Julieta Fernandez
- Associate Professor, Spanish and Portuguese
- Associate Professor, Second Language Acquisition / Teaching - GIDP
- Member of the Graduate Faculty
Contact
- (520) 621-3123
- Modern Languages, Rm. 545
- Tucson, AZ 85721
- julietafernandez@arizona.edu
Degrees
- Ph.D. Applied Linguistics
- The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, United States
- Social Networks and Youngspeak in Study Abroad
Awards
- Nominee for The Chatfield Outstanding Untenured Researcher Award
- College of the Humanities, Fall 2021 (Award Nominee)
- Nominee for College of the Humanities Distinguished Teaching Award
- College of the Humanities, University of Arizona, Spring 2021 (Award Nominee)
- College of the Humanities, University of Arizona, Spring 2020 (Award Nominee)
- Nominee for Annual Graduate and Professional Student Council Achievement Award
- Graduate and Professional Student Council, Fall 2020 (Award Nominee)
Interests
Research
pragmatics; qualitative methods; language learning in study abroad; corpus-based discourse analysis; second language learning and pedagogy; Spanish as a second language.
Courses
2024-25 Courses
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Humanities Research - Advanced
HUMS 492 (Spring 2025) -
Introduction to Pragmatics
SPAN 587A (Spring 2025) -
Hispanic Linguistics
SPAN 459 (Fall 2024) -
Humanities Research - Advanced
HUMS 492 (Fall 2024) -
Humanities Research - Prep
HUMS 392 (Fall 2024) -
Inter Conversation
SPAN 330 (Fall 2024)
2023-24 Courses
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Foreign Lang Tch Theory/Method
SPAN 581A (Fall 2023)
2022-23 Courses
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Dissertation
SPAN 920 (Spring 2023) -
Inter Conversation
SPAN 330 (Spring 2023) -
Dissertation
SPAN 920 (Fall 2022) -
Foreign Lang Tch Theory/Method
SPAN 581A (Fall 2022) -
Hispanic Linguistics
SPAN 696D (Fall 2022)
2021-22 Courses
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Applied Linguistics
SPAN 457 (Spring 2022) -
Dissertation
SPAN 920 (Spring 2022) -
Dissertation
SPAN 920 (Fall 2021) -
Foreign Lang Tch Theory/Method
SPAN 581A (Fall 2021) -
Hispanic Linguistics
SPAN 459 (Fall 2021) -
Independent Study
SLAT 699 (Fall 2021)
2020-21 Courses
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Adv Grammar+Composition
LAS 425 (Spring 2021) -
Adv Grammar+Composition
SPAN 425 (Spring 2021) -
Hispanic Linguistics
SPAN 696D (Spring 2021) -
Applied Linguistics
SPAN 457 (Fall 2020) -
Foreign Lang Tch Theory/Method
SPAN 581A (Fall 2020)
2019-20 Courses
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Inter Conversation
LAS 330 (Summer I 2020) -
Inter Conversation
SPAN 330 (Summer I 2020) -
Foreign Lang Tch Theory/Method
SPAN 581A (Fall 2019) -
Span Clsrm Tchr of Span
SPAN 473 (Fall 2019)
2018-19 Courses
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Second Semester Spanish
SPAN 102 (Summer I 2019) -
Inter Conversation
LAS 330 (Spring 2019) -
Inter Conversation
SPAN 330 (Spring 2019) -
Foreign Lang Tch Theory/Method
SPAN 581A (Fall 2018) -
Hispanic Linguistics
SPAN 696D (Fall 2018)
2017-18 Courses
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Hispanic Linguistics
SPAN 459 (Spring 2018) -
Independent Study
SLAT 699 (Spring 2018) -
Independent Study
SPAN 599 (Spring 2018) -
Span Clsrm Tchr of Span
SPAN 473 (Spring 2018) -
Applied Linguistics
SPAN 457 (Fall 2017) -
Foreign Lang Tch Theory/Method
SPAN 581A (Fall 2017)
Scholarly Contributions
Chapters
- Fernandez, J. (2022). Pragmatics in Learner Corpora. In Encyclopedia of Applied Linguistics, 2nd Edition. Wiley. doi:https://doi.org/10.1002/9781405198431.wbeal0936.pub2
- McGregor, J., & Fernandez, J. (2022). A critical appraisal of research interviews as a qualitative method of data generation in study abroad research. In Designing second language study abroad research: Critical reflections on methods and data. Palgrave Macmillan.More infoQualitative research conducted in applied linguistics, including in study abroad research (SAR), has largely relied on the use of the interviews. Recent epistemological shifts in the field have led to calls for the critical review of how qualitative interviews (QI) are used as a method of data generation. For this reason, in this chapter we appraise the use of QIs in SAR, developing a picture of qualitative interview as method, and identifying and honing in on dilemmas that emerge in SAR contexts specifically. We also offer epistemological, methodological, and practical considerations that affect the conducting of QIs in SA contexts, including the negotiation of interviewer identity and researcher reflexivity during data collection and analysis. Our appraisal has led us to a) discuss new considerations of the dilemmas facing SA scholars and b) offer new insights and practical steps for those considering including QIs in their SAR design.
- Fernandez, J., & Davis, T. (2021). Overview of available learner corpora. In Handbook of SLA and Corpora(pp 147-159). Routledge.More infoAmong the many benefits of applying Corpus Linguistics to Second Language Acquisition (SLA) is the creation and increasingly wide-ranging accessibility of corpora specific to the needs of SLA researchers. These corpora represent rich data resources for addressing unanswered and underexplored questions in SLA. In this chapter, we provide an overview of existing corpora with a focus on those that are most readily available. We also discuss the importance of considering what is available in a corpus (e.g., spoken or written texts, cross-sectional or longitudinal data, learner and textual metadata). We conclude by discussing the directions for learner corpus research and its intersections with SLA.
- Fernandez, J., & Staples, S. L. (2021). Pragmatic Approaches. In Handbook of SLA and Corpora. Routledge.More infoThis chapter explores the role of corpora in the study of language development from a functional (meaning-based) perspective. It begins with an overview of the learner corpora contributions to second/foreign language pragmatics research. The chapter then turns its focus to functional approaches to second language acquisition, including systemic functional linguistics, cognitive linguistics, and register linguistic perspectives on language development. Throughout the discussion of history, core issues, methodology, research, and future directions, connections will be drawn among these approaches, illustrating their underlying focus on functional language use (rather than formal analysis of underlying structures). Theoretical and methodological contrasts among these perspectives will be discussed as well.
- Staples, S. L., & Fernandez, J. (2019). Corpus Linguistic Approaches to L2 Pragmatics Research. In Routledge Handbook of SLA and Pragmatics(pp 241-254). Routledge.More infoAlthough corpus linguistics has become a central methodology for second language acquisition research, relatively less work has focused on the area of second language (L2) pragmatics. In part, this is related to the fact that there are relatively fewer corpus linguistic studies of pragmatics in general (outside of L2 pragmatics) and fewer spoken than written corpora, meaning that methodologies within corpus linguistics for investigating pragmatics are newer and less well developed (Aijmer & Rühlemann, 2014). As Callies (2013) discusses, the relative lack of corpus- based L2 pragmatics research may also be related to the rather narrow focus of L2 pragmatics research on speech acts, which are difficult to identify (and may not even occur) in large corpus data sets. To explore the current state of corpus-based L2 pragmatics research and posit possibilities for future research, then, this chapter, takes a broader view of pragmatic research, including not only speech acts and the challenges faced when identifying them in corpora, but also other aspects such as discourse organization and interactive communication (e.g., discourse markers) that are more commonly found in corpus-based studies, the use of pragmatic markers such as stance features, the use of prosody and non-verbal behavior, the use of formulas for pragmatic purposes (e.g., discourse organization and stance), and functional approaches to corpus linguistics that have implications for research in pragmatics. We begin with an overview of corpus linguistic methodology and corpus-based approaches to pragmatics research and then move to a survey of the corpus-based research focusing on L2 pragmatics followed by a critical reflection on this research. We end with a discussion of future research directions and provide suggestions for further reading.
- Asención Delaney, Y., & Fernandez, J. (2016). Spanish Speech Acts. In The Encyclopedia of Applied Linguistics(pp 1-8). Wiley-Backwell. doi:10.1002/9781405198431.wbeal1483
- Fernandez, J. (2016). Authenticating language choices: Out-of-class interactions in study abroad. In Authenticity, language and interaction in second language contexts(pp 131-150). Multilingual Matters.More infoThis chapter explores authenticity in out-of-class interactions between students and their conversation partners in light of MacDonald et al.’s (2006) criticism of the binary conceptualization of authenticity in the applied linguistic literature – i.e. authenticity of correspondence and authenticity of genesis (Cooper, 1983). MacDonald et al. establish authenticity ‘within the [intercultural] experience of being and becoming’ and make a case for authenticity as the process by which L2 learners act as and become ‘authentic’ and ‘intercultural beings’ (MacDonald et al., 2006: 260, emphasis mine). This process involves the dialectic interaction between a set of ‘situational’ and ‘projective’ self-concerns, thereby establishing an inextricable link between the present and the future. For example, an L2 learner’s situational self-concerns may involve the present desire to approximate ‘real’ language use, that is, language that corresponds to what is considered native like in a particular situational context without considering her own development. Situational self-concerns lead a language user to evaluate the context in which she finds herself. This context is always embedded in a culture that comes with its own set of values and beliefs (MacDonald et al., 2006: 259) and results in the language user (re)appraising her own cultural beliefs and values. Projective self-concerns, on the other hand, refer to the idea that language users assess ‘the goals to pursue in [their] life; considering the value to put on [their] activities’ (MacDonald et al., 2006: 259). The learner’s projective self-concerns may involve a desire to stay true to her own long-term trajectory (or genesis) without considering the need to coordinate or adjust to the immediate situational or local context. Macdonald et al.’s (2006) conceptualization of authenticity is thus better suited for acknowledging students’ agency (van Lier, 2008) in their language use in SA settings, focusing on ‘a dialogic exchange between two versions of being and becoming, which continually interact and reflect, one upon the other’ (MacDonald et al., 2006: 260).
- Fernandez, J. (2013). A corpus-based study of vague language use by learners of Spanish in a study abroad context. In Social and cultural aspects of language learning in study abroad(pp 299-331). John Benjamins. doi:https://doi.org/10.1075/lllt.37More infoThis chapter seeks to demonstrate some of the potential contributions of a corpus-based approach to study abroad research. Drawing on the Spanish Learner Language Oral Corpora, the present analysis examines a set of vague expressions known as general extenders (GEs) (Overstreet 1999) utilized by undergraduate English L1 learners after a year abroad. Specifically, the analysis focuses on patterns emergent from the concordancing analysis of learner language production alongside four exploratory case studies of learners’ motives and dispositions towards their study abroad experience. The discussion draws parallels between the corpus-derived types, frequencies and pragmatic functions of GEs, and individual learner access to everyday language use in various study abroad situations.
Journals/Publications
- Brown, D., Fernandez, J., & Huensch, A. (2023). The Role of Pragmatic Markers in Perceptions of L2 Spoken Fluency in Dialogue. System, 119.
- Fernandez, J. (2022). Corpus linguistics in L2 pragmatics research. Applied Pragmatics, 4(2), 178–198. doi:https://doi.org/10.1075/ap.00008.ferMore infoIn second language acquisition, corpus linguistics (CL) enjoys prominence as a methodology valuable for its descriptive power in the textual analysis of patterns. Within second language (L2) pragmatics, CL has been increasingly influential in shaping our understanding of learners’ pragmatic capacities and articulating new insights and possibilities. In this narrative review, I take a broad view of corpora in L2 pragmatics research with a focus on automatization, size, representativeness, temporal design, and annotation. This is followed by a review of representative research highlighting language proficiency, prosodic pragmatics, pragmatic particles and oral fluency, and pragmatics pedagogy. I conclude with future directions where the discussion centers on bringing CL and other methodologies together for pragmatic analysis and extending the use of these methodologies to more L2 pragmatic learning contexts.
- Fernandez, J., McGregor, J., & Yuldashev, A. (2021). Discursive enactment of agency in study abroad interviews. Modern Language Journal.More infoIn this article, we examine how meta-agentive discourse was enacted and linguistically encoded with constructed dialog. We analyze interviews with 4 American undergraduate students who expressed their interest in study abroad (SA) and submitted applications but later withdrew them. The analysis centerson the ways agency was assigned to different actors in participants’ decision-making processes as mediated by discourses of SA. We demonstrate that in their interviews, the participants primarily assigned agency to (a) themselves by way of self-reports, (b) a ‘collective’ author by way of vague referents, and(c) SA programs and leadership by way of hypothetical constructed dialog. Notably, discourses about SA were often repurposed in divergent ways within the same interview by multiple participants. We urge scholars examining agency to closely consider the trajectorial and situated nature of meta-agentive discourse in applied linguistics research.
- Rockey, C., Tiegs, J., & Fernandez, J. (2020). Mobile application use in technology-enhanced DCTs. CALICO, 37(1), 85-108. doi:https://doi.org/10.1558/cj.38773More infoAlthough widely used in Second Language (L2) Pragmatics research, traditional written Discourse Completion Tasks (DCTs) have disadvantages (e.g., Golato, 2003). One significant shortcoming is the lack of nonverbal cues provided in the description and allowed in the response, such as physical devices (e.g., hand gestures, body language, facial expressions). The current study uses audiovisual supplements to the DCT scenario to elicit a multimodal response from participants. While providing audiovisual aid within a DCT scenario has previously been implemented (e.g., Schauer, 2007; Winke & Tengs, 2010), eliciting audiovisual responses in return remains underresearched. This technologically-enhanced approach to DCTs elicits more ecologically valid responses that may include physical devices essential to conveying and understanding meaning (McNeil 1985, 1992, 2000). This study uses the mobile application FlipGrid © to administer eight technology-enhanced DCT scenarios to native speakers (NS) and advanced L2 speakers of Spanish. It investigates the differences between the physical devices used by each group in getting the attention of interlocutors of varying power and social distance (SD). The written description of each DCT scenario was supplemented with a short video clip to provide participants with paralinguistic factors such as physical space, position, and attention of interlocutors. To capture potential nonverbal cues in the participant responses, the participants video recorded their oral responses to the DCT with FlipGrid. The data were transcribed and coded using the qualitative data analysis software V-Note. Preliminary results point to differences in how the two groups of participants get their interlocutors’ attention. NSs used fewer total moves in -SD scenarios compared to +SD, whereas L2 learners used a similar number. NSs also used more total body movements than the L2 learners. The discussion offers implications for teaching and assessing L2 learners by utilizing technology that is already integral to younger generations’ daily life.
- Gabrielsen, N., & Fernandez, J. (2019). Equal access to the United States legal system for multilingual users of English. TESOL Journal. doi:https://doi.org/10.1002/tesj.469
- McGregor, J., & Fernandez, J. (2019). Theorizing Qualitative Interviews: Two Autoethnographic Reconstructions. The Modern Language Journal, 103(1), 227-247. doi:10.1111/modl.12541More infoThe present study takes a reflexive approach to the analysis of coordinated identity work in qualitative interviews in 2 study abroad (SA) contexts, Argentina and Germany. To do this, the authors bring together 2 autoethnographic projects and take a collaborative approach (Chang, Ngunjiri, & Hernandez, 2013; Lapadat, 2017) to the analysis of semi-structured interviews and identity memos (Maxwell, 2013) collected in their respective SA contexts. The results of an interactionally-grounded analysis show that cross-sectionally, in qualitative interviews with SA students, different facets of one researcher’s national identity became relevant and were contested, affecting how she approached this topic and her participants across multiple interviews. The results also show that longitudinally, in qualitative interviews with 1 SA student over time, different facets of the other researcher’s professional identity became relevant and affected how she approached particular topics with her participant over time. The findings reveal that researcher identity work and the co-constructed nature of interviews result in qualitatively different interview data (e.g., in terms of elaboration, openness, and language use) made available for analysis.
- Fernandez, J. (2018). “I Think I Sound Stupid If I Try To Use Those Words”: The Role of Metapragmatic Awareness in the Study Abroad Language Classroom. Foreign Language Annals, 51(2), 430-454. doi:https://doi.org/10.1111/flan.12345More infoThis study investigates the instructional treatment of Argentine Spanish vernacular (i.e., lunfardo), metapragmatic information about its use provided by instructors, and participants’ metapragmatic awareness of vernacular use in a second language (L2) Spanish study abroad (SA) classroom. The participants were 12 American undergraduate students taking Spanish courses at an SA institute in Argentina. The educators were eight university‐level instructors who were native speakers of Argentine Spanish. The analysis triangulates data from classroom observations, classroom materials, a language awareness test, and semi‐structured interviews with the participants. The results indicate that although the L2 instructors provided instruction on the use of vernacular, they appeared to do so without providing sufficient metapragmatic information for the students to understand and use vernacular competently in interactions with locals. The significance of a pedagogical focus on vernacular that begins predeparture and encourages active student participation is discussed.
- Fernandez, J. (2017). The language functions of tipo in Argentine vernacular. Journal of Pragmatics, 114, 87-103.More infoThis article provides a case study account of the language functions of tipo, which is a pragmatic feature of Argentine Spanish vernacular, as used by 10 young adult native speakers of the language (ages 18–25), in the context of oral face-to-face and synchronous technology-mediated written interactions with young adult Spanish L2 learners. An examination of naturally occurring and self-reported language awareness data suggests that tipo has acquired a wide array of pragmatic functions—it is a marker of hesitation, exemplification, reformulation, vagueness, and quoted speech. In its non-pragmatic marking uses, it can refer to an unspecified man, preface a hyponym, and be used to make a comparison. Participants’ usage patterns, in conjunction with their understanding of sociopragmatic variability in the use of tipo, are discussed as a direction for research in colloquial features of youth vernacular.
- Fernandez, J., & Gates Tapia, A. (2016). An appraisal of the language contact profile as a tool to research local engagement in study abroad. Study Abroad Research in Second Language Acquisition and International Education, 1(2), 248-276. doi:10.1075/sar.1.2.05ferMore infoAssessing the type and quantity of out-of-class foreign language (L2) interaction that learners engage in is crucial in study abroad research. Tis assessmenthas commonly been performed with the Language Contact Profile (LCP). Tisarticle critically appraises the LCP as a measure for providing reliable data tocorrelate language interaction with language gains. Information about the L2 useof U.S. university students studying in Argentina was obtained using quantitative (LCP) and qualitative (interview, authentic interaction, and observation)measures. Te results suggest that some LCP items were ambiguous and limitedin their ability to capture fluctuations in students’ local engagement throughoutthe semester. Te LCP also provided internally inconsistent participant reportsof out-of-class L2 use. Notably, the results highlight the importance of considering discourse quality when comparing hours of interaction reported by different students, suggesting that numerical comparisons across participants cannot be interpreted to necessarily lead to comparable language gains.
- Fernandez, J. (2015). General extender use in spoken peninsular Spanish: Metapragmatic awareness and pedagogical implications. Journal of Spanish Language Teaching, 2(1), 1-17. doi:10.1080/23247797.2015.1010846More infoThis article examines vague lexical features in unplanned, naturally occurring spoken discourse among speakers of Peninsular Spanish. It focuses on vague multi-word expressions that are part of a larger category of General Extenders (GEs, Overstreet 1999). Drawing on a subset of data from the Corpus Oral de Referencia del Español Contemporáneo (COREC), the article describes GEs in terms of form and frequency, and illustrates the use of the three most frequent GEs vis-à-vis discursive and pragmatic functions in spoken discourse. Based on GEs’ many and pivotal interactional functions as well as their frequency in attested interactions, this article proposes that language learners’ metapragmatic awareness of GE use in L2 Spanish be promoted through corpus-informed instruction.
- Fernandez, J., & Yuldashev, A. (2015). Using a corpus-informed pedagogical intervention to develop awareness toward appropriate lexicogrammatical choices. L2 Journal, 7(4), 91-107.More infoThe corpus-informed pedagogical intervention described in this article was developed for an advanced English as a Second Language (ESL) course designed for prospective International Teaching Assistants (ITAs) and implemented over the course of two class periods. Its primary goal was to offer students opportunities to gain language awareness of “smallwords” (Hasselgren, 2002b), with the broader goal of developing their ability to make pragmatically appropriate lexicogrammatical choices and to enhance their communication as ITAs. The article situates this pedagogical unit vis-à-vis the goals of the class in which this unit was implemented, describes the progression of activities, and provides an appraisal of the unit.
- Fernandez, J., Gates Tapia, A., & Lu, X. (2014). Oral proficiency and pragmatic marker use in L2 spoken Spanish: The case of pues and bueno. Journal of Pragmatics, 74, 150-164. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.pragma.2014.09.005More infoThis paper presents a corpus-based examination of pragmatic marker use in Spanish as a foreign language. Using quantitative and qualitative methods, it examines the frequency and seven functional differences in the use of pues and bueno in the oral examination of 46 participants using the Computer Assisted Screening Tool (CAST) online test. The participants were adult (average age 22) non-native speaking examinees at two levels of language proficiency. The study investigated whether examinees’ proficiency level would influence the pragmatic markers’ rate of occurrence and variety of functions. Frequency measures of pragmatic markers were obtained from examinees rated at two levels of proficiency: ‘full’ or ‘fail’.1 A discourse analytic approach was then employed to examine the discursive functions of pragmatic markers. The quantitative results showed that proficiency level was significantly related to the overall frequency of use of the focal markers, with the ‘full’ group tending to use them more frequently than the ‘fail’ group. Qualitatively, the study found that higher proficiency speakers used both pragmatic markers for a wider range of functions than their lower proficiency counterparts. The discussion considers the implications for raising learner awareness of pragmatic marker contributions to perceived oral fluency and pragmatic capacity.
- Yuldashev, A., Fernandez, J., & Thorne, S. L. (2013). Second language learners' contiguous and discontiguous multi-word unit use over time.. Modern Language Journal, 97(1), 31-45.More infoResearch has described the key role of formulaic language use in both written and spoken communication (Schmitt, 2004; Wray, 2002), as well as in relation to L2 learning (Ellis, Simpson– Vlach, & Maynard, 2008). Relatively few studies have examined related fixed and semifixed multi‐word units (MWUs), which comprise fixed parts with the potential for flexible slots in L2 learners’ language use over time. Building upon the corpus linguistic methodology of concgramming and usage‐based linguistic research on a construction‐based developmental sequence in language acquisition, this article describes learners’ multi‐word inventories through the analysis of a learner corpus of out‐of‐class instant messaging and blog use in a U.S. high school advanced placement Spanish language course. We examined this corpus using concgram analysis of phraseological tendencies to document related MWUs used in fixed and schematic fashion. Patterns in student language use are described in terms of meaningful permutations of constituency variation over time. Related patterns used by different learners are analyzed and discussed in light of methodological considerations in tracking second language use and the pedagogical implications of the concgramming approach to MWUs.
- Fernandez, J., & Yuldashev, A. (2011). Variation in the use of general extenders and stuff in instant messaging interactions. Journal of Pragmatics, 23, 2610-2626.More infoMotivated by the demonstrated consequentiality of vague multiword expressions in spoken and written language use, the present study examines instances of vague language in the context of synchronous computer-mediated interactions. The focus is on multiword expressions encoding shared knowledge termed as general extenders (GEs) (Overstreet, 1999), such as and stuff and or something. Variations in the frequencies of adjunctive and disjunctive GE use between native and non-native English language users in a corpus of over 500 one-on-one instant messaging interactions are explored in relation to the findings from corpus linguistic research on spoken English. The analysis based on their referential sets of meaning suggests a variation in the use and functions of GEs in computer-mediated interactions, with non-native language users utilizing fewer disjunctive and societal GEs than native language users. The findings, methodological considerations and pedagogical implications are discussed in relation to prior work on vague language.
Presentations
- Fernandez, J., & Reynwar, C. N. (2024, Fall). Introducing contemporary applied linguistics to language educators: A new OER handbook. . Symposium on Language Pedagogy in Higher Education (SOLPHE). online.
- Fernandez, J. (2023, March). Constructed Dialogue in Qualitative Research Interviews. 2023 Annual Meeting of the American Association for Applied Linguistics. Portland, Oregon: AAAL.
- McGregor, J., Plews, J., Fernandez, J., Diao, W., Masaeed, K., Dressler, R., & Pérez-Vidal, C. (2023, January). Critical reflections on second language study abroad research. MLA Forum: Language and Society. San Francisco: Modern Language Association.More infoThe chapter authors of a new edited collection on approaches in L2 study abroad research critically engage with a variety methods and data, reflecting on advantages, challenges, and limitations, and offering practical directions.
- Fernandez, J. (2022, September). Corpus Linguistics in L2 pragmatics research. 2022 Pragmatics & Language Learning Conference. virtual conference: National Foreign Language Resource Center. University of Hawai'i at Manoa..
- Fernandez, J., & McGregor, J. (2020, January 23-26). Discourses of access to study abroad. Seventh International Conference on the Development and Assessment of Intercultural Competence. Tucson, AZ: Center for Educational Resources in Culture, Language and Literacy, UA.
- Brown, D., & Fernandez, J. (2018, March). Perceptions of Pragmatic Marker Use in L2 Interactive Fluency: Evidence of Value and Bias. American Association for Applied Linguistics Annual Conference. Chicago, IL: American Association for Applied Linguistics (AAAL).More info“You have problems with fluency. You use lots of pauses and too many fillers.” Language learners are often confronted with this kind of assessment of their oral performance. Meanwhile, researchers and practitioners have not reached agreement about what it means to be orally fluent in L2 interaction. This study contributes to illuminating the processes and associated pragmatic features that contribute to fluent interaction. Specifically, we focus on the perceived value of pragmatic marker (PM) use that occurs frequently in L1 interaction but relatively less between L2 learners (Fung & Carter, 2007), such as interpersonal (e.g., I see, okay) and cognitive PMs (e.g., you know, I think). These ‘fillers’ have been associated with disfluency in L2 assessment, which often relies on measures designed for monologic performance (Tavakoli, 2016). Despite evidence of functional value of these PMs in interaction (McCarthy, 2009), they are rarely introduced in L2 classrooms. Motivated by these discrepancies, we present results of a matched-guise experiment that investigated perceived value of PMs when audio samples were manipulated to control for them. Several speech samples of L1 and highly proficient L2 interaction were digitally edited, some in which all interpersonal and cognitive PMs were removed and others in which these types of PMs were inserted to simulate expert speaker-like PM use controlling for frequency, placement, and variety. English L1 and L2 raters (N = 261) judged each interlocutor’s fluency with distractors in between samples in a counter-balanced design. A two-way ANOVA revealed speakers were perceived as significantly more fluent when they made use of PMs than without them. Raters’ qualitative comments supported these findings and uncovered a bias favoring native speaker PM use. Results support the value of explicitly addressing PMs in teaching L2 pragmatics and help researchers in understanding dialogic fluency to guide in its measurement and assessment.
- Fernandez, J., Dronjic, V., & Wolhein, S. (2018, January). Teaching Expressions of Love and Happiness in Spanish through Conceptual Metaphor. Sixth International Conference on the Development and Assessment of Intercultural Competence. Tucson, Arizona: Organized by the Center for Educational Resources in Culture, Language and Literacy (CERCLL), co-organized by the Second Language Acquisition and Teaching (SLAT) Program, and co-sponsored by College of Humanities, College of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Office of Global Initiatives, the Center for Middle Eastern Studies (CMES), Confucius Institute at the University of Arizona (CIUA), and Worlds of Words at the University of Arizona.
- Fernandez, J., Dronjic, V., & Wolhein, S. (2018, March). Teaching conceptual metaphors of happiness in L2 Spanish. American Association for Applied Linguistics Annual Conference. Chicago, IL: American Association for Applied Linguistics (AAAL).More infoAlthough quotidian metaphorical expressions (e.g., LOVE is FIRE) are the foundation for understanding and talking about abstract phenomena (e.g., emotions) in terms of concrete experiences (e.g., fire) (Lakoff & Johnson, 1980), they are rarely addressed in second/foreign language (L2) classes as such. To narrow this gap, a set of pedagogical materials that emphasized recognition, interpretation, and use of frequently used conceptual metaphors for happiness (e.g., HAPPINESS is LIQUID) was implemented in a university conversation class of L2 Spanish intermediate students (n = 13).In a pre/post-test design with classroom intervention, instruction took place over two class sessions of 75 minutes each. In both sessions, the students learned and practiced metaphorical expressions related to either love or happiness. The expressions for love were taught using a standard communicative approach, while the expressions for happiness were taught using a communicative approach enhanced with an initial 15-minute period of explicit instruction on conceptual metaphor followed by extensive analytic practice with identifying conceptual metaphors in linguistic expressions for happiness. The difference in overall scores at pre-test and post-test was significant, t(12) = 8.94, p < .001, with a very large effect size, d = 2.48. A comparison of pre-test and post-test sub scores (love vs. happiness) revealed a significant main effect of time F(1, 12) = 79.84, p < .001, with a large effect size, η2p = .87. The participants’ ability to identify underlying conceptual metaphors was measured at post-test. The participants were significantly better at identifying conceptual metaphors in happiness expressions, t(12) = 5.11, p < .001, d = 1.41. Importantly, they displayed the ability to generalize conceptual metaphor recognition skills to the “love” expressions. The discussion concentrates on a critical review of our instructional materials and methods, and a discussion of classroom applications, and future research plans.
- McGregor, J., & Fernandez, J. (2018, Spring). The Researcher’s Experiences in Study Abroad: Two Authoethnographic Reconstructions. Sixth International Conference on the Development and Assessment of Intercultural Competence. Tucson, AZ: The Center for Educational Resources in Culture, Language and Literacy (CERCLL), co-organized by the Second Language Acquisition and Teaching (SLAT) Program, and co-sponsored by College of Humanities, College of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Office of Global Initiatives, the Center for Middle Eastern Studies (CMES), Confucius Institute at the University of Arizona (CIUA), and Worlds of Words at the University of Arizona.
- Fernandez, J. (2017, September). The role of pragmatic markers in perceptions of L2 fluency. English Applied Linguistics Speaker Series. Tucson, AZ: English Department, The University of Arizona.
- Fernandez, J., Wolhein, S., & Dronjic, V. (2017, October). Teaching Spanish Vocabulary Through Conceptual Metaphor. AZLA 2017 Fall Conference. Glendale, AZ: Arizona Language Association (AZLA).
Poster Presentations
- Fernandez, J., & McGregor, J. (2020, March). Examining discourses of access to language learning abroad. American Association for Applied Linguistics. Denver, CO: AAAL.More infoConference canceled due to COVID-19 pandemic.
Reviews
- Fernandez, J. (2022. Rojo, Guillermo. Introducción a la lingüística de corpus en español. Routledge, 2021. pp. 404. ISBN 978-0367635848.(pp 477-479).
Others
- Gale, H., & Fernandez, J. (2016, November). Should we be teaching taboo language in the ESL classroom?. TESOL Applied Linguistics Interest Section Newsletter.