Can language attitudes be improved? A longitudinal study of immigrant students in Catalonia (Spain)

Ianos, Maria Adelina; Huguet, Àngel; Janés i Carulla, Judit; Lapresta Rey, Cecilio

doi:https://doi.org/10.1080/13670050.2015.1051508

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Issue date

2015-08-14

Author

Ianos, Maria Adelina

Huguet, Àngel

Janés i Carulla, Judit

Lapresta Rey, Cecilio

Suggested citation

Ianos, Maria Adelina; Huguet, Àngel; Janés i Carulla, Judit; Lapresta Rey, Cecilio; . (2015) . Can language attitudes be improved? A longitudinal study of immigrant students in Catalonia (Spain). International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 2017, vol. 20, num. 3, p. 331-345. https://doi.org/10.1080/13670050.2015.1051508.

Abstract

This study explores changes in attitudes towards Catalan, Spanish, and English over a two-year period, on the part of secondary education students of immigrant origin residing in Catalonia. It aims to provide new data by adopting a longitudinal design and by focusing on the immigrant population, which

has raised new challenges for the Catalan society and education system. Data was collected from 72 secondary education students who answered a language attitudes questionnaire twice, at a twoyear interval. The instrument chosen has been successfully used in the area previously (Huguet, Janés, and Chireac 2008; Madariaga, Huguet, and Lapresta 2013). Findings showed that attitudes towards Catalan improved, while attitudes towards Spanish and English remained stable, based on which we discuss the strength of language attitudes in this particular context. Furthermore, the socio-demographic and affective variables traditionally investigated as determinants of language attitudes were not found to influence the processes of attitude change

URI

http://hdl.handle.net/10459.1/60224

DOI

https://doi.org/10.1080/13670050.2015.1051508

Is part of

International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 2017, vol. 20, num. 3, p. 331-345