Corpus-based teaching of pragmatics

[EN]This paper is a proposal for teaching pragmatics following a corpus-based approach. Corpora have had a high impact on how linguistics is looked at these days. However, teaching linguistics is still traditional in its scope and stays away from a growing tendency of incorporating authentic samples in the theoretical classroom, and so lecturers perpetuate the presentation of the same canonical examples students may find in their textbooks or in other introductory monographs. Our view is that using corpus linguistics, especially corpora freely available in the World Wide Web, will result in a more engaging and fresh look at the course of Pragmatics, while promoting early research in students. This way, they learn the concepts but most importantly how to later identify pragmatic phenomena in real text. Here, we raise our concern with the methodology, presenting clear examples of corpus-based pragmatic activities, and one clear result is the fact that students learn also how to be autonomous in their analysis o f data. In our proposal, we move from more controlled tasks to autonomy. This proposal focuses on students enrolled in the course Pragmática de la Lengua inglesa, currently part of the curriculum in Lenguas Modernas, Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria.

CLIL materials in Secondary Education: focusing on the language of instruction in the subject area of Mathematics

[EN]Applying a CLIL methodological approach marks a shift in emphasis from language learning based on linguistic form and grammatical progression to a more ‘language acquisition’ one which takes account language functions. In this article we will study the elements of the “language of instruction” of the area of Maths in Secondary Education, by focusing on the analysis of the communicative functions, and the lexical and the cultural items present in the textbook in use. Our aim is to present the CLIL teacher with the linguistic and didactic implications that he or she should take into consideration when implementing the bilingual syllabuses with their students. In order to do that, we will present our conclusions emphasizing the need for coordination in different content areas, linguistic and communicative contents, between the foreign language teacher and the CLIL subject one.

A causal model of mathematics performance in early adolescence: the role of sex

Using path analysis, the present investigation was done to clarify possible causal linkages among general scholastic aptitude, academic achievement in mathematics, self-concept of ability, and performance on a mathematics examination. Subjects were 122 eighth-grade students who completed a mathematics examination as well as a measure of self-concept of ability. Aptitude and achievement measures were obtained from school records. Analysis showed sex differences in prediction of performance on the mathematics examination. For boys, this performance could be predicted from scholastic aptitude and previous achievement in mathematics. For girls, performance only could be predicted from previous achievement in mathematics. These results indicate that the direction, strength, and magnitude of relations among these variables differed for boys and girls, while mean levels of performance did not.

The introduction of teaching innovations into the traditional teaching of construction and building materials

The traditional teaching methods used for training civil engineers are currently being called into question as a result of the new knowledge and skills now required by the labor market. In addition, the European Higher Education Area is requesting that students be given a greater say in their learning. In the subject called Construction and Building Materials at the Civil Engineering School of the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, a path was set three academic years ago to lead to an improvement in traditional teaching by introducing active methodologies. The innovations are based on cooperative learning, new technologies, and continuous assessment. The writers’ proposal is to offer their experience as a contribution to the debate on how students can be encouraged to acquire the skills currently demanded from a civil engineer, though not overlooking solid, top-quality training. From the outcomes obtained, it can be concluded that using new teaching techniques to supplement a traditional approach provides more opportunities for students to learn while boosting their motivation. In our case, the introduction of these changes has resulted in an increased pass rate of 29% on average, when such a figure is considered in the light of the mean value of passes during the last decade.

Using Virtual Reality in the teaching of manufacturing processes with material removal in CNC Machine-Tools

This paper presents a methodology for the incorporation of a Virtual Reality development applied to the teaching of manufacturing processes, namely the group of machining processes in numerical control of machine tools. The paper shows how it is possible to supplement the teaching practice through virtual machine-tools whose operation is similar to the 'real' machines while eliminating the risks of use for both users and the machines.

The online case study development for the teaching of building structures reinforcement

The Reinforcement of Building Structures is one of the topics of the Master in Building Innovation Technology (MBIT) of Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM). Since the beginning of the delivery of this master, case studies have been chosen as the teaching methodology. For the 2011-2012 course the online education of this subject was implemented, instead of the classical learning based on attendance. Through ICT’s (Information and Communication Technologies) students are provided with much more and more selective information than through the classical learning. ICT’s can be used for search, enquiries and reporting. Using the online tools has been proved, through the results obtained and based on the surveys made amongst students, to be a successful experience.

Educational Project for the Teaching of Control of Electric Traction Drives

Electric vehicles constitute a multidisciplinary subject that involves disciplines such as automotive, mechanical, electrical and control engineering. Due to this multidisciplinary technical nature, practical teaching methodologies are of special relevance. Paradoxically, in the past, the training of engineers specializing in this area has lacked the practical component represented by field tests, due to the difficulty of accessing real systems. This paper presents an educational project specifically designed for the teaching and training of engineering students with different backgrounds and experience. The teaching methodology focuses on the topology of electric traction drives and their control. It includes two stages, a simulation computer model and a scaled laboratory workbench that comprises a traction electrical drive coupled to a vehicle emulator. With this equipment, the effectiveness of different traction control strategies can be analyzed from the point of view of energy efficiency, robustness, easiness of implementation and acoustic noise.