Spanish Classes Research Articles

The World Is Not Flat, So Why Are Our Textbooks?

We review the evolution of the modern language textbook, exploring its function in the curriculum of Spanish classes. In light of the advantages offered by new technological resources, we propose that the paper-based textbook has outlived its usefulness in today's multidimensional world, both logistically and pedagogically. To demonstrate, we explore three aspects of the paperless classroom: a transformed focus, a design that makes learning visible, and digital implementation. Specific examples are from two projects for introductory and intermediate Spanish.

Introduction to Spanish/English Linguistics by Dee L. Eldredge and Liesder Mayea Rodr�guez (review)

Reviewed by: Introduction to Spanish/English Linguistics by Dee L. Eldredge and Liesder Mayea Rodríguez Charles S. Lee Dee L. Eldredge and Liesder Mayea Rodríguez. Introduction to Spanish/English Linguistics. Bloomington, IN: Xlibris, 2015. 403p. The fourteen chapters of Eldredge and Mayea’s comparative linguistic study of Spanish and English can be divided into three parts: chapters 1 and 2 introduce the importance of linguistics and explain linguistic terms. The main body (chapters 3–9) begins with three chapters of syntax, reviewing sentence structure: NPs, VPs, PPs and CPs, and concludes with morphology. The remaining five chapters (Spelling, Dialectology, Philology, Other Spanish language rules, and Usage of linguistics in the classroom) serve as practical references rather than linguistics. It seems the authors have a different view on Mood. They present 5 moods in Spanish, including interrogative and emphatic. Mood is a how the speaker expresses him/herself through variations of the verb. I was left wondering how interrogative and emphatic can be explained since no verbal variation takes place. Syntax features a very interesting, well-developed topic: count and mass [non-count] nouns, showing that Spanish learners experience difficulty since English and Spanish view things differently. For example, equipage (baggage) is a count noun, but not in English. After explaining verbs and verb phrases (VPs) in Chapter 4, twenty-eight verbs are arrayed in alphabetical order. Each is analyzed with its required complements [semantic roles]. These materials are crucial for Spanish [End Page 218] students: the comparison between preterit and imperfect, the usage of gerund in both languages, and the proper use of the infinitive phrase (IP). The last chapter of syntax deals with prepositions, modifiers and conjunctions. Lexicon is by far the largest chapter. Its main objective is to help students with verbs that have multiple meanings in both Spanish and English. Their claim is that students do not know how to use words properly. They say dictionaries and textbooks do not provide information as to the syntax of words, so they have made a long list of verbs and prepositions in both languages. The first part of the chapter lists English verbs that have multiple meanings and gives their counterparts in Spanish. The second part lists Spanish verbs that have multiple meanings with their counterparts in English. Each verb is explained thoroughly so that students can use it properly. I think this chapter is unnecessarily long. Unlike their claim, I believe a good dictionary provides adequate syntactic and morphological information. The location of Chapter 8, a combination of phonetics and phonology, is a bit strange. Phonetics and phonology are usually placed at the beginning of most linguistic books. Elements of phonetics, such as the manner of articulation and the place of articulation in both languages, are included. One thing I like is the excellent consonantal chart to compare Spanish and English consonants. Chapter 9, Morphology, studies the form of words and their relationships to other words. The authors examine prefixes of Spanish verbs such as de-, des- pos, etc., then suffixes and middle-fixes [infixes]. They focus more on word formation than on analysis of words. They should have included derivation, inflection and compounding and other morphological phenomena. The final chapters offer practical references. Spelling starts with syllabification and provides a list of rules on syllable division and potential spelling problems. Dialectology presents a good summary of Spanish, especially Latin American, dialects. Philology explains how other languages influenced the development of Spanish, and is a very useful resource. I would like to call this chapter “a history of the Spanish language” instead of Philology. The last two chapters are references. They offer Spanish language rules not mentioned previously and explain how to start a Spanish class and how to incorporate linguistics into the curriculum. Over all, Introduction to Spanish/English Linguistics offers a huge amount of knowledge, but when I opened it, I was overwhelmed. Unfortunately, the table of contents does not have a normal structure. It would be better if the table of contents were more organized; it displays chapters without subtitles or numbering, making it difficult to locate materials. This is a good Spanish grammar reference book, not a Spanish linguistic book. [End Page...

Preface to the Special Issue

It is with immense pleasure that I present to you this special issue of the L2 Journal on “Symbolic Competence: From theory to pedagogic practice,” guest edited by William Heidenfeldt and Kimberly Vinall. This special issue has been a magnificent labor of love. When, in preparation for my retirement from UC Berkeley in April 2015, the Berkeley Language Center community contemplated putting together a Festschrift in my honor, my colleagues, my graduate students and I agreed that a conference would be a much better idea - one that reflected more appropriately the intense intellectual exchanges we had had together over the years. That conference titled “ClaireFest” took place on 17-18 April 2015 in Dwinelle Hall. It offered a host of exciting scholarly papers, moving testimonies of professional teachers, and heart-warming stories of experience. But the idea of having something in print to commemorate the event remained. Thanks to Rick Kern, the director of the BLC, the idea of having a special issue of the L2 Journal dedicated to Claire Kramsch’s concept of symbolic competence started to take shape. Billy and Kimberly, who were finishing their PhD dissertations at the time (Heidenfeldt, 2015a; Vinall 2015), eagerly picked up the challenge. Kimberly had already published two articles on the application of symbolic competence in her Spanish classes (Vinall, 2012, 2016); Billy had published an article on one Spanish teacher with a particularly high degree of symbolic competence (Heidenfeldt, 2015b). Both had been seduced by the concept proposed by Claire in 2006, but were still looking for various ways to put it in practice in the classroom. Their Call for Papers met with widespread enthusiasm and they had a large number of abstracts to choose from. Framed by an enlightening Introduction and a thought-provoking Afterword, the four papers presented here constitute an honest appraisal of the notion of symbolic competence and its practical applications in the language classroom. I wish to extend to Billy and Kimberly my most heartfelt thanks for having undertaken this demanding project, despite heavy teaching loads at their respective institutions. They have definitely clarified my initially attractive, but elusive brainchild, and given it a concrete and practical meaning. I hope that our readers find this special issue useful for both their research and their teaching practice, and that they are encouraged to further explore how symbolic competence can enrich the teaching and learning of foreign languages.

Response of several genotypes of faba bean by effect plant density

A field experiment has been accomplished during the winter season 2015-2016 at the research station of the college of agriculture-Field Crops-University of Anbar-Alternative location (previously the College of Agriculture-University of Baghdad) which is located in Abu Ghareeb, the longitude ⁰44 and latitude ⁰33. The field is designed according to the Randomized Complete Block Design (R.C.B.D.) at the arrangement of split plot dissident panels; with three Replicates. The effect in growth of three plant (Vicia faba L.) densities 55.555, 83.333, 166.66 a thousand plant ha-1 has been studied which is a total of five genotypes and Broad bean (Vicia faba L.) (local (Iraqi)), Spanish, Giza, Hammat and Nobari). Plant density has a significant effect on all of the growth traits and qualities of the plant. Therefore it has been recorded that the 166.66 plant ha-1, the growth average is 7.73 gm.m2 day-1, and a seed yield with 5.60 ton ha-1. As for the 55.555 plant ha-1 plant density, it has the best qualities such as the average of leaf area by 4096 cm2 plant-1, and active fertility ratio in flowers about 10.46%, the number of pods which is 13.09 pod plant-1, the weight of 100 seeds is 148.5 gm. In all of the studied characteristics, the genotypes varied significantly; as the Spanish genotype has the best average in quality, so it produced about 7.06 ton ha-1. The impact of inference between global studies was significant for most of the qualities if given plant density 55.55 plant ha-1 with genotype Spain's highest effective fertilization in flowering with 11.54 % and the number of cores in the plant 16017 pod. Plant while gave the plant density with genotype spain highest average yield growth rate of 8.93, so we recommend 8.55 ton ha-1 in the use of Spanish class with high densities.

Developing Civic Engagement in Distance Higher Education: A Case Study of Virtual Service-Learning (vSL) Programme in Spain

Higher Education is demanding the need of a greater connection between its academic offer and the necessary civic engagement of the graduates. This has given Spain the opportunity, for just over a decade, to develop the methodology of service-learning, which combines both the theoretical and practical aspect of university learning with the practical development of solidarity and civic commitment of the students. At the Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia (UNED, Spain) we have designed an online service-learning proposal, based on the virtual exchange which occurs between the students from the UNED and the University of Porto-Novo (Benin), requiring practical classes of Spanish. The result favours continuing with this virtual service-learning project aimed at the exchange with other universities; strengthening the planning of the training proposal for the development of ethical competence and civic engagement; the design of solidarity service action that enhances global citizenship and intercultural dialogue, consolidates digital competence, etc., all in a virtual educational environment.

Regional Variation in the Language Classroom and Beyond: Mapping Learners' Developing Dialectal Competence

Although surveys have shown that regional variation is rarely covered in more than a cursory way in language textbooks, research has suggested that exposure to and knowledge about dialectal variation can be beneficial for second language (L2) learners' development. However, little is known about the effects of explicit instruction and exposure on learners' dialectal competence. This article presents findings from two studies that address these gaps in the previous literature. Students (N = 11) in the first study were enrolled in a fourth-semester Spanish class designed to showcase the regional variation present in several Spanish dialects. Learners' L2 dialect comprehension and recognition were measured before and after instruction and were compared with the comprehension and recognition of a control group (N = 13) who did not receive explicit instruction. The second study examined the relationship between dialect exposure and perception for 20 Spanish language students. The results show that exposure and instruction were both significant predictors of learners' dialect perception. These findings illustrate the importance of choosing instructional materials that expose learners to regional variation and, when possible, explicitly addressing characteristics of different dialects in the classroom setting.

Cambio de código y uso de otras lenguas por parte de los alumnos en clase de español L2

The paper discusses the results of observations centered on students’ code-switching in Spanish classes. Concerning the definition of a bilingual and the multilingual person, we consider it should be based on a broad perspective, defined by sociolinguistics. The observations took place in a public center for adult education in Spain, in November 2016.The effectiveness of the use of L1 in L2 or FL classes is a subject extensively discussed among researchers and teachers. Here we present some of the work centered on this subject in the context of teaching different languages, Spanish in particular.We consider that this use can be effective both in teaching and learning the TL, but we are also aware of its potential inconvenience in case it is not developed in a strategic manner. Research is needed in order to define which strategies of use of L1, and other languages, are appropriate and beneficial for teaching and learning L2 and FL.Key words: teaching Spanish, code-switching, bilingualism, multilingualism.

Heritage Language Learners in Mixed Spanish Classes: Subtractive Practices and Perceptions of High School Spanish Teachers

This qualitative study investigated the language ideologies and instructional practices of an entire Spanish language faculty at a high school in a new gateway state for immigration. The study examined additive and subtractive practices of teachers as they strived to teach Spanish to heritage language learners (HLLs) enrolled in mixed Spanish-as-foreign-language classes (that is, classes comprised of both HLLs and traditional second language learners). The study found that although at the philosophical level teachers had additive, pluralistic views of acculturation, they often opted for instructional practices that contradicted their philosophies. This article deconstructs those practices and outlines the fundamental shifts in ideologies that are necessary to promote effective and culturally appropriate instruction for HLLs in mixed classes.

Educación Popular Feminista: Clases de Castellano para Mujeres Migrantes Magrebíes

The feminization of migration and global care chains are interrelated by developing mechanisms that violate rights that affect mainly migrant women and domestic workers. Therefore, part of this population suffers social inequalities associated with their ethnicity, sex-generic identity and social class. Through a qualitative methodology of ethnographic approach, we develop an investigation with migrant women from the Maghreb, who are also domestic workers and attend Spanish classes in the neighborhoods of San Nicasio and La Fortuna in the city of Leganés (Madrid). In the Spanish state, difficulties in learning a new language, lack of contact with public institutions and friction with its community of neighbors promote that women who have high capacities and potentialities end up experiencing isolation, without exercising their rights in equal conditions to the rest of the population and, on the other hand, the community is not enriched by the benefits of effective integrative processes and good coexistence. We analyze situations in which women develop networks of sorority and help among compatriots to fill the gaps of an ineffective attention social system to migrant population, which does not collect the specialties derived from the needs of these women and therefore fails to guarantee their access to basic rights.

Comprehension of Indirect Meaning in Spanish as a Foreign Language

AbstractThis study investigated comprehension of indirect meaning among learners of L2 Spanish via an original computer‐delivered multimedia listening test. The comprehension of implied speaker intention is a type of indirect communication that involves the ability to understand implied intention by using linguistic knowledge, contextual cues, and the assumption of relevance (Taguchi, 2005, 2011). Since inferential processing involves parallel processing of all available signals, both linguistic and nonlinguistic, to interpret the indirect utterance (Sperber & Wilson, 1995), it is essential to incorporate multimedia input. By creating a multimedia comprehension test in Spanish, the study examined theoretical claims about inferential mechanisms and their applicability to L2 comprehension. Thirty‐two L2 Spanish learners in intermediate/advanced Spanish classes at a private U.S. university and 21 native Spanish speakers completed a listening test that assessed comprehension of three types of indirect meaning: indirect refusals, indirect opinions, and irony. These item types differed in terms of the degree of conventionality encoded and the extent of inferencing required for comprehension. Participants’ comprehension was analyzed for accuracy and comprehension speed. Results revealed a significant difference in L2 Spanish learners’ comprehension accuracy scores and response times across the three item types. Irony was the most difficult to comprehend for L2 Spanish learners. Conventionality did not facilitate comprehension because indirect refusals and opinions had the same accuracy scores. In terms of response times, indirect opinions were faster to comprehend than indirect refusals and irony items. Posthoc retrospective verbal interviews revealed that learners used a wide a range of verbal, nonverbal, and contextual cues to make inferences of indirect meaning.

Limitations of the influence of English phonetics and phonology on L2 Spanish rhotics

This study investigates L2 Spanish rhotic production in intermediate learners of Spanish, specifically addressing the duration of the influence of L1 English rhotic articulations and a phonetic environment involving English taps on the acquisition of Spanish taps and trills that Olsen (2012) found. Results from multiple linear regressions involving thirty-five students in Spanish foreign language classes show that the effect of English rhotic articulations evident in beginners has disappeared after four semesters of Spanish study. However, results from paired samples t-tests show that these more advanced learners produced accurate taps significantly more in words containing phonetic environments that produce taps in English. This effect is taken as evidence that L1 phonetic influences have a shorter duration on L2 production than do L1 phonological influences. These results provide insights into L2 rhotic acquisition which Spanish educators and students can use to formulate reasonable pronunciation expectations.

‘Flipping’ Lessons in a Multi‐Section Spanish Course: Implications for Assigning Explicit Grammar Instruction Outside of the Classroom

Flipped or inverted classroom (IC) models are promising for foreign language instruction in that they appear to promote well‐regarded practices that bridge both sociocultural and cognitive theoretical frameworks, such as allowing for higher degrees of learner agency and facilitating deeper levels of processing. To date, the majority of work on IC models for language learning has been instructional rather than empirical in nature. By contrast, this study examined the impact of IC lessons on 14 intact third‐semester Spanish classes (N = 213). Instructors were randomly assigned to either an IC or an in‐class presentational (CP) condition for lessons and accompanying assignments on 2 uses of the Spanish pronoun se. An attitudinal inventory indicated that learners in the IC condition rated their assignments significantly higher in terms of perceived comfort, enjoyment, and subsequent confidence in the material. However, regression analysis showed that ratings were stratified based upon several predictor variables. For measures of L2 knowledge, learners in the IC condition performed significantly better than those in the CP when identifying grammatical uses of the target structure on a grammaticality judgment test. No significant differences were found between the groups’ performance on a rule description task or a chapter test. Implications for implementing IC models are discussed.

¿Qué me cuentas, CELIN? Uma análise sobre o uso de contos nas aulas de espanhol do Centro de Línguas e Interculturalidade da UFPR

Este artigo analisa de que forma os contos literários são trabalhados nas aulas de espanhol como língua estrangeira (ELE) a partir do projeto El cuento en lengua española y sus relaciones con la Interculturalidad, instituído no CELIN da UFPR. Toda a reflexão conta como premissa metodológica a busca de aportes teóricos relacionados ao uso da literatura como mediadora nas aulas de ELE. Em uma segunda etapa, realizou-se uma rodada de pesquisas qualitativas, aplicadas no último semestre de 2015, contemplando os 13 professores da área de espanhol, além de uma entrevista com um dos idealizadores do projeto. Da iniciativa inicial para viabilizar um espaço no qual a literatura é referência para a interação e para a interculturalidade, problematiza-se como o uso dos contos acabou sendo simplificado a uma etapa burocrática de avaliação ou de sistematização de paradigmas verbais. Uma história que se transforma em questionamento e, principalmente, em desafio ao ensinar.

O trabalho com o gênero discursivo "perfil": relato de experiência com alunos de ELE e PLA

Partindo do pressuposto de que a forma como nos comunicamos se dá por meio de enunciados, concretizados nos gêneros discursivos (BAKHTIN, 2015), estes devem ser considerados no trabalho com as línguas estrangeiras, a fim de possibilitar aos alunos que façam uso do idioma em diferentes contextos de comunicação. Dessa forma, neste trabalho, definimos o que é gênero discursivo e discutimos as especificidades que devem ser consideradas ao realizar um trabalho com os alunos a partir de gêneros. Por fim, por meio do relato e da avaliação de uma atividade com o gênero discursivo “perfil”, analisamos como ocorreu essa transposição didática para a sala de aula. Essa atividade foi aplicada em duas turmas da UFMG, uma de língua espanhola, para alunos que estão na graduação em Letras e outra de português como língua adicional, para alunos que estão realizando seus estudos no Brasil.

CULTURALLY MARKED QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS IN A JOB INTERVIEW

Because the exchange of workers is a consolidated reality in the international arena, job interviews are frequently done in a foreign language. With the rise of outsourced recruitment and firms for recruitment and staff selection, interview scripts born in a different culture involving difficult answers for the candidate are proliferating. The present research investigates the questions that are considered more complex in a job interview, tries to clarify the nature of the difficulty, illustrates the possible answers and discusses the public / private barrier in intercultural work situations, adopting an educational perspective focused on classes of Spanish as a foreign language.

Patterns of tasks, patterns of talk: L2 literacy building in university Spanish classes

ABSTRACTSecond language (L2) classroom research has sought to shed light on the processes and practices that develop L2 learners’ abilities [Nunan, D. 2004. Task-based language teaching. London: Continuum; Verplaetse, L. 2014. Using big questions to apprentice students into language-rich classroom practices. TESOL Quarterly, 179, 632–641; Zeungler, J., & Mori, J. 2002. Microanalyses of classroom discourse: A critical consideration of method. Applied Linguistics, 23(3), 283–288]. Honing in on the micro-level of classroom tasks and even further into the language of the tasks can help to reveal the patterns in teacher- and student-talk that help scaffold students’ academic literacy. Literacy, from a systemic functional view of language learning, entails having the tools to function in the social contexts that are valued in students’ lives. This study illustrates how grounded ethnography was used in conjunction with functional discourse analysis to illuminate bi-literacy development in two third-year university Spanish writing classes. Findings uncovered unique patterns of tasks and oral interactions that helped build students’ academic bi-literacy. While grammar tasks helped build students’ knowledge of wording–meaning relationships, culture and writing tasks supported their evolving understanding of how language construes content. This study puts forth a systemic functional curricular model for literacy-based tasks that aims to bridge the previously observed language-content gap.

Promoting language learning: The use of mLearning in the Spanish classes

Promoting language learning: The use of mLearning in the Spanish classes

Spopad »dveh Španij« z vidikov socialne strukture španske družbe in razrednih nasprotij v njej

CONFLICT BETWEEN "THE TWO SPAINS" FROM THE VIEWPOINT OF THE SOCIAL STRUCTURE OF THE SPANISH SOCIETY AND CLASS OPPOSITIONS WITHIN ITThe following discussion focuses on the analysis of the Spanish society in the period between the First and the Second Republic (1875–1931), especially on the social structure and class oppositions within it as well as on identifying the causes leading to the irreconcilable political polarisation of the Spanish society during the Second Spanish Republic (1931–1936). The polarisation culminated in the parliamentary elections on 16 February 1936 and consequently led to the Civil War (1936–1939). The heterogeneity of the republican camp of the Popular Front was the reason for the multi-party Spanish socialism as well as the multi-party nature of the social revolution of 1936.

<b>Considerações sobre práticas didático-pedagógicas sob a perspectiva da educação intercultural

Dois intensos e crescentes processos têm justificado a necessidade de pesquisas e estudos voltados à educação intercultural. Trata-se da mobilidade acadêmica internacional e do fluxo migratório de famílias com filhos em idade escolar. O presente artigo discute possibilidades de uma prática significativa de avaliação da Competência Comunicativa Intercultural de estudantes, incluindo-se recomendações de práticas didático-pedagógicas para aulas de língua espanhola na educação básica. Evidencia-se, com a discussão, que a avaliação pelas dimensões Descoberta de Conhecimento, Empatia, Respeito ao Outro, Tolerância à Ambiguidade, Flexibilidade Comportamental e Consciência Comunicativa transpõe-se didaticamente para a apresentação e a prática dos conteúdos programáticos do currículo formal dos anos escolares que compreendem o ensino fundamental.

Writing for the (virtual) other: Bakhtinian intertextuality within online L2 writing exchanges

ABSTRACTIn this article, I explore practical implications of the theories of language of M.M. Bakhtin within university second language writing classrooms. Specifically, I examine the presence of Bakhtinian intertextuality within online intercultural exchanges involving the use of Computer-Mediated Communication (CMC) technology. I describe a CMC exchange between university students in Canada enrolled in Spanish classes and Chilean university students of English. The students communicated using a bilingual blog, Skype, Facebook and Dropbox to meet, share their writing and engage in peer review. The data analysed include the students’ writings in English and Spanish in the blog, drafts of student essays and student comments in final interviews. Drawing on Bakhtin's theories, I used a qualitative approach to analyse the data, identifying instances of intertextuality across the students’ writing. Based on my findings, I suggest that the online exchange offered positive conditions for the sharing of language, which led to contextualised learning of new lexical items and the creation of intertextually richer student writing in the L2.