Grammar in dictionaries revisited: the case of verbs with se

This paper is a study about the way in which se structures are represented in 20 verb entries of nine dictionaries of Spanish language. There is a large number of these structures and they are problematic for native and non native speakers. Verbs of the analysis are middle-high frequency and, in the most part of the cases, very polysemous, and this allows to observe interconnections between the different se structures and the different meanings of each verb. Data of the lexicographic analysis are cross-checked with corpus analysis of the same units. As a result, it is observed that there is a large variety in the data which are offered in each dictionary and in the way they are offered, inter and intradictionary. The reasons range from the theoretical overall of each Project to practical performance. This leads to the conclusion that it is necessary to further progress in the dictionary model it is being handled, in order to offer lexico-grammatical phenomenon such as se verbs in an accurate, clear and exhaustive way.

Correlation between anxiety and academic self-concept in interpreter trainees

This paper focuses on two basic issues: the anxiety-generating nature of the interpreting task and the relevance of interpreter trainees��� academic self-concept. The first has already been acknowledged, although not extensively researched, in several papers, and the second has only been mentioned briefly in interpreting literature. This study seeks to examine the relationship between the anxiety and academic self-concept constructs among interpreter trainees. An adapted version of the Foreign Language Anxiety Scale (Horwitz et al., 1986), the Academic Autoconcept Scale (Schmidt, Messoulam & Molina, 2008) and a background information questionnaire were used to collect data. Students��� t-Test analysis results indicated that female students reported experiencing significantly higher levels of anxiety than male students. No significant gender difference in self-concept levels was found. Correlation analysis results suggested, on the one hand, that younger would-be interpreters suffered from higher anxiety levels and students with higher marks tended to have lower anxiety levels; and, on the other hand, that younger students had lower self-concept levels and higher-ability students held higher self-concept levels. In addition, the results revealed that students with higher anxiety levels tended to have lower self-concept levels. Based on these findings, recommendations for interpreting pedagogy are discussed.

Digging up the frequency of phrasal verbs in English for the Police: the case of "up"

The present study focuses on the frequency of phrasal verbs with the particle up in the context of crime and police investigative work. This research emerges from the need to enlarge McCarthy and O���Dell���s (2004) scope from purely criminal behavior to police investigative actions. To do so, we relied on a corpus of 504,124 running words made up of spoken dialogues extracted from the script of the American TV series Castle shown on ABC since 2009. Based on Rudzka-Ostyn���s (2003) cognitive motivations for the particle up, we have identified five different meaning extensions for our phrasal verbs. Drawing from these findings, we have designed pedagogical activities for those L2 learners that study English at the Police Academy.

Motivation and Vocabulary Breadth in CLIL and EFL Contexts. Different age, Same Time of Exposure

Numerous studies have found a positive connection between learners��� motivation towards foreign language and foreign language achievement. The present study examines the role of motivation in receptive vocabulary breadth (size) of two groups of Spanish learners of different ages, but all with 734 hours of instruction in English as a Foreign Language (EFL): a CLIL (Content and Language Integrated Learning) group in primary education and a non-CLIL (or EFL) group in secondary education. Most students in both groups were found to be highly motivated. The primary CLIL group slightly overcame the secondary non-CLIL group with respect to the mean general motivation but this is a non-significant difference. The secondary group surpass significantly the primary group in receptive vocabulary size. No relationship between the receptive vocabulary knowledge and general motivation is found in the primary CLIL group. On the other hand, a positive significant connection, although a very small one, is identified for the secondary non-CLIL group. We will discuss on the type of test, the age of students and the type of instruction as variables that could be influencing the results.

On a first-name basis: Englishization and naming in Flanders

Following and contributing to the ongoing shift from more structuralist, system-oriented to more pragmatic, socio-cultural oriented anglicism research, this paper verifies to what extent the global spread of English affects naming patterns in Flanders. To this end, a diachronic database of first names is constructed, containing the top 75 most popular boy and girl names from 2005 until 2014. In a first step, the etymological background of these names is documented and the evolution in popularity of the English names in the database is tracked. Results reveal no notable surge in the preference for English names. This paper complements these database-driven results with an experimental study, aiming to show how associations through referents are in this case more telling than associations through phonological form (here based on etymology). Focusing on the socio-cultural background of first names in general and of Anglo-American pop culture in particular, the second part of the study specifically reports on results from a survey where participants are asked to name the first three celebrities that leap to mind when hearing a certain first name (e.g. Lana, triggering the response Del Rey). Very clear associations are found between certain first names and specific celebrities from Anglo-American pop culture. Linking back to marketing research and the social turn in onomastics, we will discuss how these celebrities might function as referees, and how social stereotypes surrounding these referees are metonymically attached to their first names. Similar to the country-of-origin-effect in marketing, these metonymical links could very well be the reason why parents select specific ���celebrity names���. Although further attitudinal research is needed, this paper supports the importance of including socio-cultural parameters when conducting onomastic research.

Receptive Vocabulary of CLIL and Non-CLIL Primary and Secondary School Learners

CLIL instruction has been reported to be beneficial for foreign language vocabulary learning since CLIL students show higher vocabulary profiles than students of their same age in traditional EFL contexts. However, to our knowledge, the receptive vocabulary knowledge of CLIL and non-CLIL learners at the end of primary and secondary education has not been examined yet. Hence, this study aims at comparing the receptive vocabulary size 79 CLIL primary learners with the receptive vocabulary knowledge of 331 non-CLIL learners at the end of primary and secondary school. Sex-based differences were also analysed. The 2k Vocabulary Levels Test (VLT) was used for the purposes of the study. Results revealed that learners��� receptive vocabulary sizes lie within the most frequent 1000 words, non-CLIL secondary school students throw better results than primary students but the differences between the secondary group and the CLIL group are not statistically significant. As for sex-based differences, we found no significant differences among the groups. These findings led us to believe that the CLIL approach offers a benefit for vocabulary acquisition since CLIL learners have been exposed to the foreign language for a shorter period of time and the results are quite similar to their non-CLIL secondary school partners.

Pautas de selecci��n de materiales curriculares en la ense��anza del ingl��s como lengua extranjera

El objetivo del presente estudio pretende analizar la selecci��n de materiales curriculares did��cticos y el papel que desempe��an en los procesos de ense��anza-aprendizaje. Antes de ello, se mencionar�� el concepto de an��lisis de necesidades a efectos de encontrar los mejores materiales que las puedan satisfacer. Se prestar�� especial atenci��n a las posibilidades de selecci��n, an��lisis y evaluaci��n de materiales, en tanto que constituyen los principales medios de transmisi��n de los contenidos a los estudiantes intentando ayudarlos a desarrollar las competencias b��sicas establecidas en el Anexo I de la LOE. Se enfocar�� el presente estudio sobre materiales curriculares aplicados a la ense��anza de idiomas, hablando de las ventajas y desventajas de usarlos como recursos did��cticos. Para finalizar, se expondr��n algunas reflexiones en torno a la pr��ctica docente, los libros de texto y materiales multimedia.

Taller de Escritura Creativa para el desarrollo de la Competencia Literaria en Brasil

Este art��culo describe una propuesta de innovaci��n docente basada en la corriente educativa de la Educaci��n para el Desarrollo, as�� como la mejora de Competencia Comunicativa en L2 y de las Competencias Literarias e Interculturales por medio de un taller dise��ado para tal fin. El prop��sito de este art��culo es doble: por un lado mostrar las posibilidades que ofrece el Taller de Escritura e Ilustraci��n Creativa para el desarrollo de las Competencias Literaria, Intercultural y Comunicativa en L2. Se muestra c��mo el taller cumple con las directrices marcadas por la Educaci��n para el Desarrollo que se describe en el marco te��rico. El segundo objetivo es narrar c��mo se han organizado, coordinado e implementado el Taller de Escritura e Ilustraci��n Creativa en la Universidade Federal do Amazonas en Manaos (Brasil), bas��ndose en la metodolog��a del aprendizaje basado en tareas, y c��mo se ha conseguido (i) promover la creaci��n de puentes para la consolidaci��n de las relaciones bilaterales entre universidades; (ii) motivar la colaboraci��n cient��fica con los centros brasile��os que cuentan con un departamento de espa��ol, y (iii) emplear y crear herramientas que permitan incluir la Educaci��n para el Desarrollo.

Cooperative or collaborative learning: Is there a difference in university students��� perceptions?

The hypothesis that the same educational objective, raised as cooperative or collaborative learning in university teaching does not affect students��� perceptions of the learning model, leads this study. It analyses the reflections of two students groups of engineering that shared the same educational goals implemented through two different methodological active learning strategies: Simulation as cooperative learning strategy and Problem-based Learning as a collaborative one. The different number of participants per group (eighty-five and sixty-five, respectively) as well as the use of two active learning strategies, either collaborative or cooperative, did not show differences in the results from a qualitative perspective.

La selecci��n de textos literarios en el contexto del espa��ol como segunda lengua. Investigaci��n cualitativa con adolescentes inmigrantes

En este art��culo se proponen claves de selecci��n de textos literarios para adolescentes inmigrantes de niveles A2 de competencia comunicativa en espa��ol. El dise��o de la investigaci��n se configura a partir del paradigma cualitativo/interpretativo de corte etnogr��fico y de la investigaci��n-acci��n en el escenario de cuatro aulas de espa��ol. El an��lisis de una muestra de treinta j��venes inmigrantes ante el corpus le��do durante el trabajo de campo, aporta seis variables menos centradas en la proyecci��n expl��cita de la migraci��n, y m��s sujetas al concepto de distancia como elemento transcendente de la lectura literaria.

La ense��anza de las construcciones pasivas e impersonales con "se" en espa��ol como L2. ��Cu��ntas distinciones son necesarias?

Este art��culo sugiere un enfoque nuevo a la ense��anza de las dos estructuras gramaticales la pasiva refleja y el ���se��� impersonal para las clases universitarias de E/LE. Concretamente, se argumenta que las dos se deber��an tratar como construcciones pasivas, basada en un an��lisis l��xico-funcional de ellas que enfoca la ling����stica contrastiva. Incluso para la instrucci��n de E/LE, se recomienda una aproximaci��n contrastiva en la que se enfocan tanto la reflexi��n metaling����stica como la competencia del estudiante en el L2. Espec��ficamente, el uso de c��rpora ling����sticos en la clase forma una parte integral de la instrucci��n. El uso de un corpus estimula la curiosidad del estudiante, le expone a material de lengua aut��ntica, y promulga la reflexi��n inductiva independiente.

A vueltas con la naturaleza del cambio fon��tico-fonol��gico: los casos de Nj y Lj

Las etapas del cambio fon��tico-fonol��gico han sido descritas desde hace d��cadas, especialmente desde un punto de vista articulatorio y casi siempre partiendo de los testimonios escritos de que se pod��a disponer. No obstante, recientemente han ido surgiendo nuevas teor��as que defienden que el cambio puede ser explicado a trav��s del estudio de la variaci��n y los procesos fon��ticos propios del habla actual, puesto que ambos est��n relacionados con fen��menos de hipo (e hiper) articulaci��n y, a la postre, de coarticulaci��n. Una de ellas es la Fonolog��a Evolutiva (Blevins 2004), aun cuando no ofrece una explicaci��n satisfactoria para la difusi��n del cambio. En este estudio, se ha recurrido a estas teor��as para esclarecer las causas de la evoluci��n de dos contextos de yod segunda: /nj/ y /lj/, que llevaron a la fonologizaci��n de // y //, en un primer estadio de la historia del espa��ol.

Item and task difficulty in a B2 reading examination: perceptions of test-takers and CEFR alignment experts compared with psychometric measurements

The article presents a study of a CEFR B2-level reading subtest that is part of the Slovenian national secondary school leaving examination in English as a foreign language, and compares the test-taker actual performance (objective difficulty) with the test-taker and expert perceptions of item difficulty (subjective difficulty). The study also analyses the test-takers��� comments on item difficulty obtained from a while-reading questionnaire. The results are discussed in the framework of the existing research in the fields of (the assessment of) reading comprehension, and are addressed with regard to their implications for item-writing, FL teaching and curriculum development.

Who is in charge? An L2 Discourse Intonation Study on Four Prosodic Parameters to Exert the Pragmatic Function of Dominance and Control in the Context of L2 Non-specialist Public Speaking

This paper reports the findings from a study of the learning of English intonation by Spanish speakers within the discourse mode of L2 oral presentation. The purpose of this experiment is, firstly, to compare four prosodic parameters before and after an L2 discourse intonation training programme and, secondly, to confirm whether subjects, after the aforementioned L2 discourse intonation training, are able to match the form of these four prosodic parameters to the discourse-pragmatic function of dominance and control. The study designed the instructions and tasks to create the oral and written corpora and Brazil���s Pronunciation for Advanced Learners of English was adapted for the pedagogical aims of the present study. The learners��� pre- and post-tasks were acoustically analysed and a pre / post- questionnaire design was applied to interpret the acoustic analysis. Results indicate most of the subjects acquired a wider choice of the four prosodic parameters partly due to the prosodically-annotated transcripts that were developed throughout the L2 discourse intonation course. Conversely, qualitative and quantitative data reveal most subjects failed to match the forms to their appropriate pragmatic functions to express dominance and control in an L2 oral presentation.