L2 pragmatic development in study abroad: A longitudinal study of Spanish service encounters

The present study examines L2 pragmatic development in study abroad, reporting on longitudinal research of service encounters recorded in situ between L2 learners of Spanish and local Spanish service providers in Toledo, Spain. The participants in the study were seven U.S. students who studied abroad for one semester in Spain. The data consist of naturalistic audio recordings that participants made of themselves while visiting local shops, banks, and other establishments. The study was longitudinal with recordings made at the beginning, middle, and end of the semester by each student, for a total of 113 recordings. Additional data included students’ weekly journals and interviews with participants. The analysis focuses on openings and requests and examines the ways in which students’ pragmatic choices shifted over time, considering the role of language socialization and explicit instruction in pragmatics in that development.