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Literature Review and Annotated Bibliography

Montserrat Santillan-Rodriguez

University of Central Florida

ENC1102 Composition II

Professor Mooney

March 8, 2020
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I find it odd how a language and culture that was once so far out of my head is now my

prime mode of communication, whether it is the music I listen to or my first choice of language

when watching new TV shows. Spanish, as stated by Robertson et al., was something that aided

me in learning the English language by “transfer[ing] what [I] learn[ed] between contexts” (p.

187). Nevertheless, today, well over 70 percent of my dialogue, and probably thoughts as well,

are in English. This is a trend I see in many of my close friends and family who are bilingual.

Either they lack a strong foundation of Spanish, or they do not know Spanish at all, despite of

their origin and culture being rooted in the Spanish language. As cited by Guiberson et al.

(2006), language loss “is a process in which an individual’s L1 abilities are reduced or impeded

from developing while his or her L2 skills become more established” (p.4). A common trend

found in bilingual children is their gradual loss of the native tongue. According to Hakuta and

D’Andrea (1990), retention of the Spanish language is dominantly influenced by “adult language

practice in the home” (p. 82). Several researchers have found that when a native language is

heavily enforced in the household, it makes it more difficult for a child to stray away from it.

Additionally, Lutz (2006), who identified a gap in research that analyzes influences on Spanish

proficiency, found that characteristics such as social class, gender, religion, and racial identity

have a correlation to Spanish proficiency and maintenance.

Research on bilingual speakers, specifically Spanish and English, all have common

ground on the fact that as more English skills are acquired, a frequent trend of Spanish loss can

be found. According to Lutz (2006), researchers have found “a rapid shift to English” by

immigrant groups of all kinds, Hispanic, Asians, etc., (p. 1417). Though Guiberson et al (2006)

found a problem in research studying bilingual speakers as their characteristics can often be

confused with disorders and impediments in development, they, too, agree that native language
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loss is often a consequence of being bilingual, especially in young children because they “begin

to acquire a second language before they have had the opportunity to masater or fully develop

their first language” (p. 5). This can cause confusion in spelling, grammar rules, and ordering of

words, therefore, causing an inconsistent proficiency in either language in early years. In my

research paper, language loss is one of the main ideas as I seek to find what similarities, if any,

native Spanish speakers in college, who are not as proficient in Spanish as they once were, have.

Other major factors that have had correlation with language maintenance throughout

several research articles is the family home and its language primarily used. Guiberson et al

(2006) found that when the Spanish language is consistently used in the home, then language

maintenance is higher. While this is found to be true, it can often be heavily affected by cultural

assimilation as children, like Mellix states in his own experience, “develop[ed] an understanding

of when, where, and how to use them” (p. 173). Thus, the perception and acceptance of

Americans of other cultures and languages is another major factor that influences the loss and

maintenance of Spanish, though it is hardly spoken of or researched. In my research article, I

plan to deeply interview and analyze the participants to fully understand how not only their own

perception of their culture has impacted their motivation to retain their native language, but also

how the American culture and assimilation has led them away from retaining and/or hiding their

native identity.

Lutz (2006) analyzed deeper factors than the other sources mentioned and noted a gap in

research that finds factors directly affecting Spanish proficiency rather than its loss and/or

maintenance. Lutz (2006) and Tran (2010) both conducted studies and reviews of previous

research data and articles. Like each other, the articles discuss how racial identity can impact

language development of children and/or young adults. Tran (2010) states that “Mexican
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American had stronger retention of Spanish than other Latino groups” and they are “more

likely…to use Spanish at home” (p. 277). As another example, Lutz (2006) found that Mexicans

had the lowest English proficiency while Cubans had the highest. Furthermore, relating to the

questions that I will ask in the interviews, Lutz (2006) researched factors such as religion,

gender, family status, siblings, social class, and school type. For example, Lutz (2006) found that

the higher the income of a family, the less likely their children were to retain or even learn

Spanish. Additionally, children who went to private school were more likely to speak Spanish

than public school attendees (Lutz, 2006).

Overall, the main findings research has found is that practice at home has strong

correlation with native language retention, race and ethnicity plays a possible role, and

demographical setting influences how an individual might view their native language and

culture. While there is sufficient research analyzing the language retention and proficiency of

Spanish and English bilingual speakers in the United states, there is a lack in studies that

specifically study bilingualism, English and Spanish, of students in college. With my research I

plan to fill in this gap and provide data that helps to see how different factors have impacted the

way college students have developed their linguistic abilities.

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References

Guiberson, M. M., Barrett, K. C., Jancosek, E. G., & Yoshinaga Itano, C. (2006). Language

mMaintenance and lLoss in pPreschool-aAge cChildren of mMexican iImmigrants:

lLongitudinal sStudy. Communication Disorders Quarterly, 28(1), 4–17. Retrieved from

https://doi.org/10.1177/15257401060280010601. The main idea of this article discusses

language maintenance and loss, code switching and mixing, and common error patterns

among bilingual children who speak Spanish and English but whose first language was

Spanish. Guiberson et al. explain that past research shows that native language loss is a

typical consequence of younger children learning a new language because complete

mastery of the native tongue has not yet been met. In addition, combining both of the

languages in casual talk, referred to as code switching and code mixing, according to the

authors, has been viewed as a negative factor that occurs when a child does not have

enough of the native language knowledge or their second to use as a whole. On the other

hand, other researchers have said that code mixing and switching have no correlation to

language loss. The authors conducted a longitudinal study of 10 children, with Mexican

immigrant parents, over a span of three years. The children were studied based on

demographics, Spanish proficiency testing, language behavior, and language coding. The

results of the research showed that grammar faults in the Spanish language proved to be a

predictor for language loss. Furthermore, the authors found that consistent native

language usage and practice in the home contributes to greater language maintenance.

In relation to my other sources, this article discusses bilingual children who speak

Spanish and English and possible factors contributing to language loss and/or

maintenance. Like the research paper by Lutz, both the articles study bilingual Latin
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children that speak Spanish and English, by analyzing demographic and social factors.

On the other hand, Lutz conducted a deeper investigation by studying other variables

such as gender, racial identity, and religion on Latin children that were not specifically

Mexican. In addition, this article was closely related to the study by Hakurta & D’Andrea

who analyzed the influence of demographics, social, and family life on bilingual children

of only Mexican background. The use of this source will help to support my arguments

on how family habits, social life, and the consistent practice of the native tongue

contributes to a significantly higher language maintenance.

Hakuta, K., & D’Andrea, D. (1990). Some properties of bilingual maintenance and loss in

mexican background high school students. Applied Linguistics. 13, 72-99. Retrieved

from https://doi.org/10.1093/applin/13.1.72. The main idea of this article was the

descriptive properties that cause maintenance and/or loss of the Spanish language in

Mexican high school students in the United States. The authors focused on language

proficiency, behavior, and attitudes as major factors impacting language development

among bilingual children. By choosing high school students, according to the authors, the

study was able to be examined based on stabilized bilingualism that was almost fully

developed. The study was conducted on 308 Mexican high school students who were

either enrolled in Spanish as a foreign language or Spanish for Spanish speakers’ class.

Each student was tested for language proficiency by testing their vocabulary,

grammatical knowledge, and a Cloze test. The subjects were given a questionnaire that

included questions regarding their birthplace, age of arrival to the States, and language

behavior and attitude. The research mainly found that Spanish maintenance had a strong

connection to adult practice at home, students spoke mostly English outside of the home,
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and English proficiency was determined by peer communication rather than practice at

home.

This source closely relates to the articles by Guiberson et al (2006), Lutz (2006),

and Tran (2010) in the fact that all these sources study the maintenance and loss of the

English and Spanish language in Latin children. In addition, the sources find similar

results in a correlation between Spanish maintenance and frequent use of Spanish in the

home. Nonetheless, unlike Lutz (2006) and Tran (2010), Hakurta and D’Andrea study

language properties in only Mexican children, just as Guiberson et al (2006). The use of

this article will aid in my argument that self-love and acceptance for one’s culture can

have an impact in the maintenance or loss of the native language by taking into account

the correlation the research found between language development and language attitude

and behavior.

Lutz, A. (2006). Spanish maintenance among english-speaking latino youth: the role of

individual and social characteristics. Social Forces, 84(3), 1417-1433. Retrieved

February 26, 2020, from www.jstor.org/stable/3844446. The main idea of this article was

how different characteristics including family, social, and demographic factors affect the

retention of Spanish among bilingual children. According to Lutz, while there is study in

factors that impact English acquisition in bilingual individuals, there is not enough study

in factors that influence native language maintenance. To fill in this gap, Lutz conducted

this research. The research was done by analyzing data of 3,132 Hispanic students found

in the National Education Longitudinal Study. Only subjects whose household spoke

English and Spanish were included in the sample. Lutz analyzed factors discussed in the

NELS including religion, parent status, siblings, social class, gender, and racial identity.
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The study found that most of the students spoke primarily English, Spanish usage and

retention decreases by generation, language assimilation causes loss of native language, a

strong family household can cause higher Spanish proficiency, and higher incomes means

that the student is less likely to have a strong Spanish foundation.

This article, as previously stated, has a strong linkage to the study by Guiberson et

al (2006), Hakuta & D’Andrea (1990), and Tran (2010). These articles analyze factors

that could impact Spanish and English maintenance, proficiency, and loss. Similar to

Tran (2010), rather than conduct a primary study, Tran and Lutz both conducted a study

of a study in order to determine factors that influence the retention of Spanish in bilingual

speakers. In addition, both of the articles study language in a broad Latin/Hispanic Youth

whereas Guiberson et al (2006) and Hakuta & D’Andrea (1990) restrict their study to

solely Mexican students. Since this article discusses factors such as religion, gender, and

social class, unlike my other sources, I will be able to use it to further explain and support

the argument that demographics has a strong influence on cultural assimilation and

language development in bilingual children.

Mellix, B. (1987). From oOutside, iIn. In E. Wardle & D. Downs (Eds.) Writing aAbout

wWriting. (3rd edition, p. 173). Bedford Press. In this essay, the main idea is how the

author had a problem growing up because of two different languages she learned growing

up: standard English and black English. She explains how though the usage of black

English including phrases such as “ainnit” and “gone do” was acceptable in private, but

when in public, her mother had taught her this was inappropriate. Due to this, she grew to

feel as if she were made of two different identities. One that she talked and carried herself

as when around familiar faces, and the other which she showed to the public because they
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would deem it to be more acceptable than her other identity. As she grew up in school,

though she did eventually learn, it was a dilemma for her self-identity as she was never

sure when it was okay for her to display her “black” identity.

This article is very different from my other sources because rather than talk of or

conduct direct research, it discusses a personal memoir of Mellix’s growing up struggling

with her self-identity due to her “bilingualism” in standard English and black English.

Nonetheless, as all the other articles, there is a topic present of bilingualism and like the

sources by Tran (2010) and Lutz (2006) the article discusses how assimilation has an

impact on her language development. Because society was not accepting of her black

culture, she knew to subside it and replace it with “standard” English. The use of this

article helps to frame my literature review by relating the Mellix’s emotions to mine as a

bilingual speaker.

Robertson, L. (2012). Notes toward a theory of prior knowledge. In E. Wardle & D. Downs

(Eds.) Writing about writing. (3rd edition, pp 184-207). Bedford PressWriting About

Writing.

(pp. 184-207). Bedford Press. The main idea of this essay is transfer and how students are

able tocan either positively or negatively use their prior knowledge in academic work.

The essay analyzes two main types of transfer: assemblage and remix.

This essay is not closely similar to any of the other articles. While all of the other

articles’ main idea pertains to language, the main idea of this article is about using prior

knowledge. Nonetheless, it regards to my research, it can be related to how bilingual

speakers, can transfer their knowledge of Spanish words onto learning English words.
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Tran. V.C. (2010). English gain vs. spanish loss? language assimilation among second-

generation latinos in young adulthood. Social Forces, 89(1), 257–284. Retrieved

from https://doi.org/10.1353/sof.2010.0107. The main idea of the article is to compare

how groups of people of Spanish-speaking background have assimilated into the English

language over the span of three generations with focus on the second generation.

According to the author, a pattern is visible between generations in which each

subsequent generation decreases their frequency of Spanish language usage. The study

noticed a gap in research done on bilingual young adults. Tran analyzed a longitudinal

study that followed various children into young adulthood. Language proficiencies of

each language was divided into subcategories such as understanding, speaking, and

writing. The study found that while those of Mexican background had the lowest English

proficiency, they also had the highest Spanish proficiency. Additionally, Tran found no

correlation between frequent Spanish usage and English proficiency but did find that

frequent Spanish can promote the retention of the native tongue.

Unlike the other sources by Guiberson et al and Lutz, this article analyzed

language gain and loss in the second generation of young adults while studying three

generations rather than solely doing studies on children in one generation. The article is

similar to the others in the fact that it also analyzes bilingualism in people who speak

Spanish and English. The study, however, consists of different races and ethnicities like

Cuban, Nicaraguan, and Colombian, while Guiberson et al and Hakurta & D’Andrea

focus solely on Mexican children. As one of my interview questions will ask about the

participant’s race and background, by using this source, I will be able to explain how
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research has shown that Spanish retention and proficiency can correlate with ethnic

background.

Portes, A. (2002). English-only triumphs, but the costs are high. Contexts, 1(1), 10–15.

https://doi.org/10.1525/ctx.2002.1.1.10. The article analyzes how the concept of English

only has impact the United States and the effect of cultural assimilation of immigrant

youth. Portes conducted a research by surveying approximately 4000 students in high

school. He found that out of the Cuban participants, 85 percent of them preferred English

over Spanish; overall, around 65 percent of the Latin American children were no longer

fluent in their native language.

This study is similar to Tran (2010) and Lutz (2006) because they all study

bilingualism in a broad spectrum rather than focusing just on Mexican immigrant youth

like Guiberson et al (2006) and Hakuta & D’Andrea (1990). In addition, similar to the

findings of Lutz (2006), Portes found a correlation between ethnicity and the retention of

the native language. Unlike the other articles, Portes further depicts the battle of

bilingualism in the United States and how it has encouraged language assimilation,

causing the loss of native languages.

Agirdag, O. (2014). The long-term effects of bilingualism on children of immigration: student

bilingualism and future earnings. International Journal of Bilingual Education and

Bilingualism, 17(4), 449–464. The main idea of the article was to find whether or not a

correlation between bilingualism and income existed. The research was done by

interviewing and analyzing participants of two past longitudinal studies. Some of their

characteristics that were analyzed were bilingual abilities, dominant language, gender,

and national origin. The study found that those who had a balanced ability in both
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English and their native language while in high school earn about $2,000 more than the

people who were where English dominant.

Unlike all the other studies, this research directly analyzes a specific advantage of

being bilingual. While the other research tries to find factors that impact retention and

proficiency of language, Agirdag finds how income and bilingualism correlate. Similar to

Lutz (2006) and Tran (2010), they all study different ethnicities, not just Spanish and

English. Furthermore, like all the articles listed, bilingualism is analyzed.