Hypothesis Testing: The Role Of Intersubjective Constructions In The Development Of Spanish As a Foreign Language At Entry Level In Japan

The present study deploys a socio-genetic notion of hypothesis testing based on activity theory and Bernstein's theory of codes. It analyses hypothesis testing in different pedagogical settings, from grammar to communication courses at entry level in Japan. In light of the results, it is suggested that the hypothesis-testing processes carried out by students are specific activities closely linked to the pedagogical objectives set by the teacher and not easily transferable to other settings. In other words, in grammar tasks that have as object the learning of the formal system, students will see severely limited their capacity to test hypotheses in the field of pragmatics or explore the communicative potential of language. In contrast, during a communication class, students will see limited their capacity to explicitly test hypotheses concerned with formal aspects of language. The apparent integration of a programme does no ensure hypothesis testing (or L2) development. Instruction should be subsumed under developmental targets and not the other way around. It is concluded that structural instructional tasks represent a bridge between theory and practice and an opportunity for students to test their hypotheses, as they are given more control over instructional tasks.