Aprendizagem e ensino de espanhol: os gêneros textuais e as africanidades

This article is about Spanish language teaching in two public schools in a city of Paraná, and it is based on the purposes, conceptions and experiences of an extension project. The theory is related to textual genres as in Bakhtin (2003) and Marcuschi (2008) and its relation to foreign language teaching, which means that learning a foreign language demands from students a critical interaction with texts (spoken and written), so that they can discuss about the reason for that text to be published, the intentions of the person who reads/writes, the social function of the text, etc., and that the grammar and vocabulary are studied only in relation to the texts. Besides, this project is based on how the law 10.639/03 can be implemented on the Spanish language teaching. According to this law, African History and Afro-Brazilian Culture should be taught and teachers should be guided on how to work with this topic in different subjects. To work with this law in foreign language teaching, we used the concept of africanities (Silva, 2005) and of multiculturalism. In this perspective, we planned on actions to have students of Spanish language to realize the linguistic and cultural diversity, that is, there are many varieties of Spanish language and many cultures can be represented in this variety, including the ones that show African origins. The methodology considered teaching education to help teachers (graduated and not graduated yet) create didactic units and organize a Spanish teaching book as a way to establish the interaction of theory and practice. The results show the necessity for universities to work together with public schools and the importance of investing on the relation theory/practice in teaching education.Este artigo discutirá o ensino da língua espanhola em duas escolas públicas em uma cidade do Paraná, a partir da proposta, concepções e experiências de um projeto de extensão. Como referencial teórico, ressaltamos a teoria dos gêneros textuais defendida por Bakhtin (2003) e Marcuschi (2008) e sua relação com o ensino de língua estrangeira (LE), ou seja, aprender uma LE exige interação com textos (orais e escritos) com posicionamento crítico por parte do/a aluno/a, em que ele/a terá que refletir sobre os motivos da veiculação do texto, o enunciador, o receptor, a função social do texto, etc. e é somente por causa do texto que o estudo da gramática e do vocabulário se justificam. Ainda, destacamos a relação da Lei 10.639/03 com o ensino da língua espanhola; tal lei institui a obrigatoriedade do ensino de História e Cultura Afro-Brasileiras e Africanas, cabendo aos sistemas de ensino, no âmbito de sua jurisdição, orientar e promover a formação de professores e professoras e supervisionar o cumprimento das Diretrizes. Para recuperar a essência dessa lei no ensino da LE, nos baseamos no conceito de africanidades (Silva, 2005) e no conceito multiculturalismo e, nesse sentido, elaboramos ações em que o/a aluno/a estude espanhol de modo a perceber a diversidade linguística e cultural, isto é, há muitas variedades dessa língua e muitas culturas representadas nesta variedade, inclusive as de origem africana. A metodologia de trabalho foi a de atuar na formação inicial e continuada de professores por meio da elaboração de unidades didáticas (UDs) e organização de um livro didático (LD) como forma de aproximar teoria/prática. Os resultados alcançados evidenciam a necessidade de uma aproximação da universidade com a escola pública e da importância de se explorar a relação teoria/prática na formação inicial e continuada de professores

NEOTROPICAL XENARTHRANS: a data set of occurrence of xenarthran species in the Neotropics

Xenarthrans—anteaters, sloths, and armadillos—have essential functions for ecosystem maintenance, such as insect control and nutrient cycling, playing key roles as ecosystem engineers. Because of habitat loss and fragmentation, hunting pressure, and conflicts with domestic dogs, these species have been threatened locally, regionally, or even across their full distribution ranges. The Neotropics harbor 21 species of armadillos, 10 anteaters, and 6 sloths. Our data set includes the families Chlamyphoridae (13), Dasypodidae (7), Myrmecophagidae (3), Bradypodidae (4), and Megalonychidae (2). We have no occurrence data on Dasypus pilosus (Dasypodidae). Regarding Cyclopedidae, until recently, only one species was recognized, but new genetic studies have revealed that the group is represented by seven species. In this data paper, we compiled a total of 42,528 records of 31 species, represented by occurrence and quantitative data, totaling 24,847 unique georeferenced records. The geographic range is from the southern United States, Mexico, and Caribbean countries at the northern portion of the Neotropics, to the austral distribution in Argentina, Paraguay, Chile, and Uruguay. Regarding anteaters, Myrmecophaga tridactyla has the most records (n = 5,941), and Cyclopes sp. have the fewest (n = 240). The armadillo species with the most data is Dasypus novemcinctus (n = 11,588), and the fewest data are recorded for Calyptophractus retusus (n = 33). With regard to sloth species, Bradypus variegatus has the most records (n = 962), and Bradypus pygmaeus has the fewest (n = 12). Our main objective with Neotropical Xenarthrans is to make occurrence and quantitative data available to facilitate more ecological research, particularly if we integrate the xenarthran data with other data sets of Neotropical Series that will become available very soon (i.e., Neotropical Carnivores, Neotropical Invasive Mammals, and Neotropical Hunters and Dogs). Therefore, studies on trophic cascades, hunting pressure, habitat loss, fragmentation effects, species invasion, and climate change effects will be possible with the Neotropical Xenarthrans data set. Please cite this data paper when using its data in publications. We also request that researchers and teachers inform us of how they are using these data

Characterisation of microbial attack on archaeological bone

As part of an EU funded project to investigate the factors influencing bone preservation in the archaeological record, more than 250 bones from 41 archaeological sites in five countries spanning four climatic regions were studied for diagenetic alteration. Sites were selected to cover a range of environmental conditions and archaeological contexts. Microscopic and physical (mercury intrusion porosimetry) analyses of these bones revealed that the majority (68%) had suffered microbial attack. Furthermore, significant differences were found between animal and human bone in both the state of preservation and the type of microbial attack present. These differences in preservation might result from differences in early taphonomy of the bones. © 2003 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved