Problem‐solving tasks in a foreign language: the importance of the L1 in private verbal thinking

Abstract

The objective of the study is the analysis of private verbal thinking (PVT) during problem‐solving activities carried out in a second language, as well as the study of the role that both the L1 and the L2 play in this process. PVT is defined as a particular type of private speech that surfaces during the reasoning process as a tool used in the resolution of problem‐solving tasks. This study is based on the comparison of the PVT produced by three different groups of speakers: intermediate‐level students of Spanish as an L2, advanced‐level speakers of Spanish as an L2, and native speakers of Spanish. In addition to analyzing the general characteristics of this phenomenon, special attention is paid to the use that each of these groups made of their L1 in relation to their L2 during the resolution of a battery of logical, mathematical, and spatial questions. The ultimate goal of this study is to contribute to clarifying the importance of the L1 in an L2 language classroom, as it was found that the L1 manifested itself as a key factor in the process of reasoning.