presented by the
authors cited above may differ at times, most agree on three
things, namely, 1) that there are similarities between 2LL and
pidginization, 2) that social-psychological factors seem to be
at least partly responsible for learners moving ever closer to
the TL (or not moving at all), and 3) that simplification

seems to be a major strategy for both processing16 and

68

production.
2LL Continuum
n ‘ ------------------ q --------------------------------- ’ TL
noctumnon osmocmmnou
caeouzmou oecnaouzmou
umvmnou oemrvmnou
mu 2LL we 2LL

Figure 3. Simplified illustration of Putative Processes
characteristic of different ends of the 2LL
continuum. (Adapted from Andersen 1979b:112).

For instance, Butterworth and Hatch (1978a:235) report
data on a thirteen-year-old Spanish speaker from Colombia
named Ricardo. When questioned on how he processed the
English he heard, Ricardo responded that he "listened for a
few key words" which.he applied to the immediate.contextm The
researchers observe that this reflects a simplification
process applicable to both comprehension and production which
in turn is characteristic of the pidginization process as
proposed by Schumann (1975).

Indeed pidgins, creoles, and IL in second language
development all seem to share common features. This
observation implies that the processes responsible for pidgins
and creoles may represent different but related aspects of
2LL. IL was found to follow different stages (e.g. 11%”) in
direction of the TL. However, such development may be
affected by variables that also have been found to influence
jpidgin and creole language development, such as social

context, social distance from TL group, economic and

69

educational opportunities, or communicative need among others.
Pidgins and creoles seem to share many of these same variables
in the sense that they may also move in the direction of the
TL (i.e. decreolize) given social motivation.

Simplifications so often used to characterized pidgins
may not be "corrupt versions" of the TL but rather the result
of natural strategies for'ZIIu These strategies are.activated
by' the availability of :models and. the social need for
communication. The need to communicate would in turn
determine the direction and extent to which a pidgin (or
creole or 2L) will develop. Accordingly, we can regard 2LL
and pidginization and the other process as rather
manifestations of the same phenomenon along a continuum.

Long (1988) makes reference to the similarities between
IL development on 2LL and pidginization. While arguing for
the need for studies that focus on the classroom setting (vs.
naturalistic) he points out how diverse conditions of exposure
could account for the learners' success in making hypotheses
about the TL (or their failure) and which strategies they use
(p. 123). While making reference to a number of putative
acquisition processes such as those mentioned above, Long
(1988:119) maintains that,

Some of these processes have been linked to various

contextual factors, including characteristics of

the linguistic environment. Thus, pidginization is

believed to be at least partly due to the attempt

by speakers in bi- or trilingual contact to develop

a common second language in spite of restricted and

often deviant input from the superstrate language.

All in all, it would seem that research in the areas of

70
pidgins and creoles and in IL and 2LL would profit from a
closer relationship. An appropriate model for 2LL would
necessarily incorporate both the pidginization and IL
constructs if it was to attempt to capture generalizations of
what could be the same phenomenon.

The desirability of examining the symbiotic relationship
between these two rapidly growing areas of linguistic research
is evident. First, a shared pool of data will allow for more
detailed analysis of formal features of IL of stages of 2LL
and pidgin languages. Second, efforts could be better
directed at examining areas still in need of study, e.g. how
does learning actually take place. Third, we would be better
able to propose models that more accurately mirror the
cognitive processes involved. In Chapter One it was suggested
that the context of Puerto Rico presented an excellent
opportunity for examining issues such as these. The next

section seeks to elaborate on such a statement.

2.3 Lpgrping ESL in Puerto Rico.
Puerto Rico has been.part.of the United States since 1898

after Spain gave up control of the island at the end of the
Hispano-American War. The teaching of English in this Island
goes back to the efforts by the military governors to provide
for the assimilation of the population into the nation in
spite of the fact that Spanish had been the official language
and the main medium.of instruction up to that point (Negrén de

Montilla 1971). By 1900 Spanish was the language of

71

instruction from first to eighth grade and English from nine
to twelve (Llado-Berrios 1978:11). For the next forty years
different governors and educators implemented different
policies of English language instruction ranging from all
English to high-school only (Osuna 1949). However, by 1947
Spanish was established as the main medium of instruction for
all grades in the public system with English taught as a
second language through all grades. This same approach is
followed nowadays.17 However, it must be made clear that
reaching this stage in the teaching of ESL in Puerto Rico has
been neither easy nor accompanied by consensus from educators,
politicians, concerned parents, etc. Rather, even today we
find that the status quo is precariously maintained and
subject to change at any time (see Gutierrez 1987).

Public education in Puerto Rico is the responsibility of
the Department of Public Instruction (DPI) (Rodriguez Bou
1960) . The Department provides for Puerto Rican students
taking twelve years of ESL while in school. Robinett
(1965:98) states that the "ultimate goal of English
instruction in the public schools of Puerto Rico is to create
and maintain what we conceive of as a functional
bilingualism."18 This policy is made clearer by LLado-
Berrios (1978:17-20) who reports that the "Philosophy of the
English Program" for the DPI aims, among others, at providing
students with the necessary communicative skills to interact
with native speakers, to promote greater understanding among

Puerto Ricans and the American people, and to equip the

72
students to live in the United States. Thus we find that the
goals of the DPI are aimed at providing the majority of the
population with a basic communicative competence in English
that would allow learners to maintain their social, political,
and economic relationship with the United States.

However, reports prepared by the Department of Public
Instruction” (1986) and The Governor's Office (1985) show
that the goals stated above seem rather elusive at best.
These two reports portray the public school students as doing
poorly in achievement tests not only in English, but also in
Spanish and Math for 1980 to 1982. In the latter, this poor
performance is held responsible for promoting school desertion
among the population. The findings presented in the two
reports cited depict serious problems in the educational
system that reflect the national trend.

Of particular interest is the poor performance of the
student population in learning English. In spite of
instruction for twelve years, regardless of instructional
materials, and notwithstanding improved teacher training, it
seems that the student population in Puerto Rico coming out of
the public school system is not doing well. The question
remains, why?

The fact is that though Puerto Rico is officially
bilingual, there is not much need for English outside the
English classroom. As it is, most Puerto Ricans do not have
much need for using English except for those working for the

Federal Government, in the tourism industry, or in private

73
sectors with constant contact with people from the mainland.
Curiously, a look.at the classified ads in any local newspaper
will show the professional job opportunities will usually
either require applicants to be bilingual or make it a highly
desirable qualification.

Inspite this observed need for knowing English, the truth
is that. Spanish remains ‘the :main language for' personal
interactions in both public and private interactions. Need
for spoken English is most likely limited to contacts in the
tourist spots or military installations. In everyday life,
English is more likely to be found in the labels of goods at
the supermarket or drugstore than in a personal encounter with
a native speaker. Though most movies shown in theaters are
.American. films, these are shown. with Spanish subtitles.
Access to Cable T.V. has grown substantially in the last five
years. However the possible effect of the same on actual
proficiency remains to be seen since television allows for a
rather passive exposure and not interaction with speakers of

the TL. 2°

2.3.1 The Puerto Rican ESL Classroom.

The description given above should present a situation of
language contact between two languages (and cultures) with not
many opportunities for actual contact between individual
speakers and, consequently, a limited need for learning the
'TL. All this is likely to have an effect on how successful

ESL students are in achieving their goals or more so, in

74

defining what these goals might be. As stated in Chapter One
of this dissertation, we propose to examine how the learning
context (i.e. social milieu) affects 2LL both in terms of
socio-affective variables and in terms of the process of
pidginization. Nevertheless, research reported on these two
areas has mostly focused on naturalistic environments where
access to the TL is readily available, while ignoring the fact
that a formal setting (i.e. a classroom) is closer to the
reality of quite a number of learners. Moreover, as it was
mentioned above, examining 2LL in a context with limited
contact opportunities ‘may indeed. be a likely source of
valuable data on the nature of language learning and the
processes involved therein. As observed by Felix (cited in
Long 1988:117),

... foreign language learning under classroom

conditions seems to partially follow the same set

of natural processes that characterize other types

of language acquisition... there seems to be a

universal and common set of principles which are

flexible enough and adaptable to the large number

of conditions under which language learning may

take place.

In sum, we find that Puerto Rico would seem to provide a
context against which to examine the hypotheses set forth by
both the Social-psychological and Pidginization models for
2LL. The English classroom instruction efforts that cover a
span. of‘ twelve years are likely’ provide the contextual
conditions that would allow the strongly motivated learners to

benefit from language instruction. In such a context we

:should also be able to identify which strategies are available

75
to English learners as the move towards the TL. Thus, the
present study is a limited attempt to inquire as to which
socio-affective factors in the context of Puerto Rico may be

identified as likely predictors of 2L achievement.

1.

76
Endnotes to Chapter Two

A similar theoretical construct could be traced back to
the 1920's, (see Carroll, 1981:87—94; Gardner, 1985:18-
19) O

This statement is not intended as implying that there is
an absolute distinction. Rather, it should be
interpreted in the sense that some learners may have ppm
abilities for 2LL than others. This is not to say that
some people would have pg ability whatsoever. The fact
that we all learn a first language demonstrates that all
humans have some degree of language aptitude. The
relevant question in 2LL is how much of that general
ability has an effect on 2LL. It should be clear that
this ability provides no assurance that all learners will
equally succeed in 2LL. {Other factors may influence the
outcome, e.g. previous experience, teaching materials,
classroom.anxiety, opportunities for contact with native
speakers, the language instructor, etc.

The original proposal made by Lambert (1972:291) reads as
follows, "This theory, in brief, holds than an individual
successfully acquiring a second language gradually adopts
various aspects of the behavior which characterize
members of another linguistic-cultural group. The
learner's ethnocentric tendencies, his attitudes toward
the other group, and his orientation toward language
learning are believed to regulate or control his
motivation to learn and ultimately his success or failure
in mastering the new language."

Gardner (1985:42-43) argues that the strongest
correlations between attitudes and achievement are those
regarding attitudes toward learning a second language (as
compared to those referring to learners' attitudes
towards the TL community). In addition, Gardner reports
on data that indicate no correlations between attitudes
and achievement in other school subjects (i.e. chemistry,
geography, mathematics, history). He concludes that,
"the nature of language acquisition may be such that
attitudes are implicated.in achievement more than is true
for other subject areas" (p.42).

77

Gardner (1985) presents a change in the name of the model
to "socio- educational model of 2LA" to reflect the
series of revisions reported in various publications
(e.g. Gardner, 1979, 1981) and to differentiate it from
Lambert's original proposal (cited above). It is made
clear by Gardner that "the model is still undergoing
change and that its strength lies not only in its
parsimonious explanation but also in its link to measured
variables and its resultant amiability to verification"
(p. 145). Thus, one advantage of the present formulation
is that its components are all operationally defined and
easily subject to empirical testing. An additional
singularity of the model is found in that, "A central
theme of the model is that second language acquisition
takes place in a particular cultural context. It
proposes that the beliefs in the community concerning the
importance and meaningfulness of learning the language,
the nature of skill development expected, and the
particular role of various individual differences in the
language learning process will influence second language
acquisition" (p. 146).

Gardner (1985) explains that the "integrative motive" is
different from an "integrative orientation" in that the
motive includes "not only the orientation but also the
motivation (i.e. attitudes toward learning the language
plus desire plus motivational intensity) and a number of
other attitude variables involving the other language
community, out-groups in general and the language
learning context" (p.54). Thus, if an integrative
orientation reflects the learners' goals of learning the
TL because of a favorable view of the TL community, the
integrative motive would involve not only the orientation
but also the amount of effort invested in achieving that
goal, plus favorable attitudes toward the language and
the community. Though it has been reported that
integratively oriented students are more highly motivated
than instrumentally oriented ones, the fact remains that
it is the orientation plus the desire plus the amount of
effort plus favorable attitudes (i.e. the integrative
motive as defied above) which more closely correlates
with achievement. Consequently, in a given context an
instrumental orientation may be a better predictor of
achievement (p.55). Gardner (1985:74) concludes that,
"It has been demonstrated repeatedly that the various
attitudinal/ motivational measures contributing to the
definition of the integrative motive can be reliably
assessed in many different contexts. These measures,
furthermore, relate fairly consistently to the intention
to continue language study in many different grades and
contexts, and even to the extent to which individuals
attempt to use the language. There is, in short,

10.

11.

12.

78

considerable convergent validity for the integrative
motive concept."

See Gardner (1985) as he provides a detailed discussion
of this issue while examining the influence of learning
context on the relationship between affective variables
and 2L achievement.

All references in this dissertation to Selinkers '
"Interlanguage" are from the 1974 reprint in Richards,
1974, pp. 31-54. The original article was published
under the same title in IRAL 10.209-231.

Lenneberg (1967:374-379) proposes a similar concept in
what he labels a "latent language structure" . See
Selinker (1974:33-34) for discussion of similarities and
differences.

It. is jpertinent. tau observe that similar stages of
development have also been reported as present in the
language of children during L1 acquisition (de Villiers
8 de ‘Villiers 1979:4; Eckman et al. 1984:ix) Data
reported by these researchers lends support to the
assumptions on the rather "universalistic" nature of
stages in language development (cp. Ferguson 8 Slobin
1973; Ferguson 8 Snow 1977; de Villiers 8 de Villiers
1978).

Richards and Sampson (1974:6) observe that "different
settings for language use result in different degrees and
types of language learning... In both first and second
language acquisition particular forms and patterns of
language learning may be attributable to social
variables."

Reinecke (cited in Richards 1974:79-80) draws data from
the history of Hawaiian creole and concludes that creoles
(like pidgins) are the result of both linguistic
processes and social, educational, and political factors
that lead to limited interaction with TL speakers and
thus to fossilization at various stages of development.

79

13. Meisel emphasizes the role of language universals in

14.

15.

16.

17.

directing 2LL by suggesting the existence of strategies
that learners could make use of in 2LL. He argues for
the existence of perceptual and expressive strategies
such as simplification that allows for the formulation of
hypotheses about the TL from which learning derives.

Adamson (1988:34-35) examines Bickerton's proposal. He
observes that Bickerton's views on universals have two
basic differences from those held by other researchers
(e.g. as compared to Chomsky's "Language Acquisition
Devise"). The first difference is in the sense that the
universals he is proposing are not linguistic but
cognitive. That is, these are supposed to transmit
information "not only on how the senses work, but also,
to some extent, how the mind works" (p. 34). The second
difference is that these universals are not available to
the child at birth, rather, they develop as the child
matures as a result of interaction with the environment.
In cases where there is no adequate input available, a
pidgin will develop (Bickerton 1977:49). Regarding the
nature of the bioprogram, Bickerton (1981a:l72) observes,
"A true bioprogram would grow, develop, and change just
as the physical organism that houses it grows, develops,
and changes. Increases in the child's cognitive
abilities (which of course also form part of the
bioprogram in its widest sense) would interact with the
linguistic component and progressively modify it."

Bickerton (1979:13) also refers to this faculty as
"cerebral blueprints" for language acquisition to
emphasize their cognitive and hereditary nature.

Simplification is likely to influence language processing
in.the sense that learners will rely on simplification in
order to facilitate comprehension of input that is too
far above their level of proficiency (Larsen-Freeman
1983:89).

Private schools follow a variety of approaches to the
teaching of English ranging from a program identical to
the public schools to full English immersion with Spanish
taught as another subject. It is generally accepted that
the private schools offer better instruction with parents
willing to pay the extra cost to provide their children

18.

19.

20.

80

with what they understand is a better education. Data
gathered by the College Entrance Examination Board of
Puerto Rico for the year 1988, for example, show a higher
percent of the private school population (61%) averaging
a G.P.A. of 3.0 or better while only a (44%) of the
public schools population obtaining similar scores.
Scores for the English as a Second Language Achievement
Test (ESLAT) shows private school students averaging a
score of 537 (out of 800 pts.) while public school
students averaged 423 (see College board 1989).

Robinett, while admitting the average student is not
expected to become a native speaker of English, defines
functional bilingualism for Puerto Rico's student
population as "the ability to meet their immediate
English communication needs in Puerto Rico; it also
represents an adequate basis for a rapid linguistic
assimilation in the English speaking environment... it
represents the skills and habits necessary for him (i.e.
the student) to successfully pursue his studies when the
textbooks and instruction are in English," (1965:98). It
should be noted that Robinnet has served as an English
teacher, English supervisor, and as Director of the
English program for DPI. He also co-authored two
textbooks series widely used in teaching English in
Puerto Rico's schools during the 1960's and 1079's.

Since Fall 1990, after the signing of a bill for
Education Reform, the DPI is named the Department of
Education, Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.

It should be noted that, in the future, this growing
access to English cable television is most likely to have
a positive effect in promoting comprehension and
acquisition of vocabulary. Nonetheless, the effect this
might have on actually improving the ability to speak or
communicate effectively in English remains to be seen.
Data reported by de Villiers 8 de Villiers (1979) on
children of deaf-mute parents and the effects of input
from television show that the children's initial language
development did not follow the order of acquisition
reported in the literature (though they eventually
reached the corresponding level of proficiency for their
age). It may well be the case that the same applies to
learning ESL solely under such types of exposure, though
this hypothesis has not been investigated.

CHAPTER THREE

HYPOTHESES

3.1 W.

This study examines the learning of English in Puerto
Rico as influenced by socio-affective factors, learning
strategies, and the process of pidginization. Assuming that
Puerto Rico represents a pidginogenic environment, i.e. one
which offers limited opportunities for contact with native
speakers of the TL and where the need for the language is
limited to certain social arenas, the general hypothesis
tested is that the pidginization model proposed by Schumann
sheds light on the 2LL situation in Puerto Rico.

The Pidginization Model encompasses the following,

pidginization in second language acquisition

can be viewed as initially resulting from cognitive

constraints and then persisting due to social and

psychological constraints. Hence, early second

language acquisition would be characterized by the

temporary use of a non-marked, simple code

resembling a pidgin. This code would be the

product of cognitive constrains engendered by lack

of knowledge of the target language... under

conditions of social and/or psychological distance,

this pidginized form of speech would persist.

(Schumann 1976:406)
Thus, the model suggests that 2L learners under conditions of
restricted TL input will tend to rely heavily on learning

strategies such as simplification which could result, for

example, in a lack of TL verb and noun inflections, deletion

81

of certain grammatical rules, absence of copula, and
fossilization at a specific stage in the acquisition of
negation.

Accordingly, in the context of Puerto Rico we would
expect to find similar evidence of pidginization in samples of
the IL of beginning1 IESL college students in Puerto Rico.
More specifically, it is hypothesized that samples of IL
utterances from 2LL at early stages will exhibit grammatical
and syntactic features similar to those characteristically
found among pidgin languages around the world.

On the other hand, learners at more advanced stages can
be expected to more often employ processes of restructuring
and complication of their IL, i.e. a move toward
"decreolization" as Schumman 8 Stauble (1983) maintain. The
advanced stages are characterized by increased use of
obligatory tense markers, increased redundancy, and more TL
vocabulary among other features, as they move closer to the TL

norm and avoid fossilization.2

Accordingly, evidence of
simplification and transfer from the NL would be reduced and
a more advanced stage of English negation in their II.would be
observed as compared to that observed in learners at the
beginning level.

Regardless of the data reported in support of the
hypotheses outlined above, the fact remains that it is not
clear what motivates (or maintains?) the students in the

lengthy process of learning a second language. Schumann

(1978a, 1978b) presents data that suggest that social and

82

83

affective factors may well lead 2L learners to avoid contact
with native speakers of the TL (or to simply filter out
available input) and thus lead to fossilization in IL
development once it has reached the minimum level of
proficiency required to meet their basic 2L needs. When IL
data of 2L learners was compared with data available from
pidgin languages, it was found that similar structures were
present in both the IL of 2LL and speakers of pidgin languages
(see Ferguson 8 DeBose 1977, Stauble 1978; Valdman 1978b;
Valdman 8 Phillips 1977). This is basically the ‘main
conclusion presented by Schumann's Pidginization Model.

However, the fact remains that to date, available data
have been gathered only from naturalistic contexts where the
TL (mostly English) was readily available from the environment
in the form.of native speakers. It should be evident that for
the Pidginization Model to be able to capture any
generalizations and make any claims as to its applicability to
second (or foreign) language learning, the same findings and
conclusions should emerge after testing the Model '3 hypotheses
against other 2LLicontexts (Andersen 1980, 1983). It.has been
argued that Puerto Rico could be a highly desirable context

for examining hypotheses regarding 2LL.

3.2 Specific Hypotheses.

In an effort to examine the applicability of the

Pidginization Model to a 2LL context where access to input

84

from the TL is rather limited, the following specific
hypotheses were tested and results compared.with the findings
of previous research. As established earlier (see Chapter
One) Puerto Rico does not, generally speaking, offer many
opportunities for contact with TL speakers while it is
generally agreed that availability of input is of major
importance to 2LL (e.g. Dulay et al. 1982; Krashen, 1981,
1982, 1985). This is of particular relevance since contact
and exposure (not to mention "need") allow the learners to
obtain input that permits them to formulate and test
hypotheses about the TL and thus move toward the norm (or
"decreolize").

In situations where learners exhibit negative attitudes
toward learning the TL or toward its speakers and where their
motivation is low, learners are not likely to take advantage
of any available opportunities for contact which would allow
them to be exposed to meaningful TL input. Conversely,
positive attitudes and strong motivation will not avail them
of much.if opportunities for interaction and exposure are just

not that readily obtainable.

3.2.1 girst Set of Hypotheses.
The first set of hypotheses tested is related to the

context in which learning is taking place and to affective
variables affecting that learning. Given the amount of ESL
instruction that students in Puerto Rico are exposed to and

given its close associatitniwith the United.states since 1898,

85
one might expect that in such a context, 2L learners will
exhibit positive attitudes both toward learning English and
native speakers of the language.

Consequently, the first hypothesis to be considered is:

Hypothesis 1: College-level ESL learners in Puerto Rico

will exhibit a significantly strong motivation to learn

English, be it instrumental or integrative, as indicated

by high positive ratings on the motivational measures

used (see Chapter Four).

A related second hypothesis is:

Hypothesis 2: These same learners will also exhibit

positive attitudes toward both the learning of English

and toward native speakers of the language as indicated
by the subjects' responses to attitudinal measures.

The Socio-Affective Model proposed by Gardner (see
Chapter 2) would predict that under conditions such as those
mentioned above, learners should move towards the TL norm as
they are exposed to the TL. However, given the pidginogenic
context of Puerto Rico, affective behavior contrary to what
Gardner's model predicts could be expected. Consequently, a
third hypothesis is:

Hypothesis 3: In such a learning environment, neither a

strong motivational orientation nor positive attitudes

would help the learners increase their proficiency. That
is, there will be no significant correlations between
learners' motivation and ESL achievement measures,
namely, the ESLAT and Michigan Test of English Language

Proficiency (MT). Moreover, we would expect learners in

this context to reach a plateau once their proficiency

reaches their perceived level of need.

If supported, this would be interpreted as an indication

that social milieu indeed is a major contributor to successful

2LL in the sense that the lack of opportunities for obtaining

86
input prevalent in the present context inhibits the learners'
positive motivation from having any significant effect in

increasing the learners' proficiency.

3.2-2 mm-

A second set of hypotheses focuses particularly on
the 2LL process and what it entails under the Pidginization
Model. If we were to look.at ESL.learners at different levels
of proficiency (as indicated by the course level they are in,
for example) we would expect the more advanced students to be
much more proficient than the first year students. Yet a few
questions arise. For example, just how much more proficient
should the second year students be? How are we to measure
that proficiency? What structural features could be
identified in the learners' IL that would provide some
indication of the learning process involved or the actual
"path" taken in moving closer to the TL?

Finding the answer to these and similar questions is of
major importance to research in 2LA. For the purposes of the
present study we are assuming that certain morphological
structures will not only be characteristic of different levels
of proficiency as expected but, furthermore, that close
examination of these structures could help us better
comprehend the very nature of the processes involved in
producing the same.

For example, Schumann (1979a, 1982) and Schumann and

Stauble (1983) report data which suggest that a parallel could

87

be established between IL development of the acquisition of
English negation morphemes and similar stages of development
found among pidgin languages. These observations provided
support to the hypothesis put forth by the Pidginization Model
which posits a general "pidginization" process common to all
second language learners. Stauble (1983:351-352) further
reports that negation characteristics "can be employed as a
gross measure" of a learner's overall morphological
developments lThus, if learners in the sample exhibit.a strong
tendency to acculturate towards the TL group, they are also
likely to exhibit in.their'II.a.more advanced stage of English
negation than those learners with a lower index of
acculturation (see Cansino et al. 1978; Stauble 1980).

If the Pidginization Model's predictions hold true for
the context of Puerto Rico, we should consider a fourth
hypothesis which is:

Hypothesis 4: The beginning learners in the sample (i.e.

those in a first-year course of English) will exhibit an

IL characterized by an early stage in the acquisition of

English negation (i.e. "No + V") made evident in their

use of the TL. Intermediate students (i.e. those in a

second-year course) will exhibit a more advanced stage of

English negation (e.g. "Don't + V", "Aux + Neg.", or

"Analyzed don't") , thus indicating that they have managed

to successfully move toward the TL norm.

On the other hand, if learners fail to effectively feel
closer to the TL group (as indicated by negative attitudes or
low motivation to learn the TL), or the context denies them.of

opportunities for contact and interaction (i.e. English.is not

readily available in the social milieu), then they will likely

88
exhibit a fossilized stage in the acquisition of English
negation (i.e."No + V").

It has been suggested in the research literature that
learners, when asked to perform beyond their present
competence, are likely to fall back on whatever knowledge is
available to them (Andersen 1989). Schumann has argued that
sudh conditions encourage pidginization and that under the
same, beginning learners' IL is characterized by a reliance on
simplification, NL transfer, and relexification. He adds that
these strategies are all aspects of a general cognitive
principle underlying both 2LL and Pidginization that states,
"Keep L2 output simple" and its corollary, "Maintain your NL
to whatever extent possible" (1982:330). These principles in
turn would yield a higher percent of L1 transfer and
simplification among beginning 2L learners (as compared to
more advance students).3

Accordingly, we expect that the analysis of errors from
learners in a pidginogenic environment would reveal both a
predisposition in the learners' IL to exhibit a mixture of
rules and structures of both the NL and the TL and a different
ratio of usage corresponding to the two levels of proficiency
compared. Thus, the fifth hypothesis is:

Hypothesis 5: A higher percentage of transfer of L1

structures will be characteristic of beginning learners

as compared to intermediate learners.“ More
specifically, beginning learners will exhibit a higher
percentage of errors arising from transfer of NL
vocabulary items and use. of NI. determiners. This

percentage will go down for intermediate learners as they
move closer to the TL norm.

89
In addition, we expect beginning learners in the sample
to exhibit a greater degree of reliance on simplification as
a strategy of production than the intermediate learners who
should have moved closer to the TL. Accordingly, hypothesis

six is:

Hypothesis 6: Beginning learners will exhibit a greater
reliance on a simplification strategy resulting in errors
in their language production manifested by absence of
copula (to be), absence of past tense marker (-ed) ,
absence of plural agreement (-s) , as compared to the
intermediate learners.

Other strategies (e.g. complication, expansion)

characteristic of advanced students will not be addressed

presently given the limitations of this study.5

3-3 W-

The hypotheses examined are divided into two sets. The
first set (#‘s 1-3) refers to socio-affective factors as
proposed by Gardner's Model. The second set of hypotheses
(#'s 4-6) refers to the Pidginization Model proposed by
Schumman. The hypotheses are the following:

1. College level ESL learners in Puerto Rico
will exhibit a significantly strong
motivation to learn English, be it
instrumental or integrative, as indicated
by high positive ratings on motivational
measures.

2. Learners will exhibit positive attitudes
toward both the learning of English and toward
native speakers as indicated by responses to
attitudinal measures.

3. There will not be any significant correlations
between the learners' motivational orientation
and ESL achievement measures (i.e. ESLAT, MT).

90

4. Beginning learners will exhibit an IL
characterized by an early stage in the
acquisition of English negation (i.e. "No +
V"). Intermediate learners will exhibit a
more advanced stage (e.g. "Don't + V", "Aux +
Neg.", or "Analysed don't").

5. Beginning learners will exhibit a higher
percentage of L1 transfer errors (i . e . L1
vocabulary) than intermediate learners.

6. Beginning learners will exhibit a greater
reliance on a simplification strategy made
evident by errors resulting from the absence
of past tense marker, copula verb, and plural
agreement.

Methodology followed in the present study is provided in

Chapter Four.

91
Endnotes to Chapter Three

"Biginning students" refers to students enrolled in first
year English courses at the University (i.e. ENGL 3101-
3102, Basic English). However, it should be noted that
this population should not be considered biginners in the
strict sense of the *word since they’ have had, as
mentioned in Chapter Two, twelve years of ESL instruction
in school before attending college. "Intermediate
students" refers to students enrolled in second year
English courses (i.e. ENGL 3201-3202, Reading and
Composition).

Though fossilization can be interpreted as a "dead end"
(see Selinker 1974, Selinker and Lamendella 1978,
Scarcella 1983) , there is no reason for completely ruling
out the possibility that once the conditions that lead
the learner to fossilize change, moving toward the TL may
proceed in the same way that pidgins creolize and creoles
decreolize (see Schumann 1976a, 1976b, 1978a, 1978d).
The term in used herein under the assumption that indeed
if learners have access to meaningful input and
opportunities for interaction and they have a low
affective filter, further learning can take place.

See Taylor as he addresses these theoretical issues while
arguing the existence of a general psychological
principle of "reliance on prior learning to facilitate
the new learning" (1975:73). Also consider Andersen
(1979:49) as he presents supportive evidence to this
effect based on data obtained from Puerto Rican College
students.

Data was collected on only one such strategy since the
focus of the present study is not on strategies
themselves but on the effect of learning context (i.e.
social milieu). It is understood that conclusions
deriving from such limited data should be interpreted
judiciously. The intention is to suggest, rather than to
demonstrate, the effect of social context on the use of
such strategies and, consequently, on 2LL.

For detailed examination of these consider Stauble 1978,
1980, 1984; Stauble 8 Schumann 1983; Schumann 8 Stauble
1983.

CHAPTER POUR

METHODOLOGY

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Gardner 8 Lambert (1972) developed a battery of measures
which has proved to be rather accurate in identifying the
attitudinal and motivational characteristics of 2L learners.
A number of researchers have used this instrument in research
in various settings around the world resulting in measures of
known psychometric properties (e.g. Chastain 1975; Clarke
1980; Fishman 1977; Gardner 1980, 1982; Gardner 8 Gliksman
1982; Gardner 8 Smythe 1974a, 1974b, 1981; Hidalgo 1984:
Johnson.8 Krug 1980; O'Brien 1980). In spite of the apparent
success of these measures, it should be observed that some
researchers have also questioned the validity and reliability
of attitudinal and motivational measurement for various
reasons, as outlined in Chapter Two. Nonetheless, the use of
such instruments presents the benefit that data from various
studies in different learning contexts can then be compared
and more accurate generalizations formulated. This was
taken into account when adapting a measure for use in this
study. However, when analyzing results obtained through the

use of attitudinal measures, any conclusions and observations

92

should be regarded judiciously.

In the present study, a four-part questionnaire (see
Appendix) adapted from the Foreign language Attitude
Questionnaire developed by Gardner 8 Lambert (1972) was used
to collect data on socio-affective variables.‘ Besides
translating the test into Spanish, some additional minor
adaptations were required in order to make the test suitable
for the Puerto Rican context. The questions included in the

Questionnaire were of four types:

1. W: these questions included age,
sex, years in college, major, years of English in
college, grades in these classes, place of
residence, high school, and years in the United
States if applicable, and self-assessed English
ability (items 1-19).

2. Q;ipppgpipp__1pgpz: these items were used to
identify the type of motivation of the learners.
This is to be computed by subtracting the
instrumental items scores from the integrative
items. A high positive score would indicate an
integrative orientation toward learning English,
while a high negative score would indicate an
instrumental orientation. This index consists of
eight items. Students were asked to rate each item
in a scale of 5 (highest) to 1 (lowest) indicating
the extent to which the items were personally
applicable to them. Items 20, 22, 23, 24 are
instrumental, while items 21, 25, 26, 27 are
integrative.

3. Motivation index: these items are used to assess
the learners' motivational intensity toward
learning English in terms of their reported amount
of effort spent in preparation for class,
assignments, perception of difficulty, and
enjoyment of the course. A high score represents
the learners' self-report of a high amount of
effort being spent in order to learn English.
This index consists of items 28, 29, 30, 31, 32.
33. 34, 35. Items were also rated on a scale from
1 to 5. .An additional set of questions was
included in order to specifically inquire as to the
amount of hours per week students spend in English

93

94
language activities.

4. WW3: this
index indicates the learners' evaluative reactions
toward 2LL and the TL group, specifically North-
Americans. A high score would indicate a positive
affective predisposition toward learning English,
its speakers and 2LL in general. Again, items were
rated to indicate the extent to which the items
represented the individual students' attitudes. A

total of eleven items were included in this index.
These were items 36-46.

4.1.2 Assess-1W-

Two basic measures of English proficiency were employed
in the present study. Both of these measures were
standardized tests. The fundamental motivations for using
these were: 1) availability of the instruments and/or scores,
2) the convenience these provide at the time of scoring, 3)
the fact that established standardized tests allow for a
general measure to be used and a large data base of students
against which to compare the subject population included in
the study, 4) the fact that school grades may not be the most
reliable measure of language proficiencyz, and last, 5) that
such measures (or analogous ones) were used in many of the
studies mentioned above. If a comparison is to be made
between the present study and.previous ones, the desirability
of using standardized tests should be evident.

The first measure used was the English as a Second
Language Achievement.Test (ESLAT) made:by the College Board of
Puerto Rico. ZESLAT is prepared in collaboration with.a group
of consultants from the educational community of the Island

and is intended to reflect the students' English language

95

skills in grammar, vocabulary and reading. The test consists
of some sixty items representing the.three basic skills and.it
is scored on a scale of 200 to 800. This test is offered
every year to about 25,000 students in Puerto Rico since,
along 'with. the aptitude components, it is required for
admission to local colleges. However, English scores are not
incorporated into the admission criteria of most universities
on the Island, but are used for placement purposes instead.3
The scores obtained for the present study were provided.by the
Registrar's Office of the. University of Puerto Rico at
Mayagfiez, after written permission from the participants had
been secured. A copy of the permit form is included in the
Appendix.‘

The test scores have a high correlation with both the
Test of English as a. Foreign Language (TOEFL) and the
Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) as cited by Alderman (1981) . In
addition, "over the years the test has proven itself a
reliable measuring instrument for overall proficiency in
English" (Mohr 1978:l). As with all standardized measures, a
word of caution is pertinent regarding the interpretation of
scores. That is, scores of measures such as ESLAT should be
interpreted having in mind that they are subject to a variety
of factors such as the students' academic history, schools,
family environment, as well as a series of socio-economic
factors such.as sex, parents' educational level, family income
(College Board 1990:2).

Alderman (1981: 17) observes that in the case of the

96

context of Puerto Rico, "factors such as the nature of first
language proficiency and the motivational aspects of second
language acquisition... and the 'cultural distance' involved"
were considered in preparing the test. That is, test items
are prepared and selected so as to minimize any bias arising
from such social factors, e.g. reading selections that may be
"tainted" with out of the experience of a segment of the
population. Since the effect of socio-affective variables on
2LL is a major focus of the present study, the suitability of
this measure is evident.

In order to further validate any associations between
attitudinal factors and achievement, a second measure was
used. The Michigan Test of English Language Proficiency (MT)
is prepared by The University of Michigan English language
Institute. This test is part of a Test Battery which also
includes a listening and writing component and is used in
determining whether students who are not native speakers of
English can pursue academic study in an English language
university. Only the Proficiency Test was used in this
investigation, though the Listening Test was also administered
as part of ongoing research at the English Department of the
University of Puerto Rico at Mayaguez.

The instrument consists of 100 items corresponding to
grammar, vocabulary, and reading skills. The MT is considered
to have both a high reliability and validity as well as a high
correlation with TOEFL. Choosing this instrument as an

additional measure of English proficiency also presented the

97
benefit of providing for comparison of the sample of students
participating in this study with students from other
backgrounds who have taken the test. Upon examination of the
gathered data should allow us to intuit the possible effects
on 2LL of the native language or specific socio-cultural

factors.

4-1-3 £539!B§.l2!£9§1!o
A data base for determining the presence of pidginized

features in the students IL‘was obtained from the analysis of
student journals. These were.part of required class-work for
ENGL 3101-3102 and 3201-202, though journals were not graded.
That is, students received points toward their final course
grade for turning them in, but they were not corrected or
otherwise graded in order to minimize monitoring on the part
of the students 'while encouraging an emphasis on
communication. The professors would comment on the general
content.of the entry rather on the correctness of the students
writing.

Students were asked to write a minimum of thirty
sentences per journal entry, three times a week for nine
weeks, with students more often than not writing over the
required minimum. Of these entries, the first two were not
included in the data analysis to allow for students'
unfamiliarity with.the.assignment. In general, studentS‘were
encouraged to write on any topic of their liking and

repeatedly reminded that these were not for a grade. The

98
instructors returned.these periodically with.general comments
(i.e. reactions) on the content of the journals.

Journal data were examined to determine the IL
developmental stage as indicated by stage of negation (Cansino
et al. 1978; Schumann 1978a, 1979a, 1984; Stauble 1978, 1984;
Stauble 8 Schumann 1983). In addition, analysis of student
errors ‘was examined to reveal the frequency ‘with. which
students at each level relied on simplification and transfer
as communication/ production strategies (Ferguson 1971; 1977;
Richards 1975; Taylor 1975; Ferguson 8 DeBose 1977; Chamot
1979; Andersen 1979c; Gass 1984; Ellis 1985; Gilman 1985;
O'Malley et al. 1985).

The choice of data base could be initially regarded as
somewhat unsuitable for the goal of the present study. In the
past this type of data collection has come under criticism
(e.g. Ellis 1985: 68-72). For instance, the use of such data
base may seem objectionable on grounds that it may not be
typical of actual speech (and consequently not representative
of IL development). Moreover, given the efforts devoted to
minimizing the learners' attention to form, there may be a
natural tendency to exaggerate simplified grammar.

Nevertheless, the desirability of data obtained from the
present learning context and population should be clear from
the points that follow. First, the students are producing
language that does not require them to pay particular
attention to grammar/ vocabulary errors, thus minimizing

monitoring and allowing for more naturalistic language

99

production, though in a written mode. Second, learners are
repeatedly made aware that they will not be penalized for
mistakes thus making way for more spontaneous production.
Third, they have choice of topics and are urged to focus on
communicating their ideas and feelings to the instructor.
Thus, it is safe to assume that data obtained in this way are
appropriate for looking at learners' IL development and,
consequently, can be regarded as a fair representation of
speech under natural (or almost natural) conditions.

The effect of the learning environment (i.e. classroom)
should not present a major difficulty as it was discussed
earlier in ‘this dissertation (Chapter’ One). If indeed
pidginization and early stages of 2LL are similar processes,
then the same strategies should be evident in any learning
context, natural or instructional, as long as TL input is not
readily available (i.e. pidginogenic in nature). Maybe the
extent to which these strategies make themselves evident could
be different, but this will likely be a matter of degree

rather than one of presence or absence.

4.2 Subjects.

Subjects for this investigation were two thousand one
hundred and eighty-four (N=2184) students. These were
enrolled in first- (N=1161) and second-year‘ (N=977) ESL
courses (ENGL 3101 and ENGL 3201 respectively) at the
University of Puerto Rico at Mayaguez (forty-six students were

deleted from the study because of problems such as incorrect

100

section number or wrong I.D. number). ENGL 3101, Basic
English, is an, ESL. beginning' course ‘which emphasizes a
communicative approach. ENGL 3202, English Composition and
Reading, is a second year course focusing on reading (mostly
literary material) and on writing while emphasizing a process
approach. Generally speaking, most students are required to
complete this two-year sequence (i.e. 3101-102 and 3201-202),
though placement in these and other courses may vary depending
on ESLAT scores, as mentioned earlier.

The University of Puerto Rico at Mayaguez is a public
institution offering the only engineering and agriculture
programs in the public system. Courses are offered under four
faculties: Faculty of Arts & Sciences, Faculty of Engineering,
Faculty of Business .Administration, and Faculty of
Agriculture. This university has a reputation for academic
excellence and, consequently, receives thousands of
applications for admission each year from students from the
Island and abroad, of which only the top students are finally
admitted.

The students who provided the data base for this study
were invited to volunteer and then asked to sign a release
form (see Appendix) in which they stated their willingness to
participate, authorized release of their ESLAT scores and
class-journals, and agreed to take the MT. In return,
students participating were guaranteed that they would remain
anonymous, that participation would not have any effect on

their class grades, and that they would be advised as to their

101
HT scores. Given the need to test students in two one year
courses (i.e. a two-year time span), data collection involved
cross-sectional, instead of a longitudinal, sampling.

The sample includes one thousand one hundred and twenty-
two males (N=1,122) and one thousand and thirteen (N=l,013)
females. Subjects in the sample had ages ranging from 17 to
22. Reported ages ran from 16% of the students reporting
being between 16-17 years old (N=347), 72% reporting being
between 18-19 years old (N=1,548), and 12% reporting being
over 20 years old (N=247). 0f the student population studied,
34% came from private schools (N=748) and 65% (N=1,393) came
from public schools. About 19% (N=405) of the students were
from the metropolitan area and the remaining 81% (N=1,734)
from other towns and cities on the Island.

Students were also asked to state if they had lived in
the U.S. before and if so for how long. About 28% of the
sample reported having lived in the mainland, but of these
only 7% (N=169) had been there for more than a year: A total
of 20% (N=440) said they had traveled in the United States
while vacationing. In addition, 53% (N=1146) stated they
never used English at home, while 39% (N=842) reported using
it occasionally, and 7% (N=143) reported using it frequently.
Most of the students reported liking English (90%) and.wanting
to learn it (98%). Their self-rated proficiency in English
showed a kind of skill-related hierarchy in which 70% felt
they could read well in English, about 40% thought they could

write well, while only 26% felt they could speak well.

102
4-3 RIQQQQEIQ-

Information sheets, release forms and questionnaires were
distributed around the third week of classes of Fall semester
1988-1989. Testing with the IT was also done during that
period. These data were analyzed at the Computer Center of
the university. Both instruments were electronically scored
and statistical analysis carried out. While analyzed
responses to the Questionnaire are based on the 2, 142 students
mentioned above, actual statistical analysis (i.e.
correlations) included 609 subjects (347 from ENGL 3101 and
262 from ENGL 3201). This difference is the result of the
need for convenience in managing the data for analysis and it
shows no bias as to any particular factor in the study. For
instance, correlations do not exhibit.much variation for more
than one hundred cases (i.e. N=100+) , so that over six hundred
subjects would seem more than enough.

For purposes of this study, a rather stringent level of
significance was selected (i.e. p5.001). Accordingly,
correlational data presented in the next chapter show
significance levels for the actual number of subjects if any
significance was determined.

In addition, some 300 hundred student journals were
collected at the end of the first semester from sections of
ENGL 3101 and the end of the second semester for ENGL 3202.
This was done in order to provide a cross-sectional sample
analysis ranging from the first semester of basic English to

the end of the second semester of the intermediate English

103
course (i.e. a two-year span).

Analysis of journals involved the identification and
quantification of learners' errors in the written journal
data. Particular attention was given to transfer of Spanish
lexical items (e.g. false cognates) and evidence of
simplification as displayed by the absence of three
morphological categories (namely: plural (-s) , copula (to be),
simple past (-ed)) and the developmental stage of negation
exhibited in the students' IL. The particular categories were
chosen given that these are the same categories most mentioned
in available research on pidginization as those most likely
susceptible to simplification in the learners' IL. In
addition, the fact that these morphemes are also among those
most frequently found in speech may likely lead the learners
to be more exposed to them through TL input.5

In the review of the literature (Chapter Two) reference
was made to transfer and simplification as learning
strategies. It should be observed that there is considerable
variation in the use of the term.strategyu This variation has
at times been labeled as confusion about what specifically the
term refers to and the possible hierarchical relationship
between strategies and other learning mechanisms (O'Malley et
al. (1985:22). Though O'Malley et al. acknowledge that there
is no consensus as to what constitutes a learning strategy in
2LL (nor on how these differ from other learning activities)
they define learning strategies as (1985:23),

any set of operations or steps used by a

104

learner that will facilitate the acquisition,

storage, retrieval, or use of information... In

language acquisition, they pertain to activities in
which the learner may engage for the purpose of
improving target language competence.

In addition, it is pertinent to add that the term
strategy should not be confused with "process” another
commonly used term. Ellis (1985:164) reports that these terms
are often used as synonyms of general mental operations, but
that sometimes they are also used to differentiate operations
involved in language processing. He further elaborates this
distinction by observing that (p. 166),

... it makes good sense to distinguish the idea of

a sequence of operations (as in 'the production/

reception process') and the idea of a single

operation as a feature of a process (as in 'a

strategy of simplification').

Accordingly, the term strategy is used in the following
discussion to refer to a feature of the 2L1.process. One such
strategy is simplification which is defined by Ellis
(1985:171) as,

... attempts by the learner to control the range

of hypotheses he attempts to build at any single

stage in his development by restricting hypothesis

formation to those hypotheses which are relatively

easy to form and will facilitate communication.

In the present study, simplification is defined as either

absence or extremely low production of a particular morpheme

(Schumann 1982).

Transfer is another term that is difficult to defined

because of the varied references to it in the research

105
literature (e.g. Taylor 1975: Andersen 1979, 1983: Richards
1983: Gass 1983: Gass and Selinker 1983: Corder 1983: Odlin
1990). For instance, Gass and Selinker (1983:12) observe
that for most researchers,

... language transfer is a process of using native

language (or other language) knowledge in some

unspecified way in the acquisition of a second (or

additional) language.
The fundamental characteristics of this construct include: a
reliance on previous knowledge when new knowledge is lacking,
producing language before being ready, drawing on similarities
between L1 and L2, lexical or phonological or grammatical
items (or rules) can be transfered, and being subject to the
influence of social and psychological factors. In the present
study we will focus on transfer of L1 lexical items since this
has been identified as a major feature of the pidginization
process (Schumann 1982, Todd 1990).

Data used to find evidence of simplification and transfer
was collected through the use of journals. Eight journals
(one for each student) were randomly selected: four from
first-year students, and four from second-year students. Each
journal included approximately eight entries on varied topics
for an average of around 2,000 sentences per student, which
provided a large pool of utterances (i.e. some 16,000
utterances total).

Analysis was conducted by first examining the learners'

journals and identifying all occurances of the morphological

items studied (looking for evidence of simplification) and

106
lexical items transferred from the L1 (looking for evidence of
transfer). Second, all occurances of errors of the morphemes
were identified and counted. The same was done for any
lexical items that could be traced back to Spanish. Finally,
the findings were tabulated.

It should be observed that though the number of journals
for a data base may appear to be rather small, studies in the
past have focused on a limited number of subjects-- no more
than ten-- (e.g. Richards 1975: Taylor 1975: Chamot 1979:
Schumann 1978a, 1979a, 1982: Stauble 1978). Most of these
studies have been longitudinal in nature, following the
progress of few learners over a period of time. Data
collected mostly consisted of oral interviews with the
subjects. Given the nature of the phenomena studied, at no
point in the investigations was there any attempt to look for
representative samples from given populations. It seems that
for studies focusing on 2LL, accidental sampling is an
appropriate approach when not examining actual estimates of
population distribution (Selltiz et al. 1976:536). Since the
present study is only considering indications of pidginization
and learning strategies, accidental sampling, though less
representative, provides an adequate sample. It follows that
results should be so interpreted. These are presented in the

following chapter.

107
Endnotes to Chapter Four

It should be pointed out that some items were translated
verbatim into Spanish to provide for comprehension among
the Spanish-speaking population. It is not clear whether
or not translating such items could affect the validity
and reliability of the translated Spanish instrument.
However, a number of pre-tests were administered to
various groups of students (who were not part of the
study) and feedback on the items was requested. No
problems were reported in understanding the items on the
test.

It should be evident that grades are subject to a number
of factors not necessarily related to language
proficiency. For example, the difficulty of the course
could affect the grade students obtain as well as the
materials used, the teachers, methodology, etc., thus
making comparisons from one group of subjects to the
other impractical. In addition, a number of affective
variables could also play a role in determining the
grade, such as the students' perception of the teacher,
how they get along with classmates, etc. Standardized
measures, on the other hand, offer none of these problems
while allowing for assessing proficiency in terms of
clearly defined criteria and specifications. See
Chastain 1975: Oller et al. 1980; Johnson & Krug 1980.

That is, students are placed in ESL courses according to
their ESLAT scores (800 pts. scale). Students obtaining
from 800 to 681 are placed in ENGL 3091-Honors English,
from 680 to 571 they are place in ENGL 3201— Composition
and Reading, from 570 to 450 students are placed in ENGL
3101-Basic English, and from 449 and lower they are
placed in a non-credit remedial course. Students who
took the Advanced Placement English test and score 4 or
5, are also placed in Honors English.

This was done in an effort, not only to guarantee the
anonymity of the participants, but specially to comply
with requirements of both the Dean of Academic Affairs,
U.P.R.-Mayaguez and the Michigan State University Office
for Research Involving Human Subjects. Both offices had
granted permission to conduct the present study.

108

The role of frequency is a controversial issue which is
far from settled in 2LA research. This statement should
not. be interpreted. as suggesting' that frequency' of
grammatical morphemes in input unequivocally means that
such items would be acquired first. Rather, we assume
that higher frequency of occurrence of a morpheme makes
it more accessible to the learner and consequently more
subject to processing when the learner is at the
appropriate proficiency level needed to actually acquire
it, as suggested by Dulay at al. 1982: 37-40.

CHAPTER FIVE

FINDINGS

5.1 mm-

Data relevant to the hypotheses were examined in fOur
ways. First, subjects' scores for the ESLAT were obtained
from the Registrar's Office and, together with the MT results,
were analyzed. Second, average ratings for each of the
Questionnaire items were determined. From these data it is
possible to both identify and determine the strength of the
students' motivational orientation (i.e. integrative or
instrumental), their motivational intensity, and their
attitudes towards the TL, TL speakers, and 2LL. Third,
Pearson correlations were computed among individual
questionnaire items and between items and the two proficiency
measures. Fourth, journal samples were analyzed in order to
identify stage of IL development (i.e. stage of negation) and
the extent to which learning strategies are employed (i.e.

simplification and NL transfer).

5.2 Findings for First Set of Hypotheses.

Figures 4, 5, and 6 show data relevant to the first set
of hypotheses (#‘s 1-3) regarding socio-affective variables

and learning ESL in the context of Puerto Rico. In Figure 4

109

 

 

 

 

 

ooooo

111

we find ESLAT mean scores for the sample. These scores were
obtained from the Office of the Registrar at the University of
Puerto Rico at Mayaguez with the students' permission. The
test is administered in the senior high school year of the
students. The first bar in the graph indicates an average
score of 5.2.9. for the island-wide population that took the test
(some 25,000 students). The second bar indicates an average
score of 511 for students placed into the first-year course
(ENGL 3101), while the third shows an average score of 558 for
students in the second-year course (ENGL 3201).

From this information it can be seen that the sample's
first-year student population averages close to a hundred
points (n=92) higher in English proficiency than the overall
population which took the test in 1988. The 3201 score of §§§
could be somewhat misleading at first since there are two
distinct populations in this course representing two different
levels of English proficiency. One set of students are
sophomores who have already taken one year of college English,
namely, ENGL 3101 and 3102. A second set includes freshmen
who were placed in a second-year course because of their
higher ESLAT scores. Sophomores in second year English
averaged a score of 5;; (almost the same as the first-year
students)‘, while freshmen placed in ENGL 3201 averaged a much
higher score of 631, exhibiting a difference of more than a
hundred points over the freshmen placed in the first year
course (i.e. ENGL 3101) and a difference of more than 200

points over the island-wide freshmen population.

 

 

——.—_________—_

llllllll

ooooo

 

 

 

113

Analysis of the MT scores reflects a similar trend.
Figure 5 shows scores obtained for the sample. In it we see
that first year students score lower than second year
students. The first bar indicates the average score of 62
obtained by a sample of Hispanics who are seeking admission to
American universities who have taken the MT over a five year
period.

In comparison, Puerto Rican students at U.P.R.-Mayaguez
entering ENGL 3101 average 58 in the MT, while those
completing 3102 (sequence for the first-year course) average
a score of 61. This shows an increase of nine points after a
year of ESL instruction and thus brings the scores closer to
the national average. Though this is not shown in the chart,
further analysis revealed that all three skills included in
the test (i.e. grammar, vocabulary, and reading) increased.

Students in ENGL 3201-3202 do not exhibit much of an
improvement as measured by the MT after a year of instruction.
Again, the second-year population is shown separated in Figure
6. These data show that sophomores show an average
improvement of around four' points over one year, while
freshmen show an increase of three points. Further analysis
revealed that this increase is mostly due to improvement in
grammar, while vocabulary remains about the same and reading
actually takes a half-point loss. This information is
relevant to the first set of hypotheses tested regarding the
effect of context on proficiency. It seems that classroom

instruction and input were not sufficient to bring about much

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ooooo

115
improvement as measured by the standardized tests.

Data relevant to Hypothesis #1 regarding the motivational
orientation of the subjects appear in Table 1 below. Here,
reasons for studying English were rated on a scale from 5
(most applicable) to 1 (least applicable). A rating of 4 or
5 for any one item*would.be interpreted as the item being very
applicable to the student. The numbers under the ratings
indicate the number of students who chose such rating. The
mean on the extreme right indicates the average response for
each question thus suggesting the extent to which the
students' agree with the statement. A low rating (1 or 2)
reflects that the participants do not agree with the
statement. A high rating (4 or 5) would suggest that the
students agree with the statement. The mediam at the bottom
of the table indicates the average rating for the complete
index. In this case, a median of 4 indicates a relative
strong motivational orientation.

Reasons 20, 22, 23, and 24 were thought to be
instrumental, while reasons 21, 25, 26, and 27 were
interpreted as integrative. Instrumental reasons averaged a
rating of 449, while integrative reasons averaged a rating of
3._. It is evident from these figures that there is no
statistically significant scoring difference between
integratively and instrumentally worded statements.

Moreover, it should be noted that ratings for both sets
of orientations were on the high side for all but one of the

statements (#27). In general, the population does not seem to

116

Table 1. W- Reasons for studying English.
Entries in columns 1 to 5 represent numbers of

students who chose this rating. (N=2,142).

 

RATINGS

 

REASONS 1 2 3 4 5 MEAN

 

20. It is necessary to know 422 198 488 528 496 3.2
English in order to be
an educated person.

21. To know English will
help me to better
understand English 33 60 170 406 1471 4.5
speakers and their way
of life.

22. English is important
because it will be use-
full in obtaining a 17 23 117 292 1690 4.7
job.

23. English is important
because it fulfills a
graduation requirement. 312 244 390 395 797 3.5

24. English is necessary in
order to read books/
magazines of personal 10 15 120 287 1707 4.7
interest.

25. English is important in
order to read texts
required for university 10 24 130 358 1616 4.6
courses.

26. I want to know English
in order to communicate
and get to know 38 53 207 485 1355 4.4
tourists and other
visitors better.

27. To study English is
important in order to 869 294 466 297 216 2.3
be able to think and
behave as an American.

 

 

 

MEDIAN=4

117
exhibit any significant differentiation between either the
type nor strength of motivational orientations, suggesting
that students in the sample are Iboth integratively' and
instrumentally highly motivated.

A correlational analysis was performed between the two
sets of motivational statements in order to further explore
the relationship, if any, between the two types of orientation
in the present sample. ‘The numbers in.Table 2 show the inter-
correlations between integrative and instrumental reasons,
indicating the extent to which the first hypothesis was
confirmed. Given the size of the sample (N = 609) and a
decision point below (r=.164), significant positive
correlations (p < .001) were found between all reasons, except
for reasons 23-25), 23-26, and 24-27 for which (p > .001).

The low but positive correlations with a median of .22
indicate the presence of a combination of both orientations
among the learners in the sample, confirming what was observed
in Table 1: that in the context of Puerto Rico the two types
of orientation are not mutually exclusive. Instead, it
confirms Hypothesis #1 suggesting that in the present context
the two orientations are high and of about equal strength.

The Hypothesis #3 predicted that if Puerto Rico indeed
represented a pidginogenic context, no significant
correlations between motivational orientation and achievement
measures would be found. Figures in Table 3 indicate
precisely this. None of the reasons in the Orientation Index

was found to correlate significantly with either of the

118

achievement measures.

Table 2. Matrix of correlations among reasons for studying
English. (N=609, p<.001)

 

REASONS: 20 21 22 23 24 25 26

 

21 .3268

22 .2733 .2482

23 .1492 .1464 .1553

24 .1318 .2453 .3461 .2111
e

25 .1903 .2231 .3316 .1008 .4114

26 .1324 .2521 .2494 .1129. .1477 .3291

 

27 .3003 .2659 .1127 .2785 .1233 .1063. .2318

 

 

 

*p>.001
MEDIAN = .22

Table 3. Correlations between English Achievement Measures
and reasons for studying English. (N=609)

 

REASONS: 2O 21 22 23 24 25 26 27

 

ESLAT .0465 -.0135 -.0131 -.0700 -.0450 .0312 .0437 -.0694

NT .0497 .0114 -.0111 -.0951 -.0289 .0766 .0319 .0276

 

 

 

 

*no significant correlations found

Curiously , when correlations were calculated between
Questionnaire item #12 --"liking English"-- and both
achievement measures, a significant positive correlation was

obtained (see Table 4 below). This suggests that factors

119
other than the integrative and instrumental reasons included
in the Index may be better predictors in the present learning

context.

Table 4. Correlations between Achievement Measures and
liking English. (N=609, p<.001)

 

ITEM ESLAT NT

 

12 .1734 .2554

 

 

Data in Table 5 show the motivational intensity for
learning English. Responses to items #28 and #29 indicate
that the students feel that they are doing well (87%) and that
they enjoy studying English (83%). About half the number of
students (51%) plan to take electives in English upon
completion of their requirements. Only 20% think of English
as their favorite class.

When scores for the negatively worded statements are
reversed (i.e. a rating of 5 becomes the least applicable and
1 becomes the most applicable)2, ratings indicate that
approximately 67% of the students prepare for class in advance
(item #31) and 85% feel fine about dedicating time to it (item
#33). Only 26% find that the English exams are difficult to
study for (item #34) and only 14% believe that English is a
difficult language to learn (item #35).

Figures in Table 6 show that when the items in the

Motivation Index were correlated with the achievement measures

Table 5.

Entries in columns
students who chose the rating.

120

Motiygtign_1ndgx- Motivation for studying English.'
1 to 5 represent number of

(N=2,l42).

 

MOTIVATION

RATINGS

3

4

5 MEAN

 

28.

29.

30.

31.

32.

33.

34.

35.

 

On the whole, I am

doing well in English.

I enjoy studying
English.

I plan to take some
elective courses in
English upon comple-
tion of my re-
quirements.

In my English class, I
am generally not pre-
pared unless I know
that the instructor
will ask for the
assignment.

English is my favorite
class.

I resent having to
spend so much time on
English at the expense
of other classes.

Usually, it is dif-
ficult to know what to
study for an English
test.

English is one of the
most difficult lan-
guages for a Puerto
Rican to learn.

113

148

709

499

654

772

776

507

161 588 644

210

338

346

399

426

379

901

591

507

593

649

606

425

417

722

300

358

315

179

304

246

631

468

283

342

121

149

250

58

3.7

2.4

 

 

MEDIAN=2.S

121
we find significant but low correlations between some of the
items and achievement measures, particularly in the case of
items #28, #29, #32. This indicates that in most cases,
motivation is a good predictor of success in 2LL, as suggested

by Gardner's model.

Table 6. Correlations between English Achievement Measures
and motivational intensity reasons. (N=609).

IMOTIVATION: 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35

 

lssu'rs.2514*.0934 -.0129 .0033 .0785 -.1018*-.1652* -.0796II

I m: .3979*.1985' .0594 .0605 .1331" -.0299 -.1229** -.1719'

 

*p<.001, **p=.001

Some significant negative correlations were also
obtained, however: these occurred in the negatively worded
statements. For item # 33, for instance, it is possible that
the negative correlations could be interpreted as positive, in
the sense that if learners do not resent spending time
studying for English class then they may be successful in
learning more. The same applies for items #34 and #35. It is
certainly the case that the more the students enjoy the course
the more proficient they become, and, conversely, the more
proficient they are the more they enjoy the course.

It follows from the observations made above that the

perception that the learning experience is valuable, pleasant,

122

 

 

 

Table 7. t
Entries in columns 1 to 5 represent the number of
students who chose this rating: 5-strongly agree,
4-agree, 3-no opinion, 2-disagree, l-strongly
disagree. (N=2,142).
RATINGS
ATTITUDES 1 2 3 4 5 MEAN
36. Nowadays, being able 2 303 438 796 507 3.6
to communicate in
English is equally or
more important than
science or Math.
37. I frequently enjoy 92 326 410 961 348 3.5
reading literature,
newspapers and/or
magazines in English.
38. I like to listen to 22 54 44 507 1511 4.6
music in English.
39. I wish I had a chance 6 11 82 427 1611 4.7
to travel to the U.S.
40. I like to speak and 21 96 336 863 820 4.1
practice English when I
can.
41. I hope to use English 6 22 166 777 1164 4.4
once I leave the
University.
42. I wish I had the chance
to meet and befriend 5 16 196 779 1131 4.4
more English speakers.
43. It is possible to
speak English and to 5 13 60 336 1717 4.7
know about the North
American culture
without ceasing to be
Puerto Rican.
44. Learning to speak
English is something 4 8 51 509 1559 4.7
worth doing.

 

 

 

123

Table 7 (cont'd).

 

45. The teaching of English '7 7 31 399 1673 4.7"
in Puerto Rico's
schools is necessary.

46. If Puerto Rico ever
became the 51g; state 773 333 606 157 259 2.4
of the Union, it would
lose its language and
culture. "

 

 

 

and easy seems to generate and sustain the effort needed to
increase the learners' proficiency, within certain limits
(e.g. provides for opportunities for contact and exposure).

Data pertinent to Hypothesis #2 appears in the form of
students' responses to the Attitude Index (Table 7). These
data support the hypothesis since it indicates that most
students (60%) report having strong positive attitudes (item
#36) toward English in relation to other subjects (e.g.
Science and Math). Responses also show that students seem to
like being involved in passive language-related activities
such as reading and listening to music in English (items #37
and 38) . Such a response is relevant since it shows that
students are exposed to TL input.

In addition, 94% of the sample report they would like to
travel to the United States and 78% report liking to practice
English when they have the opportunity (items #39 and #40

respectively).

124

About 90% of the sample also feel that they would use
English upon leaving the university (#41). About 89% report
that they would like to meet and befriend English speakers
(item #42) . Responses to this last item are particularly
interesting when we consider data reported by Trudgill (1983b,
1983c) which show how perceptions about ethnic identity are a
major factor in both language learning and language loss. The
ratings in item (#43) show 96% of the students in the sample
agreeing with the statement that learning more about the
language and culture would not necessarily involve ceasing to
be Puerto Rican.3

The last few items in this table show that 96% of the
students feel that learning to speak English is something
worth doing. About 97% believe that it is necessary to teach
English in Schools. About 52% believe that Puerto Rico would
not lose its language and culture if it were to become the 51?:
state of the Union, 29% have no opinion on this subject, and
only 19% are in disagreement with this statement. These
percentages indicate that, indeed, most.of the students in the
sample do not perceive becoming a state as a threat to their
ethnic identity. This finding is in agreement with the
responses to item #43 regarding a desire to know more about
the TL and the TL culture.

The findings reported above are particularly relevant to
the present study since Taylor et al. (1977) found that
perceived threat to ethnic identity could be a major factor

inhibiting 2LL. However, the present figures suggest,

125
contrary to expectations arising from the lingering
controversy pivoting around the teaching of English in Puerto
Rico (Gutierrez 1987) , that a perceived threat to ethnic

identity would not be a factor affecting 2LL in Puerto Rico.

5-3 1W!”-

Data pertinent to the second set of hypotheses (#‘s 4-6)
appear below. The data presented in Tables 8 and 9 are the
result of the error analysis of the journals for eight
students. These journals yielded a corpus of 1,609
sentences, of which 840 were from the first-year (1g; Yr.)
students and 769 were from the second-year (2nd Yr.) students
(see Appendix for complete transcription). The analysis
performed on these sentences was aimed at identifying
instances of simplification in the form of absence of three
morphemes, namely, the Plural (-s), Simple Past (-ed), to be
and transfer‘ of NL lexical items.

Simplification, for purposes of the present study, was
defined as absence or extremely low production of bound
morphology (e.g. Schumann 1982:341). Thus, the transcripts
of journals were analyzed by considering absence in required
contexts of the morphemes studied relative to the total number
of the same morphemes found in the corpus. Data pertinent to
(Hypothesis #6) appears in Table 8. These data indicate that
for both the first- and second-year of instruction, two of the
items studied, namely the plural (-s) and (to’be), appeared in

a frequency of over 90% of the time in obligatory contexts,

126

thus providing no evidence of simplification as defined above.

In comparison, the past tense morpheme (-ed) does show
evidence of being produced by the students in both courses at
a lower frequency. That is, it was supplied 69% of the time
for first year students and 71% of the time for the second
year students. This shows a 20% difference of the morpheme
being correctly supplied when compared to the other two
morphemes studied. In general, data on the three morphemes
suggest that there does not seem to be much difference,
roughly' 2 to 3 jpercent, between first- and second-year
students in terms of the frequency with which the morphemes in

question were correctly supplied in obligatory contexts.

Table 8. Percentages of morphemes supplied in obligatory
contexts per year of study.

 

 

 

 

 

 

FORMS: plural (-s) past (~ed) to be
lgtYr. 98% 69% 96%
(390/397) (107/156) (423/440)
zgng. 97% 71% 99%
(287/295) (94/132) (407/409)
Data on errors produced are analyzed in Table 9. The

analysis shows a difference in the rate of error production
(i.e. failure to provide a morpheme) between the two levels.
In the case of the plural morpheme we find about the same

proportion of errors for both groups (with 6% difference).

127
However, the second year students produced.more errors. Some
examples of errors by first—year learners are: "I want.to see

my friends and parent_,” "With all these walk_..." Sample
errors for the second-year students are: "I want to follow'her
example and all her teaching_," Besides all the thing_," " She

send me two photograph_..."

 

 

Table 9. Percentages of morphemes supplied incorrectly per
year of study. (N=135).
FORMS: plural (-s) past (-ed) to be Total
11;!r. 47% 60% 89% 63%
(7/15) (49/81) (17/19) (73/135)
anng. 53% 40% 11% 37%
(8/15) (32/81) (2/19) (42/135)

 

 

 

 

On the other hand, the other two morphemes show a greater
difference in error production from one year to the next. In
the case of the past tense we find that 60% of the errors were
produced in the first year while second year students produced
the remaining 40%. Some examples of errors for the first-year

learners are:

"First when we were in the eleventh we want_ to begin
working."

"When the graduation end§ we have a party in a pool,
everybody went to the party."

"When we entered the Island we made another row and we
stay_ 3 hours more to enter the statue."

Errors produced by second-year learners include:

128
"... when he approach_ to me and ask_ for my name."
"...since the time Ramén move_ to our community..."
"One day a student talk_ me about God and his love."
The percentages for the verb "to be" show that 89% and
11% of the errors occurred for first- and second- year

students respectively; Sample errors for first-year learners

include:
”Little a little ___ born in me the real person that I
like."
"This night ___ no going to the theater because..."
"In this moment I ___ stay in the library..."

"That year has celebrated in Puerto Rico the general
election.”

Errors for second-year students did not include any omission
of the verb but use of the wrong form of the verb, e.g. "It
was very funny because I went to the house were my friends
Efifio"

Though the actual numbers of errors is small, these data
do suggest a reduction in the students' reliance on
simplification as they reach the end of the two years of
instruction. There is evidence of a greater reliance on part
of the learners on a simplification strategy at the lower
levels of proficiency, as it was hypothesized.

From the present findings, it could be inferred that
first-year learners simplified their output more because they
knew less and not necessarily because of some cognitive
factor. However, it is highly relevant for a better

understanding of 2LL that: 1) there was evidence of

129
simplification, 2) that it seems to be a strategy that is
available to learners, and 3) that there was a differentiation
in the extent to which learners in the two groups relied on
it. All this is indicative that simplification is more than
a simple descriptive term and more of an active learning
strategy available to 2L learners.

In the present study transfer was narrowly defined as
reliance on L1 lexical items when attempting to produce L2.
That is, L1 lexical items are "borrowed" as a communication
strategy which, if successful, directs learners to incorporate
the elements into their IL. These items could have been
already altered phonologically and morphologically to resemble
L2 items in a process characteristic of pidginogenic contexts
called relexification.

It is pertinent to observe that the notion of transfer in
2LL incorporates the possibility that the rate of transfer
will vary according to the perceived distance between L1 and
L2 (Gass and Selinker 1983b:15), or the social settings in
which learning takes place (Odlin 1990:14). Chamot (1979:92)
suggests that the learners will use L1 elements (or elements
from any previous knowledge) as a tool in hypothesis formation
about the TL. More reliance on the L1 would result from
learners being required to produce beyond their level of
proficiency. Thus, in the case of two languages in contact
such as in Puerto Rico where we find English and Spanish in
close proximity, the IL of learners should exhibit more

transfer effects. Moreover, we could predict that reliance on

130
a transfer strategy would be reduced as the learners'
proficiency increases and they meet their communicative needs
(Richards 1983:55). This seems also to be the case with the
present study.

Data obtained for instances of transfer show a difference
in the extent to which students rely on this strategy. Table
10 indicates a reduction.between the instances of transfer of
NL items for first and second.year; It seems that the actual
instances of NL transfer were much fewer in the second year.
These findings support Hypothesis #5 by indicating a greater

reliance on transfer as typical of first-year learners.

Table 10. Actual number of transfer occurrences in data (i.e.
1,609 sentences).

 

YEAR: FIRST SECOND TOTAL

 

TRANSFER: 151 29 180

 

 

 

 

Since students were repeatedly advised that journals were
not going to be graded and that they should not make
corrections on them. Students were expected to try to
communicate in writing as best they could and with limited or
no use of dictionaries. These instructions were given to
minimize :monitoring and to obtain ‘the clearest. possible
picture of the learners' IL through their errors. Thus, we

can assume that in their writing students are making use of

131

whatever knowledge of the TL they have. When forced to
express something they for which they do not have the TL word,
they will rely on their previous knowledge, and modify that
knowledge to resemble the TL as close as their knowledge of
the TL allows them. Since writing may not offer enough
opportunities for testing their hypotheses, the transferred
elements may become incorporated in to the IL.

Transfer of lexical items in the data include articles,
adjectives, nouns, verbs, verb phrases, and idiomatic
expressions. Some examples of lexical transfer identified in

the corpus are included below for both first- and second-year

students.
limitless:
13835223 fiBAEIfiH EflfiLlfifi
"treated"-- "tratar"-- "to deal with"
Example: "This new'trgatgg about a little panda..."
"fisic"-- "fisico"-- "physical"

Example: "In summary the children do not have to
be with fiisig punish."

"extenous"-- "extenuante"-- "exhausting"
Example: "Yesterday was an exteneous day."
"done friends"- "hacer amigos"- "make friends"

Example: "And I've done good friends.

 

 

"call for telephone"-"llamar por teléfono"-"to telephone"

Example: "He asked me if I was waiting to call for
telephone.

Second-year:

"drive"-- "dirigir"-- "to lead or direct"

132

Example: "The people don't know that God drive us
in the life."

"passed"-- "tener o pasar"-- "to have"

Example: "Last week I passed the worst week of my
life."

"fraters"-- "fraternos"-- "fraternity brothers"

Example: "After you swear, the £35235 begin to
bother you all around.”

"remembered”-- "acordar"-- "to remind"
Example: "...which remembered me where I live."
"go for a party"- "ir a una fiesta"- "go to a party"
Example: "...when she called me if I can get to
Ponce W”
The examples above show that learners at both levels had
a tendency to rely on L1 lexical items that had suffered some
alteration to resemble the L2 (i.e. English). The fact that
some of these instances of transfer were repeated a number of
times in the journal of the same subjects and in journals of
other subjects suggests that indeed some of these items have
been added to the learnersfl II" IMoreover, these lexical items
may have become part of a local English non-standard dialect
(of. Selinker 1974:38: Scarcella 1983:319-21; Blau et al.
1989:142). This possibility is further explored in the next
chapter.
Figure 7 below provides a graphic illustration for data
on simplification as typified by the past tense morpheme.5
Figure 8 illustrates the first- and second-year students with

regard to transfer strategy. These figures are relevant to

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

135
Hypothesis #4 and represent percentage of errors found in
obligatory contexts.

There were no instances of omission of the negative for
the whole sample. However, error analysis showed that all but
one of the first-year students have failed to reach the 90%
accuracy production level, with a group average of 71% correct
forms supplied in obligatory contexts. On the other hand,
though showing a much higher group percentage than the first-
year group (93%), half of the second-year students failed to
reach the 90% acquisition mark. However, the data for the
whole group indicate individual percentages which are mmch
higher than those found in the first-year.

In addition, in spite of individual differences in the
stage of acquisition, there seems to be a significant
difference in the amount of error production between first-
and second-year students. For instance, we find that first-
year students produced over twice as many errors in negation
with an actual difference of 18% between the two groups.

A more detailed analysis of negation (Hypothesis #4) is
presented in Tables 11 and 12. Table 11 below shows the
percentage of negation morphemes correctly supplied in
obligatory contexts. Data presented below indicates that for
the four student samples we find that first-year students
supplied the morpheme correctly only 71% of the time required,
while second year students. used it correctly 93% of the time.
This second figure should be interpreted as indicative that

the second-year students have already acquired the morpheme.

136

 

 

Table 11. Percentages of negation morphemes correctly
supplied in obligatory contexts (i.e. 1,609
sentences).

STUDENT: 1 2 3 4 Total
1§§!r. 36% 63% 92% 88% 71%
(9/25) (10/16) (33/36) (15/17) (67/94)

2g52r. 75% 86% 100% 100% 93%
(3/4) (12/14) (15/15) (ll/11) (41/44)

 

 

 

 

Data analysis,

shown in Table 12,

revealed additional

information regarding the stages of acquisition of negation
for students in the sample (of. Butterworth and Hatch 1978a;

Cancino et al. 1978a: Schumann 1979a; Stauble 1984; Stauble

and.Schumann 1983). For instance, of the first-year students,

only one student was found to be at stage one (i.e. "No+V")
with a total of sixteen (16) errors, one at stage two (i.e.

"don't-Hr”) with six (6) errors, and two students at stage

 

 

three (i.e."Aux-I-Neg") with three (3) and two (2) errors
respectively.
Table 12. Stage of negation for each year of study.
STAGE: No+v don't+v Aux+Neg Analyzed don't
1§§Yr. 1 1 2 0

agng. 0 0 0 4

 

 

 

 

137

For the second-year students, on the other hand, the
reduced number of errors indicates that the four students have
already acquired the morpheme and are at stage four (i.e.
”Analysed don't") . Though the three errors actually found in
the corpus do not allow for a thorough analysis, these
involved either use of the past form.of the verb*with "didn't"
(e.g. "I didn't forgot'") or an instance of "don't" instead of
the past (e.g. "I don't qom'). Again, data reported above
can be interpreted as supportive of Hypothesis #4.

Chapter Six, provides an interpretation of the findings

presented.

138
Endnotes to Chapter Five

This is not surprising since ESLAT scores have remained
basically the same for the past five years (CEEB 1989).

See Randhawa & Korpan (1973:27-28) for a rationale and an
explanation of procedure.

Indeed, though not reported in the present study, results
of correlations among the items in this index indicate a
significant positive correlation between these two items
(r=.3344, p<.001).

Instances of "transfer" are here defined as any lexical
item or phrase which can be attributed to the NL of the
learners, i.e. Spanish. Errors originated in the
unsuccessful transfer of items from one language to the
other, i.e. either making the transfer either
semantically or grammatically inappropriate.

Since the past tense data do resemble the general
proportion obtained for the total number of errors (i.e.
63/37%) only one graph is provided as an illustration of
the overall pattern.

CHAPTER SIX

DISCUSSION

6-1 MW-

6.1.1 a o o o e ce .

The first interpretive task is to elaborate on the data
provided by standardized tests. Figure 4 illustrates that the
population included in the sample shows, on the average, a
higher proficiency level than that of the rest of the
population taking the test. This finding is significant in
the sense that one of the criticisms to which the use of
questionnaires is subject to is that first- and second-
language proficiency, as well as verbal intelligence, are
factors that could affect the reliability of socio-affective
measures (Oller 1977:180-183, 1981b:17-22; Oller & Perkins
1978a:95-97, 1978b:418-422). However, in the case of the
present study such views seem irrelevant since we are dealing
with a college population of proven verbal aptitude (i.e. , the
ESLAT has been proven to be a highly reliable measure with
high positive correlations with standardized measures of
aptitude such as SAT, Alderman 1981).

Data collected from the MT show parallel levels of
English proficiency for both years studied. After the first

year of instruction, students show an improvement of nine

139

140
points corresponding to the areas tested, namely, grammar,
vocabulary, and reading. In comparison, the second year
students show'an.improvement of four'points for'the sophomores
and three points for the freshmen. It was observed earlier
that this improvement occurs mainly in the grammar area with
no significant improvement in vocabulary nor reading.

When the MT scores for the present population are
examined in closer detail we find that in general, the Puerto
Rican students in the sample average scores below those of
other hispanics attending U.S. colleges and universities.
Table 5 shows that the Puerto Rican sample averaged a score of
fifty-eight (58) when entering college as compared to sixty-
nine (69) for other hispanics entering universities in the
United States. However, after two years of ESL instruction at
college level the Puerto Rico students averaged scores of
seventy-five.

The guidelines for interpreting scores for the MT suggest
that such students (in engineering and scientific fields)
should be required to take only 1/2 the normal academic load
plus a special intensive English course (10 hrs. per week).
A score of ninety (90) or above would be required before
allowing students to take a full academic load. Thus we find
that based on these data we could infer that the learners in
the sample are not proficient enough to compete with native
speakers of English in the academic environment of an English

speaking university.

141
6.1.2 Possible Effect 2; thg Course Syllabus.

The difference in proficiency observed between first- and
second- year students and the apparent tendency to apparently
reach a plateau in proficiency by the completion of the second
year of ESL college instruction is likely due to a number of
factors. First, we should consider the likely effect of the
courses. The first year courses (ENGL 3101 & 3102) follow a
communicative approach to ESL which mainly focuses on
improving comprehension (though conversational strategies are
also emphasized). It could be expected that these courses
provide sufficient and adequate input to allow the learners'
proficiency'to improve. IFor instance, both Seliger (1983) and
Long (1988) sustain that the classroom could provide the
learners with the opportunities to be sufficiently exposed to
21.. input and also to turn that input into intake through
interaction with both the instructor and peers. However, a
number of factors could lead us to provide some sort of
qualification for this observation.

On one hand we find that the class periods of ESL
instruction are limited to 50 minutes three times a week (45
contact hrs. per semester). This does not seem to be enough
time to‘guarantee.each learner the opportunity to actively get
involved in meaningful interaction with the instructor or
classmates. The issue is compounded by the fact that the
average class size for both courses is about 28 students per
section. It seems reasonable to assume that this rather

limited exposure to English in the classroom is not enough to

142
further promote increased proficiency in the TL.

On the other hand it should be noted that the second.year
courses (ENGL 3201 & 3202) focus on writing and reading. In
first place, it should be noted though writing could be
regarded as a vehicle for improved 2L proficiency (Krashen
1984:27-28), it may well be the case that in teaching the
second-year courses professors emphasize the writing process
more than providing learners with meaningful input. Indeed,
a casual examination of course syllabi showed precisely this.
Thus, the students' writing skills (i.e. planning, organizing,
developing a thesis statement, etc.) could in fact improve
without their English language proficiency moving farther
ahead. Evidently, this area needs to be explored further.

In second place, in terms of the little or no improvement
in vocabulary and reading we could observe that the choices of
materials, consisting mostly of literary material (e.g.
essays, short stories, poems, etc.) could also contribute to
the lack of improvement in the vocabulary and reading area by
being too high above the students' level (i.e. beyond their
comprehension) or being unappealing to them (Krashen 1982:21,
1985:104-106). If the vocabulary is unknown to the learners,
reading through the assigned material may prove to be too
difficult a task and thus dissuade students from reading.

In addition, the texts used in the second year courses
are intended for native speakers of Englisha If the topics of
the reading assignments are regarded as irrelevant by the

learners or they find it wearisome, they may be turned off

143
from reading and consequently be unable to use the input from
the text to formulate and test hypotheses about the TL. Thus
we find that though the second-year courses could be
successful in helping the students improve their writing, they
may not necessarily be successful in providing for improved
English language proficiency. Again, this finding needs to be

studied in more detail.

6.1.3 s l f c c o-A ect v Factors.

The second likely explanation for the difference in
proficiency scores is the effect of socio-affective variables
on 2LL as it was made evident by the fact that support for
hypotheses #1, 2, and 3 was provided by the data. A number of
researchers have reported close association between successful
2LL and affective variables. For instance, Van Patten (1985)
observes that there is a correlation between approximation to
2L norms and positive affective variables for students
learning Spanish. He observes that (p. 3),

Overall, the research suggests that a positive

configuration of affective variables is one of the most

important, if not the most important, variables in second
language development.

For the ESL students at the University of Puerto Rico at
Mayaguez included in the sample, strong positive attitudes
were found to be prevalent. These learners also exhibit a
strong level of motivation to learn English and appear to be

about. equally’ instrumentally' and. integratively :motivated.

Accordingly, the model proposed by Gardner predicted that the

144
affective measures should correlate highly with TL
achievement. The present findings failed to support the
model in the sense that no significant correlations were found
between motivational orientation and achievement measures.

Since most of the research on affective factors and 2L
achievement draws on correlational data, it is pertinent to
make some observations regarding the nature of correlations,
before we proceed with any interpretation of the present
findings. First of all, correlations are a mathematical
indication of the strength of a linear relationship between
given factors. However, the strength of the relationship does
not necessarily imply a cause-and-effect relationship. Thus
even if two factors show a high positive correlation, it is
not shown that one caused the other (or vice versa).
Inferences on the direction of the correlations are to be
regarded as mostly subjective.

As mentioned earlier, students in the sample (N=2,142)
show both an integrative and an instrumental motivational
orientation regarding the learning of English. That is, we
find that for the students at the University of Puerto Rico at
Mayagfiez included in the sample, the reasons for learning
English reported are about equally balanced as to kind and
strength, i.e. they show both an integrative and an
instrumental 'motivational orientation. 131 addition, the
motivational strength is the same (i.e. high and positive).

The one reason (item #27) that evoked a rather negative

response from the sample was the idea of seeing English as

145
important in thinking and behaving as an English speaker.
Apparently, students either do not see English as essential to
being North American (Puerto Ricans are U.S. citizens from
birth), or do not think that learning the language is
important in order to be able to think and act as an American,
or the idea simply does not appeal to them.

None of the reasons in the Orientation Index was found to
correlate significantly with either of the two measures of
achievement used in this study (i.e. ESLAT and MT). Only an
item included in a separate section of the Questionnaire (item
#12 --"How much do you like English?") emerged as a rather
mild predictor of success in 2LL. We say "mild" because,
though significant at the p<.001 level, a correlation of .26
is to be interpreted as somewhat weak (cf. Gardner (1985)
reports correlations at the level of .52 for person product
correlational analysis).

It should be noted that as of April 1991, the Governor of
Puerto Rico signed a piece of legislation that is widely knows
as "the Spanish Only Law." This law supersedes the existing
law which stated that both English and Spanish were the
official languages of Puerto Rico. The new law makes Spanish
the only official language of the Island and specifically
states that it will be the language of the Government. Since
the law provides a number of loopholes for Government Agencies
to continue using English in their transactions with the
Federal Government and the private sector, it may well be the

case that the passing of this legislation is politically

146
motivated (since the language issue has always been a
political issue both in Puerto Rico and elsewhere).
Nonetheless, it this fact may be construed as an indication
that indeed Puerto Rican may still perceive English as some
sort of treat to their ethos.

However, a number of other factors could account for the
findings reported above. For instance, age has been
identified as a factor influencing 2LL (Richards 1972:
Schumann 1975: Fathman 1976: Saville-Troike 1978: Scarcella &
Higa 1982: Snow & Hoefnagel-Hohle 1982). Since the sample
used in the study consists of college students (average age:
19 yrs.), it could be that an age-related factor influenced

the results.1

However, a number of studies focusing on adults
report obtaining statistically significant findings (e.g.
Mueller 1971) showing positive correlations between
motivational variables and achievement differences. Though
age may indeed be a factor influencing the associations
between the factors studied, this is not necessarily the case
for the present one.

A second possibility to consider as responsible for the
low correlations obtained are the achievement measures used.
However, previous studies have successfully used standardized
tests as measures of proficiency and have found attitudinal-
motivational variables as reliable predictors of achievement
thus measured. In the case of the present study this could be

ruled out given the consistent validity and reliability of the

instruments used, thus an explanation must be sought

147
elsewhere.

A third alternative is the questionnaire used. This was
subject to a series of modifications, translation into Spanish
being the most significant. It could be that in the process
of translating the items the validity of the instrument was
altered. However, as it was mentioned in Chapter Four, pre-
tests revealed no indication of such possibility, and no
problems were reported in using the instrument. Consequently,
even if this was a factor affecting the results, it is
probably not the major culprit for the lack of associations
found.

The third, and possibly the more likely explanation for the
present findings, could rest.with the role of social milieu in
the 2LL process. In the case of Puerto Rico, it may well be
the case that the social setting simply does not provide
sufficient opportunities for contact and interaction with
native-speakers of English. Accordingly, given the failure of
the motivational reasons to act as predictors, the lack of
associations between affective factors and achievement

measures could be interpreted as confirmation for Hypothesis

#3.

6.1.4 Possible effect of Social Milieu.

If the constructs studied in the present project have in
the past proved to be reliable predictors, if the instruments
have been. developed "with an eye to their’ psychometric

properties" (Gardner & Smythe 1981:510), and if the age of the

148
learners was not a major factor in other studies of the same
type, we could conclude that the context variable could have
influenced the strength of the associations.

In the present context of learning, subjects may have
already reached a plateau after two years of instruction at
the college level. This plateau is demarcated by both the
lack of a need for moving closer to the TL norm and the
limited opportunities for contact with TL speakers. This
explanation is supported by the statements from the students
as to the limited need and rather non-existent opportunities
for using English.

Given that none of the more apparent explanations for the
limited English proficiency reached by the students after two
years of ESL instruction seems to fully account for the
findings, we must examine other Options. The present findings
could be interpreted as suggesting that the lack of
opportunities for interaction with NL speakers, the limited
exposure to the TL available from both the classroom and the
outside environment, and.the lack of an immediate need for the
language while living in a social environment that is
predominantly Spanish speaking, all these have led most of the
students to either fossilize (as defined in Schumann's 1978d)
at the Mesolang stage (or early stage) or to stop short of the
TL norm (or Acrolang).2

For instance, the possible effect of reduced
opportunities for interaction with native-speakers of English

is made evident in studies such as Long (1983:211-212). He

149

reports findings that suggest that input available to 2L
learners is made useful by the interactional structure of
conversation (e.g. repetition, comprehension checks,
clarification requests). It seems that it is the
interactional nature of conversation what makes unfamiliar
linguistic input comprehensible (and thus useful or
meaningful) to the learners. Zobl (1985) also reports similar
findings that suggest that availability of input per se may
not be enough to guarantee acquisition and that interaction in
conversation is necessary.

In the case of the Puerto Rican students, as mentioned
earlier, English language input is be available in the media,
in printed material, and from native speakers (specially in
the tourist areas), but opportunities for actual conversation
and interaction might not be so readily available. Indeed,
this was reported to be the case in the completed
questionnaires (item #11- only 7% reported using English
frequently).

Though the learners show a strong motivation, and though
they exhibit high positive attitudes towards the TL and
speaking, all this does not avail much if there is neither the
need nor the opportunity for interacting with a NL speaker.
Swain (1985:236) argues that though comprehensible input is
essential for 2LA, it is not enough "to ensure that the
outcome will be nativelike performance." Her findings suggest
that it is the interactional nature of the language contact

situation which allows the learners to formulate and test

150
hypotheses about the TL. When meaning is negotiated between
speakers in a conversation, linguistic input is simplified and
the learners' contributions to the exchange are expanded and
clarified and thus made comprehensible (p. 246). She
concludes that (1985:247),

"Given that comprehensible input is the causal

variable in second language acquisition, the

assumption is that second language acquisition
results from these specific interactional meaning-
negotiated conversational turns."
If opportunities for’ interaction are ‘not available, the
existence of TL input alone would only allow for limited 2LA,
or pidginization. This may well be the case of the Puerto
Rican ESL students participating in the present investigation.

Similarly, Schmidt (1983:172) reports data on a thirty-
three year old Japanese speaker named "Wes." His findings
suggest that though social and affective factors may encourage
learners to be more open towards the available input, "the
interaction which they engender provides manageable data for
the learners." If no interaction is available learning may
stop. Accordingly, pidginization features should be evident
in the learners' IL.

Seliger (1983) studied learner interaction in the
classroom. He found that learners who maintained high levels
of interaction in the 2L progressed at a faster rate that
those who interacted little. Moreover, his findings show that
those learners that exhibited a high rate of interaction also

showed a lower percentage of errors that could be traced to

transfer from L1 (p. 262). It seemed that the higher rate of

151
interaction allowed learners more opportunities to formulate
and test hypotheses about the TL and thus they had less need
to rely on their L1.

These observations can clarify the analysis of the
journal data in the present study. Though relatively few
students were used in this segment (N=8) of the study, it
should be observed that the actual number of utterances
included in the error analysis amounted to 1,609 sentences and
that the size of this corpus is either equal to or larger than
the size of those found in the research literature. The
analysis of the student errors revealed that learners at both
levels have reached the 90% acquisition mark for two of the
morphemes (i.e. plural (-s) and "to be"), while falling short
in the case of the simple past (-ed).

It was found that for the three morphemes studied, only
the simple past was absent from obligatory contexts to a
meaningful extent for both the first- and second-year
subjects. This was interpreted as evidence of a
simplification strategy being put to use by the learners given
that there was an apparent difference between first- and
second-year learners in terms of the extent to which such
strategy was used. The rather limited difference observed
between the two’groups could be the result of NL influence and
successful transfer of the morphemes to the TL output. This
is particularly possible in the case of the plural which has
the same form (-s) and the verb "to be" that is rather similar

in both languages (e.g. English "is"/Spanish "es").

152

However, analysis of the actual errors produced revealed
a different pattern in the percentage of error production for
each level of study as suggested by Hypothesis #6. These data
showed that the first-year students produced.more errors than
the second—year students, 63% and 37% respectively in the:case
of ”past (-ed)", 89% and 11% for "be". This suggests that
though the numbers of errors is rather small (again, probably
due to NL influence as concluded by Schumann 1979a), reliance
on simplification seems to decrease as the proficiency of the
learners improves.

Again, data from transfer errors reveal a similar pattern
of lower reliance on a transfer strategy as the students move
toward the TL norm. That is, it seems that the students
closest to the norm are proficient enough in the TL that they
do no need to draw on their NL knowledge when asked to
communicate in the TL. Nonetheless, the fact that there is
still a reliance on. both these strategies could be an
indication that learners have not fossilized and that if
social conditions change and opportunities for contact and
interaction arise, learning may proceed. This interpretation
provides support for Hypothesis #5. ‘

Moreover, the data obtained from the analysis of errors
in negation hint that indeed 2L.learners move through definite
stages as they get closer to the TL norm. IHowever, even after
up to two years of college level ESL instruction (not counting
the twelve years of school prior entering college), learners

exhibit features characteristic of early stages of IL

153
development, i.e. "noiV" negation. It seems reasonable to
infer that there is likely to be some causative relationship
between the negation stage reached by students in the sample

and the suggested pidginogenic nature of the learning context.

6-1-5 Wins:-

In spite of the somewhat inconclusive results, an
apparently emerging pattern that fits the pidginization model
of 2LL seems evident in the data presented and discussed
above. The persistent presence of both types of strategies
(i.e. simplification and transfer) could be interpreted as
indicative of a‘tendency'on.the part of the learners to remain
at the given level of proficiency. This is probably so not
because the learners do not have the desire to learn the
language, but because of either the lack of need to move
toward the norm or because of the absence of NL speakers with
whom to interact.

It is pertinent to observe that it is the lack of
opportunities for interaction what may lead learners to a
plateau still far from NL proficiency. The inference stemming
from Schumann's model is that learners under conditions of
restricted opportunities for contact do not necessarily
fossilize, but rather can start moving again toward the TL if
conditions change, e.g. a desire or need to acculturate
towards the TL group and opportunities for conversation and
interaction become available. These observations are in

agreement with Varonis and Gass (1985) who conclude that in

154
conversations between non-native speakers which learners are
actively involved, the resulting negotiation of meaning is a
major factor in making available input comprehensible and thus
provide for 2LL.

The language contact situation of the more advanced
learners examined in the present study is such that they
seemed to show'a lower reliance on learning strategies such as
transfer and simplification. This finding could be
interpreted as suggestive of at least two possibilities: that
they may eventually fossilize (i.e. stop learning) or that
learning will be minimized until social and learning
conditions are suitable (i.e. were they to move to the
continental U.S. where learning could restart).

Another possibility briefly mentioned earlier is that ESL
are moving not toward the TL but rather a different norm, i.e.
a non-standard variety of English. Indeed Blau et al. (1989)
report some findings that are suggestive of the fact that
industry representatives that come to the university to
recruit students, as well as the local industry established in
the area (e.g. Eli Lilly, Hewlett Packard, Digital, Bristol-
Myers), seem to respond more adversely to grammatical and
syntactical errors than to lexical or semantic errors. It is
suggested.that the recruiters.have come.to expect and tolerate
semantic deviations but to interpret syntactic errors as
indications of carelessness or poor command of English.

Findings of the present study could be regarded of

suggestive of the fact that ESL learners in the sample may

155

have. developed. an inventory* of lexical items they’ have
transferred from Spanish and modified to fit English morpho-
phonemic rules. It is possible that the industry
representatives that come to the University to recruit these
students, ‘may' have also come to accept these lexical
borrowings (while reacting negatively to ungrammatical
sentences). When these learners use these items in their
interactions with the interviewers and receive no negative
feedback, they interpret this lack or negative response as
confirmation of their hypothesis and thus internalize the
borrowed lexical items into their IL.

If the tendency to accept this "Spanglish" lexical items
becomes sufficiently widespread among speakers, we may have
the emergence of a non-standard English language variety for
the island. Learners would then move towards this variety
instead of towards the TL. Instead of fossilizing at some
point between the NL and the TL, the lack of sufficient
opportunities for interaction with English speakers has caused
the learners to draw instead on their previous knowledge which
may include lexical items they "borrowed" from their NL. With
enough speakers following the same path, a non-standard (or
"pidginized") English variety may become the goal of the
learners since it meets their expectations for both
proficiency and need. This possibility also needs to be re-
examined in further investigations.

In sum, it seems that all of the findings examined above

are supportive of Schumann's conclusion that "SLA is

156

pidginization" (1982:363).

6.2 Meal—02991051293.
Any theory that attempts to provide an explanation to the

2LL process should be examined against different settings in
order to adequately assess its validity. The present study
has been such an attempt. The study sought to assess the
validity of the Social-Psychological Model of 2LL proposed by
Gardner and the Pidginization Model for 2LL proposed by
Schumann. It was assumed that both of these models shared
some elements in common and that both. might indeed. be
approaching the same phenomenon from two different
perspectives.

This investigation.was limited in scope, as it sought to
test the validity of two models of 2LL against the context
provided by the learning of English as a second language in
the context of Puerto Rico. From the results obtained it has
become evident that possibly additional measures of 2L
achievement might have been desirable, as well as a broader
sample from which to obtain error data. A longitudinal,
instead of a cross-sectional, study might also be a welcome
alternative for future studies. Nonetheless, a number of
significant conclusions can be drawn from this investigation
regarding the role of affective factors and learning
strategies in the 2LL process. The results reported here,
though tenuous, are suggestive of the role of factors such as

these when considered against a given social context.

157

First, it would seem that the effectiveness of affective
factors that in the past have been identified as reliable
predictors of success in 2LL is subject to the effect of
social milieu and actual opportunities for contact and
interaction. JNot only are attitudes and.motivation important
for the learners to move toward the TL norm, but these may not
avail much when.actual need for the language is not evident to
the learners. Even in cases where the social and
psychological distance between learners and NL speakers are
not notable, the availability of meaningful input and need for
the language are major factors in determining successful 2LL.
Gardner (1980:98) observed that attitudinal/motivational
factors could account for about 14% of the variability in 2LL
achievement. Given this rather low percentage, it is
necessary for research efforts to aim at accounting for the
remaining factors.

Learners' IL has been defined as consisting of successive
stages in a continuum ranging from the NL all the way to the
TL. The acquisition of negation has been thoroughly
documented in the research literature and has also been used
for identifying IL stages (e.g. Stauble 1984). The present
findings are in agreement with such conclusions as beginner
learners showed evidence of being at either the first or
second stage of negation development, while intermediate
learners had moved closer to the third or fourth stages. A
variety of factors are responsible for this.

Learning strategies such as simplification and NL

158

transfer have been suggested as responsible for the learners'
progress toward the TL norm, or for their failure to show
progress. It is presupposed in the present study that
learning strategies are part of our cognitive abilities and
that they are available to learners as communicative resources
when they are required to perform in the TL beyond our level
of proficiency. As learners move closer to the TL, reliance
on these strategies diminish. That is, simplification and
transfer seem more characteristic of early stages of 2LL,
though they are also available to more proficient learners.

Learners may either fossilize or continue to move toward
the TL depending on a combination of a natural tendency to
rely on these learning strategies in interaction with social
and contextual factors. If the environment fails to offer the
learners opportunities for contact, and consequently input,
they'may stop or minimize learning the language early and thus
exhibit the pidgin characteristics mentioned in Chapter Two.
On the other hand, if opportunities for contact are available
and the learners have a need and a desire to move closer to
the TL.group, then their IL may fully develop (or decreolize)
into the TL. The degree to which these strategies are
dominant in language learning depends to a‘great extent on the
degree of proficiency of the learners and vice-versa (Taylor
1975).

It should be observed that though simplification and
transfer strategies have been mostly referred to as a

production strategies, the fact is that they are also

159
processing strategies (Chamot 1979: O'Malley et al. 1985:
Ellis 1985) . These strategies guide the learners in analyzing
input that is then be transformed into intake by the learners.
Of course, affective factors could serve as filters for this
input, either hindering or promoting the hypothesis formation
and internalization of language.

The present findings also suggest that the learning
context is indeed a major factor in 2LL. Access to input and
opportunities for interaction could intuitively be identified
as highly influential in the learning process. However, we
can go a step further to suggest that the classroom is no
substitute for an input-rich learning context that allows for
plenty opportunities for contact and interaction. Indeed, it
may well be the case that the pidgins originating in the
plantation contexts resulted not only from the fact that there
were a number of languages in contact but that opportunities
to actually interact with the plantation masters was rather
limited for the vast majority of the workers.

The Puerto Rican students in the present investigation
had been through more than twelve years of English instruction
yet, on average3, they failed to score significantly high on
standardized proficiency tests and they were unable to advance
to a negation stage characteristic of the TL norm. All this
could be interpreted as suggestive that, in terms of
availability of input, the traditional classroom may not
provide the most desirable language learning environment, and

that it may act as a constraint on the learning process.

160

The observations made above should not be construed as an
appeal to abandon classroom language instruction, but rather
as a call for more realistic expectations on the part of
administrators, curriculum developers, and instructors. It
may well be the case that even if we were to develop the most
thorough materials and facilities, even if we had the best
teachers and the most motivated students, language learners
would only move as close to the TL as perceived need and
opportunities for use would permit. Alternatives that could
serve to provide some additional exposure, e.g. immersion
programs, should continually be explored and developed.

Language planners may be well advised to pay attention to
these observations. Language instruction must work in
accordance with the natural processes affecting language
learning. Though Puerto Rico presents a particular language
contact situation, the fact is that it mirrors a number of
other such contexts elsewhere in the world. Curiously, 2LL
does not seem to be determined by positive or negative views
of the TL group or language, nor by perceived threat to ethnic
identity, nor even by more utilitarian goals such as securing
a better job. Successful learning seems a function of
language contact opportunities that would allow the motivated
learners to avail themselves of meaningful input from which to

formulate and test hypotheses about the TL.

161
6-3 102119511224.

In sum, this investigation was able to determine that in
Puerto Rico the Socio-Affective Model proposed by Gardner may
account for variation in 2LL only under certain conditions.
These results are parallel to those reported by previous
research efforts in this direction (e.g. Llado-Berrios 1978:
Van Triste 1985). Data collected revealed a sample of highly
motivated students exhibiting strong, positive attitudes
toward learning English and the TL group. However, successful
2LL seems mitigated by additional, non-affective factors.

Two basic learning strategies were found to serve
learners as a function. of increased. proficiency in ‘the
language. Simplification and transfer seem more
characteristic of learning at early stages and reliance on
these appear to decrease as the learners move closer to the
1H» The analysis of learners' errors, though limited,
indicates that 2LL proceeds through a series of stages (or
"intermediate grammars") resulting from the application of
learning strategies such as those named above that could
result in convergence of the learners' IL with the TL norm.

It can also be inferred from the obtained data that if
there is no need to go beyond a given level of proficiency, or
if learners are not exposed to opportunities of contact with
TL speakers, their IL may fossilize at an early stage thus
making way for a "pidginized" English. Thus, it seems that
the model proposed by Schumann adequately accounts for the ESL

learning situation in the context of Puerto Rico.

162

All in all, it seems that research in the areas of
pidgins and second language learning would profit from a
closer relationship. An appropriate model for 2LL would
necessarily incorporate input from data obtained from research
on. pidgin languages, interlanguage development, learning
strategies, and social and affective factors. In addition, it
seems that such a model should rely heavily not only on the
role of innate factors, but also on contextual variables that
may influence language development.

Some suggestions for future studies arising from the
present study could include: the possibility of a non-
standard dialect of English arising in Puerto Rico, the role
of transfer of lexical items in the emergence of dialects,
native-speaker judgements about borrowed L1 lexical items, the
relationship of writing to L2 proficiency, the choice of
reading topics and increased L2 proficiency. fossilization vs.
reduced (or diminished) 2LL, and the role or effect of
conversational interaction in 2LL in formal (or classroom) and
informal (naturalistic) environments.

The problem imposed by the lack of consensus on what
pidgins are as well as what constitutes simplification and/or
transfer needs to be addressed. No further research efforts
are likely' to be productive unless adequate operational
definitions are provided. The usefulness of a symbiotic
research partnership between sociolinguistics and 2LL studies
is evident as it may provide the benefit of different points

of view on what is likely to be the same phenomenon.

163

From the above discussion it should follow that 2LL is
indeed a rather puzzling phenomenon and that no single model
of the learning process could satisfactorily account for its
complexities. Careful testing of theories of 2LL against
varied learning environments is a.must. However, regardless
of the results reported by future research ventures, we may
agree with Spolsky (1969:201) as he concludes that,

We are lead to note the significance of socio-

linguistics to second language pedagogy, for while

psycholinguistics will continue to contribute with

data on how second languages are acquired, it is

only when we look at the social dimension that we
understand why.

164

Endnotes to Chapter Six

It should be noted that most of the research reported by
Gardner' and others focuses. on either' elementary' or
secondary level school populations. Since the strength
of attitudinal-motivational measures as predictors of 2LL
reportedly decreases with age (Gardner et al. 1978) , this
may have had a ndtigating effect in the relationships
investigated in the present study.

Schumann (1982) discusses three basic levels or stages of
II.development. These stages are parallel to constructs
referred to in the pidgin studies. They are: basilang
(early), mesolang (intermediate), and acrolang
(advanced). These are not to be regarded as absolutely
discreet, but rather as points in a continuum of language
development going from the NL to the TL.

This should not be interpreted as a statement that all
classroom instruction is destined to fail. In the case
of English instruction in Puerto Rico we find.that indeed
some programs have been quite successful at teaching
English while others have not. ESLAT scores show a
evidence of two distinct populations on the Island, one
coming from the public school system and the other from
the private system. These private schools mostly operate
immersion programs with Spanish being taught as another
subject. while English. is the ‘medium. of instruction
throughout the curriculum- Research on this subject has
provided evidence of how successful such programs could
be (Genesee 1983) . It seems that by providing the
students with a widened source of input that extends
beyond the English.classroom, the learners aremallowed'to
move beyond early'21.acquisition and.get closer to the TL
norm.

APPENDICES

APPENDIX A

ENGLISH LANGUAGE ATTITUDE QUESTIONNAIRE (English)

DIRECTIONS:
answer sheet provided.

1. What English course are you

a) ENGL 3101-3102 b) ENGL
2. What was your grade in Engl

a)A b)B c)C d)D
3. Sex: a) F b) M

4. Year of study: a) 1 b) 2

5. Faculty:
a) Arts & Sciences
b) Engineering

6. Age: a) 16-17 h) 18-19
7. Area of residence:
a) Metropolitan (i.e. SJ,

Please answer the following questions in the

taking now?
3201-3202

3102?
e) F

c) 3 d) 4

c) Agriculture
d) Business Administration

0) 20-21 d) 22+

Bayamon, Carolina, Caguas,

Guaynabo, Trujillo Alto).

b) Other towns/cities

8. Type

9 . Have

of High School attended:

a) public c) private

you ever lived in the U.S.? a) YES

10. If you answered Yss to #9, for how long?
a) a few weeks while vacationing

b) a few months during summer

c) a year while attending school there
d) never

11. Is English used at your home?
a) never
b) sometimes, e.g. with a visitor

b) NO

c) frequently, e.g. with a parent, brother, etc.

DIRECTIONS:

Please answer each of the following questions,

rating each item on a scale from 5 (highest) to 1 (lowest)
indicating the extent tO‘WhICh the statement is (applicable to

you.

166

167
12. How much do you like English?

1 2 3 4 5
13. How much do you want to learn English?

 

 

1 2 3 4 5
14. How much do you need English to achieve your goals in
life?
1 2 3 4 5

DIRECTIONS: Please rate your Knowledge of English in a scale
from 5 (high) to 1 (low).

15. Ability to understand English.

1 2 3 4 5

 

16. Ability to speak English.

1 2 3 4 5

17. Ability to read English.

1 2 3 4 5

18. Ability to write English.

1 2 3 4 5
19. Your knowledge of English Grammar.

DIRECTIONS: The following reasons are frequently given for
studying English. Read carefully each of these and rate it
on a scale from 5 (highest) to 1 (lowest) indicating the
extent which each is applicable to you.

168

20. It is necessary to know English in order to be an educated
person.

1 2 3 4 5

21. To know English will help me to better understand English
speakers and their way of life.

1 2 3 4 5

 

22. English is important because it will be useful in
obtaining a job.

 

 

1 2 3 4 5
23. English is important because it fulfills a graduation
requirement.
1 2 3 4 5

24. English is necessary in order to read books/magazines of
personal interest.

1 2 3 4 5

25. English is important in order to read texts required for
university courses.

1 2 3 4 5

 

26. I want to know English in order to communicate and get to
know tourists and other visitors better.

1 2 3 4 5

27. To study English.is important in order to be able to think
and behave as an English speaker.

DIRECTIONS: The following comments were made by students of
English. Please read each one carefully and indicate the
extent to which it is applicable to you personally by rating
it on a scale from 5 (most applicable) to 1 (least

169

applicable).

28.

29.

30.

31.

32.

33.

34.

35.

36.

On the whole, I am doing well in English.

1 2 3 4 5

I enjoy studying English.

1 2 3 4 5

 

I plan to take some elective English courses upon
completion of my requirements.

1 2 3 4 5

 

In my English class, I am generally not prepared unless I
know that the instructor will ask for the assignment.

1 2 3 4 5

 

English is my favorite class.

1 2 3 4 5

I resent having to spend so much time on English at the
expense of other classes.

1 2 3 4 5

 

Usually, it is difficult to know what to study for an
English test.

1 2 3 4 5

 

English is one of the most difficult languages for a
Puerto Rican to learn.

 

Nowadays, being able to communicate in English is equally
or more important than Science or Math.

0
O

 

37.

38.

39.

40.

41.

42.

43.

44.

45.

170

I frequently enjoy reading literature, newspapers and/or
magazines in English.

1 2 3 4 5

I like to listen to music in English.

1 2 3 4 5

I wish I had a chance to travel to the U.S.

 

1 2 3 4 5

I like to speak and practice English when I can.

1 2 3 4 5
I hope to use English once I leave the University.

1 2 3 4 5

I wish I had the chance to meet and befriend more English
speakers.

1 2 3 4 5

 

It is possible to speak English and to know about the
North American culture without ceasing to be a Puerto
Rican.

1 2 3 4 5

 

Learning to speak English is something worth doing.

The teaching of English in Puerto Rico's schools is
necessary.

 

171

46. If Puerto Rico ever became the 5111 state of the Union, it
would lose its language and culture.

1 2 3 4 5

 

APPENDIX B

CUESTIONARIO DE ACTITUDES HACIA EL APRENDIZAJE DEL INGLES

INSTRUCCIONES: Favor de responder a las siguientes preguntas
en la hoja de contestaciones provista.

1. aCual clase de inglés estas tomando ahora?
a) INGL 3101-3102 b) INGL 3201-3202

2. aCual fue tu nota en INGL 3102?
a) A b) B c) C d) D e) no lo tomé

3. Sexo: a) F b) M
4. Afio de estudios: a) 1 b) 2 c) 3 d) 4

5. Facultad en el RUM:
a) Artes y Ciencias c) Agricultura
b) Ingenieria d) Administracion de Empresas

6. Edad: a) 16-17 b) 18-19 c) 20-21 d) 22+

7. Zona de residencia:
a) Metropolitana (i.e. SJ, Bayamon, Guaynabo,
Carolina, Caguas, Trujillo Alto).
b) Otros pueblos de la isla.

8. Escuela de procedencia: a) publica b) privada
9. aHas vivido en los E.E.U.U.? a) Si b) No
10. Si contestaste Si a1 #9, apor cuanto tiempo?
a) algunas semanas en vacaciones
b) varios meses en verano
0) un afio minimo en una escuela norteamericana
d) nunca

11. aSe usa el inglés en tu casa?

a) no, nunca
b) a veces, por ejemplo con una visita
c) frecuentemente, i.e. con un padre, hermano, etc.

INSTRUCCIONES: Favor de contestar las préximas preguntas
escogiendo el numero que mejor corresponde a la intensidad de
sus sentimientos.

12. acuanto le gusta e1 inglés?

O O O O
O O O

 

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173

13. Favor de evaluar su deseo de aprender inglés?

1 2 3 4 5

14. Favor de evaluar su necesidad de aprender inglés para
lograr sus metas en la vida.

INSTRUCCIONES: Favor de evaluar sus destrezas en inglés.

15. Habilidad de entender inglés oral.

1 2 3 4 5

16. Habilidad de hablar inglés.

1 2 3 4 5

17. Habilidad de leer inglés.

1 2 3 4 5

 

18. Habilidad de escribir inglés.

1 2 3 4 5

19. Conocimiento de la gramatica del inglés.

 

INSTRUCCIONES: Las siguientes razones son dadas
frecuentemente como motivos por los cuales estudiar inglés.
Favor de leer cuidadosamente cada una de ellas y responder en
términos de una escala de 5 (mas alto- si refleja) a 1 (mas
bajo- no refleja) su opinion personal a1 respecto.

20. Es necesario saber inglés para llegar a ser una persona
culta.

 

174

21. Saber inglés me ayudara a entender mejor a personas de
habla inglesa y a su modo de vida.

 

1 2 3 4 5
22. El inglés me importa porque me sera util para conseguir un
trabajo.
1 2 3 4 5

23. El inglés me importa porque satisface un requisito de
graduacion para mi programa.

1 2 3 4 5

 

24. Es.necesario saber inglés para.poder leer textos asignados
en cursos en la universidad.

 

1 2 3 4 5
25. Es.bueno saber inglés para leer libros/revistas de interés
personal.
1 2 3 4 5

26. Me interesa estudiar inglés para poder comunicarme y
conocer mejor a turistas y otros visitantes.

1 2 3 4 5

 

27. Estudiar inglés es importante para poder pensar y
comportarse como una persona de habla inglesa.

INSTRUCCIONES: Los siguientes comentarios fueron hechos por
unos estudiantes. Favor de marcar si te aplican o no.

28. En general, voy bien en inglés.

 

29.

30.

31.

32.

33.

34.

35.

36.

37.

175

Disfruto estudiar inglés.

1 2 3 4 5

Planeo tomar algunas electivas en inglés pasados mis
cursos requisitos.

1 2 3 4 5

 

Para mi clase de inglés generalmente no me preparo a menos
que sepa que el instructor pedira la asignacién.

1 2 3 4 5

Inglés es mi clase preferida.

1 2 3 4 5

 

Resiento tener que dedicarle tanto tiempo a la clase de
inglés a expensas de otros estudios.

1 2 3 4 5

 

Cuando hay una prueba o examen en la clase de inglés, en
general es dificil sabe que uno debe estudiar.

1 2 3 4 5

 

El inglés es uno de los idiomas mas dificiles para un
puertorriquefio aprender.

1 2 3 4 5

 

Hoy dia, el poder comunicarse en inglés es tan 0 mas
importante que las Ciencias y matematicas.

1 2 3 4 5

 

Me gusta leer literatura, periodicos y/o revistas en
inglés frecuentemente.

 

 

38.

39.

40.

41.

42.

43.

44.

45.

46.

176
Me gusta escuchar musica en inglés.

1 2 3 4 5

Desearia tener la oportunidad de viajar a los E.E.U.U.

1 2 3 4 5

 

Me gusta hablar y practicar el inglés cuando puedo.

1 2 3 4 5

Espero hacer uso del inglés una vez deje la universidad.

1 2 3 4 5

Desearia tener la oportunidad de conocer y hacer amistad
con norteamericanos .

1 2 3 4 5

 

Es posible hablar inglés y conocer la cultura
nortemaricana sin dejar de ser puertorriquefio.

1 2 3 4 5

Aprender a hablar inglés es algo que de verdad vale la
pena hacer.

1 2 3 4 5

La ensefianza del inglés en las escuelas de Puerto Rico es
necesaria.

1 2 3 4 5

 

De Puerto Rico convertirse en el estado #51 alguna vez,
los puertorriquefios perderiamos nuestro idioma y cultura.

 

APPENDIX C

RELEASE LETTER FOR PARTICIPANTS (English)

Dear Student:

You are being asked to participate in a study of the
attitudes toward learning English in Puerto Rico. I am
conducting this study as part of research efforts sponsored by
the Dept. of English of U.P.R. Mayaguez. Both the Dean of
Academic Affairs as well as the English Department's Director
have granted permission to gather our data. This study will
rely on responses obtained from students like yourself.

We expect you to complete a questionnaire regarding some
personal/ demographic information and the way you feel
regarding the learning of English. You are assured that your
responses will be regarded as strictly confidential and that
your name will not appear in any part of the study. None of
your answers will be made available to your English
instructor.

Completion of the questionnaire is not part of your
course requirements nor will you receive "extra credit" for
it. Participation in this study is strictly on a voluntary
basis. However, your willingness to participate is greatly
appreciated as we seek to examine the prevailing attitudes of
learners of English in Puerto Rico and how these attitudes
correlate with diverse measures of English proficiency. By
signing this form and completing the Questionnaire you are
granting permission to the researchers to obtain your ESLAT
and.Michigan.Test scores for the purpose of this research. If
you do not wish to be involved in this project, simply DO NOT
complete this Form nor the Questionnaire and put them in the
envelope on the first desk of your row.

A second part of this study involves assessing the
students' use of learning strategies. This involves the
partial analysis of written samples from the student
population. This will be accomplished by the use of journals
that you write for your English class. By signing this form
and completing the questionnaire you are granting permission
for the use of this material. Your name will not be made
available to the researchers and you are free to choose not to
participate.

Thank you very much for your cooperation. Your

participation in this study will be of great help to the
English Department. If you have any questions regarding this

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study or its results, or if you would like to make any
comments, please feel free to contact me at the Department of
English.

Prof. Joaquin S. Vila

I HEREBY GRANT PERMISSION TO PROFESSOR VILA TO GAIN
ACCESS TO MY ESLAT AND MICHIGAN TEST SCORES, AS WELL AS TO MY
ENGLISH JOURNALS. I UNDERSTAND THAT MY PARTICIPATION IN THIS
PROJECT IS ANONYMOUS AND COMPLETELY VOLUNTARY.

 

 

Student name I.D. number

APPENDIX D

PERMISO DE PARTICIPACION

Estimado estudiante:

Por la presente estamos solicitando su participacion en
un.estudio sobre las actitudes.hacia.el aprendizaje del englés
en Puerto Rico. Este estudio esta auspiciado por el
Departamento de Inglés del Recinto Universitario de Mayagfiez.
Tanto el Decano de Estudios como el Director del Departamento
de Inglés han dado permiso para realizar esta investigacion.
El estudio considerara las respuestas obtenidas de estudiantes
como Ud.

Esperamos que Ud. este dispuesto a completar e1
cuestionario que incluimos. El mismo solicita informacion de
caracter demografico y de sus actitudes hacia el aprendizaje
del inglés. Puede estar confiado en que sus respuestas al
mismo seran de caracter estrictamente confidencial y que su
nombre no aparecera en ninguna seccién del estudio. Asimismo,
sus respuestas no estaran disponibles para su instructor de
Inglés.

El completar el cuestionario no es parte de los
requisitos de su curso ni implica "crédito addicional" alguno.
Sin embargo, su participacion voluntaria es grandemente
apreciada pues intentamos identificar las actitudes hacia el
aprendizaje del inglés prevalecientes en Puerto Rico y como
esta actitudes estan relacionadas con diversos indices de
proficiencia en el idioma. Al firmar esta forma y completar
el cuestionario, Ud. esta dando su consentimiento a los
investigadores pare obtener sus resultados de las pruebas
ESLAT y Michigan Test para propositos de este proyecto. Si
Ud. no desea estar envuelto con el mismo, simplemente NO
COMPLETE esta forma ni es cuestionario y coléquelos en el
sobre en el primer asiento de su fila.

Un segundo componente de este estudio conlleva el
identificar diversas estrategias de aprendizaje utilizadas por
los estudiantes de inglés. Esto conlleve el analisis parcial

de muestras escritas de la poblacion estudiantil. Esto se
realizara mediante el uso de los "journals" que los
estudiantes escriben para sus cursos de inglés. Al firmar

esta forma Ud. también dando su permiso para utilizar este
material. Su nombre no sera revelado a los investigadores y
Ud. esta en completa libertad de no participar.

Gracias mil por su ayuda, Su cooperacion en este estudio
sera de gran ayuda para el Departamento de Inglés. Si tiene

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180
alguna pregunta sobre el estudio o 108 resultados, o si desea
comentar algo a1 respecto, puede contactarme en el
Departamento de Inglés.

Prof. Joaquin S. Vila

 

POR LA PRESENTE CONCEDO PERMISO AL PROFESOR VILA PARA LA
OBTENCION DE MIS RESULTADOS DEL ESLAT Y MICHGAN TEST, AL IGUAL
QUE A MIS "JOURNALS" DE INGLES. ENTIENDO QUE MI PARTICIPACION
EN ESTE PROYECTO ES ANONIMA Y DE CARACTER ESTRICTAMENTE
VOLUNTARIA.

 

 

Nombre del estudiante no. de estudiante

APPENDIX E

TRANSCRIPTS OF STUDENT JOURNALS

I. FIRST YEAR STUDENTS.
STUDENT #1-- ENGL 3101

Last Monday while I was reading the newspaper I read a
sadnews. This new treated about a little panda bear that its
dead cause and infection that took from his mother. The
parent's names of the little bear are Ling-Ling of twenty
years old and Hsing-Hsing on nineteen years old. They are the
only giant pandas in permanent exhibition in the United
States. This pair of Panda bears are the oldest couple in
captivity far from China. The offspring that weight only 87
grams was the smallest offspring given by Ling-Ling. As I
like animals I was dissapointed when I read this news. This
events dissapointed the people at the zoo because at present
this animals were in extinction. The expert in animals tried
to save the bear but it was impossible because it was late to
save his life. Michail Robinson, the zoological director,
announced this news with pain.

My best friend is Rosa Chaparro. She is like a sister for me.
She study in RUM too and she has eighteen years old like me.
She is a great person. She is friendly,intelligent and
comprehensive. She always are in the disposition to help me
in any thing. When I have a problem I always tell her it and
she treat to advise me. She also study in the Pre-Medical
department like me. Always we try to be together in the
College. The people say that we are very similar in our way
to think.

Today is a really special day for me, because I meet a really
nice boy, in the way to the college. His name is Bryan, with
blue eyes, dark brown hair and good feelings. When I was
talking with him I was so afraid because my boyfriend is so
zealous, and.maybe for me it wasn't bad to talk with somebody,
but are people who want to cause damage in other people and
thats why I had to keep walking far from him. Because I love
my boyfriend so much and I didn't wanted to be in trouble with
him "Oh my God." This day is very special.

The last Wednesday I had my first Chemistry exam. First when
I was prepared to take the exam I remembered that I forgot my
identification in my lodging. In this moment the rain began
to fall and I had to go to my lodging under the rain. When I
returned to the classroom I was completely wetting. The
section where I suppose had to take the exam was full. I went
to the other section and it was full too. I began to make
angry. I had to go to the department of Chemistry I run again
under the rain. Then I took the exam thirty minutes after the

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182

exam began. They gave me fifteen minutes more. I took the
exam in a chemistry classroom. The only good thing was that
I had the periodic table in front of me. There was an air
conditioned and I was frozen. At last I could do a good exam
( I hope).

I'm talk about on children and punishment. Usually the
children break something by accident. Some parents do not
understand it and punish them in public. It is an incorrect
punish. The children do not have to be punished in public.
Usually whose punish the children in the home is the mother
who is the person that is with children a big part of the
time. In my town the parents punish their children when they
break something on purpose, when offend other person , etc.
The parents punish them with the hand or with a leather strap.
In summary the children do not have to be with fisic punish.
We can give to the children another kind of punish. But this
must be without exced.

It was friday at six in the afternoon. I was looking at the
sunset. We could see how the sky get closer one to other and
how their color change but slowly. The sun as the moon have
double trouble because they lighten the orient as the
occident. The sun set starts from six thirty in the
afternoon. Every time the sun is like falling tells you that
the night is coming and the moon is going to appear. In some
countries the sunset happens earlier from our country. And
this is the reason and diference from days, night, hours...
Looking at the sun set feels and makes you romantic. Watching
these you could see how big is God of making marvelous things
in the world and looking at the sunset tells you that a new
day comes.

The future is no clear because the man construction misile.
The construction a misile is very expensive. With money use
to construction misile feeding all people was to be
incontable. While million of human dead for hungry, the great
country buy money in this future armament. My opinion is the
armament is important for protection of the country. But
other countries need the money for feeding the poor people.
Think, the countries have to priorty a human's need for life.
The future is no clear because the humans destroy others
humans. Is necessary taking time for this issue because our
future depend to the think in a yesterday.

I was thinking I was in my boat traveling with pleasure. Days
and nights, a sun and moon. I was observing and thinking
about the mysteries of the sea. Some days later my boat
wrecked to sink. I got saved and float. I got to a small
desert island. There were big trees, delicious fruits,
beautiful flowers. You could see them from way far away. I
went between the trees to explorate the place. Then from a
long walking I saw big pieces of wood. It was like God's
miracle. In a few days I could make a little hut. Everyday
I spend my time at the edge of the sea trying to get something
to eat. I was always looking for fruits and flowers in the
mountain. I spent days in the days in the island. But I

183

prayed every day to be rescu because I miss my lovely and
beautiful island of P.R. I hope that could happen fast
because I want to see my friends and parent.

When I was in high school I used to wear a uniform. I hated
this always because I like to wear in jeans and mini-skirt.
But I enjoyed very much the time I passed in the High School.
In my free hours I liked to go with my friend to different
places in my town. The classes in my High School were hard
but not very hard. I missed very much High School because in
it I passed the 3 years more beautiful in my life. I had a
lot of friend, my boy friend studied in it too, and always was
happy. The high school was so near from my house and
sometimes I went to my house when I had nothing to do. When
I remembered the past I became very sad but I know that years
I could never forget.

My classmate is very friendly and very nice. She likes to
dance, go to the beach, go to the movie, etc. They like to
read too. In high school she loves mathematics and science.
She is studying electrical engineering in the College. The
class that she really hates is physical education. She says
that she likes science because they are easy. I think.that is
because she is intelligent, She. doesn't like jphysical
education because she is not good in sports and the teacher
want too much from the student. She is in her first year of
electrical engineer and he likes it very much.

Yesterday was a very nice day. During the day I received the
notice that I passed the biology exam with 85%. It is very
emotion for me. But the most emotional thing pass during the
night while I was waiting to call for telephone. A tall and
handsome guy stopped in front of me. He asked me if I was
waiting to call for telephone» Then he began to talk with.me.
During the conversation I knew that this guy study in.the same
department that I and that this guy live in front of my
lodging. I talked with him for three hours. The time passed
very fast. Suddenly I remembered that I had a exam the other
day I couldn't study nothing. I had to say goodbye to him.
I returned to my house very happy.

Yesterday was an extenous day. I had my first class at 7:30
A.M. and my second class from 3:00 P.M. to 5:30 P.Mg I had to
wake up at 5:30 A.M. to get ready to leave at 6:30 A.M. .After
taking my first class I had to wait until 3:00 P.M. to attend
to the second one. I didn't have nothing to do, and I didn't
have money to eat either. After a while of doing nothing I
decided to go and play some volleybol. To my afternoon class

I can go in shorts it doesn't matter. I attended to my
afternoon class and then I walked to my house. At night I
went with my boyfriend to see a movie. It was very comic.

After that we went to eat. Then my boyfriend dropped me in.my
house and he drove to his house. I stayed up a little later
watching another movie in the TV and after I finished the
movie I fall sleep.

Today is another day. I have to study a little hard because
the classes are getting harder then when I first started.

184

This morning I woke up late and I couldn't attend to my first
class. So now I'm doing my journal. Today I'm planning to
assist to my classes like regularly. But after classes I am
planning to go play some volleyball. That is if I don't feel
too hungry like I'm starting to feel now. Then I'll go home,
eat, take a shower and go to a basketball game in my town.
They are playing very well and is probably for them to make it
this year and win the first place in the basketball in P.R.
After the game I will go home and fall asleep. I'm happy
because today is Friday.

This last Sunday was a very nice day. My family and me went
to San German to visit my uncle and my grandmother. They live
in the camp. There we ate her tastefull food.(very good). We
went to their lands and got some fruits like oranges,
aguacates, mangoes, etc. We went to the river too. It was
a very cold river and the water looks like cristal too, is
very clear water; ‘We took a bath in the river. .After that we
went back to the house, my grandmother house, and ate dinner.
Then we drove back to our home. It was nice to be together
with my family. I was sad because this day I had to go to my
apartment in Mayaguez because the next day was Monday but at
all I was happy because I had a great Sunday with my family.
Then I fall sleep.

Isabel is my friend. She had problems with friends from the
time she was a young girl. She is a person who chose her
friends carefully; She never'had.a one special person to talk
about or invite her to parties. She didn't have a friend to
share her secrets and thoughts with. So she was an unhappy
nervous girl. She looked upset and desagradable. This
influenced her relation with boys. Isabel needed help in
being able to get close to people. I offered her some
advices, Now she looks more friendly and happy. She has many
friends that talk and invites her to different places. She
considered me her best friend.

Today when I came from Mayaguez with the father of one of my
roomates. I saw a woman walking on my way home, when we
passed near her. I notice that the woman was my mother. My
roomate's father stoped and gave her a ride. When.we got home
my sister told me the bad news my grandmother's sister had
died. Eventhough I didn't know her well. I had visit her a
couple of time. When my father came home from work we went to
her house. When we arrived, there were a lot of people. At
10:00 P.M. I was so tired, but I had to wait for my mother and
grandmother because they were talking with their family.
After an hour they finished. Thanks of God. Then we took my
grandmother to her house and we came to ours to sleep.

I found a dog one rainy night. She has a big large brown and
black body. Her paws are white. The ears are long and
straight. The eyes are big and brown but she was very thin.
Bone showed through her coat. I was very sad because in that
month my dog was kill by a car. I gave thanks to God to put
this dog in my way. When I found her was wet and starving.
She looked very hungry. I named the dog Sasha. Sasha's

185

nature is very kind. I enjoy playing ball with her. I love
her very much. And she is my best friend in my lonely.

I am reading a magazine and I found an interesting article
about twins. I'm very interesting in all about twins because
I have a twin sister. The people say that we are identical.
The article mentions a study made at the University of
Minesota to study how genes make people what they are. Twins
share almost everything. They have the same taste and some
times they feel the same sickness and pains.

There are three types of twins according to this article.
They are identical twins, fraternal and.ha1f-identical twins.
The twins tell their experiences in.common.and its amazing how
they are almost the same person. I feel very glad for have a
twin sister'because we share all the things and is interesting
have a person that is like me.

Some people do excercise because they want to loose weight.
But they feel disappointed when they see that they haven't
loose a pound. That happens because they want to loose weight
the same day that they start excercising. The professionals
believe that exercise is a psychological and physical issue.
The person should do exercise because he likes to do it. He
should not be thinking about loosing weight first. He has to
find it fun to excercise. In conclusion if you have a proper
training program you could feel better.

I like to listen.to music and I listen to almost every kind of
music. But my favorite kinds of music is pop music and slow
music.

My favorite pop singer is Whitney Houston. I like the way she
sings and her particular style. She has received a lot of
awards for her songs. Another of my favorite singers is
Puerto Rican. She is Lunna. She is also very famous and has
received lots of awards too.

My favorite group is Air Supply. I like the romantic songs of
this group. 'There are some of my favorite singers, but I like
many others, and I hear almost any kind of music.

STUDENT #2-- ENGL 3101

In this composition I'm‘going to talk about all I had observed
daily in our life days, in my family life, society and in
mines.

For me, life is a very pretty experience and I don't want to
continue until I thank God help me cross by problems that I
had to survive and pass to the other side with God help and
feel safe. God gives us the liberty to do and live as we like
better to do so. Although of course he would want us to act
the best of us. Unfortunately is not like that. We don't act
and do the way the Bible says, in other words we are doing
everything we want and.we don't care about what could happened
to us, not only this is damaging our society. In the present

186

only a few of all the people in the world think about us and
we let any other person around us out of our mind, like
nothing. I think that the concept of the families unity is
desappearing now the family is not like in the past, you.don't
see their parents sharing their time each other. You don't
even see father and mother sharing their time with their sons
in a park or at a theater. Todays sons don't want to go out
with their fathers and these don't do nothing to avoid this.
After this is a consequence our'young people feel alone and.we
read the newspaper and all we see is that it talks about
criminals, drugs, vices, and people that has accidents under
the alcohol effects. We also have people that don't hear what
people advices them, thats why some people gets sickness.
There is no reason for a son that doesn't find comprehension
in his fathers to quit from school and to fall on his bad
friends hands. Believe it or not as soon as they start to
walk with this kind of bad boys he won't be able to avoid
falling into the world of drugs and vices. This which is a
near future will bring problems to our society between them
sickness very notable like the AIDS. The AIDS is the result
of a sickness life. This is a very bad sickness that is
killing thousands of persons in the 'world. between. them
innocent infants and.the AIDS is a sickness that with.a little
bit of care we could avoid. There is another problem when a
couple get divorce. That little paper that when two persons
signature makes a couple that maybe in the past were very
happy to begin separate and also breaks those sentimental ties
that use to leave them together, sometimes for years, This is
something that we could also avoid knowing a little bit more
each other and.with.more comprehension. For'me, the life that
we are living is not the one that God wanted us to leave
either the reason he gave his son to erase our sins.

I think that we should all contribute for a better world. If
we have problems we will also have a solution and the solution
is having God in our side and we will be triumphant.

This theme isn't interesting but I don't know of what to
write, so...

My life is simple and normal, is like a life of a young people
of this time, though a little bored.

First, I'm.going to talk about my past life. I studied all my
life in public schools. I did my high school in two years.
The last year I studied in CROEM and finished there my high
school. In CROEM you can do third and fourth year in one year
and the students live there. In CROEM I learned a lot. I
learned to be independent of my parents, because the life
there was very different for me. There I lived alone. I had
to do all of my thing; wash and iron my clothes, wash the
bath, wash the windows and other things that I didn't use to
do in my house. I know a lot of people in Puerto Rico. And
I've done good friends. At the beginning couldn't accustomed.
I use to missed my parents, my friends and my boyfriend. But
with the time I got accustomed because I know that was for my
well-being. This experience was nice for me and for my

187

parents because they cried all days, for me, in special my
mother, and now they know that I'm not a little girl. I think
that was a wonderful experience and that I will never forget
it.

In the past, as other girls I was in love. But isn't of my
neighbor or other boy, I was in love with Guillermo Davila, an
artist. I was crazy for him. I bought all his records. I
bought all his photograph. I saw all his novels and I went to
see him at the "Palacio de Recreacion" in Mayagfiez. Now I
think in him as a nice and a good-looking man, as a past
dream, though yet I like his songs.

At the present, I live with my parents, my sister and brother.
I live in.Mayagfiez. I have 16 years old and my zodiacal sign
is "libra". I'm medium stature, brown eyes, curly hair and
I'm a little serious. I like to learn, in special romantic
novels. I like all the music except rock or heavy metal. I
like the sincere persons and with good feelings. I dislike to
make decisions and I don't like to sunrise.

My life has changed a lot. I studied in the College so I had
more responsibilities. I studies pre-medicine and I have six
classes and four laboratories. I like college and the
university life because I feel more big. Now I do more
friends and I feel happy. Now I don't have a secret love, as
Guillermo Davila, because I have a real boyfriend. I have a
lot of dreams and much objectives. I want to be a good doctor
and help the people. I want a peaceful and a happy life, as
now. Well, as you can see my life had been always peaceful
and I like it, I considered.that.my life is wonderful because
is mine and.because God always helps me to live my life best.
Fifty years ago life in Puerto Rico was very different. I
don't lived for it's times and I don't have grandmother or
grandfather but I asked to my parents and they told me how was
when they were children.

My parents said that when they were childrens they were
walking to school and that they used to take off their shoes
for cross the river. They said that they sold and egg, it
costed 2 cents, for they take the money to the school.

My parents told that in this house used to have stove but.many
times used to cook with the grill. They used to walk to the
mount and looking wood to cook, My parents said that the food
wasn't expensive. They told that the transportation was as
now: with cars, bicycles, horses, and with the foots.

They told.that people of those times used others clothes, most
simple and that cover more.

They told that the bethrothal was different. The girls
respected more and the boys visited the house of the girls;
and when they came out to take a walk always were with them
other persons, and when the parents of the girl were there
they only shook hands.

They told that the life wasn't easy but was better. The bad
habits were less and all the people lived better because the
bad habits brings the steals, assaults, murders, crimes and
other things. They said that all past time was better.

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My personal opinion is that this time should be better if all
cooperate.

My favorite artist is Ricardo Montaner. He was born in
Venezuela. He have twenty-seven years old and he sings
romantic songs. His songs are beautiful and I like it very
much.

One day, while I was listening music I heard that was
announced a concert of Ricardo Mentaner. It was at October 7
and in Mayaguez. I was very happy because it was in Mayaguez
and because my birthday is at October 6, so it was my birthday
present.

One month before they started to sale the tickets. Two weeks
later, all the tickets were finished. I bought my ticket at
time but I had to buy general entrance. It cost me $10, the
others cost $18. The concert was at 8:30 and I arrived at
8:30. When I arrived I couldn't believe it. A lots of cars
in the parking, in the sidewalk, in the grass... Where I came
in all the seats were occupied. I had to sit behind the
wooden platform, but thanks to God I saw well all the concert.
I said to my friends that he dedicated to me one song but the
true was that he dedicated the song to the people that were
behind of him. Anyway I thought that the song was for me.
The concert was wonderful, I enjoyed a lot. He sang all the
songs that I like. He was very nice, and in one occasion the
people sangs for him and like it was full of heard very nice.
When I say that it was full of people I'm not exagerating
because I heard in the radio that he broke record in the sale
of tickets in Mayaguez. He was acceptive so good that he is
going to give another concert at the end of this month. I
would like to see him again but like I saw him I prefer his
cassette. My recomendation is that if you like romantic
music, go and hear his concert.

I'm going to talk about Holloween. Holloween is in october
31. Some people said that it's a witches night, and other
people said that it is a pagan.party. For me Holloween is the
day that the children go to their neighbors and take candies
with a mask and the famous phrase "treat or trick". Other
persons thinks that this day is to do badness. That's why
this day has changed through the years. This changes have
been negative and positive.

One example of a positive's change is that now there are many
different kinds of masks that a children can choice. There
are animals, clowns, dolls, witches... This is nice because
when I was child I made my own mask with my parent's clothes
and other things.

The negative change is that now Holloween isn't the same, that
when I was smaller. Now Holloween is used to throw eggs,
stones and other things to the houses. Now the candies that
people give to the children are infected and now Holloween is
for some people to kill. When I was little I liked this day
because I ate many candies and I had much money. Three or
four years ago I liked Holloween because I enjoyed a lot
seeing the childrens asking for candies in my house.

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This year it wasn't the same. Through my house only passed
groups of boys crying and with eggs and sticks in their hands.
The childs that.passed were at 7:00 P.M. and.were two or three
childrens. I think that it is thus because the parents were
frightened to walk with their childs and that a bad thing
could occur.

At least, at College it didn't ocurred anything bad, but in
Mayaguez some people killed some animals in the streets, but
not with their cars: they used sticks and knives.

This year my brothers and I ate all the candies that were for
the childrens. I hope that the next year it change but I
think.that it isn't going to change so we will still be eating
the candies.

The most near holidays is November 19, and is the day of the
Discovery of Puerto Rico. Puerto Rico was discovered in 1493
by Christopher Columbus. This day should be very important
for the people of Puerto Rico, but it isn't: all the people
thins in November 19 as a holiday, as a day that there isn't
work, school...only bed or beach. Always there are people
that makes some activities for this day, but I think that is
only for comply, through a lot of people celebrate this day
with love and pride. I think that with more persons like
this, November 19, could be always be the day of the Discovery
of Puerto Rico.

The other holiday in this month is Thanksgiving Day. This
year this day is in November 23. At the beginning this day
was created to give thanks to’God for all that he had given to
us in all the year. That's why the families get together and
eat, and gave thanks to God. This day people use to eat
turkey of dinner.

In this time the people don't said that it is the Thanksgiving
Day, but they said that it is the Turkey Day, because they
think only on the turkey they are going to eat. In many
ocasions the family don't remember when and why to«give thanks
to God.

These are things that we loss in our culture and that we
should avoid. The other holiday is Christmas. In Christmas
or in December 23 to 31, we celebrate Good Night, Christmas
and the last day of the year. These are the days that I like
the most and I enjoy a lot. My family came to visit and I eat
a lot of food: rice and beans, pastry rolls, candies,
desserts...and the better is that in all Puerto Rico is like
this. This is a holiday that never changes and where the
family gets together. I think that we should give thanks to
god for that.

STUDENT #3-- ENGL 3101

Good day, afternoon or night. This Monday of recuperation is
a nice day. Today I'm going to the river, the day is very
hot. The name of the river I visit is "Rio Grande River".

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This is localized in the town of San Sebastian. The river is
very famous for the shrimps that fishing in your'green‘waters.
In the night I'm going to the home of my grandmother. I'm
talk with my grandmother of the hurricanes San Ciriaco and
Santa Clara. The most strong of the hurricanes is San
Felipe. This affect the cultive of coffee, tabaco and the
cattle. I'm not see a hurricane, but I taste to see one
hurricane in Puerto Rico.

The day start with rain at the morning. In the class of
economy the professor talk about the problem of the status of
the island. In specific talk about the expressions of the
reverend evangelist Jorge Rashke. This person said that he to
favor of the state of Puerto Rico. I think that a predicant
man shouldn't talk about politics. This night no going to the
theater because I have to study for the class of Gerencia.
Tomorrow I have a quizz for the chapter of ethics.

This is a large day. In the morning have 4 classes and in the
afternoon I have that prepard one program of cobol. The
program consists in prepare the nomine of certain number of
employes and consent commission at the best employes. In the
night go to the library to study mathematics and English. The
next week have exam of computers and the other next for
biology.

The day start cloudy. In the travel of San Sebastian to
Mayaguez I think about my life, my goals. To be in the
correct way? Little a little born in me the real person that
I like. The other side of me replandent. The transformation
of young to adult to be finish. A see the day different, now
a see a real day. Now understand the society, the world, the
human, my self. I struggle for me and my ideals no import the
problems or obstacles, triumph. Oh the sun to go out of the
cloud.

Hello, today I talk about my favorite theme, the computers.
Yesterday descovery the form to communicate in the network
communication line. What is this? The network line is a net
of communication of different institutions, public and
private, persons and different agencies. Yesterday I
communicate with the computer from the Colegio with students
in the universities of CUTPO, CUTA, UPI, CUHAC and more
others. Imam facinate with this systems, I know'many students
of other universities and ask for the form of study of this
universities. Ohl, call me in the computer.

Hello, I stay in the library in this moment. Tomorrow have
two test, one of the class of English, and the other of the
class of Cobol. Today the prepas are very sad, They have the
test of chemistry. Tomorrow I am very sad have two tests.
The library is full. I have to read for today three chapters
of Cobol and two chapters for the book transitions. Oh! I
have that read other suplementary information for economics.
It's fifteen minutes after ten P.M. o'clock. I watching the
final basketball series.game forche Puerto Rican championship
between the Mets of Guaynabo and the Lions of Ponce. The
first half time the Guaynabo Mets won for seven points. My

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favorite team is the Guaynabo Mets. The next week, that start
tomorrow, I establish one personal record, I will have five or
six tests. The Monday have one text of economy, and other of
laboratory of biology, and another of management, the tuesday
have the test of laboratory of biology: the Wednesday have
tests of ESOR and the laboratory of the class of English? Oh!
The basketball game I start.

In this moment I stay in the library. Tomorrow have two
tests, one for ESOR and the other for the laboratory of
English, I study now and later'I could see the playoff series
of the mayor league baseball games. My favorite team is the
Athletics of Oakland because have the best team. On their
rows have players like José Canseco, MCGuire, Ricky Anderson
and Dave Stewart. All of this player are super stars. My
pronostic is Oakland win the American league championship in
four games. Oh! It's the 8:35 P.M. the play start.

Today I no talk for sports, this day writing about one notice
to read in the newspaper, specific El Nuevo Dia. That notice
is about the law that establish the limit age to consume
aloholic drinks in twenty-one years. The senate of Puerto
Rico vote in opposite for this law and the consequence of this
action was the United States Government retirement the found
of money ($11.6 millions) to repair the highways of the
countries of Puerto Rico. I think that this is a bad decision
of the Government of the United States.

I have been planning to>go to Conneticut State. In.this state
I was born but a one year later of my born.my parents take me
with them to Puerto Rico. I not remember Conneticut and work,
but after my graduation I planning to translate to Conneticut
and work in this city. In this place live part of my family.
After work in Conneticut for five years I will return to
Puerto Rico and past the rest of my days here, in my town.
Ten years ago when I was in the fourth grade the cartoons in
mode were Tom and Jerry, Force G, Mazinger Z, the Flintstones
and the Warner Brothers Cartoons. My favorite hobbys were the
pinball machines, ride bicycle and swim in the river. The
basketball teams in mode were the cowboys of Bayamén and the
Pirates of Quebradillas. In the baseball the best teams were
the New York Yankees and the Dodgers of the Angels, That year
has celebrated in Puerto Rico the general election. That was
a good year.

In this day I am very tired. The trip from San Sebastian at
4:00 A.M. is very bad. The night before today I cannot sleep
because the preoccupation to the next day to travel to
Colegio. But the Thursdays I cannot sleep because the
preoccupation to traveling to San Sebastian the more fast
possible.

The Monday of recuperation for me is the Monday of
destruction” Of 7:30 at 11:30 have four classes; and the rest
of the day I stay in the computer center. But this is the
live of Colegio.

Today I went to the game of Volleyball between the Tigers of
the Interamerican University and the Tarzans of the University

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of Mayagfiez (Colegio). This was a great game. The Tarzans
win the play in three set. In the present the Colegio is
ranked second in the rating of Volleyball tourment, The first
ranked is the Gallitos of the University of Puerto Rico of Rio
Piedras. The volleyball is a excited and difficult sport.
The Changos of Naranj ito are the champions of Volleyball
Superior. The caribs of my town are the sub-champions.
Today I work in my project of computer. It is calling
Matricula.cob It is about one tuition in the University of
Pakistan. The computers are complicate and difficult but
interesting and wonderful. My prefer model of computer is the
IBM Mainframe. That have a powerful memory and a fast word
processing. The graphics are very excellent and perfect
colors. The sound is good. The Colegio have differents
models of computers. That use the VAX, the apple, Samsung,
Mackintosh and many others.

The day started happy. Today have only two classes and one
laboratory. In the morning I finish my computer program. In
the laboratory’ of biology’ today discuss the process of
fotosintesis in the plants. In the night I thing to go to the
theater and see the movie The Abyss. This movie is about the
theme of the sea and the submarines, or see the baseball game
for the world series.

In this moment I stay in ‘my apartment and listen the
conversation of two friends. My friend David have one problem
with your girlfriend and Jorge help David with your problem.
In the other side of the apartment my roommate study for
calculus. I study for economics and math. Tomorrow I have
one test for economics. I'm.tired because all of the day work
in the computer center with a new project.

On this one I'm going to write about something crazy that made
yesterday some friend in the boarding house. It was early and
when I look at their room I saw something strange and when
look again saw a stop of transit that they took from the
highway. I look at them and start to laugh because it was
something with risk and it the police took them is sure that
they were in troubles and I really don't do that for anything.
In the world exist many sports that are dangerous, exciting
and difficults, but of all there a few that are considerated
like the most difficults in the world, some of them are the
artistic skating, professional pool, golf and American
Football.

But of all the more dangerous is the Football and the Hokie,
the football is comparated.as.a‘war and.every year hundreds of
players are hurts and ever some of them die. In the Hokie in
each game the blood run like a riveru And ask.these on really
dangerous they are two of the most popular in the United
States.

That was something funny that happened to me the past week and
I want to write now, it was an exam of DOS (Computer) that I
thang that I understood so well, then the day before the exam
I was practicing and a girlfriend need help and I help her.
And teach her all that I know.

193

Then in the exam I made some mistakes that I am concient that
will afected me but. I thought that it wasn't a reason to
worry.

Then when the proctor gave us the exam the result of mine was
47 and when I looked at my side the one that I explined
obtained 97. Then I start to laugh because it have only a
value of 5% and don't affected so much. But I couldn't
believe it.

On this one I am going to write about what happened to some
friend. This one happened to one of my best friends: it was
one day when he was on his motorcycle with others, suddenly a
drunk driver who came in a wrong direction impact him. The
driver continued, only with the help of others he could have
medical attention, in the accident he broke one of his legs.
And after some days in the court house the drunk driver was
there, but in this case the justice was injustice. Why?
Because nothing happened to this person and all the things
were lost.

I remember one day some years ago when I was in the
electronic salon of high school. That I was working with some
circuits and other things. Suddenly I looked to my side and
saw the one of the student wanted to recharge one watch
battery with one power supply.

This battery only need .5 or 1 volt. He make it but when he
saw that function decide to amount the voltage and make it
amount of .5 to 40 volts. And after some second I only hear
explosion and when look, it was the battery theres many things
that make remember how I spent my great day on that high
school but maybe in others. ’

In the morning my brother come to see me in the boarding house
and tell me if I want to go with him to the mall because he
want to buy something. As I don't have anything to made said
that I was OK and look to my wallet to see how money I have
because I have to buy a T-shirt. After a while we were in
the mall being there I look in many stores and what I saw
don't like one or cost too much.

Then I said my brother that forget it that I will not buy
anything and he said.OK as you.don't need the money right now.
I need part to complete what I want and that that happen I
don't have money and don't have T-shirt.

My uncle Paco who live in Lares didn't come to visit use since
four months ago make a visit today. He talk about his work,
his family and other things.

He gave us some good news as one of his sons, my cousin Frank
and his wife have a baby, that something that make everybody
happy because they lost his first baby and from this time we
couldn't see them. Maybe this days they appear with the baby.
But he also gave bad news like Sonia, his daughter abandoned
the University only for work in something simple without
preparation.

Now that I am writing I could see that this week isn't so good
for me, in relation with exams. First I study all that I can
for 3 exams that I had this week and when I took them I thong

194

they weren't too difficult but the proffesor gave me the
results. Was a desillusion but the strange is that I explain
the material of two of the three exams to some friends and
when they receive the results they were better than me. But
something its happened to me many times and isn't new for me.
All that I hope is that change soon.

The owner of the boarding house that one day warn us that we
should maintain the stove clean, I not he will disconect it.
Make it because someone used it and didn't clean. Then as he
let one note that the one who didn't like it go out of the
house, one of the persons took.his words and went out. .As the
owner saw that affect him take the decision to connect the
stove again but all was make for that he loose one client and
$222.00.

STUDENT #4-r ENGL 3101

I'm going to talk about my graduation class of high school.
For the graduation all the students have to work hard. First
when were in eleventh we want to begin working but the
principal don't want that us begin to work. Then we began to
work when were on twelve. We don't made a back to school
party because we don't have any money. First we need the
directive of the class. In the school we have a week for the
elections of the candidates. Everyone made his own votes.
When we had the directive they began to select the mascot of
the class and the theme of the class. Our presidents presents
us different mascots and themes. Then the class selected the
theme and the mascot. The mascot was short circuit. The
theme was "Transformandonos a una nueva era."

After all this we began to sold chocolates, pens, T-shirts,
etc. Then become our first party. We made a good promotion
to the party. That party was crowded of people. Our first
party was fabulous.

After' the first party we made many partys more. To the other
parties we brought Nirvana, Word for' Two, New' England,
Invisible Art and more. We brought the best of the bands in
Puerto Rico. We were the first class to brought all these
magnificents rock bands. We made a party that we called
"Video Party." Consist of a party with nine monitors and a
big screen. And when you are dancing the video was about the
song that were hearing.

Before the day of graduation we have to practice a week. Of
what were going to do the day of graduation. We practiced
different songs of the class. Also the program that the
students will make. But before the graduation we had the
"Noche de logros." These night the teachers gave a
recognition to the best students. The same week we have the
"Class night." Then came our graduation day. I felt nervous
that night. I felt strange but I know that the graduation was
an important step in my life. ‘We have a beautiful graduation.

195

All the things were right. The one thing that happened is
that rain a little. When the graduation ends we have a party
in a pool, everybody went to the party. The other week we
have a picnic in a pool. Also the same week.we have a dinner
at a restaurant with a party later. For end we have the
"Senior Prom" that was excellent. I think that all the class
was there that night. With all of these maybe were going to
make a party in "Reina de la Bahia" on December. I' very
proud of my class, it was the best. Luis Munoz Marin high
school of Cabo Rojo, Class of 89.

I'm going to talk about my vacation in New York. That was two
years ago. I went to New York on a Summer. I stay at my aunt
house in Brooklyn. I went the day before july 4th. My aunt
made a schedule about the places that were going to visit on
my vacations. My first day of visit I went to see the
fireworks because was the day of independence July 4th. The
fireworks was espectacular. I visited all my family in New
York, they don't saw me years ago. They invited me to
different places. My cousins invited me to the beach. The
beach its not like my town beaches, there have no tree, the
water was very cool. I prefer the beaches of my town, Cabo
Rojo. Other day I went to Fulton, to go shopping. My other
aunt invited me to Red Hook pool. That pool was very cool
too, but I like it.

One day we planned to go to the Art Museum. I don't
understand the crazy paints that are there, maybe the painter
understand it but I don't. Then we went to the Botanic
Garden. That was beautiful I love all the flowers with their
pretty colors. I went to the Bronx Zoo. We stayed all the
day at the Zoo seeing the animals. The Mayaguez Zoo is a farm
compared with the Bronx Zoo. I saw the twin towers. One day
we walked by the Brooklyn Bridge, and we stopped when were in
China Town. We walked these the same day. That was
extenuated. But I like that place. In every place you see a
chinese. I felt like I'm on China, was excitant. With all
these walk we went to Conney Island in the night. What a day.
Other day I went to the Aquarium is very beautiful all the
animals that have there. I like the dolphins acts. Other day
we went to Central Park, everybody there was on skates.

But the day that I can never forgot was the day we went to see
the Statue of Liberty. We made a row about an hour and a half
to take the ferry to go to the Liberty Island. When we
entered the Island we made another row and we stay 3 hours
more to enter to the Statue. ‘When we were in, the row doesn't
moved. When were going up they stopped us and said that they
were going to close and we can't continue up. The only thing
that we can do was look by the feet of the statue. We stayed
more than four hours on the row and we only arrived at the
feet of the Statue. We brought many souveniers of New York.
That was an excellent vacations.

I'm going to talk about the Statue of Liberty. The Statue of
Liberty is situated in the port of New York. It is a big
statue of cooper. This statue was donated by France to the

196

United States. They wanted to commemorate the alliance of
twice nations during the NOrth-American Independence. The
statue was made by a France sculptur. His name was F. M.
Bartholdi. He wanted to represent the most valuable thing for
the man: the liberty. He realized the statue like a woman.
On her feets she have a broke chain. On her left hand she
have the list of law' with the date of North-American
independence. On her right hand she have a torch.

This is the biggest sculpture work that exist. The statue is
46m high. Have a weight of about 225 tons. The support of
the statue is about 45 m. The visitors can take an elevator
to the statue feets. The sight above the feets of the statue
was impressionant. I love it. I hope that I can visit a
Europe monument some day.

I'm going to talk about Puerto Rico. Puerto Rico is located
in the Caribe. It has a warm climate. Puerto Rico is an
island. Is about 100 mile per 35 miles. Puerto Rico is like
a rectangle. The territory of Puerto Rico is with mountains
by the West threw the East. And also have many valleys in
special Lajas. The island consist of 48 towns. The capital
of P.R. is San Juan. Also the island have two little
municipal island called Vieques and Culebra.

Puerto Rico was discovered by Christopher Columbus. He
discover on November 19, 1943 on his second travel. By that
time P.R. was dominated by the spaniards. On 1898 the United
States took posetion of P.R. That's why P.R. have an
industrial economy. Before the U.S. came P.R. had an
agricultural economy. Now in many places the economy is based
in fishing. We speak Spanish and English but no more
frequently than Spanish.

Puerto Rico have different historical monuments. One of the
monuments is el Morro. This is a fort that the Spaniards
built to beware of the different peoples that came. Other
monument is the Cathedral. Other is the Arecibo radar. The
antenna is about 304m of diameter. P.R. have beautiful
beaches. In the beaches you can have a lot of fun and get out
of the same of all days. One of the most beautiful beaches is
Luquillo. But the best beaches in all the island are located
in Cabo Rojo. The differents beaches are Combate, Boqueron,
Buye, Joyuda. In the last one, there near the beach are many
restaurants, They're seafood, IMany people for all the island
come to eat here. In differents things P.R. is the best for
example in sports like boxing and basketball. P.R. have
demonstrated that we have boxers equal or better than the
United States. Our great mens like Ramon Emeterio Betances,
Eugenio Maria de Hostos are men's that put the name of Puerto
Rico in the story of the world. In special on the latino-
american people. And now P.R. is trying to get the seat of
the Olympic Games for 2004. This mean that the persons who
don't know where is P.R. to that time they're going to know
where it is. I love my beautiful island of Puerto Rico.

I'm going to talk about my favorite sports. My favorite
sports are basketball and baseball. I began to practice this

197

sports when I was little. I have about 8 or 9 years when I
began to play basketball and baseball. First I'm going to
talk about basketball. Basketball is a game that you need a
great physio condition because you're running for 40 minutes
up and down the court. I play with my first team when I was
on elemental school. The team was of my town and I remember
that we lost by 20 points the game. After that i play with
many teams. Also I play with the school team. I have many
thropheys of basketball. Puerto Rico is one of the best teams
in the world. In the last Pre-Mundial Puerto Rico win over
the United States, one, or the most potential team in the
world. I like the Puerto Rico basketball league. Is a
competitive one. This year my town had a superior team but
they were the last team of the league. But I hope that next
year they make a best demonstration. I like too the NBA
league. This one are the best of all the world. The players
are professional and they earn a lot of money. My favorite
players of Puerto Rico league were Wes Correa and Quijote
Morales. My NBA favorites players are Magic Johnson and
Michael Jordan.

The other sport that I like is baseball. I played this sport
too. I played baseball for seven years. When I played, I
play short stop, and second base. I like the baseball of the
United States in special the Big Leagues. I'm fan of the New
York Mets. This year the Oakland A's win the World Series.
Here in Puerto Rico I don't like much the invernal baseball.
I say that I don't like it because is not really a Puerto Rico
league because are most players of United States than from
Puerto Rico. Something that I don't like is that when a
puertorican enter to the big league, he don't want to play in
the invernal league of Puerto Rico. My favorite players of
Big league are Dwight Dooden and Rickey Henderson. In Puerto
Rico my favorite player was Roberto Clemente. A bad thing
that occur in sports is that many players use drugs. This is
a bad example for the little children and also the adult
people. Because many players are the idols of the people. I
like all the sports but in special this two.

I'm going to talk about my hobbies. I have different hobbies.
For example my favorite hobby is to hear music. I like it
because I love the music. In special I like the salsa music.
It is a music that I can understand and is something of the
Caribe zone and all Latinoamericans, but I have other
hobbies. Depending of time, I have a hobby; Now I'm going to
explain it.

In the summer my favorite hobby is to go to the beach. I like
to make campings. Stay at the beach, is a good hobby. You
feel good in the beach because you're out of the monotony of
all day. Is a contact with nature. Is a hobby to take
scatter. But the only thing that is bad is when you have to
pick up the things with all the sand on it. Another hobby
that I like is to play basketball. I like to play it, that's
why basketball is my favorite sport. This sport and all the
sports are a way to liberate tensions. And this way you can

198

get you're mind clear. I have heard something that says
Health Mind on Health Body. Another hobby is go dancing.
Before I enter to Colegio I went to all the parties that I
knew. But now I can't because I have to study a lot. 0 like
to dance because is a different way to demonstrate how you
feel. You are happy when you dance. That's why I like to
dance because I think that everybody need to be happy and this
way you demostrate it.

Many persons have different hobbies of mine. I know people
that like to read. People that like to read said, that is
good because you gain knowledge. I think that read is boring.
I only read when a teacher said it. Other people likes to
write. Persons write because they can said things in a
special form. They don't have to use their bodies. They use
only their minds and that is a mental excercise. I prefer the
hobbies that are corporals. And the ones that are on the
nature.

II. SECOND YEAR STUDENTS.
STUDENT 01-- ENGL 3202

In Puerto Rico are many historical places. Each one has its
beauty and you enjoyed a lot visiting its. For example, in
San Juan we have El Morro. It is a fortress of the last
century. In there you could see the differents weapons that
the army used in the battles. You can see the uniforms that
they used too. It is a very interesting place.

In Ponce is located the Museum of Art. This is a place full
of interesting paintings and sculptures of the differents
puertorrican artists like Francisco Oller, Jose Campeche and
Miguel Pou. If you like to know the history of our painters,
this is a good place to you.

Those are only two examples, but around the island are many
more: the Indian's Park in Utuado, the San Geronimo Fort and
the Fortaleza both in San juan and the Porta Coeli Church in
San German.

There are a lot of places that you could visit in Puerto Rico.
If you want to have a nice day with your family, take the car
and drive around of Puerto Rico. Discover the beauties that
it has, and learn a lot about that it has, and learn a lot
about our history. And you can said: "Puerto Rico: The
Enchanted Island."

My friend Terry is a person who has a very bad habit. He uses
to smoke. I have to talk seriously with him. I will tell him
that with that habit, he is just becoming sick himself. He
must stop smoking. I will tell him that the persons that
smoke are making a big damage on their lungs.

With the time, he may have cancer. I will convince him that
if he doesn't spend so much.money buying cigarrettes, he could

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save a lot of money.

Terry spends a lot of money at the dentist. So I will tell
him: "If you leave that habit, your tooth will not look ugly
and you can't have to visit the dentist so often." Stop
smoking, Terry, stop smoking." Smoking, like drugs, are for
fools. I know he will get convinced. Because, over the all
things, he is my great friend. And I love him.

I want to talk about a friend of mine that I remember now.
His name is Raul. When I began in the "Colegio", I was
confused like all the "prepas". I feel bad, because was the
first time that I live without my family.

He bring one his friendship and also his help. I remembered
the special day that I met him. I was in front of the library
waiting for Mary, a friend.of'mine, when.he approach to me and
ask me for my name. By this way we begin, with our beautiful
friendship.

Often that encounter we began to go out with my friends and
his friends. We went to the movie, to the beach, to the
parties, etc.

Raul is not here in the Colegio now. He obtained his degree.
He is a male nurse. His friendship, help me to feel secure.
Yesterday I was at Olga's house, a good friend of mine,
looking for'a good article to be read in.Economics. In search
of improving my English knowledge, I read an essay called.1ns
ngipus Complex. This essay is about a boy called Larry who
was jealous of his father and his little brother.

This occured because his father, a military man, was fighting
in the war and Larry was alone with his mother. He wanted to
be the object of every caress and attention. .After'his father
came from the war, Larry saw in him.and his little brother, a
new'baby, rivals. 1He always‘wanted all the attention.and care
of his mother. Also he wanted to win recognition by her, so
he suffered the famous Oedipus Complex.

One often hears of people who have miraculous memories. The
can repeat whole books, word for word, they can play whole
symphonies after having heard them once, or they never forget
a face or name. Many people have trouble remembering the
motion picture they saw last week or the errand they promised
to do today. Every human being has a memory. A person who
had no memory would not be able to recognize his own father
and.mother, or even.his own face in the'mirroru Memory is the
mind's power to revive the past experiences. Students of the
mind used to believe that memory was a special power or
faculty which was carried on a special part of the brain.
Last weekend I watched in a VCR a movie called "Sapped." It
was about the story of a young high school student, who
dedicated himself to study science. He didn't have time to
enjoy the activities of the other youngsters of his own age.
One day one of his experiments failed.

The failure was an explosion that made him fall down. ‘When he
got up, he discovered that he had acquired the power of
telekinesis (the power of moving objects with his mind).

The new power opened unknown doors including, of course, sex

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and love. I didn't like the movie myself, but it served as an
antidote for boredom.

Today I was in the Psysics' building with an old friend of
mine. his name is José Lynn and he took classes with me in
high school. We talk a lot about the old times and about our
lifes now in the Colegio.

That conversation with him makes me feel a little sad, because
I remembered all the time I spent in the High School with my
friends and teachers, and also with my family.

I remembered our trips to San Juan to participate in the
program "Adelante Juventud." And the bunches that we formed
to go to the cafeteria to take lunch. I remembered all this
and I was sad for a few'minutes, but then I thought that if we
are separated know is for the progress of each one apart.

I hope that in the future I could see all of my friends again.
Not like inmature children, but like professionals in all the
world sense. .

Today is a special day. Since I was a little girl, my father
have been told me that the Sundays is a day to dedicate to
God. The Bible say that God made a world in six days and in
the other day He took a rest. For that reason the christians
don't realize any kind of work in this day and they try to
approach to God in Sundays.

I always go to the church. First, I take a Bible class, and
then I prepare my heart and my ears to listen the message on
the Bible, that the minister prepared.

This Sunday, I'm felt happy, because the church's directive
select me to give a Bible class for the little children.

I feel very happy today. It's Friday! And I will see my
family. This Friday we are going to eat in a restaurant.
Every two Fridays, my father invited use to a dinner out of
the house, because he believes that this tradition is
important to maintain communication between us and also to
share all the conflicts and experiences that each one have
during this week. We usually went to a seafood restaurant,
but this Friday I want to go to a special restaurant called
"Janloff Super Sandwich" in Dorado.

I would like to go to this one, because some friends of mine
told me that is a very special. When you enter to it, a man
put in your neck a collar of flowers like in Hawaii. Then, he
guide you to an agreeable room in where you can choose the
table that you want.

You can select one near the right windows, to see the beach or
you can obtained one near the left window to see a little
forest. it seems, I had gone there. It's about 12:00 o'clock
and I'm anxious from that the evening come. NOTE: It's a
fantasy.

Today the market offers a great variety to choose. Sometimes
when a person goes to these show rooms his sight jumps when he
sees the great quality and accesories offered by the dealer.
Really, to buy a car today constitute a challenge. It is
important to choose the best car, for the prices are moon.high
and a car is an important buy today.

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It is important also to keep in mind the access of the buyer
to spare part. Sometimes is better to try an American car
than a foreign one.

But my favorites cars are the Honda Prelude and the TransAm,
because are luxurious cars and in the same time are sports
ones. I waited that some day I could buy one or two of
them.Today I went to work. For some days I wouldn't work for
I had some tests. The professor for whom I work sent me to
the warehouse of the building of biology to look for some
papers that the secretary was doing for her. While I was
waiting for the papers I dedicated some time to watch the
great quantities of animals and foetus that have displayed
there.

I watch one of a premature horse, other of a mouse. This last
one made me feel terrible because I dislike mice.

My attention was captured right away by a foetus of a human
being. I wondered how human beings develop starting from such
a little creature. The pot, where the foetus was, marked
March 4, 1965. The pot didn't say how'many months old.was the
foetus, but his ears and extremities were very definite. The
toes although tiny could be appreciated. In my mind I figured
the creature was some three months old, and he was very
intelligent. Perhaps, he can be a student here in the College
and I have the opportunity to meet him. I feel a little sad.
Drugs are substances that aliviate people's sufferings. So
drugs have a place in Medicine. Morphine, demerol, methadone
are widely used in the treatment for wounds and operations.
But today a great number of youngsters have embraced drugs as
magic panacea to heal all their problems.

Marijuana is perhaps the most dangerous drug that young people
use. This drug has a psycic-active ingredient called THC,
(which is a poison for who smoke it). The brain cells will
end in the cementery in a short period of time.

LSD, cocaine, opium.and many other drugs only cause defeat and
pain in the users.

These are other emotions better than drugs abuse that give
happiness to man. ,
Music is one of my favorite themes to talk about. I like to
listen music because it entertain and relax me.

I choose the music that.I hear, because I don't like the noise
that some music form. I like gospel, classic and some mellow
rock. I enjoy with the music, but one of the most important
things that I look for in the songs is the message that it
gave to the young people.

Some music gives bad messages like drugs, death, sex and sin.
That hurts people minds and hearts. Songs with good messages
enjoy the soul and give you strength to fight.

Some persons are influenced in their lifes in different ways
by others. It is a matter of unknown mystery the way we meet
these persons.

In the place, I used to live, there dwelt a venerable old man.
Everytime I passed by his house there was a smile in his face.
He seemed to be happy all the time. "Good morning, Yeliz."

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"How are you today?" There was a word of advice in his mouth.
Ramon lived a plentiful life. In the neighborhood he was the
point of attention. He was wise with the wisdom given by
experiences. He never get married, but his little house
always sparkled with cleanliness. This human being never
complaint. There was something in his face that inspired my
short life. ( I was eleven).

Besides all the traits in this man that impressed me, there
was one that I kept deeply in my heart, since the time Ramon
move to our community. He had a type of cancer that was
consumming his life step by step. He taught me to be happy
even in the worst condition of my life.

STUDENT 62- ENGL 3202

It.is a‘wonderful experience to arrive to my favorite place of
the world. When I arrive to my home I feel something very
special that I can explain with words. My home is the only
place in the world that I can feel confort, peace and love.
Other places cannot immitate my home. I can feel these things
in other places, I just feel to be a foreigner. When I come
to my home after a week, my heart refill his energies and his
desire of living and fighting.

In my home I find a lot of things that are very important to
my life. In it I find the things and details of my past that
help me grow up during all my life. These details are in each
corner of my home and they make me remember importants events
of my life. But the most important thing that I can find in
my home is my family.

My mother is a woman very special. I admire her because she
always fight.without surrender and she made of our home a very
special place. She is the only person that I can confide
because she love me and she want the best of the world for me.
Those are some of the reasons that why I love my home. Those
reasons push me to wish a home like it for my childrens in the
future. I want a home with a family that always will be
together sharing love. It is a way to help this country and
give a‘good example for our society, because the family is the
base of it.

I just have only six months studying at CAAM, but I had learn
more than twelve years in others schools. Here I learn about
technology, life and God.

In the classroom I learn about sciences, mathematics,
computers, history, languages and other things, but I also
learn about life with the teachers. They tell us stories of
their experiences and they give us new experiences when we
share with them during the half-year.

I also learn a lot of things when I share with the students
that are from different places of this country and other
countries of the world. Each student have a story or
experience to tell an I learn things of these experiences that
sometimes are similar of my experiences, specially these

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experiences related with the life of the students in CAAM.

I pass through an experience that I never think that this
experience can occur here in CAAM. Here in Mayaguez I feel
close to God, I knew him more and he help me each day.

The first months of my life in.Mayaguez I feel very alone and
I was always trying to make friends and I knew a lot of people
but nevertheless I feel empty. One day a student talk me
about God and his love and what he do for us. The words of
this student opened my eyes to the things that I never see.
This day I learned that I can confide in God because he love
us and he always will help us if we try to be close to him.
After this day I never feel empty again because I have the
best friend of the world and I'm always trying to make the
best and God give me a lot of wonderful gifts that make me
feel the person most happy of the world.

It is the beginning of a vary special month. The first thing
that I celebrate on this month is the fulfillment of two
months with my boyfriend. It is a wonderfull and new
experience for me. I never imagined that there is a person in
this world that can tolerate me a lot of time besides my
mother. But we share a lot of beautiful things and this two
months are the most wonderful of my life because I change a
lot of things and now I am one of the persons most happy of
the world because I am learning about true love. I considere
that I'm a lucky person because God give me a wonderful gift
because I was alone on this Earth and He give me the perfect
company. The only thing that I want is that it will last for
years because is the only thing that I have that is true and
real in this world and my inspiration to fight in the life.
I am learning a lot of things because I am learning about a
way of life. It is the love that make me make a plan for my
future and is changing all the things of my past.

The world is full of beautiful things. They are very simple
things but they have inside big misteries and beautiful
feelings. It is a wonderful experience to go to church with
the person who love you, ‘When we get close to God together we
get close each one to the other and is a wonderful feeling
that I can't explain. ‘The way that I can explain it is saying
that God is love and He is always with the persons who love
him. 'The love of God is clear like the water and is infinite:
is something out of this world but is available for us the 24
hours of the day.

I said that is a great experience to go to church with the
person I love. That's because I can saw that we have more
things in common and one of this things is our love for God.
It was so beautiful when we were kneeling praying to God I
can assure that we were praying about the same things: our
love, our families, our friends and we were praying for help
for our College life. It was an experience that filled our
hearts.

This month is full of beautifull days. One of this days is my
mother birthday. I can't let it pass without attention. It
was the day that God chose to send to Earth a great woman that

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years later will be my mother and best friend. I'm very
unhappy because I can't be with her this special day but I
hope that God can give to her a lot of health and happiness.
She is a great woman, she love me and she does the best that
she can for me. I want to give her all the things to make her
happy because she is very alone and she is a great person.
Its hard to face the life in the way she does and I admire her
for that. I want to follow her example and all her teaching.
I heard something very interesting in the radio about the
kisses. They said that a kiss help to improve the health.
First, a kiss help to improve the heart beats. That is very
good for blood circulation consequently it improve the oxygen
circulation and that help a lot of things because the cells of
the body become healthier. When the cells have more oxygen it
help to eliminate the face wrinkles.

They said that the kisses are good to eliminate the sleepless.
I don't remember the reason. I don't remember the reason but
I think that it is because we forget the problems and the
stress that are things that cause sleepless. They said that
the kisses help to prevent heart and liver deseases but the
thing that more attract my attention is that they said.that we
eliminate twelve calories in each kiss.

San Valentine's Day, a lot of things to tell. It was a
beautiful day. It begun with a shiny sun and a great joy in
the heart. Then, the first thing of the day was my mother
jealousy. It is something very curious because she is afraid
to loost her daughter and she try to attract.my attention. It
is the first time that something like that happened to me.
She is seeing that I really love my boyfriend and she is
jelousy.

Before to continue with the things that happened to me in this
day I'm going to explain the importance of this day to me. It
is the first time that I really celebrate this day. It is the
first time that someone love me and I love him, too. It is
the first time that I feel a big joy with this day because I
can express to someone how much I love him.

But I don't think that everything is a joy. It is a big
headache to find a good gift for this special person. I
searched for something so special and nothing was
satisfactory, because this person is deserving of the best of
the world. Nothing is sufficient to reward his love for me.
Besides all the thing I learned a lot of things and I prove
again that I can't measure or compare his value with the
things of this world.

My boyfriend live far of me and this is a big trial for us.
But besides all the obstacles our love continue alive and
growing each day. I think that God help us to make shorter
the distance because he put us together with his love. I
think that because with simple things like the telephone He
help our love. He gave us a telephone that don't count the
large distance calls.

Flowers, flowers are simbols of God's love. The flowers show
how great He is and how he express his love with simple

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things. Flowers are so delicate like the love. Flowers are
a gift of God to perfume the life and to give colors to it.
It's wonderful to receive flowers of someone who love you.
The flowers is like our love, delicate and beautiful. White
flowers are like our love, pure and sincere. The red flowers
are like the youth passion and are symbols of the power of
love. But like all the good things the flowers die so soon
but they let a beautiful teaching and a wonderful remembrance.
Problems, who don't have problem? Everyone have problems.
Everything have problems. Even dogs have problems with the
fleas. Nothing is perfect in the Earth I didn't know that
love isn't perfect. It have its problems too. But when the
love is stronger than the problems it survive to everything.
Love forgive everything. That's something special about love.
When you really love someone you accept this person as he or
she is. Besides that, no one is perfect. Everyone when is
learning something commit mistakes. And.when the persons are
learning how to live, commit mistakes even when they have good
teachers. I think that love is when two persons accept each
one to the other as they are, thinking in their qualities.
It's incredible the lots of things that we can do in just a
day. Today I revive my past. I did my old schedule again.
Is very interesting to live old emotions and.think.about.times
that never will come again. I went to the high school where
I studied and I saw my teachers and the classrooms that keep
inside beautiful remembrances.

In the afternoon I went to the place where I worked just one
year ago. I can saw how my life was changed. I was working
as a secretary in a big company that last year and I was
planning to study accounting and now I'm studying engineering.
The environment where I live now is very different and I like
it more because it's a challenge and it's in agreement with.my
personality, my age and my plans for the future.

It was a great experience when I arrived to the company where
I worked. Everyone was very happy to see me, and I was very
happy because they didn't forgot me. I can saw that I have a
lot of friends that want the best for me and that are very
happy that I'm successful in my life as a student. It was so
wonderful to see this big family that stay together, and each
day loving each one to the other more than the day before, and
is growing each dayu I will never forget the things that they
taught me, and the beautiful moments we shared.

Today I overcome my fear to drive. I took the car of my
sister and drive in Bayamon and San Juan. It isn't easy
because there are a lot of cars and the people are in a hurry.
I lost the security in myself one year ago when I collided
with other car in a rainy day. I said that I will never drive
again but that's impossible. Nowaday we must learn to drive
to survive in this world.

Holy week is a week very different to all of the weeks of the
year. This year I did a lot of things in this week because I
didn't have classes or work.

First I dedicated a little time to my old friends because is

206

very important to keep alive the friendship of the persons
that helped us and love us. I was so happy to see and to
share with those persons that I didn't see since months ago.
In this week I passed through a new experience. The mother of
my boyfriend went to my home and met my mother. I felt a
strange feeling, is something that I can't explain because is
a mix of happiness, fear, and faith.

In this week I visited the town were I born. It's a little
town in the center of the island. It is known as the town of
the flowers. IT is very cold and there are lots of winds and
in the higher places there is fogs all the time. This town is
famous because there is the'To-Rico Company that is one of the
bigger distributors of chicken in Puerto Rico.

The people of this town are very humble and hospitable. But
they are very supersticious, too. Specially in this week they
have lots of supersticions. But, the town is very peaceful
and the air is very fresh. It is the perfect place to pass a
weekend far all the things and near the nature.

The people don't know that God drive us in the life. God is
always looking for each step we make. In the Holy Bible said
that each leave that move in the Earth.is moved.by the hand of
God. When we live our lifes making the better things for God
and following the steps of Jesus Christ we can appreciate how
God help us and He keep us far of danger.

It's wonderful how we want the best for us and if we have
patience he will give us all we want and need in this world.
His gifts are not material things and we can't but them
anywhere. He can give us knowledge and health to fight and
survive in this life but his better gift is love. A.love
without limit. He love us, that's why he gave his son to save
the world. But its beautiful when we feel this love inside of
us. It's a big joy, something out of this world. Is
something that last every day and give is anguish to live and
do good things to keep this fire burning, because the food of
this love are the good acts.

STUDENT #3-- ENGL 3202

Last two weeks I passed my worst week of my life: my
initiation. I feel like I was in hell and every minute looks
like an hour. The initiation was in a fraternity called "Phi
Sigma Alpha". I thought before that it was going to be a
different week because of hard work and a little bothering.
But It was really irresistible.

The week begins with an "investidura" day, where you swear as
a worm (you are really treat like that). After you swear, the
fraters begin to bother you all around and "invite" you to eat
"suculent" food like "pastillas de bacalao", green avocados,
cigarettes, cookies with tooth paste, etc. There were 8 days
of different tires. One of them was to put marshmellow into
your buns and eat it. Other was to take a bath on a very cold

207

water with lots of ice. They made you other different tries
in order to know how much you resist.

The week ended with the "Black Night" in which you are cover
your face with a bandage and they try to get it off and if you
let them.do that you are quit from the initiation. I think.is
a. good experience lbecause ‘you learn. a lot about self-
confidence, security and make new friends.

I live in Alturas de Mayaguez and I live on a beautiful house.
The house is two floors and is pink with white and a tough of
peach. It has four bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, one living room, a
study place and a kitchen. I like it because it's very fresh
and it's my house. I have live there for about 9 years. I
share my room with my brother which is one year younger that
me. The house has a big terrace with a pool table, where you
can enjoy a beautiful landscape from there. In Christmas time
it's very cold and you can sleep in a "hamaca" tied in the
terrace. The second floor was constructed by my father 3
years ago in order to get more space and because of my grandma
that was going to live with us because my grandfather died and
she can't attend.herself alone. I like my house because is in
a good place of Mayaguez near everything and because is the
place that see me grow since 1979.

Last year I went to a Rock Concert. Those about strendous
noise, a lot of people shouting with lot of drugs, beers, and
all that stuff. The concert was about the star Bon Jovi.
The concert.was suppose to begin at 8:00 and.I arrive there at
6:00 to be at the line for the entrance. .A lot of people were
pushing and there were little boys stealing and beating
everyone. It's really dangerous. I went with a group of
friends of 5 or 6. Before the concert begin people were
taking off clothes and pouring beer all over everyone.

There we met our English teacher and stay with her. We can't
almost sit down because everybody was standing up at their
seats. The concert began at 8:45 and the Rock Group
"Cinderella" opened the concert. At this time everybody began
to shout like savages but it was very funny.

After that it was Bon Jovi's turn and he sang "Without love,"
"Love as a social disease," "You give love a bad name,"
"Living on a prayer," "Death or alive," and "Runnaway."

At the end of the concert everybody was raising hands while he
was moving a Puerto Rican flag. I like the concert because it
was very wild and fun and Bon Jovi is one of my favorite Rock
artists.

Last two months I met a new girl. I was in a discotheque at
Holiday Inn with my friends Edwin, Iky, Arnaldo and Javier.
We were alone and dancing with some girls alone in a table.
They were from Ponce and most of them from high school. One
of the girls had brown hair, colored eyes (not artificial), a
little skinny, and about 5'3 inches tall. She was dancing
with one of my friends. I didn't pay attention to her until
I get really close to it. Oh God! She was so beautiful!!.
The group of girls were now dancing with my group of friends.
I try to speak to her and when she stop dancing with my friend

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I asked her to dance.

After dancing I begin to talk.and.we start to meet each other.
She begin talking about her family, where she studies, etc.
I first notice that we can't make a good couple because she
smokes too much and like to drink and get drunk. But later I
thought that it will be more interesting because I will be
trying to stop her smoking. At least because I don't smoke.
She gave me her telephone number and I gave her mine. I
surprised two days after when she called me if I can get to
Ponce to go for a party.

I accept and came with my friends who like her friends and
enjoy been in Ponceu That night she was beautifull. We dance
a lot, drink and have lot of fun. Time passed and we get
closer in our relationship. But sometimes I think of this
relationship worths because she is in Ponce and I'm in
Mayaguez. There's a Spanish popular proverb that says: "Amor
de lejos, amor de pendejos!!"

I don't know, it's get difficult to decide because she is very
nice. Other day I went to "La Feria". Everything was fine
except when I told her about my ex-girlfriend.

When a guy went out with a new woman goes into juicy detail
about what went wrong in his last relationship, he is often
operating under the mistaken notion that he is being open and
honest. That's not how she sees it. Maybe her interpretation
is: 1) maybe he's still with that girl, 2) if she was such a
bitch, what does that say about his judgements?, 3) if he says
to her shreds like that, wouldn't he do the same to me, 4) all
of the above.

We were discussin but I convinced her not to talk about that
and she stop. Now we've been dating but I don't know what
will happen because I like her a lot.

In summer of 1985 I went to California. I was visiting two
married cousins in Southern California. But now I will talk
about an excursion we went about Mexico. Mexico is 1 hour
left from Riverside, California. ‘We leave at 9:00 o'clock and
get there at 10:30. You can still see in California Spanish
signs, Spanish stores and lots of Mexican people after you get
through the border. It's impressive to change from one
country to other different language, economy, politics, etc.
Going from Mexico to USA is easy. The problem is coming
back. There is a big traffic jam and the officer look
everybody very closely, ask where are you from, what you have
in your car, what you did in Mexico, etc. You have to show
your birth certificate, showing that you are an american
citizen. There's a lot of helicopters, army officers, and
policemen watching over if someone is escaping without
permission.

In Mexico, to get to the capital takes about 2 days, so we
only get to the nearest town from the border, called
"Tijuana." There you only do shoping in which everything is
cheap, and looking to very, very poor people, asking you for
money and selling whatever they had in order to feeding their
children.

209

I bought some tablecloth for my room, some T-shirts and
souveniers like post cards, stickers and glasses.

We spent the whole day there. I learned a lot looking to the
people, which remembered me where I live, where everybody is
complaining about money. I would like the people in P.R. to
take a look to Mexico's poor people to see how much mouths
will be close for a long time...

Everybody likes the movie. Is.a good.way to entertain and see
the most incredible things joined together on a big screen.
I went to the movies since I was five years old. That time I
went with my parents. I remember that before entering the
movie of Mayaguez, my mom used to buy some candies at
Walgreens (because they were cheaper there) and put it into
her wallet. Movies that I remember from this time was "King-
Kong," "Star Wars-I," "Jaws," etc. If I don't come with my
parents I went with my grandmother and cousins.

As time passed, each time my father asked me to go out with
him I say no, because now I have friends and later on I'll
have my first girlfriend and you prefer to be with her alone.
In this time movies were like "Star wars-II," "Battlestar
Gallactica," "Close Encounters," "Carrie," "Holloween-I," etc.
Now I am older and only go out 6-7 times a year with my
parents. I have my own car, lot of friends and girlfriends.
Movies change time to time and there's the videocassette where
you can enjoy in your house your favorite movie. This times
movies are: "Karate Kid," "Spies like us," "Splash," "Three
men and a baby," etc.

I've been talking in these journals about trips. That's
because I really like to travel to different, exciting and new
places. Last year I get on a cruise as a graduation present.
The cruise was from.June 6 torJune 13. I went with part of my
class from my high school. The cruise was "Carla C". There
were lots of students from different Catholic schools of P.R.
When I first get into the cruise I was very surprised. It
looks like a big hotel except that navigated through the
ocean. It has casino, 2 pools, a big restaurant, about 900
rooms and any kind of activity you might think of. The cruise
was supossed to go to 5 different places: Curazao, Granada,
Venezuela, Martinique and Saint Thomas.

The cruise departs Saturday at midnight with a big party near
the pool. Everybody was dancing Calypso and saying goodbye to
the people outside. That night we were dancing until 3:00 in
the morning.

On Sunday we were in high sea all the day. On Monday we went
to Curazao. We had lot of shopping and we go to an aquarium.
On Tuesday we went to Venezuela. In the morning we saw a lot
of museums and after that we went shopping. Venezuela and
Curazao are the best places for shopping throughout the whole
cruise. On Wednesday we went to Granada. There there's not
to much interesting except the beach, that looks like very
clear water of a pool.

On Thursday is Martinique, a French made island where the
official language is French. Everything there was very

210

expensive except the perfumes which were 20% to 30% off the
price. The island has churches, museums and a beautiful
landscape of the beach. Something that was strange to me
there was that all the taxis were Mercedes Benz and other
expensive cars. On Friday we went to Saint Thomas. This is
other place for shopping but there is a little more expensive
than Curazao and Venezuela.

At night in the Cruise you see a lot of shows, play bingo or
go to the casino. The discotheque is open from 11:00 to 3:00
o'clock.

The food is wonderful. In the morning there is a big
breakfast until 11:00. You lunch in the restaurant and you
can choose 3 different menus. The supper begins at 8:00 and
for those who are still hungry, at midnight is an italian
buffet. The cruise arrives on Saturday at 8:00 in the
morning. By this time I was very sleepy and when my parents
pick-up me I said them "Hi!" and slept in the car. It was a
very enjoyable trip that I'll never forget. I recommend it
for everyone who likes sun, water, rich live, wind, dance and
have a lot of fun.

Hi! It's me again. I'm here trying to think about what to
write. Today is Friday, Oh! excellent day. Maybe I'll go to
the beach or wash my car, go fishing, excercising, but I
choose this perfect, beautiful day to write journals, what a
tedious thing, but I have to make it some day.

For me the problem is not to write, is what to write. You
have to think how, what, where, with what, with who or‘when to
write to make a good writing.

Inspiration is a good way for writing because it provides lots
of ideas into your mind so you can choose the best of them to
write it down on.a paper, but you have to be well organized if
you don't want to make a perfect mess from your paper.

So, organization is very important because it implies
coherence of ideas. But write it clearly'with.perfect.grammar
and neatness. IHow clear and neat your writing is reveals your
personality, responsibility, personal attitudes, etc.
Remember those things and you will at least write a
knowledgeable journal.

I bought a new aquarium last week. I've always want one but
I bought it in recent days.

It has 10 gallons, filter, termometer, heater, air pump and
cover. I like it because it's very beautiful and brings
elegance to any room you put it on.

I put it with one natural plant and one artificial plant, two
or three shells and one coral. In the back it has a coral
bead scene.

It has inside two goldfish, 5 tigerfish and one angel fish.
Everyone that has fishes has to remember this. They should.be
feed at first no more than once a day and should be given no
more food than they can totally clean up in about 5 minutes.
It is important that a variety of different kinds be used in
order to make sure that all the nutritional needs of the fish
are met. But don't over feed the fish. Always provide them

211

with clean water.
Just remember: giving your fishes a varied diet and feeding
them moderate making partial water changes and not
overcrowding them, you'll have few if any disease problems
with your fishes.

STUDENT 44" ENGL 3202

Last week when I went to classes I went to the English class.
I went early to the class, I went at 7:23. I was waiting 20
minutes and the teacher doesn't arrived. I went to the
library to study. Well, when I arrived to the class on
Thursday I received a big impression. The teacher told me
that he arrived to the classroom and he gave classes. I felt
so bad of that. Last semester I never was absent to the
English class. The only time that I was absent was when I had
an accident. I'm the person that I don't like of being
absent to the classes.

On Thursday I received a letter of a friend.who live in‘U.S.A.
I met her when I was in USA, exactly in Washington. She was
a high school student, just like me, and she participate in
the Close-up Program. She is thing and blondy. She looks
like an apple blossom. She has a wonderful body and she is
very beautiful. She send me two photograph of her. She was
my girlfriend when I was in USA. Our relationship was in
summer of 86. I know that some day I will be with her. I
want to see her soon and I want to be with her this summer.
For now I send her a card of Valentine and I wrote her about
my life and what happened to me.

I went on friday to a party. It was in Cabo Rojo. It was a
Worm party, are the member of a society who want to enter to
a fraternity. It‘was'great. The show'was excellent and I met
some good persons. I stayed with a girl of Ponce. She is
very nice and a friendly person. When I went to my house I
stopped first at a place name "Carifio." It is a place in
Mayaguez who opens later in the night. They make sandwiches
of beef steak, chicken and many other. Try one and you will
remember that.

Last week I studied hard. I started last week to study for
two examinations. One of the examinations was from the
hardest class in this semester. Both examination was on
Thursday. One of them was at 3:00 and the other was at 6:00.
Both examinations were hard and very tireone. II was very
angry because I studied two weeks for this examination and I
wait for bad grades. On Thursday I was absent of my first
class because I was studying for the examination. I was
studying on Wednesday. I was until 4:30 in the morning. I
was studying early in the night 3 days. I was so tired.

On friday I went to classes. I went out at 3:30 P.M. I was
so happy because my classes finished. I like it because I
will go to Ponce. I'm from Mayagfiez. Some friends guess me

212

to go with them because they had examinations just like me and
they wanted to go to a party of our fraternity in Ponce. I
went to Ponce. We ate in MacDonalds. We arrived to the party
at 10:00 P.M. The part was great. We really enjoyed last
Friday. We stayed in an apartment in La Alambra, it was
beautiful. I went to sleep at 5:00 A.M. I woke up at 10:00
A.M.

What a week. It was the week of the sorprises. I received
big sorprises. One of the big sorprises was that I talked
with my last girlfriend. I not talk with her since the day
when we broke our relationship. I was so unhappy because I am
a person. who didn't like the enemies, I'm. happy’ being
friendly. I stayed with her at night and me talked about
everything. I'm happy of that. We correct all the thing
passed. We are friends now, and I like. I know that some.day
we will be good friends and hope this day will be soon. I had
no enemies this moment, I hope.

Oh, my God! What a week! I took 2 examinations. They were
too hard. I spent every week studying just like the week
before. I hope that I will get good grade in both examination
in contrast with the last week examination. The end of the
week was exceptional I studied from the classes that I took
the examination. I went on friday to the registrar because I
want to change of department. I'm in Civil Engineering and I
want to change to Industrial Engineering. I like industrial
engineering because is the career of the future. ‘This kind.of
engineer is the person who always is in conferences and
seminars. Is the person who is in reality and know everything
about the technology.

Oh, my God!. I received on Friday a terrible news. It was
that a sister and.her girlfriend of one of the girls that went
with me to Close-up, program die in automobile accident. I
was amaze because I had a photo of the girl who was driven the
car and was the sister of the girl who die. I was so sad
because the girl who die was only 14 years old and her
boyfriend was 17 years old.

Nayda, who is the sister of the die girl and the girl that I
know, was the guilty in the accident. They were escape,
because they don't had permiss to go to Rincén, but they went
and its happened. I went on Saturday to Cabo Rojo to the
Funeral Parlor to give my condolences to the family. Both
death childrens was in the same room and everyone there seems
to be like me and I know that everyone felt like me. They
were buried today in the afternoon. The time there was very
dense.

Sunday was Valentine's Day. One of the most beautiful days in
the year; It spent all day remembering every moment in my
life. I thought about my last girlfriends and I lived the
beautiful moments in my mind. I'm a sentimental person and I
like to be romantic. The day was great and was a wonderful
day for every person that I know who is in love with another.
I heard at 9:00 P.M., a special program in radio especialy for
this day. I heard it with the girl that I am and I spent a

213

beautiful night. I really enjoy the San Valentine Day.

This is Holy Week. The most wonderful week in the world.
During this week I stayed at my house. I went to the church
on Saturday and during the week I went every day to the
church. Holy Week is one of my favorite week in the year. I
think in this way because every person who believe in God
stayed this week in peace and the criminality in the world
decrease. Every christian in the world, celebrate the Holy
Week. Every christian in the world felt this week that a big
part in their live was full.

I studied last week because I had many thinks to do. I
started on Monday of the last week studying hard. I had an
examination on Wednesday of Mechanics. I had an oral report
of English. I had an examination on Friday of Calculus. ‘When
this week finish, a new one start for me because I had an
examination on Monday. This examination is physics the
hardest one in this semester and I think the hardest in my
career. I am the kind of person that study weeks before the
examination to be fine the week of the examination.

This weekend was my birthday weekend. I celebrate my birthday
since Saturday night. I went with my girlfriend to La
Parguera, a beautiful place in Lajas. I really enjoy la
Parguera. Then I went to Boqueron. Other wonderful day. I
stayed there just a few seconds. Then on Sunday I went first
to the church. When I went out of the church I went to my
house and then I went to beach because I wanted to celebrate
my birthday the day before that. I really enjoy this weekend.
Today is my birthday. I received so many presents but the
only thing that I spend all day with the girl that love me and
really felt something about me. I am happy because for the
first time in my life I spend my birthday day with a
completely happiness.

I have so many thinks to say about this week. I started my
weekend since Thursday. I went this day to Shangri-la to
drink some beers. I ate some fast foods there too. Then I
went to a smoker in the house of my Fraternity. I‘talked.with
my friends and I know so many guys who want to enter in my
institution. I enjoy all night and when I arrived to my
house, I have many drink in my head and a friend of mine has
to drive me to my house because I can't drive.

On Friday I went to visit my girlfriend and I stayed with her
all night. I went to a party with her. This night I went to
Puerto Real too, to leave a friend of mine in a boat. He went
to Mona Island. Then I went to a friend house to stay there
with my girlfriend and my friends. I spend one of the most
wonderfull night in my life. This night my girlfriend stayed
with me and everything was fine. I will remember this night
during all my life.

On Saturday I went to party. I went to Combate. It is one
of the best beach in P.R. I stayed there with a group of
friends drinking and talking with them. It was very funny
because I went to the house where my friends was. Then I went
to visit my girlfriend and when I arrived to the house where

214

my friends was, I was really surprise because all of them were
drunk and I was the only person who did not taste alcohol.

And it funny because I am always the person that the guys wait
to be drunk. What an irony.

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