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

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 ; This work was supported by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness [grant number EDU2014-54093-R] and the Agency for Management of University and Research Grants – AGAUR of the Government of Catalonia [grant number 2014 SGR 208].