‘Extending this claim, we propose…’ The writer’s presence in research articles from different disciplines

In today’s academic world, creating an appropriate authorial identity by means of self-mention resources is essential to project an image of competence and reliability in research articles (RAs), and to highlight the relevance of one’s contributions. This paper offers quantitative and qualitative data on the use of exclusive first person markers in RAs from four different disciplines, namely Applied Linguistics, Business Management, Food Technology and Urology, complemented by insights from specialist informants in each of the fields. Moreover, the main discourse functions performed by authors when using exclusive “we” have been studied. The results indicate that there are significant variations in the frequency of these resources and in the preferred functions for which they are used across disciplines, although this variation is not entirely consistent with the dichotomy between hard and soft sciences

Teacher Training for English-Medium Instruction in Higher Education, by Maria del Mar Sánchez-Pérez (Hershey PA: IGI Global, 2020)

In the last decade there has been a sharp increase in the number of English-Medium Instruction (EMI) courses and programs in higher education (HE) institutions worldwide. A number of reasons for this exponential growth have been reported, notably improving the foreign language proficiency of students, attracting international students, lecturers and researchers, increasing research output or improving the international profile of universities. As a consequence of its rising prominence, EMI has generated a great deal of interest in the literature. This research suggests that insufficient attention has been paid to training teaching staff for EMI (O’Dowd 2018) and stresses the need for a new model of teaching and learning that can support the acquisition of 21st century new skills and competences (Coyle 2013; Dafouz and Smit 2016). The diversity of contexts and the existing lack of data constitute an additional difficulty in this search for new pedagogical guidelines in EMI

The use of games to promote the Second Language Acquisition

A considerable amount of research and publications have dealt with games in Infant and Primary Education. Nevertheless, little is known about the role games can play in Foreign Language Acquisition with young learners. The aim of this project is to investigate how Infant Education teachers use them to promote SLA and whether their use can help to achieve this objective. Firstly, this study briefly reviews the techniques of English teaching and how these can influence the use of games. Subsequently, key theories and research concerned with the importance of games in Infant Education, are reviewed, as well as the suitability of using games as a methodology for teaching English. Moreover, eight games provided by several teachers from bilingual schools are analyzed and the extent to which they promote the SLA is evaluated. Finally, data from interviews with two teachers is examined to investigate their opinion about games as an educational method

A qualitative study on the factors affecting language learning motivation in a primary classroom

Having a high proficiency in English is increasingly in demand, yet success requires perseverance and motivation. This paper aims to determine the factors that affect language motivation in a group of students in Primary Education, and to derive implications for improving motivation at Primary level. To this end, a qualitative case study was carried out with year 3 primary school students in a public school in Zaragoza. In order to understand the different factors affecting motivation (and demotivation), several research instruments were used, which allowed me to analyse and compare the perceptions of the observer, the teacher and the students, as well as to draw data from classroom observation. The results indicate the group of participants has a high level of motivation in general terms, although significant differences are observed between students with different family backgrounds. In addition, there are other factors affecting motivation including the ones related to future goals of language learning, the learners’ self-confidence and to the learning situation. In terms of implications for teaching, it has been concluded that second language teachers can influence almost every component of motivation. Based on the results of the study, a number of implications and recommendations have been put forward in order to increase learners’ interest. More particularly, it has been concluded that teachers need to give students sufficient autonomy to take ownership of their own language learning process as a means to increase their engagement with the language. <br /

Motivation strategies in the teaching-learning process in EFL Secondary Education

The main purpose of this dissertation is to encompass and critically reflect on the knowledge and skills acquired throughout the Master's Degree regarding learners’ motivation. The aim is to determine whether this Master’s has provided students with the necessary knowledge and abilities to motivate Secondary Education ESL students in the future

Lane Clark and L2: Thinking, Learning and Teaching English in Spanish Primary Classrooms

This paper analyzes how Lane Clark's approach to developing thinking and learning can be used in an English as a Foreign Language Class to promote second language acquisition

“Your First Week in Zaragoza” A Project-Based Learning Unit to Raise Awareness about Immigration among 4th Year of ESO Students

The present end-of-master dissertation aims at designing an innovative English didactic unit for students in the 4th year of Secondary education based on two main necessities identified during the periods of school placement in the Master’s: a rather traditional approach to teaching English, which leads to lack of motivation among students, and the rare percentage of cultural diversity in the school. Two innovations are proposed to deal with these necessities, which entail a change in the methodology of teaching English by dealing with a topic which is far from students’ every day’s experiences: cultural diversity and, more specifically, immigration. The methodology used to cover this topic is Project-Based Learning, while the principles of today’s predominant approach in language teaching are incorporated: Communicative Language Teaching. These innovations are complemented by the implementation of Cooperative learning. The final outcome of the project is to create a video with useful information and resources for new immigrants arriving in Zaragoza. Students collaborate with the organization “Distintos en la Igualdad” to create this product, which is published in the association’s YouTube channel as well as in other digital platforms.<br /

The Flipped Classroom

The present study has been designed to apply Flipped Classroom methodology principles for the teaching of English in Early Education and to evaluate its efficacy for the English as a Second Language with young children (4-5 years old) of the rural school “San Gabriel” (Zuera). This method was developed by Jonathan Bergmann and Aaron Sams (2011) which aim is to provide a student-centered learning environment to enable teachers the ability to practice project-based learning, mastery, inquiry, peer instruction, constructivism, and more

The Projection of Critical Attitude in Research Article Introductions by Anglo-American and Spanish Author

El autor de un artículo de investigación necesita emplear lenguaje evaluativo para destacar la importancia y el valor de su trabajo y establecer que merece ser publicado. Existe evidencia de que las normas y valores propios de la cultura de un autor influyen en la forma en que usa estrategias retóricas en el texto. Este estudio adopta una perspectiva funcional para investigar las diferencias culturales en el uso de recursos evaluativos en dos corpus de introducciones de artículos escritos respectivamente por autores españoles y anglosajones. Para identificar y describir los actos evaluativos con precisión se examinan diferentes aspectos como su posición dentro de la estructura retórica del texto, la entidad evaluada o el tipo de evaluación expresada. Los resultados muestran importantes diferencias en el empleo de la evaluación en los dos corpus que pueden ser debidas a las normas y expectativas que imperan en cada cultura.RA writers need to use evaluative language in their texts to highlight the newsworthiness and pre-eminence of their work. Research indicates that the way they use evaluation may depend on their own cultural norms and expectations. The present paper adopts a clause-level and functional perspective to investigate cross-cultural differences in the use of evaluative features in article introductions from RAs published internationally by Spanish and Anglosaxon authors. In order to map out and compute evaluative acts accurately a number of different aspects are examined, such as their position within the move structure, the entity evaluated or the type of value conveyed. The results reveal important differences in the way evaluation is used in the two corpora, which could be linked to the writers’ different cultural norms and expectation

Using PBL, Cooperative Learning and Process Writing for teaching EFL in Secondary Education, boosting learners’ motivation and developing students’ writing skills

El principal objetivo de este trabajo fin de máster es diseñar una propuesta innovadora que consiste en una unidad didáctica creada para solventar las necesidades encontradas durante los periodos de prácticas que tuvieron lugar durante el primer y segundo semestres del máster de profesorado. Las necesidades consisten en la falta de actividades de escritura y la falta de motivación en los alumnos. Para paliar las necesidades mencionadas, la unidad didáctica ha sido creada siguiendo diferentes principios del método comunicativo y tres enfoques metodológicos: aprendizaje por proyectos, aprendizaje cooperativo y el enfoque sobre proceso de escritura. La primera necesidad, es decir, la falta de actividades de escritura será solventada a través del aprendizaje por proyectos y el enfoque sobre proceso de escritura ya que los estudiantes, siguiendo el proceso de escritura, crearán al final del proyecto un producto escrito. Además, junto con el aprendizaje cooperativo, el aprendizaje por proyectos será utilizado para paliar la falta de motivación de los alumnos. A través de desafíos como la creación de un póster para concienciar a los jóvenes turistas del peligro del Covid-19 y el premio de la publicación de su póster en la página web oficial del ministerio de sanidad, los estudiantes se ven motivados a trabajar. Además, a través del aprendizaje cooperativo, los estudiantes interactúan y reciben andamiajes, además de sentirse seguros y apoyados por sus compañeros, lo que facilita el proceso de aprendizaje. <br /