Publications

Sánchez-Gutiérrez, C., Minnillo, S., Ruiz, A., & Ortega, A. (2025). Does order of instruction matter? A language program intervention for preterite-imperfect learning. Foreign Language Annals. https://doi.org/10.1111/flan.70012

Abstract:

Research on L2 acquisition of the Spanish perfective and imperfective past has suggested that order-of-instruction (preterite before imperfect) may significantly contribute to learners' difficulty with mastering the imperfect. We sought to empirically test the effect of order-of-instruction by implementing a program-wide intervention in a beginner Spanish program at a large US university (N = 697 students) which reverted the timing of teaching the preterite and imperfect (imperfect before preterite). Except for the order in which the tenses were taught, all aspects of the curriculum remained identical across the preterite-first and the imperfect-first groups. Results from a cloze test and an analysis of student narrative texts demonstrate that teaching the imperfect first had neither a significant effect on suppliance nor on appropriate use of preterite-imperfect forms, thus rejecting the hypothesis that order-of-instruction plays a central role in L2 Spanish tense-aspect development.

Sperber, L., MacArthur, M., Minnillo, S., Stillman, N. & Whithaus, C. (2025). Peer and AI Feedback (PAIRR): Human-centered AI pedagogy for writing across the curriculum. Computers and Composition, 76. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compcom.2025.102921

Abstract:

Cycles of drafting and revising are crucial for student writers' growth, and formative assessment plays an important role. However, many teachers lack the time or resources to provide feedback on drafts. While research suggests that AI feedback is high enough quality to be used for draft feedback, especially when assignment-specific criteria are used (Steiss et al., 2024), it must be used in a human-centered process. AI has the potential to reduce educational equity gaps in writing support (Warschauer et al., 2023), but when narrowly implemented, technologies can deepen divides (Stornaiuolo, et al., 2023). Peer and AI Review + Reflection (PAIRR) combines peer review best practices with AI review in an approach that emphasizes student agency and reflection. Using a mixed methods approach, this study examined student perceptions of AI utility in the context of peer review. Results indicate that AI tools offer useful feedback when combined with peer review. Students found the similarity between AI and peer feedback reassuring, while also valuing their complementary perspectives. Moreover, by evaluating AI outputs, students developed AI literacy, gaining familiarity with AI feedback's affordances and limitations while learning ethical ways to use AI in their writing processes.

Minnillo, S., Jones, L., & García, S. (2024). AI in the L2 classroom: Serving language educators through professional development. L2 Journal, 16(1), 1-14. https://doi.org/10.5070/L2.21198

Abstract:

The spread of generative AI has been praised and criticized for engendering new possibilities and limitations for language education. While educators have praised AI’s ability to serve as a conversation partner, generate novel ideas for lesson plans, and offer tailored feedback, many instructors and scholars have voiced concerns related to AI’s biases and its impact on student learning and academic integrity. Responding to a need for further training and dialogue about AI, members of the Davis Language Center organized a professional development event in which instructors, students, and instructional technologists shared their perspectives and strategies for AI-mediated language education. The event also included guided practice on using these tools for pedagogical purposes, including writing effective prompts, interacting with AI tools, and engaging in an iterative, reflective process. Through our planning process, we discovered that balancing scheduled asynchronous tasks with focused synchronous check-ins was crucial for ensuring accountability, clear communication, and timely progress, ultimately helping us coordinate and achieve our event planning goals effectively. We report on insights from organizing and participating in the event, highlighting several advantages of using AI in language education, critical issues, and questions for further inquiry. Leveraging lessons learned at this event, we offer suggestions for coordinating trainings about AI-enhanced language education.

Sánchez-Gutiérrez, C., Minnillo, S., Fernández-Mira, P. & Hernández, A. (2024). Prompt response variation in learner corpus research: Implications for data interpretation. Research Methods in Applied Linguistics, 3(3). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rmal.2024.100134

Abstract:

While general first language corpora are composed of samples from various naturalistic sources (e.g., websites, books), language samples in most written learner corpora (LC) are texts produced in response to prompts. In this context, LC users need to develop a clear awareness of the affordances and limitations of specific prompts and how responses to said prompts may affect the investigation of their intended object(s) of study. Through an analysis of the presence/absence of specific Spanish verb tenses in texts written in response to two supposedly narrative prompts in a Spanish LC (COWS-L2H; Yamada et al., 2020), this article illustrates the impact of inter- and intra-prompt response variation on LC data interpretation. Based on this evidence, we caution against rapid assumptions about text content based solely on the superficial phrasing of LC writing prompts. Instead, we recommend that LC users perform in-depth quantitative and qualitative analyses of learners’ samples written in response to each prompt they aim to include in their study prior to running statistical models on those data.

Minnillo, S., Sánchez-Gutiérrez, C., Ruiz-Alonso-Bartol, A., Morgan, E. & González Gómez, C. (2024). Predictors of accuracy in L2 Spanish preterit-imperfect production. International Journal of Learner Corpus Research, 10(2). https://doi.org/10.1075/ijlcr.23009.min

Abstract:

Few studies have considered the multitude of factors that influence learners’ accuracy of past tense-aspect use in L2 Spanish. The present study fills this gap by examining course-level, task-modality, obligatory tense-aspect, and verb frequency and regularity as predictors of English-dominant learners’ accuracy in contexts that require the Spanish preterit or imperfect. Learner narrations from the COWS-L2H and CEDEL2 corpora were analyzed. Generalized mixed-effects models reveal that obligatory tense-aspect and task-modality are significant predictors of accuracy and that frequency is only a significant predictor in imperfect-obligatory contexts for students from the same Spanish program. Data from one Spanish program is interpreted as providing partial support for the Default Past Tense Hypothesis (DPTH). The findings add complexity to our understanding of the route of preterit-imperfect acquisition, showcasing plateauing effects and highlighting students’ use of the present as a default form.

Carando, A., Minnillo, S., Fernández-Mira, P., Davidson, S., Sagae, K., & Sánchez-Gutiérrez, C. (2023). Writing Development in Spanish as a Second and Heritage Language: A Corpus Study on Complexity. Journal of Spanish Language Teaching, 10(1), 1-13. https://doi.org/10.1080/23247797.2023.2201989.

Abstract:

Few studies have analyzed the writing features of second language (L2) alongside heritage language (HL) learners of Spanish. Focusing on the development of writing complexity, we collected data from students at the beginning and at the end of a composition sequence. Comparing the groups at the outset revealed HL students’ greater mood complexity. After 14 weeks, both groups improved in tense complexity, mean essay length, and lexical sophistication. Our findings suggest that, given sufficient time, both HL and L2 students can progress in similar ways in at least some measures of linguistic complexity. Nevertheless, they might gain from instruction that facilitates new and diverse vocabulary, and the construction of longer sentences. L2 students specifically would benefit from greater emphasis on the subjunctive. Our study supports the claim that achieving writing complexity takes time and comes in stages, contributing to a more nuanced understanding of L2 and HL writing development.

Minnillo, S., Sánchez-Gutiérrez, C., Carando, A., Davidson, S., Fernández Mira, P., & Sagae, K. (2022). Preterit-imperfect acquisition in L2 Spanish writing: Moving beyond lexical aspect. Research in Corpus Linguistics, 10(1), 156-184. https://doi.org/10.32714/ricl.10.01.08

Abstract:

While research on second language (L2) tense-aspect acquisition has flourished, most studies have focused on lexical aspect as an explanatory variable (Bardovi-Harlig and Comajoan-Colomé 2020). However, the role of the features of first language (L1) production in L2 Spanish preterit-imperfect acquisition has never been tested before. Prior research has found that the frequency and distinctiveness of verb forms in corpora of L1 English production predict L2 English learners’ tense-aspect production (Wulff et al. 2009). The present study aims to replicate these findings and test the predictions of hypotheses of L2 tense-aspect acquisition in another group of learners: English-dominant, instructed Spanish learners. Analyses were performed on longitudinal data from the Corpus of Written Spanish of L2 and Heritage Speakers (COWS-L2H; Yamada et al. 2020) and cross-sectional data from the Corpus Escrito del Español L2 (CEDEL2; Lozano 2021). Results indicate that L1 verb frequency and distinctiveness predict learners’ emergent use of the preterit and the imperfect.

You can find the R code I used to analyze the data in this article here

You can find the link to the pdf of this article below: