Final Researched Article

1
Factors Affecting Spanish and English Retention and Proficiency
of Bilingual College Students in the United Stateses
Montserrat Santillan-Rodriguez
University of Central Florida
ENC1102 Composition II
Professor Mooney
April 05, 2020

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The discourse community of bilingual speakers, specifically Spanish and English, in the
United States consists of millions of people. With a steady increase of immigration and children
born to foreign parents throughout the years, this community inevitably continues to grow. An
effect of using two languages, in which English usually becomes the dominant language,
research has commonly found that these bilingual speakers begin to lose their Spanish language
skills.
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.
Additionally, Agirdag (2014), researched the effect of bilingualism on future earnings and found
that “bilingualism might have a positive impact on educational attainment, which in turn, has a
positive impact on earnings” (p. 459).
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
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confused with disorders and impediments in development, they, too, agree that native language
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 master or fully develop
their first language” (p. 5). In addition, for many English learners, Spanish (2012) was something
that often aids Spanish speakersin learning the English language by, as Robertson et al (2012)
states, “transfer[ing] what [they] learn[ed] between contexts” (p. 187). For example, it is not rare
for dual language learners to apply rules and pronunciation of one language to the other. This can
cause confusion in spelling, grammar rules, and ordering of words, therefore, causing an
inconsistent proficiency in of 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. Portes (2002) conducted a research on native tongue consistency and
proficiency and found that, “Immigrant children today are rapidly embracing English over their
native languages” (p. 10). . While this is found to be true, Iit can often be heavily affected by
cultural assimilation as children, like Mellix (1987) states in his own experience, “develop [ed]
an understanding of when, where, and how to use them” (p. 173), “them” referring to languages..
Thus, the perception and acceptance of Americans for 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 their own perception of their culture has impacted their motivation to retain their
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native language and 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 retention. 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 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 enough 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. By conducting case studies, I plan
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to answer the following questions: which factor(s), according to the interviews, seem(s) to play
the biggest role in the loss and/or maintenance of Spanish? What is the difference in the margin
of error when native Spanish speakers read and conversate in English versus Spanish?
Method
Taking into consideration the goal of my paper, which is to find similarities among
English-Spanish bilingual students in college, the participants chosen were close friends of mine
that currently attend the University of Florida in engineering majors. To begin, I originally had
two participants of Mexican origin and one of Cuban origin. Even though there were only three
participants, I wanted to make it a little diverse, so instead, I decided to include participants of
Mexican, Salvadoran, and Cuban descendance. The participants ranged within the ages of 19-22.
Before I began each of the studies, I received permission to voice record the interviews and then
later transcribed them. I reserved a private room for about 35-40 minutes at the UCF Library to
conduct the case studies for each of the participants.
In order to conduct research that analyzes Spanish and English proficiency and retention,
I decided to use the case studies method interview and case study methods of primary research.
By asking the participants to read a short story from “The House on Mango Street” in both
English and Spanish, I planned to determine their comfort and proficiency in each language. I
tracked the time it took them to read the story in each language and kept count of the number of
errors such as mispronunciation. The goal of the interview is to be able to determine how the
individual perceives his or her language and culture, how the individual has been affected by
cultural assimilation, and to understand how the social environment and home rituals have
shaped the language skills of the individual.

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As previously stated, it has been found that factors such as practice at home, cultural
pride, and demographic location are some of the factors that can have a major impact on shaping
language, especially for young children. With these concepts in mind, to detect possible
correlations between native Spanish speakers, learning of the English language, and current
language proficiency and retention, I plan to conduct 3conducted three interviews that highlight
the following questions and/or concepts that are listed on Appendix A. .
1. When did you begin to learn English?
2. What the primary tongue used in your household growing up?
3. What major or minor techniques of the Spanish language have you loss all or
some retention of?
4. Do you listen to music in Spanish? Watch TV shows in Spanish?
5. How do you communicate with your parents, siblings, cousins, or any other close
family?
6. When did you realize you had loss some of your Spanish language?
7. How does the loss of the Spanish language affect you?
8. What factor do you think plays the biggest impact on your Spanish retention?
9. How, if it did, did the American culture or beliefs impact your ability to speak
Spanish?
10. How often do you read and/or write in Spanish?
11. Do your family or close friends notice your loss of Spanish?
12. Have you ever been ashamed of your Spanish language?
13. What were the environments of your school growing up?
14. Where does your family originate?

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15. Do you believe retaining both languages is beneficial? Why or why not?
16. Were you ever humiliated because of your accent or Spanish language and/or
culture?
I will analyze the responses to these questions of each participant and organize it into a
table to find any similarities and differences among the answers. The questions were based on
major factors that have been proven to have correlation to language development such as racial
identity, generation, school type, and family environment (Lutz, 2006).
According to EasyWriter, ethnography is done by “actually observ[ing] groups of people
in their environment.” My last step in my research paper will was be to conduct 3 small case
studies with the same interview participants. I will dodid this by asking them to read a short
story, “My Name,” an excerpt from Sandra Cisneros’s book “The House on Mango Street,” in
both Spanish and English. I will timetimed how long it takes took them to read the story in each
language, counted the amount of errors and pauses, and noted their preferred method of reading
and writing. After receiving the final data, I will ccompared each participant’s data using a table
and calculating calculated the averages of errors, pauses, and times taken to read.
Results
After completing all the interviews, there seemed to be a strong connection between
cultural assimilation, demographic location, and the frequent use of Spanish. Thus, I began to
find answers for my research question: “which factor(s), according to the interviews, seem(s) to
play the biggest role in the loss and/or maintenance of Spanish?” As shown in Table 1, some of
the important factors and comparisons of the participants were their usages of both languages,
form of communication in the home, school life growing up, and skills of the Spanish language
they had lost. Each participant lived their childhood, when learning English, in very different
8
settings. Two of the participants lived in diverse communities and had stronger cultural ties and
higher use of Spanish. This was evidently shown in the case studies with them reading far better
in Spanish than did participant 1, who lived in a predominantly white neighborhood and quickly
went through cultural assimilation. This could suggest that demographic location impacts
cultural assimilation, which, in turn, affects the usage of Spanish. Thus, language proficiency and
retention of languages is affected. On the other hand, another interesting note was that participant
1 read the English passage faster than did the other participants, suggesting she could have a
stronger proficiency of English and disagreeing with the findings of Lutz (2006) that said Cubans
showed higher English proficiency.
Table 1: Interviews Coding Chart
Interview 1 Interview 2 Interview 3

Mostly speaks Speaks mostly
English, uses Spanish English but

Speaks mostly in
Primary tongue when talking to frequently uses
Spanish
family in native Spanish with
country family and friends

Frequently speaks
Some Spanish, mostly Spanish with

Communication with Communicates mostly
communicates parents; mixes
family at home through Spanish
through English languages with
sibling
Usage of Spanish and Does not consume Watches TV and Fluent in English,
English media in Spanish and listens to music in uses more Spanish,
mostly communicates Spanish; speaks listens and watches
with parents in Spanish with TV in Spanish

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parents, cousins,
English and other close
family
Small town in
Georgia, school
Suburb near Chicago, Suburb near Key
consisted of
School life growing up dominantly Caucasian West; diverse
mostly black,
school neighborhood
white, and
Hispanic children
Lost ability to roll
Spanish skills that have Has trouble
tongue and ordering None
been lost rolling her tongue
words is a challenge
Interview Participant 1:
Case Study
Participant 1 began to learn English around the age of 4 after moving to the United States
from El Salvador. During his time in El Salvador, his parents communicated only in Spanish. A
major Spanish technique he has lost is his alveolar trill, which is the ability to roll the tongue.
The participant only watches TV and listens to music in English but on rare occasions, he does
listen to music in Spanish. As of now, he communicates with his parents mostly through English,
though his mom speaks mostly in Spanish still.
Participant 1 was of Salvadoran roots and preferred to read and write in English. He, like
all the other participants, began by reading the Spanish version of the short story, followed by the
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English version. In Spanish, he read in 3 minutes and 37 seconds with several long, awkward
pauses and stumbled frequently. In total, he had 17 errors. When reading in English, he
significantly radiated much more confidence and comfort. He read the English version in 1
minute and 39 seconds with 0 errors. He began to recognize he was losing his Spanish fluency
when he began to confuse his Spanish adjective and noun ordering rules for the English rules. As
an example, he states he sometimes will say “tall giraffe” in Spanish rather than “giraffe tall,”
which would be the proper way to order it in Spanish. If he were to lose his language, he feels he
would lose special connections to his family in El Salvador. Nonetheless, he feels that aside from
this, “English is the most beneficial and probably the only one” he will need in the future.
When he first arrived to the United States, participant 1 lived in a suburb near Chicago in
where the kids were “dominantly white.” He admits to feeling “odd, physically and
linguistically” when he first began attending school. Often, he would feel humiliated because of
his accent. Additionally, he “wanted to be able to fit in” and admits “he wanted be like them.”
Interview
Participant 1 began to learn English around the age of 4 after moving to the United States
from El Salvador. During his time in El Salvador, his parents communicated only in Spanish. A
major Spanish technique he has lost is his alveolar trill, which is the ability to roll the tongue.
The participant only watches TV and listens to music in English but on rare occasions, he does
listen to music in Spanish. As of now, he communicates with his parents mostly through English,
though his mom speaks mostly in Spanish still.
He began to recognize he was losing his Spanish fluency when he began to confuse his
Spanish adjective and noun ordering rules for the English rules. As an example, he states he
sometimes will say “tall giraffe” in Spanish rather than “giraffe tall,” which would be the proper
11
way to order it in Spanish (Appendix B). If he were to lose his language, he feels he would lose
special connections to his family in El Salvador. Nonetheless, he feels that aside from this,
“English is the most beneficial and probably the only one” he will need in the future (Appendix
B).
When he first arrived at the United States, participant 1 lived in a suburb near Chicago in
where the kids were “dominantly white” (Appendix B). He admits to feeling “odd, physically
and linguistically” when he first began attending school (Appendix B). Often, he would feel
humiliated because of his accent. Additionally, he “wanted to be able to fit in” and admits “he
wanted be like them” (Appendix B).
Interview 2Participant 2:
Case Study
Participant 2 began immigrated from Mexico and began to learn English at the age of 4
through the help of her older brother, who was then 7, CDS, books, and father, who had already
been living in the United States for some time. She listens to music and watches TV in Spanish
often. She communicates with her family and other close friends, besides her brother, in mostly
Spanish. According to her, she is still able to fluently speak, write, and read in Spanish, though
she now has trouble rolling her tongue and slightly weaker pronunciation.
If she were to forget Spanish, participant 2 feels as if it “would greatly affect [her] family
relationships.” Additionally, she believes being bilingual could result in more job opportunities
for her in the future. The participant thinks her retention of Spanish is an effect of the strong
cultural ties her family has kept and how they continue to make Spanish the main form of
communication. Growing up, she attended school with “mostly black, white, and Hispanic kids
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in a small town in Georgia.” She states that many of her classmates spoke Spanish; she felt
welcome from the start and did not have trouble fitting in. Participant 2 stated to have a
balanced comfort and preference for either English or Spanish, as she uses both frequently. She
read the Spanish version of the story in 2 minutes and 46 seconds, significantly faster than
Participant 1. She had 6 errors. When reading in English, she finished at 1 minute and 42 seconds
with 1 error. Thus far, it seemed she may have a stronger proficiency and comfort when
communicating in English.
Interview
Participant 2 began immigrated from Mexico and began to learn English at the age of 4
through the help of her older brother, who was then 7, CDS, books, and father, who had already
been living in the United States for some time. She listens to music and watches TV in Spanish
often. She communicates with her family and other close friends, besides her brother, in mostly
Spanish. According to her, she is still able to fluently speak, write, and read in Spanish, though
she now has trouble rolling her tongue and has slightly weaker pronunciation.
If she were to forget Spanish, participant 2 feels as if it “would greatly affect [her] family
relationships” (Appendix C). Additionally, she believes being bilingual could result in more job
opportunities for her in the future. The participant thinks her retention of Spanish is an effect of
the strong cultural ties her family has kept and how they continue to make Spanish the main form
of communication. Growing up, she attended school with “mostly black, white, and Hispanic
kids in a small town in Georgia” (Appendix C). She states that many of her classmates spoke
Spanish; she felt welcome from the start and did not have trouble fitting in (Appendix C).
Interview Participant 3:
Case Study
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Participant 3 began to learn English at the age of 11 after moving to the United States
from Cuba. Growing up, the primary tongue used was Spanish; up until now, this has not
changed. The participant states that she is still fully fluent in Spanish and that she feels her
proficiency in Spanish is better than her English proficiency. She listens to a “lot of Cuban music
and watch[es] Cuban TV shows often.”
The participant feels as if she were to lose her native language, she will lose her roots and
a piece of her childhood. A reason for her continued strong Spanish retention, she feels, is how
late she began to learn English and rather was able strengthen her Spanish. Though she is not
ashamed of her native language and culture, she is sometimes insecure because of her thick
accent when speaking English. Upon moving, she lived and continues to live in a suburban and
diverse area and has always been “surrounded by a lot of different races, cultures, and
languages.”
Participant 3 said to have much better skills and proficiency when reading and writing in
English. She read the Spanish version in 1 minute and 53 seconds with 1 error. The English
version was read in 1 minute and 59 seconds with 1 error, almost the same results as when she
read the Spanish version. It seemed she had a balanced comfort in both languages, though she
stated that she used Spanish more frequently than English.
Interview
Participant 3 began to learn English at the age of 11 after moving to the United States
from Cuba. Growing up, the primary tongue used was Spanish; up until now, this has not
changed. The participant states that she is still fully fluent in Spanish and that she feels her
proficiency in Spanish is better than her English proficiency. She listens to a “lot of Cuban music
and watch[es] Cuban TV shows often” (Appendix D).

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The participant feels as if she were to lose her native language, she will lose her roots and
a piece of her childhood. A reason for her continued strong Spanish retention, she feels, is how
late she began to learn English and rather was able strengthen her Spanish. Though she is not
ashamed of her native language and culture, she is sometimes insecure because of her thick
accent when speaking English. Upon moving, she lived and continues to live in a suburban and
diverse area and has always been “surrounded by a lot of different races, cultures, and
languages” (Appendix D).
Case Studies 1-3:
Table 2: Time Taken to Read Passages and Number of Errors
Time to Read Time to Read

Errors in Errors in
Passage in Passage in
Spanish English
Spanish English
3 minutes, 37 1 minutes, 39
Participant 1 17 errors 0 errors
seconds seconds
Participant 2 6 errors 1 error
seconds seconds
1 minute, 53 1 minute, 59
Participant 3 1 error 1 error
seconds seconds
Discussion
The two factors that stood out as having a strong correlation to each of the participants
language proficiency and maintenance of English and Spanish were how often they
communicated through Spanish, cultural assimilation, and demographic location when growing
up. The participants 2 and 3 who were more comfortable and open with their culture used
15
Spanish more often and had better accuracy and faster times when reading in Spanish than did
participant 1, who rarely spoke Spanish. Additionally, participant 1 often felt inferior when first
arriving to the United States which suggests cultural assimilation played a part in her lack of
Spanish usage once she learned English. Participants 2 and 3, however, did not fully go through
cultural assimilation and grew up in diverse communities. Interestingly, participants 1 and 2 both
recognized they had lost their ability to roll their r’s. On the other hand, participant 3 did not feel
as if she had lost any skills and even felt her proficiency in Spanish was best. A similar pattern
seen across all three participants was their desire to retain both languages in order to keep culture
and traditions alive. Participant 2 recognized she might have better job opportunities in the future
if she is able to maintain her bilingualism. Bilingualism and job income has been previously
studied, and in 2014, Agirdag (2014) found that students who were stably bilingual had “$3292
more income at the beginning of their career” than did those that were more comfortable
communicating through English. These analyzations begin to answer my research questions as
some factors including practice at home, self-perspective of language, cultural assimilation, and
different demographic settings reveal a different shaping of the importance of being bilingual for
each of the participants.
Usage of Spanish
Significantly, participant 2, who had consistent usage of Spanish at home, read with
better accuracy and a shorter time in Spanish than did participant 1, who only occasionally spoke
and wrote in Spanish. Participant 3, who was more comfortable reading and speaking in Spanish,
read at almost the same rates in both languages with one error in each of the passages. The
results and interview of participant 3 coincided with the findings of Tran (2010) who stated that a
stronger usage of Spanish in the home “has no statistically significant effect on English
16
proficiency but exerts a strong effect on Spanish proficiency” (p. 278). While participant 3 did
have stronger usage of Spanish, according to her passage reading times she reads at almost the
same rate in both languages. This agrees with other research in the fact that the two participants,
2 and 3, who frequently communicated through Spanish at home, had faster Spanish reading
rates and less errors than did participant 1. Participant 1 did not read or watch media in Spanish;
Participant 2 frequently listened to Mexican music and watched Mexican comedy shows, as did
Participant 3, but instead of Mexican media, it was Cuban media. In accordance with Lutz
(2006), who found that children who do retain higher levels of Spanish, “do so because they live
in an environment in which their foreign-born parents use Spanish,” participants 2 and 3 read
better in Spanish than did participant 1, who was hardly exposed to Spanish communication.
Cultural Assimilation and Demographic Location
Significantly, participant 2, who had consistent usage of Spanish at home, read with
better accuracy and a shorter time in Spanish than did participant 1, who only occasionally spoke
and wrote in Spanish. Participant 3, who was more comfortable reading and speaking in
Spanish, read at almost the same rates in both languages with one error in each of the passages.
The results and interview of participant 3 coincided with the findings of Tran (2010) who stated
that a stronger usage of Spanish in the home “has no statistically significant effect on English
proficiency but exerts a strong effect on Spanish proficiency.” While participant 3 did have
stronger usage of Spanish, according to her passage reading times she reads at almost the same
rate in both languages. The demographic settings of all participants were different. Participant 1
lived in a Chicago suburb and attended a school of mostly white students and stated that at a
young age, he wanted to “fit in” and “look like them” when he first began attending school in the
United States. (Appendix B). He did not believe the retention of both languages was too
17
important, though he did want to in order to keep family connections and culture. He stated that,
“English is the most beneficial and probably the only one I will truly need.” (Appendix B).
Participant 2 went to school in a small town of mostly black, white, and Hispanic children.
Participant 2 believed retaining both languages was important because it could provide “more
job opportunities for being bilingual” and “to continue the strong traditional things.” (Appendix
C). Participant 3 was at outlier in the fact that she began to learn English at a much later age than
the other participants. She grew up and attended school in a very diverse neighborhood.
Nonetheless, Spanish continues to be her prime mode of communication. In the end, participant
1 grew up in a predominantly white setting and was influenced by wanting to assimilate to them;
this could have resulted in the suppression of native language and culture. On the other hand,
participants 2 and 3 held strong ties to their culture, lived in diverse settings, and continued to
have strong proficiency and usage of Spanish. Participant 1 did not read or watch media in
Spanish; Participant 2 frequently listened to Mexican music and watched Mexican comedy
shows, as did Participant 3, but instead of Mexican media, it was Cuban media. In accordance
with Lutz (2006), who found that children who do retain higher levels of Spanish, “do so because
they live in an environment in which their foreign-born parents use Spanish,” participants 2 and
3 read better in Spanish than did participant, who was hardly exposed to Spanish communication.
Interestingly, participants 1 and 2 both recognized they had lost their ability to roll their r’s. On
the other hand, participant 3 did not feel as if she had lost any skills and even felt her proficiency
in Spanish was best. A similar pattern seen across all three participants was their desire to retain
both languages in order to keep culture and traditions alive. Participant 2 recognized she might
have better job opportunities in the future if she is able to maintain her bilingualism.
Bilingualism and job income has been previously studied, and in 2014, Agirdag (2014) found
18
that students who were stably bilingual had “$3292 more income at the beginning of their
career” than did those that were more comfortable communicating through English. These
analyzations begin to answer my research questions as some factors including practice at home,
self-perspective of language, cultural assimilation, and different demographic settings reveal a
different shaping of the importance of being bilingual for each of the participants.
Conclusion
Overall, it is evident that the environment of the participants, especially participant 1, had
an impact on their perspective of language and culture. Participant 1 felt pressured to assimilate
to others. On the other hand participants 2 and 3 were exposed to diverse environments and were
comfortable with their own culture and language. Participant 3, who began learning English at
the age of 11, had an almost balanced proficiency and retention of both languages according to
the case study. Lastly, participants 2 and 3 were frequently exposed to the Spanish language and
had better retention and proficiency of it when compared to participant 1, who only occasionally
spoke and wrote in Spanish.
There were two main flaws in my methods of research. In order to get a reliable data
pool, I believe a survey of 20-100 bilingual students who spoke English and Spanish would have
provided better data than an interview. Though the interview gave deep insights into how the
individuvualial grew up and how their mentality of language and culture was shaped, it only
gave me three different stats for each question. In addition, the short passage I had the
participants read was short and contained, for the most part, very simple words. A harder leveled
passage would have showed more reliable data on their retention and proficiency of both
languages.
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. Furthermore, an interesting finding was that both participants 1 and 2 was that they had
lost their ability to roll their r’s. Considering the constant use of double r’s in the Spanish
language, this could indicate an emerging dilemma for English-Spanish speakers. This For the
English-Spanish bilingual community, this couldcould make roomindicate a need for new
research for a new area of research in the future to analyze Spanish pronunciation and what
factors affect it, why, and how.for the discourse community of bilingual Spanish and English
speakers.
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References
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. https://doi.org/10.1080/13670050.2013.816264.
Cisneros, S. (1984). My name. In D.S. Moodie (Ed.).The House on Mango Street (pp. 10-11).
Arte Público Press.
Guiberson, M. M., Barrett, K. C., Jancosek, E. G., & Yoshinaga Itano, C. (2006). Language
maintenance and loss in preschool-age children of mexican immigrants: longitudinal
study. Communication Disorders Quarterly, 28(1), 4–17. Retrieved from
https://doi.org/10.1177/15257401060280010601.
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.
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 https://doi.org/10.1353/sof.2006.0057.
Mellix, B. (1987). From outside, in. In E. Wardle & D. Downs (Eds.) Writing about writing. (3rd
edition, p. 173). Bedford Press.
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
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 Press.

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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.
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Table 1: Interviews Coding Chart

Mostly speaks Speaks mostly
English, uses Spanish English but

Speaks mostly in
Primary tongue when talking to frequently uses
Spanish
family in native Spanish with
country family and friends

Frequently speaks
Some Spanish, mostly Spanish with

Communication with Communicates mostly
communicates parents; mixes
family at home through Spanish
through English languages with
sibling
Watches TV and
Does not consume listens to music in

Fluent in English,
media in Spanish and Spanish; speaks
Usage of Spanish and uses more Spanish,
mostly communicates Spanish with
English listens and watches
with parents in parents, cousins,
TV in Spanish
English and other close
family
Small town in
Georgia, school
Suburb near Chicago, Suburb near Key
consisted of
School life growing up dominantly Caucasian West; diverse
mostly black,
school neighborhood
white, and
Hispanic children
Spanish skills that have Lost ability to roll Has trouble None
23
tongue and ordering

been lost rolling her tongue
words is a challenge
24
Table 2: Time Taken to Read Passages and Number of Errors
Time to Read Time to Read

Errors in Errors in
Passage in Passage in
Spanish English
Spanish English
Participant 1 17 errors 0 errors
seconds seconds
Participant 2 6 errors 1 error
seconds seconds
1 minute, 53 1 minute, 59
Participant 3 1 error 1 error
seconds seconds
25
Appendix A: Interview QuestionsReferences
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. https://doi.org/10.1080/13670050.2013.816264
Guiberson, M. M., Barrett, K. C., Jancosek, E. G., & Itano, C. Y. (2006). Language Maintenance
and Loss in Preschool-Age Children of Mexican Immigrants: Longitudinal
Study. Communication Disorders Quarterly, 28(1), 4–17.
Hakuta, K., & D’Andrea, D. (1990). Some Properties of Bilingual Maintenance and Loss in
Mexican Background High School Students.
Portes, A. (2002). English-only triumphs, but the costs are high. Contexts, 1(1), 10–15.
https://doi.org/10.1525/ctx.2002.1.1.10Tran, V. C. (2010). English Gain vs. Spanish Loss?
Language Assimilation among Second-Generation Latinos in Young Adulthood. Social
Forces, 89(1), 257–584.
26
19. What major or minor techniques of the Spanish language have you loss all or some
retention of?
family?
Spanish?
32. Were you ever humiliated because of your accent or Spanish language and/or culture?
27
Appendix AB: Participant 1 Interview questions
PARTICIPANT 1
Interview
- I began learning English shortly after arriving to the United States from El
Salvador. I moved here around the age of 4. By 6, I was as fluent as the other kids
in my class, but I did have a noticeable accent.
- Both of my parents spoke only Spanish at home when I lived in El Salvador. My
father was fluent in English, and when we moved in the beginning, he helped me
in learning basic phrases. He thought I didn’t need too much practice. Since I was
young, he said I would pick it up quickly by just attending school. Other than that,
I rarely heard English at home.
retention of?
- I have lost almost all my alveolar trill. This is sometimes funny, because if you
speak Spanish, you might know that some words such as “dog” can sound like
“but” without this specific sound.
- I listen to music in Spanish only if my parents play it on car rides, other than that,
no. I also do not watch any TV in Spanish. Only English.
family?
28
- By now, though she is shy to speak it, my mom pretty much understands
everything in English. My dad is fluent. So, I usually just conversate with them in
English. But, sometimes I do speak Spanish to them. I am not very close with
other family because they are in El Salvador. Easy to say, I probably speak a lot
more in English than in Spanish.
- At some point, I began switching my words around. I am not sure how to explain.
For example, in English you would say the “tall giraffe,” but if translated to
Spanish in this order it would sound off. It would be proper if I were to say
“giraffe tall.” My parents would make fun of me, not in a mean way or anything,
just to be silly. The earliest I remember doing it was probably in third grade.
- I am not sure about this yet. I want to continue to communicate with my family in
El Salvador who do not speak English. If I lose Spanish, I lose emotional and
social connections to them.
- My lack of continuing to practice Spanish, I think is the biggest factor. If I had
made stronger efforts to continue speaking Spanish to my parents at home, I feel
it would be stronger in grammar and writing.
Spanish?
- When I moved here and heard everyone speaking English, I guess I felt left out. I
wanted to be able to fit in. I am not sure if this affected it. In a way, I wanted to be
29
like them. I don’t like to say it, but I also wanted to look like them. When I first
arrived, I always felt so odd, physically and linguistically.
- I talk and text my family in El Salvador from time to time, maybe twice a month.
Other than that, none.
- For sure. My parents, as I mentioned before, sometimes playingly pick on me. My
family in El Salvador also says I have an accent when I talk Spanish. Weird!
- No, I don’t think I have been ashamed of it. I was just really in awe of others
around me and wanted to blend in.
- When I first moved to the United States, I arrived at a small, middle class suburb
near Chicago. The kids in the area were dominantly white.
- El Salvador.
- I guess besides keeping connections to my family in El Salvador and keeping my
culture alive, no. There are so many languages in the country; English is the most
beneficial and probably the only one I will truly need.
30
- Yes, I had an accent when I first began learning English. I think sometimes people
would ask me to repeat myself or look at me funny when I spoke. That did not
feel good.
Case Study (passage reading)
o Spanish:
 Time: 3 minutes 37 seconds
 Mispronounced words: 17 errors, many long and noticeable pauses
 Overall accuracy out of 330: 94.8% accuracy
o English:
 Time: 1 minute 39 seconds
 Mispronounced words: 0
 Overall accuracy out of 324: 100% accuracy

31
Appendix C: Participant 2 Interview
PARTICIPANT 2
Interview
- My mom, brother, and I moved to the States in 2005. By that time, I was 4 and
did not attend school yet. I did start learning a bit at home then through books and
CDs my dad had. My brother was 7 at the time and began strongly learning then.
Sometimes, he would teach me new things he learned at school.
- My parents strongly enforced my brother and I learning English at home. My dad,
who had been at the States for around 5 years already was close to being fluent, I
think. He would try to have conversations with us in English. This was not most
of the time though. My mother knew very few basic phrases only. We mostly
spoke Spanish. This changed when I was about 14.
retention of?
- I cannot roll my tongue the way I use to before. Sometimes it sounds funny or off
when I say words that have double r’s in Spanish.
- Yes! I love some Mexican music and comedy shows.
family?
32
- My family and I are all very traditional. I have many close family members here.
Though I do mostly talk in English, I also communicate with other family, such as
my aunties and uncles, in Spanish. My cousins, brother, and I usually mix both
languages, though mostly English.
- I do not think I have lost my language. Besides the fact that I have weaker
Spanish pronunciation than when I was younger, I think most all my other skills
have stayed. I am still able to write and speak fluently in Spanish.
- Losing my Spanish language would greatly affect my family relationships. Half of
my family here, and back in Mexico, speak primarily Spanish. We are all so close,
so losing it would affect mostly that.
- I think my family’s strong attempts at keeping traditions is the biggest factor. At
the kitchen table, some days, we are not allowed to speak English. This started
after we noticed my brother and I were starting to lose that double r sound I
mentioned earlier.
Spanish?
- I don’t think it had a significant impact on me.

33
- I mostly text in Spanish when communicating with my mom, dad, grandparents,
and sometimes cousins. I would say I very often write in Spanish. I do not read it
much other than that.
- The only thing, like I mentioned before, that my family and I noticed was my loss
of the r sound.
- No! I love my culture and I am proud that I can speak two languages. I really
want to learn a third one.
- I went to a school of mostly black, white, and Hispanic kids in a small town in
Georgia. Many of my classmates spoke Spanish. I felt welcome and did not have
trouble making close groups of friends throughout my school years.
- My family is from Mexico.
- Absolutely. My parents have always told my brother and I that is important to
practice both languages. If I retain both, I will possibly have more job
opportunities for being bilingual! Also, I want to continue the strong traditional
things my family does. If I lose Spanish, I lose understanding Mexican literature,
art, and music. Nonetheless, English is vital, too, of course.
34
- Not at all. I have always openly shared my cultural traditions with others at school
and on social media.
o Spanish:
 Mispronounced words: 6 errors, paused noticeably 6 times
o English:
 Mispronounced words: 1 error, no awkward pauses

35
Appendix D: Participant 3 Interview
PARTICIPANT 3
Interview
- At the age of 11.
- Spanish.
retention of?
- I am still fully fluent in Spanish. I think I might have better Spanish proficiency
than English still.
- Yes. I listen to a lot of Cuban music and watch Cuban TV shows often with my
family.
family?
- Sometimes we mix the languages but mostly Spanish.
- Does not apply.
- If I were to lose my language to English, I will obviously lose my roots. For most
of my life, I grew up in Cuba. I will lose my childhood in a way. I hope that never
36
happens. I would like to be traditional with my future family as my family has
been thus far.
- I feel as if a lot of foreign children, if that’s a proper term, usually arrive here at
younger ages. So, they start to learn English at a younger age than I did. I think
the fact that I learned English so late in my childhood gave me an opportunity to
strengthen my Spanish. My parents, all other close family, and I communicate in
mostly Spanish.
Spanish?
- Does not apply
- Frequently. I text and talk to family in Spanish. To my friends, I mostly text or
talk in English, unless they, too, speak Spanish.
- Does not apply.
- I am aware I have a thick accent. I am often corrected in my pronunciation of
English words. I would not say it has impacted how I view my Spanish language,
however. So, I think no, I have never been ashamed of my Spanish language, but I
have been ashamed of my accent.

37
- My family owns a Cuban shop in the Key West area, so I was often surrounded
by Cuban customers or Spanish-speaking customers. But school was different.
The house we live at was passed down to my father from his father, and it was in
a suburban setting. Much different from what I was used to in Cuba. The area and
school were very diverse. I was always surrounded by a lot of different races,
cultures, and languages. I don’t think any dominated the other.
- Cuba. A lot of my previous family are rooted in the United States, though.
- As I said before, I was and sort of still am insecure because of my thick accent.
But, by memory, no one ever directly picked on me. I would get corrected often
about pronunciation of English words, but I was never severely bullied or
anything like that. As far as my Cuban culture and Spanish language, I am very
proud of it and I adore it with all my heart. If I had to choose between being here
and Cuba, I would choose Cuba.
o Spanish:
 Mispronounced words: 1 error, no noticeable pauses
o English:

38
 Mispronounced words: 1 error, no noticeable pauses

39
Appendix BE: English PassageShort Story
“My Name” by Sandra Cisneros, excerpted from The House on Mango Street
In English my name means hope. In Spanish it means too many letters. It means sadness, it
means waiting. It is like the number nine. A muddy color. It is the Mexican records my father
plays on Sunday mornings when he is shaving, songs like sobbing. It was my great-
grandmother's name and now it is mine. She was a horse woman too, born like me in the Chinese
year of the horse--which is supposed to be bad luck if you're born female-but I think this is a
Chinese lie because the Chinese, like the Mexicans, don't like their women strong. My great-
grandmother. I would've liked to have known her, a wild, horse of a woman, so wild she
wouldn't marry. Until my great-grandfather threw a sack over her head and carried her off. Just
like that, as if she were a fancy chandelier. That's the way he did it. And the story goes she never
forgave him. She looked out the window her whole life, the way so many women sit their
sadness on an elbow. I wonder if she made the best with what she got or was she sorry because
she couldn't be all the things she wanted to be. Esperanza. I have inherited her name, but I don't
want to inherit her place by the window. At school they say my name funny as if the syllables
were made out of tin and hurt the roof of your mouth. But in Spanish my name is made out of a
softer something, like silver, not quite as thick as sister's name Magdalena--which is uglier than
mine. Magdalena who at least- -can come home and become Nenny. But I am always Esperanza.
would like to baptize myself under a new name, a name more like the real me, the one nobody
sees. Esperanza as Lisandra or Maritza or Zeze the X. Yes. Something like Zeze the X will do.
40
Appendix CF: Spanish PassageShort Story
“My Name” by Sandra Cisneros, excerpted from The House on Mango Street
En inglés mi nombre quiere decir esperanza. En español tiene muchas letras. Quiere decir
tristeza, decir espera. Es como el número nueve, como un color lodoso. Es los discos mexicanos
que toca mi padre los domingos en la mañana cuando se rasura, canciones como sollozos. Era el
nombre de mi bisabuela y ahora es mío. Una mujer caballo nacida como yo en el año chino del
caballo —que se supone es de mala suerte si naces mujer— pero creo que ésa es una mentira
china, porque a los chinos, como a los mexicanos, no les gusta que sus mujeres sean fuertes. Mi
bisabuela. Me habría gustado conocerla, un caballo salvaje de mujer, tan salvaje que no se casó
sino hasta que mi bisabuelo la echó de cabeza a un costal y así se la llevó nomás, como si fuera
un candelabro elegante, así lo hizo. Dice la historia que ella jamás lo perdonó. Toda su vida miró
por la ventana hacia afuera, del mismo modo en que muchas mujeres apoyan su tristeza en su
codo. Yo me pregunto si ella hizo lo mejor que pudo con lo que le tocó, o si estaba arrepentida
porque no fue todas las cosas que quiso ser. Esperanza. Heredé su nombre, pero no quiero
heredar su lugar junto a la ventana. En la escuela pronuncian raro mi nombre, como si las sílabas
estuvieran hechas de hojalata y lastimaran el techo de la boca. Pero en español mi nombre está
hecho de algo más suave, como la plata, no tan grueso como el de mi hermanita —Magdalena—
que es más feo que el mío. Magdalena, que por lo menos puede llegar a casa y hacerse Nenny.
Pero yo soy siempre Esperanza. Me gustaría bautizarme yo misma con un nombre nuevo, un
nombre más parecido a mí, a la de a de veras, a la que nadie ve. Esperanza como Lisandra o
Maritza o Zezé la X. Sí, algo así como Zezé la X estaría bien.

41
Appendix DG: Coding Chart
Passage Passage Passage

reading reading Reading
Speaks
Significantly Read Read
Mostly speaks mostly
longer time faster in almost at
English, uses English but
reading in English, the same
Spanish when frequently Speaks mostly
Primary tongue Spanish and had more pace for
talking to uses in Spanish
had many errors and both
family in Spanish
errors and pauses in language
native country with family
pauses Spanish s
and friends
Frequently
speaks
Some
Spanish
Spanish, Communicate
Communication with
mostly s mostly
with family at parents;
communicates through
home mixes
through Spanish
languages
English
with
sibling
Usage of Does not English is Watches Shows Fluent in Shows
Spanish and consume evidently TV and good English, uses equal
English media in more listens to retention more Spanish, proficien
Spanish and practiced music in of both, listens and cy in
mostly than Spanish Spanish; but watches TV in both

42
speaks
Spanish language
with s, but
communicates
parents, English is reads
with parents Spanish
cousins, stronger slightly
in English
and other faster in
close Spanish
family
Small town
in Georgia,
Suburb near school

Suburb near
Chicago, consisted
School life Key West;
dominantly of mostly
growing up diverse
Caucasian black,
neighborhood
school white, and
Hispanic
children
Lost ability to
Spanish skills roll tongue Has trouble
that have been and ordering rolling her
lost words is a tongue
challenge
Importance of Only Thinks it is Wants to keep
retaining both important for important her culture
languages family for culture, and childhood

43
family
relationships relationship
in El Salvador s, and job alive
and culture opportuniti
es
1 minute
2 minutes and 53
3 minutes
and 46 seconds
and 37
seconds in in
seconds in
Time taken to Spanish, Spanish;
Spanish,
read 1 minute 1 minute
1 minute and
and 42 and 59
39 seconds
seconds in seconds
in English
English in
English
6 errors in 1 error in
17 errors in
Number of Spanish, Spanish,
Spanish,
errors 1 error in 1 error in
0 in English
English English
Origin El Salvador Mexico Cuba

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1

Factors Affecting Spanish and English Retention and Proficiency

of Bilingual College Students in the United Stateses

University of Central Florida

April 05, 2020

positive impact on earnings” (p. 459).

retaining and/or hiding their native identity.

attendees (Lutz, 2006).

participants, I wanted to make it a little diverse, so instead, I decided to include participants of

conduct the case studies for each of the participants.

shaped the language skills of the individual.

the following questions and/or concepts that are listed on Appendix A. .

1. When did you begin to learn English?

2. What the primary tongue used in your household growing up?

some retention of?

4. Do you listen to music in Spanish? Watch TV shows in Spanish?

7. How does the loss of the Spanish language affect you?

10. How often do you read and/or write in Spanish?

11. Do your family or close friends notice your loss of Spanish?

12. Have you ever been ashamed of your Spanish language?

13. What were the environments of your school growing up?

14. Where does your family originate?

identity, generation, school type, and family environment (Lutz, 2006).

According to EasyWriter, ethnography is done by “actually observ[ing] groups of people

showed higher English proficiency.

Table 1: Interviews Coding Chart

Interview 1 Interview 2 Interview 3

English, uses Spanish English but

country family and friends

Some Spanish, mostly Spanish with

English media in Spanish and listens to music in uses more Spanish,

mostly communicates Spanish; speaks listens and watches

with parents in Spanish with TV in Spanish

English and other close

though his mom speaks mostly in Spanish still.

though his mom speaks mostly in Spanish still.

wanted be like them” (Appendix B).

and watch[es] Cuban TV shows often.”

stated that she used Spanish more frequently than English.

and watch[es] Cuban TV shows often” (Appendix D).

languages” (Appendix D).

Case Studies 1-3:

Table 2: Time Taken to Read Passages and Number of Errors

Time to Read Time to Read

communicating through English. These analyzations begin to answer my research questions as

each of the participants.

Cultural Assimilation and Demographic Location

self-perspective of language, cultural assimilation, and different demographic settings reveal a

spoke and wrote in Spanish.

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. https://doi.org/10.1080/13670050.2013.816264.

Arte Público Press.

maintenance and loss in preschool-age children of mexican immigrants: longitudinal

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

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

February 26, 2020 from https://doi.org/10.1353/sof.2006.0057.

edition, p. 173). Bedford Press.

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

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

Table 1: Interviews Coding Chart

Interview 1 Interview 2 Interview 3

English, uses Spanish English but