Cover not available
Part of
Spanish Learner Corpus Research: Current trends and future perspectives
Edited by Margarita Alonso-Ramos
[Studies in Corpus Linguistics 78] 2016
► pp. 117–142

Chapter 5
The LANGSNAP longitudinal learner corpus

Design and use

| University of South Florida
| University of Southampton
| The Pennsylvania State University
This chapter describes a new longitudinal corpus of L2 Spanish, which includes spoken and written data from the same learners, and was gathered in a residence/study abroad setting. The corpus was created as part of the Languages and Social Networks Abroad Project (LANGSNAP) which traced the learning of both Spanish and French during an academic year’s residence/study abroad by British Anglophone university students majoring in languages. Parallel longitudinal learner corpora totalling 300,000+ words were collected in each language. In this chapter we first describe the main features of the L2 Spanish corpus, and then illustrate how we have been using the corpus to investigate questions about language development, taking as an example the longitudinal development of lexical diversity (Jarvis 2013).
Keywords: learner corpus research, Spanish as a second language, longitudinal, study abroad, lexical diversity
Article outline
  • 1.Learner corpora and the longitudinal study of second language acquisition
  • 2.Overview of the LANGSNAP project and corpus creation
    • 2.1Design of LANGSNAP tasks
    • 2.2Format of LANGSNAP corpus
    • 2.3CLAN commands and data coding
  • 3.Measuring lexical development in the LANGSNAP corpus of L2 Spanish
    • 3.1Research questions
  • 4.Results
  • 5.Discussion and conclusion
  • Notes
  • References
Published online: 16 December 2016
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/scl.78.05tra
References (68)
References
Bosker, H.R., Pinget, A.-F., Quené, H., Sanders T. & de Jong, N.H. 2013. What makes speech sound fluent? The contributions of pauses, speed and repairs. Language Testing 30: 159–175. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Callies, M. & Götz, S. 2015. Learner Corpora in Language Testing and Assessment [Studies in Corpus Linguistics 70]. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.Google Scholar
Castañeda-Jiménez, G. & Jarvis, S. 2014. Exploring lexical diversity in second language Spanish. In The Handbook of Spanish Second Language Acquisition, K.L. Geeslin (ed.), 498–513. Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell.Google Scholar
Chaudron, C. 2003. Data collection in SLA research. In The Handbook of Second Language Acquisition, C.J. Doughty & M.H. Long (eds), 762–829. Oxford: Blackwell. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Collentine, J. 2009. Study abroad research: findings, implications and future directions. In The Handbook of Language Teaching, M.H. Long & C.J. Doughty (eds.), 218–233. Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Cook, H.M. 2008. Socialising Identities through Speech Style. Bristol: Multilingual Matters.Google Scholar
DeKeyser, R. 2014. Research on language development during study abroad: Methodological considerations and future perspectives. In, Pérez-Vidal (ed.), 313–326.Google Scholar
Dewey, D.P. 2008. Japanese vocabulary acquisition by learners in three contexts. Frontiers: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Study Abroad 15: 127–148.Google Scholar
Diaz-Negrillo, A., Ballier, N. & Thompson. P. (eds). 2013. Automatic Treatment and Analysis of Learner Corpus Data [Studies in Corpus Linguistics 59]. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Dominguez, L., Tracy-Ventura, N., Arche, M. J., Mitchell, R., & Myles, F. 2013. The role of dynamic contrasts in the L2 acquisition of Spanish past tense morphology. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition 16: 558–577. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Durán, P., Malvern, D., Richards, B. & Chipere, N. 2004. Developmental trends in lexical diversity. Applied Linguistics 25 (2): 220–242.Google Scholar
Ellis, R. & Yuan, F. 2005. The effects of careful within-task planning on oral and written task performance. In Planning and Task Performance in a Second Language [Language Learning & Language Teaching 11], R. Ellis (ed.), 167–192. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Foster, P., Tonkyn, A. & Wigglesworth, G. 2000. Measuring spoken language: A unit for all reasons. Applied Linguistics 21: 354–375. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Gilquin, G. & Gries, S.T. 2009. Corpora and experimental methods: A state-of-the-art review. Corpus Linguistics and Linguistic Theory 5 (1): 1–26. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Granger, S. 2009. The contribution of learner corpora to second language acquisition and foreign language teaching: A critical evaluation. In Corpora and Language Teaching [Studies in Corpus Linguistics 33], K. Ajimer (ed.), 13–32. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Granger, S., Gilquin, G. & Meunier, F. (eds). (2013. Twenty Years of Learner Corpus Research: Looking Back, Moving Ahead. Louvain-la-Neuve: Presses universitaires de Louvain.Google Scholar
(eds). (2015. Cambridge Handbook of Learner Corpus Research. Cambridge: CUP. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Hasko, V. 2013. Capturing the dynamics of second language development via learner corpus research: A very long engagement. Modern Language Journal 97(Suppl 1): 1–10. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Hasko, V. & Meunier, F. (eds). 2013. Capturing L2 development through learner corpus analysis. Modern Language Journal 97(Suppl 1).Google Scholar
Housen, A., Kuiken, F., & Vedder, I. 2012. Dimension of L2 Performance and Proficiency: Complexity, Accuracy and Fluency in SLA [Language Learning & Language Teaching 32]. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Huebner, T. 1983. A Longitudinal Analysis of the Acquisition of English. Ann Arbor MI: Karoma.Google Scholar
Hunt, K.W. 1965. A synopsis of clause-to-sentence length factors. English Journal 54 (4): 300–309. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Ife, A., Vives Boix, G. & Meara, P. 2000. The impact of study abroad on the vocabulary development of different proficiency groups. Spanish Applied Linguistics 4 (1): 55–84Google Scholar
Jarvis, S. 2013. Capturing the diversity in lexical diversity. Language Learning 63(s1): 87–106. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Kaltschuetz, D. 2015. Study Abroad and the Development of L2 Requests: The Development of Pragmalinguistic Behaviour as Operationalised in Request Realisations of UK Based Study Abroad Students in Germany/Austria. PhD dissertation, University of Southampton.Google Scholar
Kinginger, C. 2011. Enhancing language learning in study abroad. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics 31: 58–73. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Kuiken, F. & Vedder, I. 2012. Speaking and writing tasks and their effects on second langue performance. In The Routledge Handbook of Second Language Acquisition, S. Gass & A. Mackey (eds), 364–377. Abingdon: Routledge.Google Scholar
Langley, J. 2000. Missing! London: Francis Lincoln.Google Scholar
2006. I Very Really Miss You. (illustrations). London: Francis Lincoln.Google Scholar
Leopold, W.F. 1939. Speech Development of a Bilingual Child: A Linguist’s Record. Evanston IL: Northwestern University.Google Scholar
Lieven, E. 2014. First language development: A usage-based perspective on past and current research. Journal of Child Language 31: 48–63. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Llanes, À. 2011. The many faces of study abroad: An update on the research on L2 gains emerged during a study abroad experience. International Journal of Multilingualism 8: 189–215. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Lozano, C. & Mendikoetxea, A. 2013a. Corpus and experimental data: Subjects in second language research. In Twenty Years of Learner Corpus Research: Looking Back, Moving Ahead, S. Granger, G. Gilquin & F. Meunier (eds), 313–323. Louvain-la-Neuve: Presses universitaires de Louvain.Google Scholar
2013b. Learner corpora and second language acquisition: The design and collection of CEDEL2. In Díaz-Negrillo et al. (eds), 65–100. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
MacWhinney, B. 2000. The CHILDES Project: Tools for Analyzing Talk, 3rd edn. Mahwah NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.Google Scholar
Malvern, D. & Richards, B. 2002. Investigating accommodation in language proficiency interviews using a new measure of lexical diversity. Language Testing 19 (1): 85–104. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Marsden, E. & David, A. 2008. Vocabulary use during conversation: A cross-sectional study of development from year 9 to year 13 among learners of Spanish and French. Language Learning Journal 36 (2): 181–198. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
McCarthy, P. & Jarvis, S. 2007. Vocd: A theoretical and empirical evaluation. Language Testing 24: 459–488. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
McCarthy, P.M. & Jarvis, S. 2010. MTLD, vocd-D, and HD-D: A validation study of sophisti- cated approaches to lexical diversity assessment. Behavior Research Methods 42 (2): 381–392. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
McManus, K. & Mitchell, R. 2015. Subjunctive use and development in French L2. Language, Interaction and Acquisition 6 (1): 42–73. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
McManus, K., Mitchell, R., & Tracy-Ventura, N. 2014. Understanding insertion and integration in a study abroad context: The case of English-speaking sojourners in France. Revue Française de Linguistique Appliquée 19: 97–116.Google Scholar
Meara, P. 1994. The year abroad and its effects. Language Learning Journal 10: 32–38. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Meunier, F. & Littré, D. 2013. Tracking learners’ progress: Adopting a dual ‘corpus cum experimental data’ approach. The Modern Language Journal 97(Suppl. 1): 61–76. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Milton, J. & Meara, P. 1995. How periods abroad affect vocabulary growth in a foreign language. ITL Review of Applied Linguistics 107–108: 17–34.Google Scholar
Mitchell, R., Dominguez, L., Arche, M., Myles, F. & Marsden, E. 2008. SPLLOC: A new corpus for Spanish second language acquisition research. EUROSLA Yearbook 8: 287–304. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Mitchell, R., McManus, K. & Tracy-Ventura, N. 2015. Comparison of language development during different residence abroad programmes. In Social Interaction, Identity and Language Learning during Residence Abroad [EUROSLA Monograph Series 4], R. Mitchell, N. Tracy-Ventura & K. McManus (eds), 115–138. <[URL]>
Mitchell, R., Tracy-Ventura, N. & McManus K. Forthcoming. The Anglophone Student Abroad: Identity, Social Relationships and Language Learning. Abingdon: Routledge.
Myles, F. 2005. Interlanguage corpora and second language acquisition research. Second Language Research 21: 373–391. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
2007. Using electronic corpora in SLA research. In The Handbook of French Applied Linguistics, D. Ayoun (ed.), 377–400. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
2008. Investigating learner language development with electronic longitudinal corpora: Theoretical and methodological issues. In The Longitudinal Study of Advanced L2 Capacities, L. Ortega & H. Byrnes (eds), 58–72. Hillsdale NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.Google Scholar
2015. Second language acquisition theory and learner corpus research. In, S. Granger, G. Gilquin & F. Meunier (eds). 309–331. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Ortega, L. 2000. Understanding syntactic complexity: The measurement of change in the syntax of instructed L2 Spanish learners. Unpublished Doctoral dissertation, University of Hawaii, Honolulu, HI. Google Scholar
Ortega, L. & Byrnes, H. 2008. The longitudinal study of advanced L2 capacities: An introduction. In The Longitudinal Study of Advanced L2 Capacities, L. Ortega & H. Byrnes (eds), 3–21. Abingdon: Routledge.Google Scholar
Ortega, L. & Iberri-Shea, G. 2005. Longitudinal research in second language acquisition: Recent trends and future directions. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics 25: 26–45. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Perdue, C. (ed.). 1993. Adult Language Acquisition: Cross-linguistic Perspectives, 2 Vols. Cambridge: CUP.Google Scholar
Pérez-Vidal, C. (ed.). 2014. Language Acquisition in Study Abroad and Formal Instruction Contexts [AILA Applied Linguistics Series 13]. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Pérez-Vidal, C. & Barquin, E. 2014. Comparing progress in academic writing after formal instruction and study abroad. In, Pérez-Vidal (ed.), 217–235.Google Scholar
Polio, C. 2012. The acquisition of second language writing. In The Routledge Handbook of Second Language Acquisition, S.M. Gass & A. Mackey (eds), 319–334. Abingdon: Routledge.Google Scholar
Rees, J. & Klapper, J. 2008. Issues in the quantitative longitudinal measurement of second language progress in the study abroad context. In The Longitudinal Study of Advanced L2 Capacities, L. Ortega & H. Byrnes (eds), 89–106. Hillsdale NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.Google Scholar
Schumann, J. 1978. Second language acquisition: The pidginization hypothesis. In Second Language Acquisition: A Book of Readings, E. Hatch (ed.), 256–271. Rowley MA: Newbury House.Google Scholar
Serrano, R., Tragant, E. & Llanes, À. 2012. A longitudinal analysis of the effects of one year abroad. Canadian Modern Language Review 68: 138–163. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Skiba, R., Dittmar, N. & Bressem, J. 2008. Planning, collecting, exploring, and archiving longitudinal L2 data: Experiences from the P-MoLL project. In The Longitudinal Study of Advanced L2 Capabilities, L. Ortega & H. Byrnes (eds), 73–88. Abingdon: Routledge.Google Scholar
Tracy-Ventura, N. & Myles, F. 2015. The importance of task variability in the design of learner corpora for SLA research. The International Journal of Learner Corpus Research 1 (1): 58–95. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Tracy-Ventura, N., McManus, K., Norris, J., & Ortega, L. 2014. “Repeat as much as you can”: Elicited imitation as a measure of oral proficiency in L2 French. In Measuring L2 Proficiency: Perspectives from SLA, P. Leclercq, A. Edmonds & H. Hilton (eds), 143–166. Bristol: Multilingual Matters.Google Scholar
Weigle, S.C. 2002. Assessing Writing. Cambridge: CUP. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Yu, G. 2010. Lexical diversity in writing and speaking task performances. Applied Linguistics 31: 236–259. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Yuldashev, A., Fernandez, J. & Thorne, S. 2013. Second language learners’ contiguous and discontiguous multi-word use over time. The Modern Language Journal 97(Supp 1): 31–45. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Zareva A., Schwanenflugel, P. & Nikolova Y. 2005. Relationship between lexical competence and language proficiency – variable sensitivity. Studies in Second Language Acquisition 27: 567–595. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Cited by (19)

Cited by 19 other publications

Díez-Ortega, María & Kristopher Kyle
2024. Measuring the development of lexical richness of L2 Spanish: A longitudinal learner corpus study. Studies in Second Language Acquisition 46:1 ► pp. 169 ff. DOI logo
Kyle, Kristopher & Masaki Eguchi
2024. Evaluating NLP models with written and spoken L2 samples. Research Methods in Applied Linguistics 3:2 ► pp. 100120 ff. DOI logo
Kyle, Kristopher, Hakyung Sung, Masaki Eguchi & Fred Zenker
2024. Evaluating evidence for the reliability and validity of lexical diversity indices in L2 oral task responses. Studies in Second Language Acquisition 46:1 ► pp. 278 ff. DOI logo
KANWIT, MATTHEW & JUAN BERRÍOS
2023. Corpora, Cognition, and Usage‐Based Approaches. In The Handbook of Usage‐Based Linguistics, ► pp. 269 ff. DOI logo
Mitchell, Rosamond
2023. Documenting L2 input and interaction during study abroad: Approaches, instruments and challenges. Second Language Research 39:1 ► pp. 59 ff. DOI logo
Fernández, Julieta
2022. Corpus linguistics in L2 pragmatics research. Applied Pragmatics 4:2 ► pp. 178 ff. DOI logo
Ferreira Cabrera, Anita Alejandra, Jessica Elejalde Gómez & Lorena Blanco San Martín
2022. Diseño e implementación del Corpus de Aprendientes de Español como Lengua Extranjera (CAELE). Círculo de Lingüística Aplicada a la Comunicación 90 ► pp. 137 ff. DOI logo
Granados, Adrián, Antonio Lorenzo-Espejo & Francisco Lorenzo
2022. Evidence for the interdependence hypothesis: a longitudinal study of biliteracy development in a CLIL/bilingual setting. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism 25:8 ► pp. 3005 ff. DOI logo
Gudmestad, Aarnes
2022. Development of grammar, vocabulary, and pragmatics in an additional language: insights from Spanish learner corpus research. Journal of Spanish Language Teaching 9:2 ► pp. 161 ff. DOI logo
Köylü, Zeynep
2022.  Correlational Analysis in SLA . In Research Methods in Language Teaching and Learning, ► pp. 215 ff. DOI logo
Lozano, Cristóbal
2022. CEDEL2: Design, compilation and web interface of an online corpus for L2 Spanish acquisition research. Second Language Research 38:4 ► pp. 965 ff. DOI logo
Lozano, Cristóbal & Paloma Fernández-Mira
2022. Designing, compiling and interrogating corpora in L2 Spanish acquisition research. Journal of Spanish Language Teaching 9:2 ► pp. 190 ff. DOI logo
Sánchez-Gutiérrez, Claudia, Barbara De Cock & Nicole Tracy-Ventura
2022. Spanish corpora and their pedagogical uses: challenges and opportunities. Journal of Spanish Language Teaching 9:2 ► pp. 105 ff. DOI logo
Fernández-Mira, Paloma, Emily Morgan, Sam Davidson, Aaron Yamada, Agustina Carando, Kenji Sagae & Claudia H. Sánchez-Gutiérrez
2021. Lexical diversity in an L2 Spanish learner corpus. International Journal of Learner Corpus Research 7:2 ► pp. 230 ff. DOI logo
Mitchell, Rosamond & Nicole Tracy-Ventura
2021. Study Abroad for Anglophones: Language Learning Through Multilingual Practices. In Language Learning in Anglophone Countries, ► pp. 227 ff. DOI logo
Tracy-Ventura, Nicole, Amanda Huensch & Rosamond Mitchell
2020. Understanding the Long-Term Evolution of L2 Lexical Diversity: The Contribution of a Longitudinal Learner Corpus. In Learner Corpus Research Meets Second Language Acquisition, ► pp. 148 ff. DOI logo
Yamada, Aaron, Sam Davidson, Paloma Fernández-Mira, Agustina Carando, Kenji Sagae & Claudia Sánchez-Gutiérrez
2020. COWS-L2H: A corpus of Spanish learner writing. Research in Corpus Linguistics 8 ► pp. 17 ff. DOI logo
Tracy-Ventura, Nicole & Amanda Huensch
2018. Chapter 6. The potential of publicly shared longitudinal learner corpora in SLA research. In Critical Reflections on Data in Second Language Acquisition [Language Learning & Language Teaching, 51], ► pp. 149 ff. DOI logo
Huensch, Amanda & Nicole Tracy–Ventura
2017. L2 Utterance Fluency Development Before, During, and After Residence Abroad: A Multidimensional Investigation. The Modern Language Journal 101:2 ► pp. 275 ff. DOI logo

This list is based on CrossRef data as of 25 july 2024. Please note that it may not be complete. Sources presented here have been supplied by the respective publishers. Any errors therein should be reported to them.