Abstracts Language, Literature, and Linguistic

Actitudes y creencias lingüísticas de los estudiantes surcoreanos de ELE hacia las variedades del español

by Débora López Mata

[eng] This study focuses on the linguistic attitudes of students learning Spanish as a foreign language (ELE) in South Korea towards the dialectal varieties of the Spanish language. Spanish is characterized as a pluricentric language, with its linguistic representation influenced by diatopic features from different regions of the Spanish-speaking world. In the current context of globalization and artificial intelligence, understanding linguistic attitudes is crucial for improving the teaching of Spanish. The research, based on the PRECAVES XXI project, aims to identify the beliefs and attitudes of South Korean ELE students towards Spanish varieties. It poses questions about whether subjects recognize cultured varieties, perceive linguistic hierarchy, and explores the relationship between exposure to varieties and the attitudes expressed. The results show that South Korean students perceive linguistic hierarchy, favoring Peninsular and Castilian varieties. While they identify Rioplatense, Mexican, and Andean varieties better, they exhibit difficulties in distinguishing Spanish varieties. The study also reveals linguistic prejudices similar to those of native speakers, as confirmed in previous studies. It is concluded that exposure to Spanish varieties directly impacts the ability of ELE students to identify them. The study emphasizes the need to enhance the teaching and learning of Spanish varieties in the South Korean context. Strategies for learning, such as curriculum plans, materials, and didactic sequences, should be developed, with a focus on these aspects. Additionally, future research should explore the linguistic beliefs of ELE teachers in South Korea and those presented in teaching materials, as potential conveyors of prejudices about Spanish varieties.