THE LEARNING OF SUBJUNCTIVE PRESENT TENSE OF SPANISH IN TEMPORAL SENTENCES WITH CUANDO BY BRAZILIAN COLLEGE STUDENTS: THE EFFECTS OF INSTRUCTIONAL INTERVENTION IN LANGUAGE TRANSFER REDUCTION

ABSTRACT:

In this study, we analyze and discuss the role of the instructional intervention in the reduction of the non-application of the subjunctive present tense of Spanish in temporal sentences with cuando by Brazilian college students. Tasks as oral and written production were used to obtain data, which were submitted to Standard Normal Test. Twelve students from a private university participated in this study. In a short term, the results suggested the reduction of the alternative forms. These reductions have kept stable in medium term, that is, there was a greater application of cases of language transfer in the pre-test and a reduction of its application in the post-instructional phases. Thus, starting from an inversely proportional relation, the pedagogical treatment had provided a durable effect on the learning of the subjunctive present tense in temporal sentences with cuando. We add to this the fact that the reduction of language transfer also can be useful as favorable evidence of the instructional benefits.

Keywords:
subjunctive present tense; form-focused instruction; Spanish