Current literature in the field of linguistic landscape studies explores how language varieties are displayed throughout the world and how these multimodal displays reflect and construct communities of proactice. To date, the majority of these investigations have focused on traditional language contact situations such as diglossia and bilingualism, with discussion centering on the sociopolitical implications of linguistic landscapes for identity construction, social relations, public policy, and social change (Backhaus, 2005, 2006 ; Ben Rafael, Shohamy, Hasan Amara, and Trumper-Hecht 2006; Bourhis and Landry, 2002; Cenoz and Gorter, 2006; Pennycook, 1994, Piller, 2001, 2003, and Rosa 2015 among others). While additional studies explore the relationship between linguistic landscape theory and the acquisition of L1 linguistic-, sociocultural- and visual literacies (Cenoz & Gorter, 2008; Chestnut, Lee, & Schulte, 2013;; Sayer, 2009, Scollon & Scollon, 2003, and Thornbury 2019 among others) investigations centering on linguistic landscape theory and L2 acquisition are few (Chestnut, Lee & Schulte 2013; Rowland, 2013, 2104, 2016 , and Sayer, 2010). In this paper, I discuss Spanish-language linguistic landscapes as authentic pedagogical input for L2 Spanish acquisition at the university level. My qualitative data exemplifies how linguistic landscapes can serve as authentic input for building L2 communicative competence in a task-based language program.
About the presenterLisa C. Wagner
Lisa C. Wagner (MA Hispanic Linguistics, University of Pittsburgh; Ph.D. Spanish Linguistics, The Ohio State University) is an Associate Professor of Spanish / Linguistics and the Director of Undergraduate Spanish Studies at the University of Louisville, Louisville, KY. Her research interests include: socio-pragmatics, pedagogical approaches to teaching /learning, and linguistic landscapes. Dr. Wagner regularly teaches courses in Spanish Language at the undergraduate level and Spanish Linguistics at both the undergraduate- and graduate levels.