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.

Xanthoria parietina as a biomonitor of airborne heavy metal pollution in forest sites in the North East of Morocco

Xanthoria parietina, common foliose lichen, growing in its natural habitat, was analysed for the concentration of five heavy metals (Fe, Cr, Zn, Pb and Cu) from different forest sites of North East of Morocco (Kenitra, Sidi Boughaba, Mkhinza, Ceinture Verte near Temara city, Skhirate, Bouznika and Mohammedia). The quantification was carried out by inductively coupled plasma - atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES). Results were highly significant p<0,001. The concentration of metals is correlated with the vehicular activity and urbanization. The total metal concentration is highest at the Kenitra area, followed by Ceinture Verte site near Temara city, which experience heavy traffic throughout the year. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) of particulate matter on lichen of Xanthoria parietina was assessed as a complementary technique to wet chemical analysis for source apportionment of airborne contaminant. Analysis revealed high level of Cu, Cr, Zn and Pb in samples near roads.  

Sign language in Spanish television. Study on reception

The present article analyses the preferences of the deaf who use sign language and are users of the TV interpretation service to sign language, as well as the characteristics with which TV channels provide that service in television in Spain. The objective is to establish whether the way in which the aforementioned accessibility service is provided matches the preferences of users or differ from them. The analysis presents the opinion on this service of the deaf that use the Spanish sign language as their first language for communication. A study has also been conducted on the programmes broadcast with sign language during week 10-16/03/2014. The main data collected reveal that the deaf are dissatisfied with broadcasting times. They ask for news programmes with sign language, they would rather have the interpretation carried out by deaf people who use sign language and they prefer that the interpreter is the main image on screen. Concerning the analysis of the programmes broadcast, the study shows that the majority of programmes with sign language are broadcast at night, they are entertainment programmes, the interpretation is carried out by hearing people who use sign language and that their image is displayed in a corner of the screen.

The presence of the Aragonese language in the magazine "El Ebro" (1917-1936)

El Ebro (1917-1936) was a magazine published in Barcelona by Aragonese emigrants at the beginning of the 20th century. It was the first experience of coexistence of different dialectal varieties of the Aragonese language in the same media. El Ebro was an experience that has gone virtually unnoticed in the recent history of one of the most minority languages, and with minor media presence, of Western Europe. In its pages El Ebro mixed dialects spoken in different regions of linguistic Aragonese area together with transcripts of medieval documents. At the same time, this newspaper raised debates about the language issue that they were truncated due to disappearance of the publication and the lack of theoretical realization

The feminine character and temporal freedom in three historical novels by Angelina Muñiz: Morada interior (1972), "El Mercader de Tudela" (1995) y "La Burladora de Toledo" (2008)

We focus on the representation of time in Muñiz’s historical novels. Concretely, we stress the attitude of the feminine characters towards time and history. Muñiz’s female personages continuously transgress temporal borders and move freely between different historical periods. We relate Muñiz’s particular vision on time and on the separation lines between historical periods to her situation as an exile. The author is continuously crossing borders between the past of her homeland and the present of her adoptive country. We argument Muñiz is recreating this “borderfree” attitude towards time in the female characters of her historical novels.

The notion of space in the artistic language of Alfredo Jaar

Conceptual art and communicator role has influenced the work of Chilean architect Alfredo Jaar, which has been proposed report, with other codes [verbal and nonverbal], global events influencing contemporary society. His early training as an architect has driven innovation in the design of artistic space , using the message to convey to the viewer the reason for his work for more than three decades, highlights the artistic composition with various material resources whose purpose lies in conceptualizing various topics relevant in considering the role of artistic communication. Jaar’s style is the sum of his own life experience in relation to the contradictions of the world today, which is exposed and from the perspective of postmodernism from the exploitation of the notion of space as an open stage for visual and expressiveness beyond national borders, societies and cultures of the world.