O contributo de materiais autênticos para o ensino da competência sociocultural nas aulas de espanhol língua estrangeira

O presente Relatório Final visa aferir a importância que os materiais autênticos podem proporcionar ao ensino da competência sociocultural nas aulas de Espanhol Língua Estrangeira (ELE), contrariando a visão da abordagem cultural no ensino de línguas estrangeiras como mais uma tarefa. O objetivo primordial é estreitar laços entre língua e cultura, explorando as potencialidades dos materiais autênticos. Propõe-se, desta forma, a realização de fichas de trabalho apoiadas nestes materiais, com o intuito de motivar os alunos para a aprendizagem da língua espanhola, associando, sempre, idioma, cultura e comunicação, dado que a competência sociocultural compreende conhecimentos que nos permitem utilizar uma Língua Estrangeira (LE) de modo eficaz e adequado, em diferentes atos comunicativos em que o falante possa estar envolvido, por forma a evitar prováveis situações constrangedoras.

THE RELATIVE SIGNIFICANCE OF SYNTACTIC KNOWLEDGE AND VOCABULARY KNOWLEDGE IN SECOND LANGUAGE LISTENING COMPREHENSION

The main purpose of the current study was to examine the role of vocabulary knowledge (VK) and syntactic knowledge (SK) in L2 listening comprehension, as well as their relative significance. Unlike previous studies, the current project employed assessment tasks to measure aural and proceduralized VK and SK. In terms of VK, to avoid under-representing the construct, measures of both breadth (VB) and depth (VD) were included. Additionally, the current study examined the role of VK and SK by accounting for individual differences in two important cognitive factors in L2 listening: metacognitive knowledge (MK) and working memory (WM). Also, to explore the role of VK and SK more fully, the current study accounted for the negative impact of anxiety on WM and L2 listening. The study was carried out in an English as a Foreign Language (EFL) context, and participants were 263 Iranian learners at a wide range of English proficiency from lower-intermediate to advanced. Participants took a battery of ten linguistic, cognitive and affective measures. Then, the collected data were subjected to several preliminary analyses, but structural equation modeling (SEM) was then used as the primary analysis method to answer the study research questions. Results of the preliminary analyses revealed that MK and WM were significant predictors of L2 listening ability; thus, they were kept in the main SEM analyses. The significant role of WM was only observed when the negative effect of anxiety on WM was accounted for. Preliminary analyses also showed that VB and VD were not distinct measures of VK. However, the results also showed that if VB and VD were considered separate, VD was a better predictor of L2 listening success. The main analyses of the current study revealed a significant role for both VK and SK in explaining success in L2 listening comprehension, which differs from findings from previous empirical studies. However, SEM analysis did not reveal a statistically significant difference in terms of the predictive power of the two linguistic factors. Descriptive results of the SEM analysis, along with results from regression analysis, indicated to a more significant role for VK.

Prática de ensino supervisionada de Inglês e de Espanhol no Ensino Básico

Este relatório, apresentado à Escola Superior de Educação de Bragança, realizado no âmbito da Prática de Ensino Supervisionada (PES) do Mestrado em Ensino do inglês e espanhol no ensino básico, tem como finalidade refletir sobre algumas questões teórico-práticas abordadas durante a realização da PES. Considerando o papel dos falsos amigos no processo de ensino/aprendizagem de uma língua estrangeira, neste caso o inglês e espanhol, analisámos e refletimos sobre a sua importância para a aprendizagem da Língua Estrangeira (LE). Primeiramente, desenvolveu-se em termos teóricos o tema referido de modo a criar uma relação teórico-prática no que diz respeito às atividades desenvolvidas durante a PES. A exploração teórica centrou-se na revisão da literatura focando-se nos conceitos dos falsos amigos, das macrocapacidades de compreensão e expressão oral e das funções da linguagem tendo por base os métodos de ensino, nomeadamente o método da abordagem comunicativa. Durante a prática de ensino supervisionada foram criadas atividades e estratégias que permitiram um estudo sobre a ocorrência de constrangimentos impeditivos ou não da compreensão de significados por parte do aprendente e em que medida isso constitui um fator facilitador ou um obstáculo na aprendizagem de uma língua estrangeira.

Project work in a Basque L2 classroom: students’ perceptions

[EN] Project Work has been acknowledged as an efficient medium for language learning for more than two decades (Stoller, 2006) according to the numerous successful applications of project-based programmes that have been reported. In spite of the lack of sufficient controlled studies to assess the benefits of project work, and the existence of some studies giving evidence of students discontent with project work, the reports given by second language (SL) and foreign language students (FL) who have experienced project based instruction give support to the success attributed to project-based learning, as they recognised having improved language skills, learnt content, developed real life skills, as well as gained in self-confidence and motivation (Sierra, 2008 and 2011; Stoller, 2006). The aim of the present study is to explore some key issues involved in implementing a project-based programme focusing on the students’ perceptions of learning gains, their views on the collaborative assessment scheme used in the programme, and the students’ overall evaluations of the implementation of project work in a post-compulsory secondary education context in Navarre, Spain, with students learning Basque as a second language. A group of 12 students enrolled in a project work based programme participated in the study. Results showed that the students’ perceptions were very positive concerning doing projects, learning gains and group work, although more grammar instruction and teacher-fronted activities were requested by the students. However, the collaborative assessment process and the use of a Notebook/Diary as a reflection tool bore mixed evaluations.

Corrective feedback in oral interaction: A comparison of a CLIL and an EFL classroom

[EN] Since Long's Interaction Hypothesis (Long, 1983) multiple studies have suggested the need of oral interaction for successful second language learning. Within this perspective, a great deal of research has been carried out to investigate the role of corrective feedback in the process of acquiring a second language, but there are still varied open debates about this issue. This comparative study seeks to contribute to the existing literature on corrective feedback in oral interaction by exploring teachers' corrective techniques and students' response to these corrections. Two learning contexts were observed and compared: a traditional English as a foreign language (EFL) classroom and a Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) classroom .The main aim was to see whether our data conform to the Counterbalance Hypothesis proposed by Lyster and Mori (2006). Although results did not show significant differences between the two contexts, a qualitative analysis of the data shed some light on the differences between these two language teaching settings. The findings point to the need for further research on error correction in EFL and CLIL contexts in order to overcome the limitations of the present study.

Translation – The fifth language skill? A comparison of the role of translation in Finnish lukio and the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme

This study attempts to answer the question “Should translation be considered a fifth language skill?” by examining and comparing the use of translation as a language learning and assessment method in the national Finnish lukio curriculum and the curriculum of the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IBDP). Furthermore, the students’ ability to translate and their opinions on the usefulness of translation in language learning will be examined. The students’ opinions were gathered through a questionnaire that was given to 156 students studying in either lukio or the IBDP in Turku and Rovaniemi. I present and compare the role of translation in selected language teaching and learning methods and approaches, and discuss the effectiveness of translation as a language learning method and an assessment method. The theoretical discussion provides the basis for examining the role of translation as a language learning method and an assessment method in the curricula and final examinations of both education programs. The analysis of the two curricula indicated that there is a significant difference in the use of translation, as translation is used as a language learning method and as an assessment method in lukio, but is not used in either form in the IB. The data obtained through the questionnaire indicated that there is a difference in the level of language competence between the lukio and IB students and suggested that the curriculum in which the student studies has some effect on his/her cognitive use of translation, ability to translate and opinions concerning the usefulness of translation in language learning. The results indicated that both groups of students used translation, along with their mother tongue, as a cognitive language learning method, and, contrary to the expectations set by the analysis of the two curricula, the IB students performed better in the translation exercises than lukio students. Both groups of students agreed that translation is a useful language learning method, and indicated that the most common dictionaries they use are bilingual Internet dictionaries. The results suggest that translation is a specific skill that requires teaching and practice, and that perhaps the translation exercises used in lukio should be developed from translating individual words and phrases to translating cultural elements. In addition, the results suggest that perhaps the IB curriculum should include the use of translation exercises (e.g., communicative translation exercises) in order to help students learn to mediate between languages and cultures rather than learn languages in isolation from each other.

A tradução do eu e do outro : identidades alteradas pela língua-cultura brasileira

Dissertação (mestrado)—Universidade de Brasília, Instituto de Letras, Departamento de Línguas Estrangeiras e Tradução, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Estudos da Tradução, 2016.

O trabalho com a oralidade em um curso de licenciatura em língua espanhola (EAD) : realidades e necessidades

Dissertação (mestrado)—Universidade de Brasília, Instituto de Letras, Departamento de Línguas Estrangeiras e Tradução, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Linguística Aplicada, 2016.

Português língua de herança em contexto plurilingue na Finlândia : aspetos de aquisição/aprendizagem da competência pragmática e expressão da delicadeza

Os fluxos migratórios das últimas décadas têm contribuído para que as comunidades de falantes de português se estabeleçam um pouco por todo o mundo, nomeadamente, nos países escandinavos. Um desses países de acolhimento, a Finlândia, tem desenvolvido esforços para a integração dos imigrantes que aí se estabelecem, designadamente, através da promoção de políticas de língua, que visam o ensino da língua de herança aos alunos em idade escolar. Tem sido neste contexto que as pequenas comunidades lusófonas, a viverem no país, têm podido facultar aos filhos, imigrantes de primeira e segunda gerações, acesso ao ensino formal da sua língua de herança, o português. Os sujeitos da nossa amostra fazem parte de uma dessas pequenas comunidades e residem em Tampere, na Finlândia, onde frequentam escolas cuja língua de ensino é o finlandês. O presente trabalho pretende, por um lado, dar conta da realidade sociocultural daqueles alunos de Português Língua Não-Materna, e, por outro, visa refletir sobre a aquisição/ aprendizagem da competência pragmática por parte destes sujeitos, falantes de herança, através da realização que fazem de atos ilocutórios diretivos – de pedido e de ordem –, bem como, sobre o grau de formalização das expressões de delicadeza que fazem. Por conseguinte, elaborámos uma Ficha Sociolinguística para recolha de dados referentes ao contexto familiar, sociocultural e linguístico dos alunos. Posteriormente, elaborámos e aplicámos um teste linguístico, de Tarefas de Elicitação do Discurso, com vista à recolha de dados para a construção de um corpus linguístico que nos permitisse desenvolver o presente estudo. A aplicação do teste linguístico e consequente tratamento dos dados recolhidos revelaram que as escolhas pragmáticas dos sujeitos são condicionadas pelo contexto sociocultural e linguístico em que estão imersos. Constatámos, igualmente, que a generalidade dos alunos recorre a duas estratégias de mitigação do discurso, pelo uso de duas expressões de delicadeza: a fórmula «se faz favor»/«por favor» e o verbo modal «poder».

Curso online para a parte pral do Celpe-Bras : contribuições da avaliação de proficiência para o ensino-aprendizagem de PLE

Dissertação (mestrado)—Universidade de Brasília, Departamento de Línguas Estrangeiras e Tradução, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Linguística Aplicada, 2016.

Digital storytelling: promoting writing literacy skills at an A2 level

El propósito de este proyecto de graduación es dar a conocer cómo la influencia de la tecnología hoy en día puede llegar a ser una herramienta útil a la hora de aprender una lengua extranjera, como lo es en éste caso el Inglés. Mediante la herramienta llamada Storybird los estudiantes tienen la capacidad de crear, imaginar y escribir historias que les ayuda a mejorar su destreza enfocado a la escritura. Para esto se analiza tres estudios de caso, los mismos que utilizan como herramienta principal Storybird. Dichos estudios son realizados en diferentes lugares del mundo, y a la vez dirigidos a estudiantes con diferente tipo de destrezas. El propósito de estos estudios es mejorar su escritura por medio de narraciones digitales, conocidos en el ámbito extranjero como Digital Storytelling, dando asíuna alternativa diferente de enseñanza para los estudiantes. Por último, se desarrolla una Guía de Aprendizaje dirigido a docentes, con el propósito de facilitar y brindar nuevos instrumentos de aprendizaje, con el uso de Storybird, para estudiantes que desempeñan un nivel A2 dentro del Marco de Referencia Europeo para las Lenguas.

Developing and Improving EFL Writing Skills

Learning a foreign language is a process that entails the development of four basic skills: Listening, Speaking, Reading, and Writing. According to the Common European Framework, such skills can be grouped into productive and receptive. Reading and Listening are categorized as receptive skills, while speaking and writing are productive skills. Students’ and teachers’ experience along with research findings suggest that most learners of English as a foreign language (EFL) find productive skills more difficult to develop than receptive skill, and writing skills the hardest to acquire and improve. Learning to write is a complex process that calls for a wide range of cognitive and linguistic strategies to be used, most of which EFL students are not fully aware of. The purpose of this talk is to help EFL college majors become aware of the factors that make EFL discourse sound stilted and foreign. Good writing results from rational thinking, logical organization, and appropriate use of language. Sample texts will be looked at identify the strengths and weaknesses in each case.

Personality types and languages learning strategies: chameleons changing colours

This exploration of associations between the reported Language Learning Strategy (LLS) preferences of learners of English as a Second Language (ESL) and their personality types is positioned within the contention that the two are generally related. Our findings unequivocally support the existence of this relationship. Moreover, they also provide a platform from which to understand the contribution to learning a second language of two very commonly cited personality traits, introversion/extroversion and neuroticism. However, they also provide the basis for the important caution that the association between personality types and LLS is quite volatile. We have found that it is variation rather than unwavering stability that features in how personality traits apply as predictive of ESL learners' specific LLS preferences. Such prediction is specified even further by the particular contexts of ESL learning where the LLS are applied, for example for listening or speaking and whether this occurs inside or outside a classroom. The implications of these findings for ESL teaching and learning are discussed as is the explanatory power of the chameleon metaphor.

Contextually responsive transfer: perceptions of NNES on an ESL/EFL teacher training programme

Post-training reflections from nine overseas NNES students were recorded in relation to the extent to which they perceived potential applications of what they had learned in a Contextually Responsive Teacher Training (CRTT) programme in the learning-teaching contexts into which they were returning as English as a Second or Foreign Language (ESL/EFL) teachers. Pragmatic issues in home contexts concerning resources generally and textbooks particularly were seen to threaten the viability of what was learned. Significantly, all participants projected disillusion with home country context rather than with foreign country training as a personal resolution of the mismatch. Implications are drawn for preventative redesign in relation to the Australian programmes.

A Comparison of the Effects of Classroom and Multi-User Virtual Environments on the Perceived Speaking Anxiety of Adult Post-Secondary English Language Learners

The population of English Language Learners (ELLs) globally has been increasing substantially every year. In the United States alone, adult ELLs are the fastest growing portion of learners in adult education programs (Yang, 2005). There is a significant need to improve the teaching of English to ELLs in the United States and other English-speaking dominant countries. However, for many ELLs, speaking, especially to Native English Speakers (NESs), causes considerable language anxiety, which in turn plays a vital role in hindering their language development and academic progress (Pichette, 2009; Woodrow, 2006). Task-based Language Teaching (TBLT), such as simulation activities, has long been viewed as an effective approach for second-language development. The current advances in technology and rapid emergence of Multi-User Virtual Environments (MUVEs) have provided an opportunity for educators to consider conducting simulations online for ELLs to practice speaking English to NESs. Yet to date, empirical research on the effects of MUVEs on ELLs’ language development and speaking is limited (Garcia-Ruiz, Edwards, & Aquino-Santos, 2007). This study used a true experimental treatment control group repeated measures design to compare the perceived speaking anxiety levels (as measured by an anxiety scale administered per simulation activity) of 11 ELLs (5 in the control group, 6 in the experimental group) when speaking to Native English Speakers (NESs) during 10 simulation activities. Simulations in the control group were done face-to-face, while those in the experimental group were done in the MUVE of Second Life. The results of the repeated measures ANOVA revealed after the Huynh-Feldt epsilon correction, demonstrated for both groups a significant decrease in anxiety levels over time from the first simulation to the tenth and final simulation. When comparing the two groups, the results revealed a statistically significant difference, with the experimental group demonstrating a greater anxiety reduction. These results suggests that language instructors should consider including face-to-face and MUVE simulations with ELLs paired with NESs as part of their language instruction. Future investigations should investigate the use of other multi-user virtual environments and/or measure other dimensions of the ELL/NES interactions.