Manuals i ensenyament del català: algunes reflexions

Summary: In this article, we offer a brief review of the most important changes in the field of education/learning conditioned by different methods and approaches, and how these changes have been reflected in the text books for Catalan as a foreign language or second language (L2). In the first part, we focus on how these texts have been employed according to the definition and the functions outlined by the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR). In the second part, a reflection is made about the treatment of grammar in students’ books as far as explanations and exercises are concerned. Finally, we discuss some reflections and proposals concerning the above-mentioned subjects. [Keywords: methods and approaches; text; grammar; activities; text book

Les creences del professorat sobre l'ensenyament de la gramàtica a primària, secundària i en l'ensenyament d'adults

L’article s’insereix en la tradició d’estudis sobre els sabers i les creences del professorat que indaguen en les concepcions sobre l’ensenyament i l’aprenentatge com a punt de referència per a la planificació de la millora dels criteris d’intervenció a les aules. Recull dos estudis paral·lels que pretenen conèixer la cognició i les pràctiques dels docents en relació amb l’ensenyament de la gramàtica, un sobre una mostra de professorat de primària i de secundaria encarregat de l’ensenyament del català i el castellà, i un altre sobre una mostra de professorat de català com a segona llengua en l’àmbit de l’ensenyament d’adults. En tots dos casos, les respostes a un qüestionari sobre el paper de la gramàtica en l’ensenyament de la llengua i sobre les pràctiques habituals permeten establir una tipologia en què es distingeixen perfils docents diferenciats

Prevalence of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD) among Children Adopted from Eastern European Countries: Russia and Ukraine

Fetal alcohol spectrum disorders; Adopted children; Cognitive disorderTrastornos del espectro alcohólico fetal; Niño adoptado; Trastorno cognitivoTrastorns de l'espectre alcohòlic fetal; Nens adoptats; Trastorn cognitiuFetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) is a leading cause of neurodevelopmental disorders. Children adopted internationally from countries where alcohol consumption during pregnancy is very high are at greater risk for FASD. Lack of expertise in diagnosing FASD and mixed neurodevelopmental and behavioral signs due to abandonment complicate a timely diagnosis. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of FASD in adopted children. Children between the ages of 8 and 24 adopted from Russia and Ukraine were evaluated for clinical and historical features of FASD. Of the 162 children evaluated, 81 (50%) met FASD diagnostic criteria. Thirty-three (20.4%) children had fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS), 28 (17.2%) had partial FAS, 2 (1.2%) had alcohol-related birth defects (ARBD) and 18 (11.1%) had alcohol-related neurodevelopmental disorder (ARND). Of the 81 children in which fetal alcohol exposure could not be confirmed, many had manifestations that would have established a diagnosis of FASD if a history of maternal alcohol consumption was confirmed. In a population of children with a high risk of prenatal alcohol exposure (adoptees from Eastern European countries), at least 50% showed manifestations associated with FASD. The reported prevalence in this study is in line with the results obtained in a previous study as well as in orphanages of origin

Teacher beliefs on grammar teaching in the classroom: towards a typology of teachers

This article contributes to the growing body of articles dealing with teachers’ knowledge and beliefs in their conceptions about teaching and learning as a reference point for the planning of the improvement of intervention criteria in the classroom. It includes two parallel studies that aim to know teacher cognition and their practices in relation to grammar teaching. The first study investigates a sample of primary and secondary teachers responsible for the teaching of Catalan and Spanish and the second focuses on a sample of teachers of Catalan as an additional language to adults. In both cases, the answers to a questionnaire on the role of grammar in language teaching and on current practices allow us to establish a typology that distinguishes different teaching profiles

Les creences del professorat sobre l?ensenyament de la gramàtica a l?aula : cap a una tipologia de docents

L?article s?insereix en la tradició d?estudis sobre els sabers i les creences del professorat que indaguen en les concepcions sobre l?ensenyament i l?aprenentatge com a punt de referència per a la planificació de la millora dels criteris d'intervenció a les aules. Recull dos estudis paral·lels que pretenen conèixer la cognició i les pràctiques dels docents en relació amb l?ensenyament de la gramàtica, un sobre una mostra de professorat de primària i de secundaria encarregat de l?ensenyament del català i el castellà, i un altre sobre una mostra de professorat de català com a segona llenguaen l'àmbit de l'ensenyament d'adults. En tots dos casos, les respostes a un qüestionari sobre el paper de la gramàtica en l?ensenyament de la llengua i sobre les pràctiques habituals permeten establir una tipologia en què es distingeixen perfils docents diferenciats

Prevalence of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD) among Children Adopted from Eastern European Countries: Russia and Ukraine

Fetal alcohol spectrum disorders; Adopted children; Cognitive disorderTrastornos del espectro alcohólico fetal; Niño adoptado; Trastorno cognitivoTrastorns de l'espectre alcohòlic fetal; Nens adoptats; Trastorn cognitiuFetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) is a leading cause of neurodevelopmental disorders. Children adopted internationally from countries where alcohol consumption during pregnancy is very high are at greater risk for FASD. Lack of expertise in diagnosing FASD and mixed neurodevelopmental and behavioral signs due to abandonment complicate a timely diagnosis. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of FASD in adopted children. Children between the ages of 8 and 24 adopted from Russia and Ukraine were evaluated for clinical and historical features of FASD. Of the 162 children evaluated, 81 (50%) met FASD diagnostic criteria. Thirty-three (20.4%) children had fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS), 28 (17.2%) had partial FAS, 2 (1.2%) had alcohol-related birth defects (ARBD) and 18 (11.1%) had alcohol-related neurodevelopmental disorder (ARND). Of the 81 children in which fetal alcohol exposure could not be confirmed, many had manifestations that would have established a diagnosis of FASD if a history of maternal alcohol consumption was confirmed. In a population of children with a high risk of prenatal alcohol exposure (adoptees from Eastern European countries), at least 50% showed manifestations associated with FASD. The reported prevalence in this study is in line with the results obtained in a previous study as well as in orphanages of origin