“Jo wunderbar so im apriu kann man nicht mehr erwarten, capisci?” Multilingualism in a German language class for retired Italian migrants in Berne

Our proposal presents some aspects and results of a project of the University of Bern dealing with the consequences of retirement on multilingual competences. Referring to De Bot (2007), who defined "language related major life events" as moments in life relevant for changes in multilingual competences, we assume that retirement can be a turning point in a language biography. Firstly, there are phenomena, such as the cessation of the use of a foreign language, which was formerly related to work. Secondly, retirement might elicit the improvement of foreign language skills as a way to spend excess time after retirement or as a “cognitive exercise”. Many language schools have identified the people of advanced age as a group of major interest and increasingly offer so-called 50+ (fifty plus) courses in their curriculum. Furthermore, the concept of lifelong learning is increasingly gaining importance, as the reference by the European commission (LLP) indicates. However, most of the programs are intended for educated middle-class people and there are considerably fewer offers for people who are less familiar with learning environments in general. The present paper aims at investigating the multilingual setting of an offer of the second kind: a German language course designed for retired, established Italian workforce migrants living in the city of Berne, Switzerland. The multilingual setting is given by the facts that migrants living in Berne are confronted with diglossia (Standard German and Swissgerman dialects), that the Canton of Berne is bilingual (German and French) and that the migrants' mother tongue, Italian, is one of the Swiss national languages. As previous studies have shown, most of the Italian migrants have difficulties with the acquisition of Standard German due to the diglossic situation (Werlen, 2007) or never even learnt any of the German varieties. Another outcome of the linguistic situation the migrants are confronted with in Berne, is the usage of a continuum of varieties between Swissgerman dialect and Standard German (Zanovello-Müller, 1998). Therefore, in the classroom we find several varieties of German, as well as the Italian language and its varieties. In the present paper we will investigate the use of multilingual competences within the classroom and the dynamics of second language acquisition in a setting of older adults (>60 years old), learning their host country’s language after 40 years or more of living in it. The methods applied are an ethnographic observation of the language class, combined with qualitative interviews to gain in-depth information of the subjects’ life stories and language biographies.

An evaluation of the impact of Inner City Development's Cooperative Home School: An educational alternative program to increase the quality and level of education in San Antonio's West Side community

The research study was intended to evaluate the effectiveness of Inner City Development's (I.C.D.) Cooperative Home School, an educational alternative program to the Title I public schools of San Antonio's West Side community. The study investigated students', parents' and tutors' perception of parental involvement and educational resources. The study also investigated each student's academic achievement. ^ The study found that students progressed toward expected math proficiency at a faster rate than they did in reading proficiency. However, because the target population size was small and a comparison group was not used, the results of this study are only suggestive. This research also indicated that study subjects believed students' quality and level of education increased substantially since program exposure. Study subjects mainly attributed the students' strides in academic performance to the increased amount of individualized attention students received in the small twelve-student class size. Study subjects were more satisfied with the home school's educational resources than those of the Title I public schools. Study subjects also perceived that parental involvement both at home and at school increased since enrollment in the home school program because: (1) there were more opportunities for involvement in the home school; and (2) parents felt closer to the tutors than the teachers in public school. ^ This evaluation also suggested improvements to program operations. With the help of additional volunteers, I.C.D. program operators could improve collection and organization of academic records. Furthermore, as suggested by program participants, science could be added to the curriculum. Lastly, a formal tutor orientation could be implemented to familiarize and train tutors on classroom management procedures. ^

Cross-cultural counseling: problems and prospects

This work tries to assess the contributions made to educational counseling in recent years by theoretical and applied research and practical actions in the area of cross-cultural counseling. So, it offers a synthesis of the main contributions made from the theoretical and practical viewpoints within this specific scientific field.

Cross-cultural counseling: problems and prospects

This work tries to assess the contributions made to educational counseling in recent years by theoretical and applied research and practical actions in the area of cross-cultural counseling. So, it offers a synthesis of the main contributions made from the theoretical and practical viewpoints within this specific scientific field.

Cross-cultural counseling: problems and prospects

This work tries to assess the contributions made to educational counseling in recent years by theoretical and applied research and practical actions in the area of cross-cultural counseling. So, it offers a synthesis of the main contributions made from the theoretical and practical viewpoints within this specific scientific field.

Absorption and mobility of foliar-applied boron in soybean as affected by plant boron status and application as a polyol complex

In the present study (i) the impact of plant Boron (B) status on foliar B absorption and (ii) the effect of B complexation with polyols (sorbitol or mannitol) on B absorption and translocation was investigated. Soybean (Glycine max (L.) Meer.) plants grown in nutrient solution containing 0 μM, 10 μM, 30 μM or 100 μM 11B labelled boric acid (BA) were treated with 50 mM 10B labelled BA applied to the basal parts of two leaflets of one leaf, either pure or in combination with 500 mM sorbitol or mannitol. After one week, 10B concentrations in different plant parts were determined. In B deficient leaves (0 μM 11B), 10B absorption was significantly lower than in all other treatments (9.7% of the applied dose vs. 26%–32%). The application of BA in combination with polyols increased absorption by 18–25% as compared to pure BA. The absolute amount of applied 10B moving out of the application zone was lowest in plants with 0 μM 11B supply (1.1% of the applied dose) and highest in those grown in 100 μM 11B (2.8%). The presence of sorbitol significantly decreased the share of mobile 10B in relation to the amount absorbed. The results suggest that 11B deficiency reduces the permeability of the leaf surface for BA. The addition of polyols may increase 10B absorption, but did not improve 10B distribution within the plant, which was even hindered when applied a sorbitol complex.

Grid-connected roof solar plants in educational institutions for testing and electricity generation: a case in Spain.

The use of photovoltaic experimental plants in engineering educational buildings contributes to an increase in acceptance of this technology by future engineers. There are some photovoltaic (PV) systems in educational buildings in Spain, but they are usually limited to buildings in relation to electrical technologies or research areas. They are not common in other educational or official buildings. This paper presents the project of a grid-connected solar plant with two main objectives. First, different PV module technologies will be compared. Second, an emphasis on agronomical areas in educational settings will be reviewed in an attempt to facilitate student engagement in the use of the power plant. The system is grid-connected in order to pay-back the investment in the plant. In fact the electricity generated by the plant will be used by the installations of the building, as it is the closest consumer. This work intends to approximate photovoltaic technology to university degrees not directly related with it and at the same time research in comparison of systems with different technologies. This is a good example of an solar plant for both optimum production and educational purposes.

Consulta on-line basada en corpus de construcciones con preposición en el texto técnico en inglés y su traducción al español

Basándonos en la recopilación inicial de preposiciones, locuciones preposicionales, términos con preposición dependiente y phrasal verbs utilizados en el texto técnico realizada en otros proyectos anteriores del Departamento de Lingüística Aplicada a la Ciencia y a la Tecnología, el objetivo de este trabajo es completar, organizar, actualizar y dar visibilidad a esta información inicial. Tras realizar un proceso exhaustivo de verificación, unificación, clasificación y ampliación de la información existente, en caso necesario, el listado resultante se utiliza para elaborar un glosario de términos con preposición. El objetivo final de este proyecto es que este glosario esté a disposición de los usuarios, a través de una consulta on-line, en la página del ILLLab (http://illlab.euitt.upm.es/wordpress/), dependiente del Departamento de Lingüística Aplicada a la Ciencia y a la Tecnología. Para incluir en el glosario ejemplos actualizados de textos técnicos, se ha recopilado un corpus lingüístico de textos técnicos, tomando como base diferentes números de la revista IEEE Spectrum, en su edición digital, publicados entre los años 2009 y 2012. El objetivo de esta recopilación es la de ofrecer al consultante diferentes ejemplos de uso en el texto técnico de los distintos términos con preposición que componen el glosario, de manera que pueda acceder de manera rápida y sencilla a ejemplos de uso real de los términos que está buscando, con objeto de clarificar aspectos relacionados con su uso o, en su caso, facilitar su aprendizaje. Toda esta información, tanto el listado de términos con preposición como las frases pertenecientes al corpus recopilado, se incorpora a una base de datos, alojada dentro de la misma página web del ILLLab. A través de un formulario de consulta, a disposición del usuario en dicha página, se pueden obtener todos los términos recopilados que coincidan con los criterios de búsqueda introducidos. El usuario puede realizar dos tipos de búsqueda principales: por preposición o por término completo. Además, puede elegir una búsqueda global (entre todos los términos que integran el glosario) o parcial (en una sola de las categorías en las que se han dividido los diferentes términos, de acuerdo con su función gramatical). Por último, se presentan unas estadísticas de uso de los términos recopilados dentro de los diferentes textos que integran el corpus lingüístico, de manera que pueda establecerse una relación de los que aparecen con más frecuencia en el texto técnico. ABSTRACT. Based on the initial collection of prepositions, prepositional phrases, dependent prepositions and phrasal verbs used in technical texts collected on previous projects in the Department of Applied Linguistics to Science and Technology, the aim of this project is to improve, organize, update and provide visibility to this initial information. Following a process of verification, unification, classification and extension of existing information, if necessary, a glossary of terms with preposition is built. The ultimate objective of this project is to make this glossary available to users through an online consultation in the ILLLab webpage (http://illlab.euitt.upm.es/wordpress/). The administration of tis webpage depends of the Department of Applied Linguistics in Science and Technology. A linguistic corpus of technical texts has been compiled, based on different numbers of the IEEE Spectrum magazine, in its online edition, published between the years 2009 and 2012. The aim of this collection is to provide different examples of use in the technical text for the terms included in the glossary, so that examples of the actual use of the terms consulted can be easily and quickly accessed, in order to clarify doubts regarding their meaning or translation into Spanish and facilitate learning. All this information, both the list of terms with prepositional phrases as well as the corpus developed, is incorporated in a database. Through a searching form, the ILLLab's user may obtain all the terms matching the search criteria entered. The user can perform two types of main search: by preposition or by full term. Additionally, a global search can be selected (including all terms included in the glossary) or a partial one (including only one of the glossary's categories). Finally, some statistics of use are presented according to the various texts included in the corpus, so a relation of the most frequent prepositions in the technical text can be established.

Latino Family Involvement: An Exploratory Study of Latina Mother-Daughter Relationships and their Effects on Educational Attainment and Resiliency

Latino family involvement is an important issue in the field of education. Effective strategies to promote family involvement in the Latino community are vital for the educational attainment of Latino students and emotional wellbeing of Latino families. This study used focus groups, in-depth interviews, and observations to examine Latino family involvement and the relationships and communication patterns between Latina mothers and daughters. The Latina mother-daughter relationship was studied in an effort to gain a better understanding of how this relationship affects a Latina daughter's educational attainment and sense of resiliency. Results indicated that a positive relationship between a Latina mother and daughter can increase a Latina daughter's level of educational attainment and sense of resiliency. Additionally, a Latina daughter's level of self-motivation can affect her level of educational attainment as well. Cultural narratives were found to be a common type of communication pattern used between Latina mothers and daughters. They were used to teach cultural values, life lessons, and experiential learning. By improving family involvement efforts within the Latino culture, Latino students will likely see drastic improvements in their overall levels of educational attainment and emotional wellbeing in schools. Implications for Latino students and families, schools that work with Latino families, and educational policy are also discussed.

Las TIC al servicio del conocimiento avanzado multilingüe: la Biblioteca Digital Plurilingüe del Mediterráneo-IVITRA

Este estudio analiza la importancia de las TIC al servicio de las bibliotecas en general y, en concreto, el potencial de las bibliotecas digitales. En este trabajo se reflexiona sobre la importancia de las bibliotecas digitales no sólo como repositorios de contenidos, sino también como centros de creación de conocimiento. Se reflexiona sobre la importancia de la constitución de bibliotecas digitales especializadas en áreas culturales relacionadas y sobre el hecho de que sean multilingües, a fin de preservar los contenidos en sus lenguas originales, al tiempo que debe trabajarse con la traducción multilingüe (de y a muchas lenguas) como herramienta fundamental para la mejora de la difusión y conocimiento del patrimonio que se contiene en tales bibliotecas. En este sentido se explican las características de la Biblioteca Digital Plurilingüe del Mediterráneo-IVITRA.

Controlled rippling of graphene via irradiation and applied strain modify its mechanical properties: a nanoindentation simulation study

Ripples, present in free standing graphene, have an important influence in the mechanical behavior of this two-dimensional material. In this work we show through nanoindentation simulations, how out-of-plane displacements can be modified by strain resulting in softening of the membrane under compression and stiffening under tension. Irradiation also induces changes in the mechanical properties of graphene. Interestingly, compressed samples, irradiated at low doses are stiffened by the irradiation while samples under tensile strain do not show significant changes in their mechanical properties. These simulations indicate that vacancies, produced by the energetic ions, cannot be the ones directly responsible for this behavior. However, changes in roughness induced by the momentum transferred from the energetic ions to the membrane, can explain these differences. These results provide an alternative explanation to recent experimental observations of stiffening of graphene under low dose irradiation, as well as paths to tailor the mechanical properties of this material via applied strain and irradiation.

A proposal for teaching with authentic texts in order to develop social awareness in a language subject in tertiary education

The University of the 21st century has to establish links with society and prepare students for the demands of the working world. Therefore, this article is a contribution to the integral preparation of university students by proposing the use of authentic texts with social content in English lessons so that students acquire emotional and social competencies while still learning content. This article will explain how the choice of texts on global issues such as racism and gender helps students to develop skills such as social awareness and critical thinking to deepen their understanding of discrimination, injustice or gender differences in both oral and written activities. A proposal will be presented which involves using the inauguration speech from Mandela's presidency and texts with photographs of women so that students analyse them whilst utilising linguistic tools that allow them to explore a text's social dimension.

Processos metafóricos no desenvolvimento da escrita em aprendentes chineses de PLE

Esta é uma investigação em linguística aplicada que, ao procurar perceber melhor o modo como o processo de aprendizagem do aprendente chinês de português como língua estrangeira(PLE)pode ser afetado pela aquisição do significado metafórico, assume um pendor linguístico, não deixando de se situar no âmago do ato pedagógico. Admitindo a hipótese da existência de uma correlação positiva entre a frequência do uso da metáfora gramatical e o nível de proficiência dos aprendentes na expressão escrita, esta dissertação pretende aprofundar a compreensão dos mecanismos de aquisição do Português por aprendentes (PLE/PL2) que têm como língua materna o Chinês, designadamente os que se prendem com a aquisição de processos metafóricos. Neste estudo, teremos como referência a teorização sobre o significado metafórico proposto por Halliday (1985, 1994, 2004). A ocorrência de metáforas gramaticais foi escrutinada emdois manuais de ensino de PLE concebidos para os níveis A2 e B1 do QECR, de forma a poder identificar, qualitativa e quantitativamente, os padrões textuais metafóricos com que os aprendentes têm que lidar nestes momentos específicos do processo de aprendizagem. Para compreender a produção escrita de pendor metafórico dos aprendentes, é realizada análise sistemática de amostras da expressão escrita de alunos de PLE chineses dos mesmos dois níveis, constantes no Corpus de Português Língua Estrangeira/Língua Segunda, COPLE2. Do confronto dos dados dos dois planos de análise, foi possível confirmar que a transição entre os dois níveis subsequentes escolhidos (A2 e B1) representa uma mudança crucial no padrão metafórico, quer dos textos propostos aos aprendentes, quer dos textos por estes produzidos, mudança esta que pode explicar alguns dos bloqueios de aprendizagem associados ao nível B1 e seguintes. Foi possível, entre outros aspetos, identificar a primazia da metáfora ideacional na acomodação da expressão metafórica, compreender como o aprendente evita o recurso metafórico, tornando a sua escrita menos abstrata e densa, como o aprendente aborda a metáfora interpessoal, restringindo o seu uso a géneros discursivos muito específicos. Sendo, embora, um estudo exploratório, permite confirmar que esta linha de investigação oferece dados inestimáveis aos professores de PLE e agentes de ensino, em geral.

Indefinite determiner introducing definite referent: a special use of 'yi 'one' + classifier' in Chinese

The indefinite determiner yi 'one'+ classifier' is the most approximate to an indefinite article, like the English a, in Chinese. It serves all the functions characteristic of representative stages of grammaticalization from a numeral to a generalized indefinite determiner as elaborated in the literature. It is established in this paper that the Chinese indefinite determiner has developed a special use with definite expressions, serving as a backgrounding device marking entities as of low thematic importance and unlikely to receive subsequent mentions in ensuing discourse. 'yi+ classifier' in the special use with definite expressions displays striking similarities in terms of semantic bleaching and phonological reduction with the same determiner at the advanced stage of grammaticalization characterized by uses with generics, nonspecifics and nonreferentials. An explanation is offered in terms of an implicational relation between nonreferentiality and low thematic importance which characterize the two uses of the indefinite determiner. While providing another piece of evidence in support of the claim that semantically nonreferentials and entities of low thematic importance tend to be encoded in terms of same linguistic devices in language, findings in this paper have shown how an indefinite determiner can undergo a higher degree of grammaticalization than has been reported in the literature-it expands its scope to mark not only indefinite but also definite expressions as semantically nonreferential and/or thematically unimportant. (C) 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.