The effect of multilingual facilitation on active participation in MOOCs Authors:

A new approach for overcoming the language and culture barriers to participation in MOOCs is reported. It is hypothesised that the juxtaposition of English as the language of instruction, used for interacting with course materials, and one’s preferred language as the language of participation, used for interaction with peers and facilitators, is preferable to ‘English only’ for participation in a MOOC. The HANDSON MOOC included seven teams of facilitators, each catering for a different language community. Facilitators were responsible for promoting active participation and peer tutoring. Comparing language groups revealed a series of predictors of intention to learn, some of which became apparent in the first days of the MOOC already. The comparison also uncovered four critical factors that influence participation: facilitation, language of participation, group size, and a pre-existing sense of community. Especially crucial was reaching a sufficient number of active participants during the first week. We conclude that multilingual facilitation activates participation in MOOCs in various ways; and that synergy between the four aforementioned factors is critical for the formation of the learning network that supports a social dynamics of active participation. Our approach suggests future targets for the development of the multilingual and community potential of MOOCs.

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.

Bizkaiko Lehen Hezkuntzako ikasleen irakurtzeko ohiturak eta irakurtzearen balioa: eskola-liburutegiaren eraginari buruzko azterketa

553 p.

Ondas lusas : contributos para a análise linguística do processo de mediação na rádio pública portuguesa : abordagem pragmático-textual

A presente dissertação tem como objeto de análise as produções discursivas realizadas em dezasseis emissões do programa Em Nome do Ouvinte, emitido semanalmente na rádio pública portuguesa. As emissões escolhidas debatem o contributo da rádio pública na divulgação da língua e da cultura portuguesas. A investigação incide sobre o processo linguístico de mediação, motivado pelas mensagens dos ouvintes, os modos de receção dialógica e as estratégias de delicadeza presentes no discurso, no qual, de entre várias sequências textuais e marcadores pragmáticos, se destacam as sequências de justificação.

Les retraductions françaises d'Al Moqqadima d'Ibn Khaldoun : étude paratextuelle des retraductions de Vincent-Mansour Monteil (1967) et d’Abdesselam Cheddadi (2002)

Ce mémoire porte sur les retraductions françaises du XXe siècle d’Al Moqaddima (Les Prolégomènes) (1377) d’Ibn Khaldoun, un traité historique et philosophique du XIVe siècle. La première traduction française, Les Prolégomènes, est réalisée par De Slane entre 1840 et 1863. Elle est suivie de deux retraductions, à savoir Discours sur l’histoire universelle (1967- 1968) réalisée par Vincent-Mansour Monteil, et Le Livre des Exemples I : Autobiographie, La Muqaddima (2002) réalisée par Abdesselam Cheddadi. L’objet de ce mémoire est de mener une analyse contextuelle, paratextuelle et discursive de ces deux retraductions de l’œuvre monumentale d’Ibn Khaldoun, afin de dégager les principaux facteurs déterminant, dans chaque cas, le choix de retraduire. Notre approche théorique s’inscrit dans le contexte récent de remise en cause de ladite « hypothèse de la retraduction » d’Antoine Berman, qui privilégie une analyse textuelle de l’œuvre (re)traduite en négligeant quelque peu l’analyse contextuelle éclairant les conditions de production des retraductions, et en limitant le positionnement du traducteur à sa relation envers la « vérité » du texte source. Ainsi, en retraçant l’histoire des différentes éditions des Prolégomènes au XXe siècle, en exposant le contexte qui entoure les retraductions, et en nous nous attachant aux stratégies discursives déployées par les traducteurs en marge de ces dernières, nous tenons compte des réflexions récentes sur les « causalités multiples » du phénomène de la retraduction, tout en montrant comment la subjectivité du traducteur, ses décisions et ses motivations sont reliées à tous les éléments extratextuels ou contextuels mis en valeur par les théoriciens. Nous montrons par notre analyse que les deux retraductions au corpus sont motivées par des facteurs internes au texte (tels que l’authenticité de leur original, une meilleure connaissance du texte, de la langue et de la culture source, la nécessité de corriger des erreurs dans les traductions antérieures), mais aussi par de nouveaux éléments externes au texte (tels que le changement de normes sociales, littéraires et traductionnelles, l’émergence de nouvelles interprétations du texte, le positionnement idéologique du retraducteur, sa volonté de s’imposer comme une autorité, etc.). La retraduction s’avère donc un phénomène complexe motivé par une combinaison de facteurs, à la fois internes (textuels), externes (contextuels) et personnels, propres au (re)traducteur.

Les retraductions françaises d'Al Moqqadima d'Ibn Khaldoun : étude paratextuelle des retraductions de Vincent-Mansour Monteil (1967) et d’Abdesselam Cheddadi (2002)

Ce mémoire porte sur les retraductions françaises du XXe siècle d’Al Moqaddima (Les Prolégomènes) (1377) d’Ibn Khaldoun, un traité historique et philosophique du XIVe siècle. La première traduction française, Les Prolégomènes, est réalisée par De Slane entre 1840 et 1863. Elle est suivie de deux retraductions, à savoir Discours sur l’histoire universelle (1967- 1968) réalisée par Vincent-Mansour Monteil, et Le Livre des Exemples I : Autobiographie, La Muqaddima (2002) réalisée par Abdesselam Cheddadi. L’objet de ce mémoire est de mener une analyse contextuelle, paratextuelle et discursive de ces deux retraductions de l’œuvre monumentale d’Ibn Khaldoun, afin de dégager les principaux facteurs déterminant, dans chaque cas, le choix de retraduire. Notre approche théorique s’inscrit dans le contexte récent de remise en cause de ladite « hypothèse de la retraduction » d’Antoine Berman, qui privilégie une analyse textuelle de l’œuvre (re)traduite en négligeant quelque peu l’analyse contextuelle éclairant les conditions de production des retraductions, et en limitant le positionnement du traducteur à sa relation envers la « vérité » du texte source. Ainsi, en retraçant l’histoire des différentes éditions des Prolégomènes au XXe siècle, en exposant le contexte qui entoure les retraductions, et en nous nous attachant aux stratégies discursives déployées par les traducteurs en marge de ces dernières, nous tenons compte des réflexions récentes sur les « causalités multiples » du phénomène de la retraduction, tout en montrant comment la subjectivité du traducteur, ses décisions et ses motivations sont reliées à tous les éléments extratextuels ou contextuels mis en valeur par les théoriciens. Nous montrons par notre analyse que les deux retraductions au corpus sont motivées par des facteurs internes au texte (tels que l’authenticité de leur original, une meilleure connaissance du texte, de la langue et de la culture source, la nécessité de corriger des erreurs dans les traductions antérieures), mais aussi par de nouveaux éléments externes au texte (tels que le changement de normes sociales, littéraires et traductionnelles, l’émergence de nouvelles interprétations du texte, le positionnement idéologique du retraducteur, sa volonté de s’imposer comme une autorité, etc.). La retraduction s’avère donc un phénomène complexe motivé par une combinaison de facteurs, à la fois internes (textuels), externes (contextuels) et personnels, propres au (re)traducteur.

Cross-cultural language learning and web design complexity

Accepting the fact that culture and language are interrelated in second language learning (SLL), the web sites should be designed to integrate with the cultural aspects. Yet many SLL web sites fail to integrate with the cultural aspects and/or focus on language acquisition only. This study identified three issues: (1) anthropologists’ cultural models mostly adopted in cross-cultural web user interface have been superficially used; (2) web designers deal with culture as a fixed one which needs to be modeled into interface design elements, so (3) there is a need for a communication framework between educators and design practitioners, which can be utilized in web design processes. This paper discusses what anthropology can contribute to language learning, mediated through web design processes and suggests a cultural user experience framework for web-based SLL by presenting an exemplary matrix. To evaluate the effectiveness of the framework, the key stakeholders (learners, teachers, and designers) participated in a case scenario-based evaluation. The result shows a high possibility that the framework can enhance the effective communication and collaboration for the cultural integration.

English as a lingua Franca : bridging the gap between theory and practice in english language teaching

Tese de doutoramento, Linguística (Linguística Aplicada), Universidade de Lisboa, Faculdade de Letras, 2015

”Potato seeking rice”: language, culture, and identity in gay personal ads in Hong Kong

This paper examines the relationship between language, culture, and identity in a corpus of gay personal ads collected from two publications in Hong Kong in the three years before the 1997 transition of sovereignty. Gay personal ads are seen äs an "island of discourse," whose marginal nature is reflected in the use of language and in turn reflects issues of marginalization in the larger social context. Using Fairclough's (1992, 1993) three- dimensional model for critical discourse analysis, an attempt is made to uncover the relationship between text structure and issues ofpower/ideology in the society that produces the texts. On the level of text, it was found that structural components, particularly the degree of grammatical elaboration, differ according to the stated race or cultural background of the authors and their targets. On the level of discourse practice, authors were found to appropriate a variety of "voices"from the larger culture arena, the use of which amplifies or limits the participation of particular classes of individuals. Finally, on the level of social practice, the ads were found to reflect and re-create both the racial stereotypes and heterosexist ideology found in the dominant culture.

An investigation of how foreign language departments at American colleges and universities view American Sign Language

Corwin and Wilcox (1985) sent surveys to more than 100 American colleges and universities to determine the policies on the matter of accepting American Sign Language (ASL) as a foreign language. Their results indicated that 81% of those surveyed rejected ASL as a foreign/modern language equivalent. The most frequently stated opposition to ASL was that it lacked a culture. Some of the other objections to ASL were: ASL is not foreign; there is no written form and therefore no original body of literature; it is a derivative of English; and it is indigenous to the United States and hence not foreign. Based on the work of Corwin and Wilcox this study sent surveys to 222 American colleges and universities. Noting an expanding cognizance and social awareness of ASL and deafness (as seen in the increasing number of movies, plays, television programs, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and related news stories), this study sought to find out if ASL was now considered an acceptable foreign language equivalent. The hypothesis of this study was that change has occurred since the 1985 study: that a significant percent of post secondary schools accepting ASL as a foreign/modern language equivalent has increased. The 165 colleges and universities that responded to this author's survey confirmed there has been a significant shift towards the acceptance of ASL. Only 50% of the respondents objected to ASL as a foreign language equivalent, a significant decrease from the 1985 findings. Of those who objected to granting ASL foreign language credit, the reasons were similar to those of the Corwin and Wilcox study, except that the belief in an absence of a Deaf culture dropped from the top reason listed, to the fifth. That ASL is not foreign was listed as the most frequent objection in this study. One important change which may account for increased acceptance of ASL, is that 16 states (compared to 10 in 1985) now have policies stating that ASL is acceptable as a foreign language equivalent. Two-year colleges, in this study, were more likely to accept ASL than were four-year colleges and universities. Neither two- nor four-year colleges and universities are likely to include ASL in their foreign language departments, and most schools that have foreign language entrance requirements are unlikely to accept ASL. In colleges and universities where ASL was already offered in some department within the system, there was a significantly higher likelihood that foreign language credit was given for ASL. Respondents from states with laws governing the inclusion of ASL did not usually know their state had a policy. Most respondents, 84%, indicated their knowledge on the topic of ASL was fair to poor. ^

Our own language: Scots verse translation and the second-generation Scottish renaissance

This thesis examines the role of Scots language verse translation in the second-generation or post-war Scottish Renaissance. The translation of European poetry into Scots was of central importance to the first-generation Scottish Renaissance of the nineteen twenties and thirties. As Margery Palmer McCulloch has shown, the wider cultural climate of Anglo-American modernism was key to MacDiarmid’s conception of the interwar Scottish Renaissance. What was the effect on second-generation poet-translators as the modernist moment passed? Are the many translations undertaken by the younger poets who emerged in the course of the nineteen forties and fifties a faithful reflection of this cultural inheritance? To what extent are they indicative of a new set of priorities and international influences? The five principal translators discussed in this thesis are Douglas Young (1913-1973), Sydney Goodsir Smith (1915-1975), Robert Garioch (1909-1981), Tom Scott (1918-1995) and William J. Tait (1918-1992). Each is the subject of a chapter, in many cases providing the first or most extensive treatment of particular translations. While the pioneering work of John Corbett, Bill Findlay and J. Derrick McClure, among other scholars, has drawn attention to the long history of literary translation into Scots, this thesis is the first extended critical work to take the verse translations of the post-MacDiarmid makars as its subject. The nature and extent of MacDiarmid’s influence is considered throughout, as are the wider discourses around language and translation in twentieth-century Scottish poetry. Critical engagement with a number of key insights from theoretical translation studies helps to situate these writers’ work in its global context. This thesis also explores the ways in which the specific context of Scots translation allows scholars to complicate or expand upon theories of translation developed in other cultural situations (notably Lawrence Venuti’s writing on domestication and foreignisation). The five writers upon whom this thesis concentrates were all highly individual, occasionally idiosyncratic personalities. Young’s polyglot ingenuity finds a foil in Garioch’s sharp, humane wit. Goodsir Smith’s romantic ironising meets its match in Scott’s radical certainty of cause. Tait’s use of the Shetlandic tongue sets him apart. Nonetheless, despite the great variety of style, form and tone shown by each of these translators, this thesis demonstrates that there are meaningful links to be made between them and that they form a unified, coherent group in the wider landscape of twentieth-century Scottish poetry. On the linguistic level, each engaged to some extent in the composition of a ‘synthetic’ or ‘plastic’ language deriving partly from literary sources, partly from the spoken language around them. On a more fundamental level, each was committed to enriching this language through translation, within which a number of key areas of interest emerge. One of the most important of these key areas is Gaelic – especially the poetry of Sorley MacLean, which Young, Garioch and Goodsir Smith all translated into Scots. This is to some extent an act of solidarity on the part of these Scots poets, acknowledging a shared history of marginalisation as well as expressing shared hopes for the future. The same is true of Goodsir Smith’s translations from a number of Eastern European poets (and Edwin Morgan’s own versions, slightly later in the century). The translation of verse drama by poets is another key theme sustained throughout the thesis, with Garioch and Young attempting to fill what they perceived as a gap in the Scots tradition through translation from other languages (another aspect of these writers’ legacy continued by Morgan). Beyond this, all of the writers discussed in this thesis translated extensively from European poetries from Ancient Greece to twentieth-century France. Their reasons for doing so were various, but a certain cosmopolitan idealism figures highly among them. So too does a desire to see Scotland interact with other European nations, thus escaping the potentially narrowing influence of post-war British culture. This thesis addresses the legacy of these writers’ translations, which, it argues, continue to exercise a perceptible influence on the course of poetry in Scotland. This work constitutes a significant contribution to a much-needed wider critical re-assessment of this pivotal period in modern Scottish writing, offering a fresh perspective on the formal and linguistic merits of these poets’ verse translations. Drawing upon frequently obscure book, pamphlet and periodical sources, as well as unpublished manuscripts in the National Library of Scotland and the Shetland Archives, this thesis breaks new ground in its investigation of the role of Scots verse translation in the second-generation Scottish Renaissance.