A Discourse-Pragmatic Approach to Teaching Indicative/Subjunctive Mood Selection in the Intermediate Spanish Language Class

The aim of a discourse-pragmatic approach to teaching the indicative/subjunctive contrast in Spanish is to engage students to move beyond grammar and semantics and enter the domain of language use in complete texts. Linguistics and Second Language Acquisition (SLA) research have mostly focused on the morphology, semantics and syntactic aspects of the subjunctive mood in stand-alone sentences at various levels of proficiency, a perspective reflected in textbooks and instructional materials. This current study addresses the cohesive discursive function performed by the present subjunctive in speakers’ comments when reformulating already known content by the interlocutors. The pedagogical proposal is grounded on the latest linguistic and SLA research on the indicative/subjunctive contrast and on a constructivist, concept, and task-based approach to second language learning. It provides an instructional sample that was implemented in an intermediate-level university class. Further linguistic research on the subjunctive’s communicative functions and L2 acquisition of mood distinction in discourse are needed to inform pedagogical initiatives that address Spanish mood in full texts

Class (philosophy) · Grammar · Language acquisition · Linguistics · Perspective (graphical) · Second-language acquisition · Selection (genetic algorithm) · Artificial Intelligence · Computer Science · EFL/ESL Teaching and Learning · Linguistic Studies and Language Acquisition · Philosophy · Psychology · Spanish Linguistics and Language Studies

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