A study of the impact of time lapse on language retention in beginning level Spanish classes

Abstract

A pre-test was given to all Spanish 2 students at Menomonie High School during the 1999-2000 school year to determine if there was a relationship between retention of basic Spanish language skills and information learned in a Spanish 1 course and the time lapse between the Spanish 1 and Spanish 2 courses. After a review of the Spanish 1 curriculum at Menomonie High School a 50 point true/false and multiple choice pre-test was developed by the researcher to cover basic skills and information that students should have acquired in the Spanish 1 course. At the same time as the assessment was given, students were also asked to rate their level of anxiety at the beginning of the Spanish 2 course. Students’ final percentage grades from their Spanish 1 course were used as the baseline data for this study. The grades were obtained from the teachers of the Spanish 1 classes and recorded by the researcher. The scores from the Spanish 2 pre-test were converted into percentages and compared with the baseline data to find out if there was a retention loss and if the retention loss was greater for students with a longer time lapse. All students’ final grades in the Spanish 2 class were also recorded to determine if there was a significant difference for students with a longer time lapse. The findings of this study indicate that there is a significant difference in the retention of basic skills and information among the four groups under study based on the time lapse between instruction (Group 1, 0 months; Group 2, 3 months; Group 3, 8 months; Group 4, 12 months). There was no significant difference among the four groups in their final Spanish 2 grades. Students with a longer time lapse between levels of instruction showed higher levels of anxiety than students with little or no time lapse. The results of this study can be used by teachers and administrators to determine alternative learning methods and environments for students who are affected by a long time lapse in their foreign language education. Based on the results of this study, teachers and administrators may also want to consider alternative scheduling to accommodate foreign language learning.