Stellar Magnetism and starspots: the implications for exoplanets

Stellar variability induce by starspots can hamper the detection of exoplanets and bias planet property estimations. These features can also be used to study star-planet interactions as well as inferring properties from the underlying stellar dynamo. However, typical techniques, such as ZDI, are not possible for most host-stars. We present a robust method based on spot modelling to map the surface of active star allowing us to statistically study the effects and interactions of stellar magnetism with transiting exoplanets. The method is applied to the active Kepler-9 star where we find small evidence for a possible interaction between planet and stellar magnetosphere which leads to a 2:1 resonance between the spot rotation and orbital period.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figure, to be published in the proceedings of IAUS 302: Magnetic Fields Throughout Stellar Evolutio

Current approaches to orthography instruction for spanish heritage learners: an analysis of intermediate and advanced textbooks

As it is well known, heritage learners of Spanish have an advantage on oral production and aural comprehension over L2 learners. However, due to their lack of formal instruction in Spanish, their linguistic weaknesses lie on their literacy skills (reading and writing). In terms of writing skills, students mainly struggle with orthography issues (accentuation and spelling) and larger literacy skills (e.g. developing a thesis or organizing ideas). However, there is an important gap in the literature regarding orthographic acquisition since most of the research in the field on focus on form instruction has predominantly been on grammar acquisition (Anderson, 2008; Montrul and Bowles, 2008; Potowski, 2005, among others). In fact, despite the increasing amount of textbooks addressed to this student population with an emphasis on the writing process, to my knowledge there has not been a study on the current approaches of Spanish heritage learners’ textbooks for orthography instruction. After analyzing four popular textbooks for Spanish heritage, it can be deduced that the lack of research on this area perpetuates the maintenance of traditional non-communicative explicit instruction of orthography through drills after an explicit explanation of the rules of both accentuation and spelling but new textbooks shed some light towards the implementation of focus on form teaching techniques commonly used in the L2 classroom such as input-output activities

Meeting Student Needs: Integrating Spanish Heritage Language Learners into the Second Language Classroom

Despite the increase of Spanish heritage language (HL) courses in response to the linguistic needs of HL learners, these courses often combine this student population with advanced second language (L2) learners. This common scenario presents a challenge to many instructors who lack the training to negotiate intercultural and linguistic issues in the classroom so that all students can benefit. This essay presents key intercultural concerns (e.g., embarrassment and intimidation) and suggests strategies for instructors. Twenty-first-century students will work in collaborative contexts, so they must learn how to benefit from their classmates’ strengths and work on their weaknesses through peer interaction and teamwork

Grammar instruction strategies in Spanish heritage language learners’ textbooks

La instrucción de gramática ha sido debatida en la pedagogía del español como lengua de herencia durante los últimos diez años aproximadamente (Correa 2011; Lynch 2008; Montrul 2012, 2013; Montrul and Bowles 2009, 2010). Uno de los problemas principales está relacionado no solamente con enfoques de enseñanza sino con qué gramatica debería enseñarse (Lynch 2008; Llombart-Huesca 2012; Montrul and Bowles 2010). Como consecuencia, el propósito de este artículo es analizar cuatro libros de textos populares que se han utilizado en instituciones universitarias durante los últimos quince años para aprendientes de español como lengua de herencia para evaluar si son consistentes con investigación reciente sobre la selección de formas gramaticales meta y de actividades y estrategias para la instrucción de gramática. El análisis muestra que hay una evolución en las estrategias de enseñanza de gramática desde un enfoque en el conocimiento metalingüístico a la ausencia de ello y de la instrucción explícita de la gramática a las actividades comunicativas basadas en tareas.Grammar instruction has been debated in Spanish heritage language pedagogy for approximately the last ten years (Correa 2011; Lynch 2008; Montrul 2012, 2013; Montrul and Bowles, 2009, 2010). One of the main issues involves not only teaching approaches but also what grammar we should teach (Lynch 2008; LlombartHuesca 2012; Montrul and Bowles 2010). Therefore, the purpose of this article is to analyze four popular textbooks that have been used in higher education institutions for the last fifteen years for Spanish heritage learners in order to assess if they are consistent with recent research regarding the selection of grammatical target forms and activities and strategies for grammar instruction. The analysis shows that there is an evolution in grammar teaching strategies from a focus on metalinguistic knowledge to the absence of it and from explicit grammar instruction to task-based communicative activities

Assessment in Spanish heritage language programs

Spanish heritage language learners (HLLs) are heterogeneous in nature. Thus, how can we assess these students? Most of the literature on this has been on placement exams (Polinsky & Kagan, 2017, among others), but the focus of this article is on assessment in Spanish heritage courses. Placement test results should be indicators of what should be included in the curriculum. One of the main challenges is the lack of the following components: specific proficiency indicators for HLLs, consensus in defining key concepts, understanding dialect variation, assessment for measuring linguistic skills, and finally research on HLLs’ assessment (Malone, Kreeft Peyton, & Kim, 2014). Thus, assessment is the biggest challenge in HL education due to the dominant monolingual ideologies, so formative assessment practices are recommended to confront them by allowing HLLs to negotiate their linguistic identities via multilingual perspectives (King, Liu, & Schwedhelm, 2018). What are specific tools or activities to negotiate these? Personal narratives of US Latinos were collected by Carreira and Beeman (2014) for the sake of reflections of HLLs as language brokers. González-Davies (2004, 2018) also mentions the importance of peer-to-peer strategies for translation competence. These projects can also become group projects, like the manifestos implemented by Moreno and MacGregor-Mendoza (2019) in a course in which language, culture, and community are the goals. All these activities are examples of the kinds of assessment that may be effective in the heritage classroom and may guide their instructors. The goal of this article is to suggest activities to connect HLLs with their communities at the same time that their learning gains are assessed in terms of language proficiency.Spanish heritage language learners (HLLs) are heterogeneous in nature. Thus, how can we assess these students? Most of the literature on this has been on placement exams (Polinsky & Kagan, 2017, among others), but the focus of this article is on assessment in Spanish heritage courses. Placement test results should be indicators of what should be included in the curriculum. One of the main challenges is the lack of the following components: specific proficiency indicators for HLLs, consensus in defining key concepts, understanding dialect variation, assessment for measuring linguistic skills, and finally research on HLLs’ assessment (Malone, Kreeft Peyton, & Kim, 2014). Thus, assessment is the biggest challenge in HL education due to the dominant monolingual ideologies, so formative assessment practices are recommended to confront them by allowing HLLs to negotiate their linguistic identities via multilingual perspectives (King, Liu, & Schwedhelm, 2018). What are specific tools or activities to negotiate these? Personal narratives of US Latinos were collected by Carreira and Beeman (2014) for the sake of reflections of HLLs as language brokers. González-Davies (2004, 2018) also mentions the importance of peer-to-peer strategies for translation competence. These projects can also become group projects, like the manifestos implemented by Moreno and MacGregor-Mendoza (2019) in a course in which language, culture, and community are the goals. All these activities are examples of the kinds of assessment that may be effective in the heritage classroom and may guide their instructors. The goal of this article is to suggest activities to connect HLLs with their communities at the same time that their learning gains are assessed in terms of language proficiency

Culture and instruction in the Spanish heritage language classroom

Since cultural competence is inherent to language acquisition, it should take a central role in heritage language courses so that heritage language learners (HLLs) can make connections with their own culture and be aware of the diversity of the Spanish-speaking world. This article presents an overview of the instruction and assessment of culture to promote critical thinking and reflection in order to reduce stereotypes and to validate the cultural heritage of HLLs. The current role of study abroad and service-learning to teach culture in the Spanish heritage language classroom is also discussed.Since cultural competence is inherent to language acquisition, it should take a central role in heritage language courses so that heritage language learners (HLLs) can make connections with their own culture and be aware of the diversity of the Spanish-speaking world. This article presents an overview of the instruction and assessment of culture to promote critical thinking and reflection in order to reduce stereotypes and to validate the cultural heritage of HLLs. The current role of study abroad and service-learning to teach culture in the Spanish heritage language classroom is also discussed

Grammar instruction strategies in Spanish heritage language learners’ textbooks

La instrucción de gramática ha sido debatida en la pedagogía del español como lengua de herencia durante los últimos diez años aproximadamente (Correa 2011; Lynch 2008; Montrul 2012, 2013; Montrul and Bowles 2009, 2010). Uno de los problemas principales está relacionado no solamente con enfoques de enseñanza sino con qué gramatica debería enseñarse (Lynch 2008; Llombart-Huesca 2012; Montrul and Bowles 2010). Como consecuencia, el propósito de este artículo es analizar cuatro libros de textos populares que se han utilizado en instituciones universitarias durante los últimos quince años para aprendientes de español como lengua de herencia para evaluar si son consistentes con investigación reciente sobre la selección de formas gramaticales meta y de actividades y estrategias para la instrucción de gramática. El análisis muestra que hay una evolución en las estrategias de enseñanza de gramática desde un enfoque en el conocimiento metalingüístico a la ausencia de ello y de la instrucción explícita de la gramática a las actividades comunicativas basadas en tareas.Grammar instruction has been debated in Spanish heritage language pedagogy for approximately the last ten years (Correa 2011; Lynch 2008; Montrul 2012, 2013; Montrul and Bowles, 2009, 2010). One of the main issues involves not only teaching approaches but also what grammar we should teach (Lynch 2008; LlombartHuesca 2012; Montrul and Bowles 2010). Therefore, the purpose of this article is to analyze four popular textbooks that have been used in higher education institutions for the last fifteen years for Spanish heritage learners in order to assess if they are consistent with recent research regarding the selection of grammatical target forms and activities and strategies for grammar instruction. The analysis shows that there is an evolution in grammar teaching strategies from a focus on metalinguistic knowledge to the absence of it and from explicit grammar instruction to task-based communicative activities

Best Practices In Teaching Spanish In Higher Education During COVID-19

One of the main issues for educators during the pandemic has been transitioning successfully to online teaching in some cases without adequate training. Thus, we needed to prepare for emergency technology issues in record time and how to find a balance between synchronous and asynchronous sessions. How can we facilitate student self-access learning? This article will  suggest best practices in teaching Spanish online, especially in these emergency remote teaching situations. How can we hold a class that has the same rigor as face-to-face instruction and how can we guarantee opportunities for interaction so that acquisition can take place? Additionally, we cannot forget about student feelings during this transition.  Learning is social so the instructor has to make sure to be present online so that online learning is successful (Rapanta, Botturi, Goodyear, Guàrdia, & Koole, 2020). Finally, we will discuss how we should conduct assessment.  Due to the emergency remote situation, instructors should conduct self-regulations through self-reflections and portfolios. In order to develop these assignments, universities should invest in professional development.           &nbsp