Spanish As An International Language: Implications for Teachers and Learners

Spanish is a pluricentric language, meaning that it has several centers of prestige (e.g., San Juan, Buenos Aires, Mexico City, Lima). Moreover, Spanish, like all languages, evinces sociolinguistic variation, in that levels of formality are expressed through the use of different structures. Given this variety, students of Spanish will inevitably come into contact with variation Spanish. This variation in Spanish adds layers of complexity to the learning and instruction of the Spanish language; therefore, a linguistic understanding of variation is crucial for our students to achieve communicative competence. This unique work, which provides an overview of the most important linguistic aspects of Spanish within a context that recognizes variation, assumes no prior linguistic knowledge and is appropriate as a valuable resource manual for teachers and learners of Spanish alike.

Deborah Arteaga-Capen holds an MA in French linguistics from the University of Colorado. She received her doctorate in Romance linguistics from the University of Washington, specializing in historical Romance syntax. Currently, she is an Associate Professor in Spanish linguistics at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
Lucia Llorente holds degrees in both Hispanic and English Philology from the University of Deusto, Spain, as well as an MA and PhD from the University of Washington. Dr. Llorente is currently an Associate Professor of Spanish at Berry College. Both are widely published authors and have coordinated instructors at the university-level.