Forms of Address in the Spanish Language Curriculum in the United States: Actualities and Aspirations

OPEN AC CESS

Jean W. LeLoup Barbara C. Schmidt-Rinehart

Hispania 101.1 March 2018 pp. 10–24

Hispania Open Access files are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License

Forms of Address in the Spanish Language Curriculum in the United States: Actualities and Aspirations

Jean W. LeLoup United States Air Force Academy

Barbara C. Schmidt-Rinehart Ashland University

Abstract: This current study reports the findings of sociolinguistic research investigating the place of the voseo in the Spanish language curriculum in the United States. The study describes the results of questionnaire responses from 177 US Spanish teachers and survey responses from 560 US college students of Spanish. Both instruments sought to identify the presence or absence of vos, the second person singular pronoun, in Spanish language textbooks and instruction and the respondents’ understanding of the voseo vis-à-vis grammatically and culturally appropriate usage. The results indicate that the voseo is simply not included in texts, not taught by the teachers, and not learned by the students. Given that up to two-thirds of the Latin American population are denoted as voseo users, the profession should address this gap in Spanish language instruction. The article concludes with recommendations for curriculum, instruction, and professional development to facilitate the inclusion of the voseo in the Spanish curriculum in the United States.

Keywords: register/registro, second and foreign language pedagogy/pedagogía de lenguas extranjeras, sociolinguistic and communicative competence/competencia sociolingüística y comunicativa, Spanish textbooks/libros de texto del idioma español, standards-based communicative language curriculum/ currículo de lenguas comunicativas basado en estándardes, voseo

Introduction his article reports on an investigation of the accurate portrayal of subject pronoun use in Spanish—namely, how to express “you” as the second person singular pronoun in Spanish.1 The study derives from the goal areas of the World-Readiness Standards for LearningT Languages (The National Standards Collaborative Board 2015) and, in particular, addresses the goal areas of Communication, Cultures, and Comparisons. In addition, this project is directed toward ascertaining what transpires in the Spanish language classroom in the United States in terms of second person singular subject pronoun instruction and concomitant comprehension of same—both linguistically and culturally—by students in that classroom. It is the researchers’ contention, based on craft knowledge and past empirical studies, that US students of Spanish at the elementary, secondary, and tertiary levels regularly receive incomplete and/or incorrect instruction in this subject pronoun use, leading to inadequate linguistic and cultural knowledge. These lacunae then do not match the emphasis placed on the development of proficiency by the fields of foreign language (FL) education and second language acquisition (SLA). For many years, progress toward grammatical and sociolinguistic competence has been viewed by SLA researchers as critical for moving language learners along their interlanguage continuum and thus increasing their ability in successful communication in the target language (TL) with native speakers (NSs) (Byram 1997; Canale and Swain 1980; Omaggio Hadley 2001;

Watts 2001). Nevertheless, current practice in US Spanish language classrooms appears to discount or ignore completely a linguistic structure that is prevalent in a large portion of the Spanish-speaking world: the second person singular subject pronoun vos. In the standard grammatical description, vos and tú occupy the same position on the pronominal paradigm—second person singular—and are used to indicate familiarity or intimacy. Hereafter, said pronoun use is referred to as the voseo, a term defined by the Real Academia Española as the appropriate form of address for vos (Real Academia Española n.d.). The data described here document the inclusion/exclusion of the voseo in the US Spanish language curriculum. These data were reported by Spanish language teachers across primary- tertiary educational levels and across various levels of language instruction. In addition, university Spanish language learners were surveyed as to the extent of their recognition and comprehension of the voseo as a second person singular subject pronoun. The researchers’ goals were to document the presence or absence of the voseo in US Spanish language textbooks used for instruction, to pinpoint the extent of recognition of this pronoun by student language learners, and to make pedagogical recommendations for Spanish language instruction in the United States.

The Voseo: Missing in Action/Review of Literature In general, most researchers investigating the voseo concur in its importance in the Span- ish language, by virtue of the vast numbers of voseante speakers in the world (Angulo Rincón 2010; Cameron 2014; Congosto Martín 2004; Ducar 2006; Kapović 2007; Shenk 2014; Vargas Dengo 1975; Villegas 1963). The voseo is dominant in at least eight Spanish-speaking countries (Argentina, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Paraguay, and Uruguay) and regionally present in several more (Chile, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Mexico), totaling some eighty-five million regular users of the voseo (Cameron 2012; Congosto Martín 2004; Ducar 2006; Kapović 2007; Mason and Nicely 1995). It is surprising, then, that the voseo is largely absent in the US Spanish curriculum while the vosotros subject pronoun (for second person plural) is ubiquitous, given that its use is largely confined to Spanish speakers on the Iberian Peninsula and at 46.77 million speakers comprises approximately thirteen percent of the entire Spanish-speaking population of Spain and Central and South America (Ducar 2006). Contrasted with at least two-thirds of the Latin American population who are denoted voseo users, this would seem an egregious linguistic omission (Benavides 2003; Congosto Martín 2004; Kapović 2007; Shenk 2014). Indeed, several researchers have noted this omission and have called for the inclusion of the voseo in some way or another in the Spanish curriculum (Cameron 2012, 2014; Congosto Martín 2004; Ducar 2006; Lotherington 2007; Mason and Nicely 1995; Sánchez Avendaño 2004; Shenk 2014; Song and Wang 2013; Wieczorek 1992). On the rare occasion when the voseo is included in US Spanish textbooks, it is generally as a marginal aside, a teacher’s note, or even a student curiosity. The linguistic varieties (grammatical, lexical, pronunciation-based) associated with the voseo are frequently presented incompletely or incorrectly, and the form itself is absent from any activities or exercises intended to facilitate practice toward mastery of the form. Meaning-based instruction of the voseo simply does not figure into the mix (Cameron 2012, 2014; Ducar 2006; Lotherington 2007; Sánchez Avendaño 2004; Song and Wang 2013; Wieczorek 1992). The sociolinguistic value of including the voseo must also be considered. It is recognized that classroom input and native speech as represented in sociocultural interactions may facilitate the acquisition of certain features of a sociolinguistic variation and nature (Gutiérrez and Fairclough 2006; Howard 2012; Kashima and Kashima 1998; Watts 2001). In addition, the voseo is considered a very important element of cultural identity for many Latin Americans and, as such, should be included in the curriculum (Angulo Rincón 2010; Congosto Martín 2004; Ducar 2006; Lipski 2002; Rivera-Mills 2011; Schmidt-Rinehart and LeLoup 2017). 12 Hispania 101 March 2018

Previous research has sought to determine the presence or absence of the voseo in US textbooks of Spanish. The primary method of ascertaining this inclusion or omission was an examination of the linguistic content of varying numbers of textbooks by the researchers themselves (Cameron 2012; Ducar 2006; Mason and Nicely 1995; Watts 2001; Weiczorek 1992). These studies concur overwhelmingly on the absence of any meaningful treatment of the voseo in US textbooks of Spanish. What is now needed is insight into the particular experiences that learners and instructors have had with the voseo outside of the classroom as well as their opinions on whether instruction on this form of address should be part of the US Spanish language curriculum. The present study analyzes data drawn directly from questionnaire responses submitted by Spanish instructors themselves that included an examination of textbooks as well as other materials employed in instruction; instructor opinions on the issue were also solicited. The personal input differentiates this investigation significantly from previous ones and supplies additional insight on the question of inclusion/exclusion of the voseo. The study encompassed multiple data collection points: a student questionnaire about pronoun usage in Spanish classes in the United States at two different universities and a survey of Spanish teachers across the United States regarding the presence or absence of the voseo in the materials/textbooks they use in their curriculum as well as their personal opinions about the voseo. The present paper presents an analysis of results from these various data collections. In terms of specific goals of the project, the research questions were as follows:

1) To what degree, if any, is the voseo represented and/or taught in the Spanish curriculum in the United States? 2) What are the opinions of Spanish instructors on the inclusion of the voseo in the Spanish curriculum? 3) With what frequency do US learners of Spanish recognize and/or employ the different subject pronouns for second person singular?

Methods Both quantitative and qualitative data were collected in this project. Quantitative data were obtained through a teacher textbook questionnaire and a student survey (Appendix A and Appendix B). Both these instruments also contained open-ended questions from which qualitative data were derived. Results of the teacher textbook questionnaire are analyzed below first, followed by the results of the student survey. These results have been separated as they correspond to different research questions.

Textbook Questionnaire Participants Respondents were 177 US teachers of Spanish who responded to an online questionnaire regarding the use of voseo in their textbooks and classrooms. High school teachers comprised 87.5% of the respondents, 20.5% teach middle school or junior high, 14% teach at the postsecondary level and 2% at the elementary level. Percentages exceed 100% as some teachers taught at multiple levels.

Instruments and Procedures Invitations to complete a questionnaire (see Appendix A), administered through Survey Monkey, were distributed through FL listservs, social media vehicles of state organizations, and other databases of US teachers. The questionnaire consisted of six questions designed to elicit the respondent’s level of instruction, the texts used in his/her program, and the degree to which the LeLoup & Schmidt-Rinehart / Forms of Address in Spanish Curriculum 13 voseo appeared in the textbook or other materials in use. Researchers provided a preliminary textbook listing (based on publisher contacts) but made provision for mention of additional textbooks. A seventh open-ended question gave teachers the opportunity to provide feedback regarding the relevance of adding the voseo to the curriculum.

Results Textbook Usage Questions 2, 3, 4, and 5 elicited responses about textbook usage at each level: elementary, secondary, and/or tertiary. Table 1 depicts the thirty-two textbooks reported by the teachers according to the educational level (elementary, secondary, and tertiary). Moreover, many teachers commented that they did not use publisher textbooks and created their own materials.

Table 1. Textbooks reported by survey respondents

Level of instruction Textbook

Elementary Adelante Viva el español Secondary Abriendo Paso Gramática & Lectura, Así se dice, Avancemos, Aventuras, Buen viaje, Descubre, Dime, El español para nosotros, En español, Enfoques, Exprésate, Imagina, Navegando, Nexos, Nuevo Ven, Realidades, Rumbos, Spanish for Mastery, Spanish is Fun, Temas, Ven conmigo, Viajes, Vistas, Voces, several literary readers, and TPRS materials Tertiary ¡Anda! Curso elemental, Aventuras, Dos Mundos, Facetas, Plazas, Puntos de Partida, Vistas

Presence (or Absence) of the voseo in Textbooks Question 6 gave participants the opportunity to describe the presence (or absence) of the voseo in their textbooks. Table 2 illustrates the responses. In looking at the two extremes, over half of the teachers reported that the voseo was not mentioned at all in the textbook, and only one reported that the voseo was employed in textbook activities.

Table 2. The presence (or absence) of the voseo in textbooks

Not mentioned at all 52.7% Mentioned in teacher note or a sidebar note for students 33.9% Mentioned, discussed, and demonstrated (including conjugations) 10.9% Employed in textbook activities 2.4%

Respondents’ Opinions Question 7 was an open-ended query that gave teachers the opportunity to provide feedback regarding the teaching of vos in the US classroom. In all, ninety-one teachers (51%) offered commentaries for this question. Their insight ranged from enthusiastically positive opinions vis-à-vis inclusion to exposure in the curriculum to negative responses. Furthermore, a few 14 Hispania 101 March 2018 of the comments indicated confusion between vos and vosotros. Percentages below are figured from the 91 respondents.

Positive Comments: The voseo should be Included Forty-two teachers (46%) indicated that they think the voseo is important and should be considered for inclusion in their curriculum. Many expressed that it is curious that vos is not included already, and some contrasted it with the inclusion of vosotros. Others gave personal stories about their own language learning experiences and how “late in the game” they dis- covered the existence of vos. Below is a representative sample of their comments in favor of teaching the voseo:

• I absolutely think it should be taught as it is extremely common, especially with students’ access to resources/media from around the world at their fingertips. • Great idea!!! I have native speakers who use it and it is often part of movies I use in my curriculum. Those traveling to other countries . . . [will] encounter it. • I think the voseo should be included, taught, and used in ANY Spanish class. This is a proper and important form/conjugation of the Spanish language that is used in many Spanish speaking countries and should be included. • I would welcome the linguistic diversity of the voseo. • I think it is relevant! I studied Spanish in Argentina and was completely unaware of the voseo form before I got down there! • I am a vosotros speaker and I appreciate the inclusion of vosotros in most books, even if it is not necessarily used in activities. Given the widespread use of vos in Central and South America I cannot understand why it goes largely ignored. It certainly doesn’t give a global vision of Spanish.

The voseo at the Upper Levels Another line of thinking was presented by nine teachers (10%). They were in favor of vos in the curriculum but not until the upper levels:

• I think at the tertiary intermediate level, it should be mentioned, discussed, and demonstrated. • l think it would be useful and interesting for upper level students to have some exposure to this. • In regards to the vos/voseo, I don’t address it much in Spanish I or II, but III and AP it Is definitely addressed, and I have several listening activities that use the voseo so the students can recognize it! • I introduce the voseo in my upper level classes when we begin to read southern- cone novels. • Perhaps in upper levels. I think students are already overwhelmed with verb conjugations and this is something that is found in upper level study (IV, V, AP, IB).

Exposure to the voseo: Treatment like vosotros Nineteen teachers (21%) opted for exposing students to the voseo, and several suggested it should be treated in the same way they present vosotros. For example:

• Since a significant portion of the Spanish-speaking world uses voseo, I think that we should at least know a little about it. LeLoup & Schmidt-Rinehart / Forms of Address in Spanish Curriculum 15

• Teach vos, but students are only required for recognition. • I think it would be extremely helpful for students to be exposed to vos, much like many teachers expose students to vosotros. • I mention it in my classroom, but I don’t require students to learn it. I treat it the same way I do vosotros—mentioned, but not required. Since I use primarily authentic resources and very little textbook instruction, it does come up occasionally so I do point it out and reference it. • I think that it should be addressed more. However with that being said, I would not expect students to use it. I do not require students to use vosotros either. But I do teach a deep respect for the different dialects around the Spanish speaking world.

Negative Comments: Reluctance about Including the voseo Thirteen teachers (14%) wrote comments that indicated that they do not believe vos should be part of their curriculum. Their own lack of linguistic knowledge of vos also emerged in some of their responses. Below are a few examples:

• Useless. You are wasting your time. • Not necessary. • With such a lack of consistency in the teaching of the vosotros form, I can only imagine that being tenfold with the vos. • We do not teach it at our school as it is not commonly used. • I’m not familiar enough with it that I would currently feel comfortable introducing it.

Confusion between vos and vosotros It is worth pointing out that seven teachers (8%) wrote comments that illustrated that they think vos and vosotros are the same pronoun:

• I let the students know vos is used in Spain but not in the majority of Spanish speaking countries. • I know many schools that still ignore the vosotros form! It should be there! • I bring it up and point it out due to my love of Spain. But, it could easily be omitted and no one would know/care.

Student Pronoun Survey Participants Respondents were 560 students of Spanish at the college level enrolled in fifteen different courses from beginning/introductory to advanced level study. Participants were enrolled either at a private university in the Midwest or at a public institution in the western United States.

Instruments and Procedures Participants were asked to respond to an online survey comprised of five questions (see Appendix B). The principle objective of the survey was to ascertain what subject pronouns these students used primarily for singular “you.” The questions were also designed to elicit recognition or lack thereof of the voseo. In addition, respondents were asked to identify the source of their Spanish knowledge and their current level of Spanish study. Where appropriate, participants were able to comment further on their responses. 16 Hispania 101 March 2018

Results Question 1: Which subject pronouns do you use for singular “you”? Because the US Spanish curriculum regularly includes the pronouns Usted and tú, these were listed as options. In addition, vos was listed third, with the explicit caveat that this was not vosotros, which is a second-person plural form of address. Different options for frequency of use (e.g., regularly, occasionally, never) were offered for selection. The results of Question 1 are seen in Table 3 below.

Table 3. Which subject pronouns do you use for singular “you”?

Pronoun Regularly Occasionally Never

Ud. 20.7% 76.6% 2.7% tú 85.2% 14.5% 0.4% vos (not vosotros) 0.2% 4.1% 95.7%

Clearly the pronoun of choice for these college students is overwhelmingly tú, with Usted a rather distant second. The voseo was used by only 4% (24/560) of respondents, and only infrequently at that. However, these data might be easily misinterpreted given the responses to Question 2, wherein the participants explain their use of the voseo.

Question 2: If you do at least occasionally use vos, please explain when and with whom you use it. Overall, out of a possible 560 participants, 450 made comments and 110 skipped this question, presumably because they never use the voseo. Of the responses to Question 2, 355 were discounted as they were either NA or “no” or “never.” The remaining 95 subjects responded with some sort of explanation as to usage in their opinion / according to their knowledge. Of these 95 responses, only 18 provided some sort of indication of an understanding (albeit at times incomplete) of the voseo. The rest reflected confusion with vosotros and, as such, contribute to the above-mentioned possible misinterpretation of the data. The nineteen percent (18 of the 95 respondents) of respondents providing comments sug- gesting an understanding of the use of the voseo offered a wide variety of explanations. Most observations stemmed from personal experience with family, friends, or through travel. These respondents seem to have a grasp of the concept of voseante countries in Central and South America, recognized the voseo as a linguistic phenomenon from that geographic context, and even provided some sociolinguistic and cultural basis for usage. To contextualize their exposure to its usage, a sampling of comments from this group follows:

• With people who have spent time in Argentina • I use it with my Guatemalan family • In certain countries vos replaces the informal you • When speaking to a peer • I saw it and heard it used when I was in Costa Rica, but I don’t know exactly how it works

Fifty-seven respondents (57/95, or 60%) offered explanations that demonstrated a confusion between the voseo and vosotros forms, despite the caveat on the survey. In other words, seeing the LeLoup & Schmidt-Rinehart / Forms of Address in Spanish Curriculum 17 word vos most likely/possibly triggered a memory of learning about or even using the vosotros form during years of classroom instruction. The main context for these responses was some reference to Spain or Spaniards, and some remarks confirmed the confusion with the plural “you” form used in the Iberian Peninsula. A sampling of comments from this group follows:

• The only time vos is used is when you are actually in Spain • Slang, when talking to someone who knows Spanish from Spain • When in Spain to substitute vosotros • You use it with a group of people, including yourself • Vos is the informal version of ustedes. I would use it to address a group of peers.

Question 3: Please indicate where you learned these pronouns. Check all that apply. This question attempted to elicit information on both present and previous Spanish instruction. The vast majority of language learning vis-à-vis pronoun usage comes from formal educational settings, both secondary and tertiary (see Table 4).

Table 4. Please indicate where you learned these pronouns. Check all that apply.

Answer choices Responses

High school Spanish class and text 89.5% College Spanish class and text 76.8% Family 12.3% Travels 12.9% Other 6.8%

Responses to the “other” category included comments reflecting a wide variety of contexts. A sampling of these comments follows:

• I had two Spanish speaking teammates on my baseball team for two years • East LA • Church mission training and tenure • Boyfriend • Argentine friend

Question 4: Please indicate the Spanish-speaking countries to which you have traveled and/or in which you have spent a significant amount of time ( 2 weeks). Please list all places, time periods spent, and purpose of visit. Example: Spain, 3 weeks, language immersion; Ecuador, 2 weeks, high school trip. In a further attempt to pinpoint the origin of participant knowledge about pronoun usage, respondents were also asked to indicate time spent in a Spanish-speaking country and the purpose for the visit/time spent there. These time periods and contexts could have a potential bearing on participants’ awareness and usage of the voseo (and other singular subject pronouns). Table 5 provides a snapshot of Spanish-speaking country experiences the subjects had, including location and main reason for the visit/time spent there. 18 Hispania 101 March 2018

Table 5. Spanish-speaking country destinations and reasons for visit

HS Mission/ Family Lived Country Trip Vacation service SAB visit there Totals

Argentina 1 2 1 1 2 7 Chile 2 1 3 Colombia 2 2 Costa Rica 5 7 7 4 1 24 Cuba 1 1 DR 5 5 1 11 Ecuador 1 2 1 4 Guatemala 1 1 2 Honduras 1 2 3 Mexico 4 411 10 3 14 4 76 Nicaragua 1 1 Panama 1 1 2 1 5 Peru 2 1 4 1 1 9 Puerto Rico 1 4 1 5 2 13 Spain 10 11 3 2 2 28 Uruguay 2 2 Venezuela 1 1 1 3

While clearly the vast preponderance of trips abroad by subjects here are made to Mexico ( 76), Costa Rica is well-established at 24 instances. Spain (28 visits) slightly outpaces Costa Rica. This is not surprising as Spain has long been a top choice for school trips and vacations, particularly when the economy is strong in the United States. With a tightening of economic conditions, Costa Rica is now seen as a solid destination in this hemisphere—much closer and economically more appealing. Due to its reputation as a “pacific country—no military presence” and a country highly attuned to ecotourism and environmental preservation, Costa Rica is increasingly seen as a top choice for both study abroad and vacations by people in the United States. In fact, it has moved up the listing to the number one destination in Latin America for study abroad for university students from this country (Institute of International Education 2015 [IIE]). It far outstrips the other Latin American countries on the listing of the top twenty-five host countries (in order: Mexico, Argentina, Brazil, Ecuador, Peru, Chile).

Discussion The current study seeks to address three research questions. Discussion of the results garnered follows below. The results offer both confirmation of findings from previous research studies investigating usage of the voseo as well as additional insight into and support for the potential increase in presence of the voseo in the US Spanish curriculum.

Research Question 1: To what degree, if any, is the voseo represented and/or taught in the Spanish curriculum in the United States? The results of the teacher survey show that the voseo is currently not included in the US Spanish curriculum. Given that 87% of the teachers reported that their textbooks either did not LeLoup & Schmidt-Rinehart / Forms of Address in Spanish Curriculum 19 mention the vos at all or mentioned it as a side-bar only is resounding evidence of the exclusion of the voseo in teacher materials. These findings corroborate previous research indicating that the voseo is largely ignored by the US Spanish language curriculum (Cameron 2012; Ducar 2006; Mason and Nicely 1995; Watts 2001). It is suprising that this pronoun has been left out of the sociolinguistic appropriateness loop. Yet even more curious is the fact that the very first exchange one has with an interlocuter involves the use of “you” and its forms. The actualities of textbooks, curriculum, and instruction when it comes to second-person singular address is still based on a traditional academic model. Although teachers have embraced communicative language teaching, they are falling short in laying the foundation for the linguistic basics of a simple conversation. Not adhering to a basic sociolinguistic tenet such as register, for example, could cause conversations between NSs and non-native speakers (NNSs) to falter and/or fail (Watts 2001). Previous researchers have underscored the complex and powerful nature and importance of sociolingustic variations and have called for introducing Spanish language learners to said linguistic variations by familiarizing them, at the very least, with the full range and wide spectrum of Spanish varieties (Ducar 2006; Gutiérrez and Fairclough 2006; Howard 2012; Shenk 2014).

Research Question 2: What are the opinions of Spanish instructors on the inclusion of the voseo in the Spanish curriculum? The addition of personal opinions and comments from actual Spanish language instructors reported by this study provides new information and perspective into the conundrum of the inclusion or omission of the voseo. The majority of those responding to this query (77%) indicated that the voseo should definitely be included in some way in the Spanish curriculum in the United States. The teachers provided commentary that shows that some instructors do, indeed, wish that the teaching of the pronoun system included all pronouns in use today. They provided insight into the dilemma of which pronouns to include and where to include them. They cited examples of giving students exposure to the various dialectal choices but indicated that full inclusion of the voseo in their teaching would necessitate retraining on their part as well as a reworking of their curriculum. It seems that the teachers are poised to include vos and recognize that the world today is so interconnected that the possibility of their students interacting with someone from a voseante culture is likely. Futhermore, most respondents know that vosotros is largely limited to use in Spain, but because it has always been part of the US curriculum in some way, it seems to hold a special status.

Research Question 3: With what frequency do US learners of Spanish recognize and/ or employ the different subject pronouns for second person singular? The students’ use of vos parallels the findings on its instruction, with 96% of the students reporting that they never use vos. Futhermore, they offered comments that indicated they were confused about the pronoun system, especially vos and vosotros. Recall that their confusion between these two forms is shared by several of their teachers delivering the Spanish curriculum. Student pronoun preferences are clearly Usted and tú, which emphasizes the shortcomings in the US Spanish curriculum that tend to reinforce the misinformation with which students operate when trying to communicate in Spanish. Indeed, students appear to be relying on traditional paradigms of pronoun usage (e.g., Usted is used for formal circumstances and tú for informal ones) that do not necessarily obtain in voseante countries (Schmidt-Rinehart and LeLoup 2017). Again, providing students with the full range of Spanish varieties in terms of pronouns will give them additional tools when attempting to be sociolinguistically appropriate in their interactions with NSs (Ducar 2006; Gutiérrez and Fairclough 2006; Howard 2012; Shenk 2014; Watts 2001). Clearly, if language learners are unaware of the existence of the voseo and its various applications, 20 Hispania 101 March 2018 they are unable to include this form in their linguistic repertoire and subsequently strive for communicative competence.

Recommendations and Aspirations Curriculum Bring the full pronoun paradigm to the forefront. Recognize the communicative importance of including the complete system as it is spoken in the real world today. Courses of study and textbooks alike should include Usted, tú, vos, vosotros, and Ustedes. All these forms are in existence and in use by millions of Spanish speakers on a daily basis. Spanish learners in the United States should be apprised of each and every one, to whatever degree is germane to their particular educational, geographic, and cultural situation.

Instruction Vos should take its rightful place beside tú in the teaching of Spanish at all levels. An over- whelming majority of respondents to the teacher survey indicated a favorable stance vis-à-vis the inclusion of the voseo in the curriculum in one way or another. Recently, the call for inclusion of the voseo in the Spanish curriculum has increased; clearly more attention to this form is war- ranted (Cameron 2017; LeLoup and Schmidt-Rinehart 2017; Shenk 2014). Arguments for and against including the voseo in the Spanish curriculum have been laid out by several researchers prior to this study. Those opposed cite overloading an already overburdened curriculum, the complexity of the voseo formation, the stigma of the voseo as a substandard form, and unfamiliar- ity of many Spanish instructors with the form (Benavides 2003; Congosto Martín 2004; Kapović 2007; Lotherington 2007; Mason and Nicely 1995; Shenk 2014; Watts 2001). Proponents of adding the voseo to the curriculum downplay the complexity of the voseo form (e.g., only three irregular verbs), reference the large number of voseo users among NSs of Spanish, and certainly contrast this number with that of those using vosotros on a regular basis, the popularity of Costa Rica as a study abroad and vacation destination among US students, and the ever-increasing likelihood of student contact with voseante speakers here in the United States due to immigration patterns (Congosto Martín 2004; Lotherington 2007; Mason and Nicely 1995; Shenk 2014; Watts 2001). Given the majority opinion of the sizable sample size in this study in terms of including the voseo in the curriculum, the profession needs to step up and take action to improve the Spanish linguistic and cultural instruction occurring in classrooms today.

Professional Development Just as teachers have had to fine-tune their pedagogical skills with the advent of proficiency- based teaching, they now need to seek professional development opportunities to learn the forms and usage of vos. The complexity of this form has been overstated, and a modicum of concentrated study and practice would suffice to bring most instructors up to par in terms of communicating this form, with its linguistic and cultural impacts, to their students.

Future Research No one study can cover all areas and, indeed, during active research and data gathering new issues often arise as potential areas of future inquiry. Based on the findings of the current study, some fertile topics for investigation might be as follows: 1) examine the language and pronoun choice that NSs use when interacting with NNSs; 2) study the specific use of vos with NNSs: context, interlocutors, rationale; and 3) explore student use of vos when traveling and/or LeLoup & Schmidt-Rinehart / Forms of Address in Spanish Curriculum 21 studying abroad. All of these topics (and most likely several more) would be rich areas for future examination and analysis. Granted, many NSs default to one pronoun form over another given their interlocutor’s language ability and cultural sensitivity (or lack thereof), and it would be insightful to probe the reasons and conditions for such actions. Nevertheless, the present study seeks to underscore the importance of communicative competence and the ability of Spanish language learners to make sociolinguistic adjustments when and where necessary. If they are not provided the entire array of subject pronoun choices, they are already at a disadvantage vis-à-vis this very important SLA concept. The importance of this issue lies in the preparation of our students to interact with all NSs, not just those who are sympathetic interlocutors to NNSs and/or are familiar with the instructional practices in US schools.

Conclusion The goals of this study were to document the presence or absence of the voseo in US instruction, to ascertain students’ recognition of this pronoun, and to provide pedagogical recommendations based on the results. The importance of the present study is to provide a more comprehensive and accurate explanation of the current state of instruction and comprehension of the subject pronouns for second person singular “you” in US Spanish classrooms. Appropriate pronoun choice is a continual issue for language students who are NNSs. They frequently engage in inaccurate language use due to misinformation or lack of proper instruction regarding the current usage by NSs. This problem is compounded by instruction based on US textbooks wherein the presentation and use of the voseo is either absent altogether or only cursorily mentioned as a teacher note in the margin. Consequently, hundreds of thousands of US students of Spanish are never exposed to or are even aware that millions of NSs of Spanish in Central and South America regularly employ this subject pronoun (as well as its concomitant verb forms and related grammatical structures such as object pronouns) instead of what is taught in their textbooks. This issue underscores the gap in FL education and the field of SLA, which touts the importance of sociolinguistic accuracy when engaged in interpersonal communication. Accordingly, the appropriate use of TL pronouns addresses several areas of competence in SLA as indicated by Canale and Swain (1980): grammatical, strategic, discourse, and sociolinguistic competence. It is a disservice to students to present them with incomplete and/or incorrect linguistic and cultural information. The inclusion of the voseo in some way from the beginning of language instruction will be a measured and welcome improvement to the curriculum.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT The authors acknowledge that they both contributed equally to this essay.

NOTE

1 Institutional Review Board approval for this research project was obtained (04-28-15-#085 A), and an amendment to an existing Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) between both institutions was secured (CRADA 13-41 297-AFA-01, between the United States Air Force Academy and Ashland University).

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APPENDIX A Teacher Textbook Survey on the Voseo Thank you for agreeing to take this very brief questionnaire regarding the teaching of vos in the US curriculum. The first five items are a quick checklist of textbooks used in your school. Respond to only those questions that apply. The last two questions give you an opportunity to describe the presence or lack of the voseo in your textbooks.

1. What institution level(s) do you teach? Please circle all that apply. • Elementary school • Middle school/junior high school • High school • University level/postsecondary • Other (please specify)

2. If you have an elementary program, what textbook(s) do you use for Spanish?

3. Secondary Level: What textbooks do you use for Spanish? Please circle all that apply. • Realidades (Pearson) • Avancemos (Holt McDougal) • Así se dice (McGraw-Hill) • Descubre (VHL) • Español (Santillana) • Qué Chévere (EMC) • Other (please specify):

4. Tertiary Level: What textbooks do you use for the elementary Spanish courses? Please circle all that apply. • Vistas (VHL) • Panorama (VHL) • Arriba (Pearson) • Anda Elemental (Pearson) • Plazas (Cengage) • Aventuras (VHL) • Other (please specify): 24 Hispania 101 March 2018

5. Tertiary level: What textbooks do you use for the intermediate Spanish courses? Please circle all that apply. • Imagina (VHL) • Enfoques (VHL) • Facetas (VHL) • Identidades (Pearson) • Anda Intermedio (Pearson) • Punto y aparte (McGraw-Hill) • Other (please specify):

6. Please circle the presence (or lack) of the voseo in your textbooks. • Not mentioned at all • Mentioned in teacher note or a sidebar note for students • Mentioned, discussed, and demonstrated (including conjugation) • Employed in textbook activities • Other (please specify):

7. Please provide any feedback you think is relevant to the investigation of the teaching of vos in the US classroom.

APPENDIX B Questionnaire: Pronouns (Usted, tú, and vos) 1. Which subject pronouns do you use for singular “you”? Indicate “regularly” “occasionally” “never.” • Usted: • Tú: • Vos (NOT “vosotros”):

2. If you do at least occasionally use vos, please explain when and with whom you would use it.

3. Please indicate where you learned these pronoun protocols. Circle all that apply. • High school Spanish class and text • College Spanish class and text (If so, which course?): • Family • Travels • Other (please explain):

4. Please indicate the Spanish-speaking countries to which you have traveled and/or in which you have spent a significant amount of time (. 2 weeks). Please list all places, time periods spent, and purpose of visit. Example: Spain, 3 weeks, language immersion; Ecuador, 2 weeks, high school trip

5. Please indicate your CURRENT Spanish class. If you are in more than one, you may check both. [Listing of all Spanish classes offered that term at both universities with corresponding radio buttons for selection. This listing included 15 separate Spanish courses from the beginning level through advanced 4th year study.]