Positive effects of visual processing in the development of intercultural competence of intermediate Chinese L2 learners of Spanish

Abstract

Previous studies have shown that visual processing favors L2 development in general. In light of the fact that L2 competence involves both L2 linguistic competence (i.e., knowledge of L2 grammar and vocabulary) and L2 intercultural learning (i.e., knowledge of L2 culture), this study inquiries whether visual aids hold for the development of both L2 linguistic competence and L2 intercultural competence or only one of them. Forty intermediate (approx. B2) Chinese L2 learners of Spanish were asked to complete a series of tasks targeting both the Spanish language and Spanish culture after being presented with a series of materials: half were presented with audiovisual materials whilst the other half were presented with the auditory counterpart. The results show that visual processing benefits the development of L2 intercultural competence of intermediate Chinese learners of Spanish but plays little role in the development of their L2 linguistic competence. Our finding suggests that visual materials should be included in the teaching of L2 so as to enhance L2 learners’ development of intercultural competence