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In:Research at the Intersection of Second Language Acquisition and Sociolinguistics: Studies in honor of Kimberly L. Geeslin
Edited by Megan Solon, Matthew Kanwit and Aarnes Gudmestad
[Issues in Hispanic and Lusophone Linguistics 43] 2025
► pp. 89–115

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Chapter 4
Revisiting the acquisition of the variable perfective past in L2 Spanish during short-term study abroad

 | Indiana University
 | Indiana University
Published online: 26 June 2025
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https://doi.org/10.1075/ihll.43.04bla
Abstract
This study investigates the acquisition of past-time in L2 Spanish, focusing on variation between the preterite and present perfect (PP) through a combined variationist/concept-oriented approach. Learners before and after study abroad (SA) in León, Spain, and native speakers (NSs) from the same region completed a contextualized verb elicitation task, examining influence of temporal reference and telicity on written verb forms. Participants used various verb forms, and learners increased their preterite use, but they did not use the PP after SA. Mixed-effects models indicated that telicity and time of data collection constrained learners’ past-time use; only temporal reference influenced NSs’ use of the preterite and PP. Results suggest general development of past-time expression in L2 Spanish rather than acquisition of the variation between the preterite and PP.
Article outline
  • Background
    • A combined approach to SLA
      • The variationist approach to SLA
      • The concept-oriented approach and the combined
        variationist/concept-oriented approach to SLA
    • Tense and aspect in Spanish
    • Grammaticalization of the preterite and present perfect in Spanish
    • Use and variation of the preterite and PP in Peninsular Spanish with focus on León, Spain
    • The acquisition of past-time in L2 Spanish
    • The acquisition of the preterite and present perfect variation in L2 Spanish
  • Method
    • Participants
    • Data elicitation
    • Analysis
  • Results
    • Learners grammar scores at T1 and T2
    • Rates of verb forms used
    • Results of generalized linear mixed-models
    • Cross-tabulations of significant factors
    • Post-hoc within-category analyses with learners and NSs
  • Discussion
  • Conclusion
  • Notes
  • References
References (55)
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