A comparative study of Spanish discourse marker use among Chinese learners: associations with language proficiency and study abroad experience

Research on how foreign language learners use discourse markers (DMs) has largely centered on English, with limited attention to functional category development in other languages such as Spanish. At the same time, the relationship between study-abroad (SA) experience and proficiency in shaping DM usage remains inadequately understood. This study analyzes how proficiency (B1 versus B2 levels) and SA experience (with versus without) relate to Chinese learners’ use of functional DM in Spanish. More specifically, the study employs a between-subjects design with two oral tasks, and the collected DM data were classified into four functional categories: Estructuradores de la Información (EST, information-structuring markers), Conectores (CON, connective markers), Operadores Argumentativos (OA, argumentative operators), and Marcadores Conversacionales (MC, conversational markers), based on a functional–pragmatic framework. Analysis reveals that proficiency is strongly associated with increased frequency, diversity, and functional flexibility in DM deployment, with advanced learners (B2) showing significantly higher frequency, proportion, and preference for MC-type markers. In contrast, SA experience shows a more limited relationship, linked in some cases to a heightened reliance on CON-type markers among lower-proficiency learners (B1). Overall, the study extends DM research into Spanish as a foreign language and clarifies how proficiency and study abroad experience differentially relate to pragmatic development.