Introducción al número monográfico [Introduction to the special issue]

This study analyzes the lexical availability of two grammatical categories—verbs and nouns—in 10- and 11-year-old children, compared to young adults. A written lexical availability test was administered to fifth-grade students, focusing on the categories Verbs and Nouns. Results show that children produced more words than adults (36.96 nouns vs. 24.12; 23.7 verbs vs. 15.93). On a qualitative level, children produced fewer common nouns and more root nouns, while both groups shared a similar verb profile (predicative, transitive, non-pronominal). However, children generated more achievement verbs, suggesting greater sensitivity to telicity. Lexical networks also revealed semantic differences: children's nouns were mainly school-related, and their verbs centered around leisure, movement, and intellectual activity. Our findings offer new perspectives on grammatical availability in Spanish and shed light on lexical access in the developing minds of children.

This study analyses how future teachers understand the concept of coeducation through the analysis of their available lexicon, since, as previous studies have shown, the academic training of teachers influences the conceptualisation of terms related to the field of education. Our aim is to compare, from quantitative and qualitative perspectives, the lexical production of students in the final year of the degree in Primary Education at the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria with that of those studying for the Master's Degree in Teacher Training at the same institution. The results indicate that the undergraduate students have a broader and more precise conception of coeducation than those taking the Master's degree. These data allow us to reflect on the didactics of specialised vocabulary in teacher training classrooms, as well as on the possibilities offered by lexical availability studies for their application in the educational field.

The current curricular framework for compulsory education in Spain establishes digital competence as one of the key competences for the comprehensive education of students. This study explores the lexical repertoire of 70 Valencian sixth-grade primary school students (aged 12) in the field of technology, with the aim of delving into vocabulary planning and selection alongside the development of lexical competence. To this end, the first part analyses the corpus collected according to the usual parameters employed in studies of children’s lexical availability, while the second focuses on presenting a learning situation whose design carefully reviews the set of strategies involved in vocabulary teaching and learning. In doing so, it seeks to strengthen the development of lexical competence together with the activation of learning strategies.

This study analyses the available lexicon of learners of Spanish as a foreign language through two comparative studies focusing on two variables: the students’ native language and the presence of Spanish as a heritage language. Using lexical availability tasks based on the prompts “animals” and “the city”, the study examines differences in lexical productivity, cohesion, semantic network organization, and levels of centrality. The results show that students with closer linguistic proximity to Spanish or with a heritage background tend to activate a broader and more varied lexicon, but one that is less cohesive and internally structured than that of students with non-Romance languages or without family contact with Spanish. Although exploratory, the findings provide valuable insights for vocabulary teaching and teacher training, both in Spanish as a foreign language and in Spanish as a language of schooling, particularly in multilingual settings or classrooms with linguistically diverse students.

This study examines the progression of children's available lexicon through a longitudinal design applied to Chilean students from first to third grade. Lexical availability tests covering eleven semantic categories were administered, measuring indicators such as average word production, number of lexical items, lexical cohesion index, and unique word frequency. Results show a general increase in lexical repertoire with school advancement, although not in a linear fashion: a stagnation was observed between first and second grade, followed by significant growth in third grade. Lexical evolution also varied by semantic field, showing differences in stability and group cohesion. Pedagogical implications are discussed, and future research is encouraged to include passive vocabulary and written production.

The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly influenced the vocabulary used by schoolchildren, introducing terms linked to this reality into their everyday language. This study analyzes the available vocabulary of Primary Education students in relation to the topic Pandemic, both in Spanish and in their first foreign language (English or French). Data were collected using a sociological questionnaire and a lexical availability test. The most available words in each language were identified, led by mascarilla (mask), gel, Covid-19, guante (glove), and coronavirus. The results show that the average number of words evoked in Spanish was higher than in the foreign language. The qualitative analysis reveals that the vocabulary provided is similar across the three languages, probably due to the proximity of these terms to Spanish and their high frequency in the students’ environment. In addition, the lexical associations established in the three languages were examined.

Vocational Training (VET) is a training system characterised by being practical and close to thebusiness world. It prepares for a professional activity oriented to the demands of the labourmarket, trains for the performance of a profession and orients its training towardsemployment.The Prisma 2020 Statement for the publication of systematic reviews has been followed. Thesearch was carried out in July and August 2024 in the WoS and Scopus databases over the last10 years for articles related to intermediate and higher vocational training. The aim is to findout about previous work in this field as a state of the art in order to subsequently influence theimprovement of the situation.It is concluded that the development of transversal competences is very important forprofessional and vocational orientation, and for the acquisition of higher professionalqualifications.

This paper presents the results of a longitudinal research carried out during one academic year with students of the 6th grade of primary education (n=45) at CPEIP Azpilagaña (Spain) to evaluate the effects of the periodic implementation of dialogical gatherings on the development of citizenship competence. A mixed methodology was used through technical action research with a cyclical, participatory and reflective approach. The results show a significant improvement in dialogical quality indicators, an increase in participation rates and a very positive perception on the part of the students. The research suggests that the periodic and continuous implementation of dialogic encounters is an effective methodology for the development of citizenship competence, by fostering a safe, democratic and inclusive space in which participation is encouraged, and a quality dialogue is produced that is positively perceived by the participants.