Desafíos y necesidades en la enseñanza del ladino entre diez activistas de la revitalización de la lengua

This article presents results from interviews with ten teachers engaged in Ladino (Judaeo-Spanish) revitalisation. The purpose of the study is to collect Ladino teachers’ experiences to understand the challenges they face and the needs they express to continue their activities. Challenges were related to students’ linguistic backgrounds, students’ and teachers’ confidence about expressing themselves in Ladino, and to views on language normativity. The teachers expressed needs concerning finding stable teacher positions, about creating a Ladino proficiency test and certificate, developing resources for language teaching, and updating Ladino’s vocabulary to reflect contemporary life. Creating venues for learners to use the language, and opportunities for Ladino teachers to meet and discuss pedagogical issues were seen as important. The teachers’ views differed considerably regarding questions on language norms, and an official language proficiency certificate. The results point to the need for further discussions, and for teacher development initiatives.Este artículo presenta los resultados de entrevistas con diez profesores comprometidos con la revitalización del ladino (judeoespañol). El propósito del estudio es recopilar las experiencias de docentes de ladino para comprender los desafíos que enfrentan y las necesidades que expresan para continuar con sus actividades. Los desafíos estaban relacionados con el perfil lingüístico de los estudiantes, con la confianza de los estudiantes y de los profesores para expresarse en ladino y con opiniones normativas sobre la lengua. Los maestros expresaron necesidades relacionadas con la búsqueda de puestos docentes estables, con la creación de una prueba y un certificado de dominio del ladino, con el desarrollo de recursos para la enseñanza del idioma y con la actualización del vocabulario del ladino para reflejar la vida contemporánea. Se consideró importante crear espacios para que los estudiantes puedan practicar la lengua y oportunidades para que los docentes se puedan reunir y discutir cuestiones didácticas. Los puntos de vista de los docentes diferían considerablemente en cuanto a normas lingüísticas, y la deseabilidad de un certificado oficial de dominio del idioma. Los resultados apuntan a la necesidad de más discusiones y de iniciativas de perfeccionamiento pedagógico

Caffeine and Selective Adenosine Receptor Antagonists as New Therapeutic Tools for the Motivational Symptoms of Depression

Major depressive disorder is one of the most common and debilitating psychiatric disorders. Some of the motivational symptoms of depression, such anergia (lack of self-reported energy) and fatigue are relatively resistant to traditional treatments such as serotonin uptake inhibitors. Thus, new pharmacological targets are being investigated. Epidemiological data suggest that caffeine consumption can have an impact on aspects of depressive symptomatology. Caffeine is a non-selective adenosine antagonist for A1/A2A receptors, and has been demonstrated to modulate behavior in classical animal models of depression. Moreover, selective adenosine receptor antagonists are being assessed for their antidepressant effects in animal studies. This review focuses on how caffeine and selective adenosine antagonists can improve different aspects of depression in humans, as well as in animal models. The effects on motivational symptoms of depression such as anergia, fatigue, and psychomotor slowing receive particular attention. Thus, the ability of adenosine receptor antagonists to reverse the anergia induced by dopamine antagonism or depletion is of special interest. In conclusion, although further studies are needed, it appears that caffeine and selective adenosine receptor antagonists could be therapeutic agents for the treatment of motivational dysfunction in depression

Compulsory School Pupils' Motivation for Language Studies

Uppsatsen utreder genom en enkätundersökning utförd i år 7, 8 och 9 på en svensk grundskola elevers inställning till studier i språken franska, spanska och tyska. Centrala frågor är: vad tycker eleverna om att studera språk; hur väljer de språk; vad motiverar dem att fortsätta studierna; vad får dem att avstå från fortsatta studier? Av elevernas svar framkommer att majoriteten uppskattar språkstudierna; att de avskräcks från studier då studiebördan blir för tung, lektionerna för tråkiga eller ämnet för svårt; att val av språk i stor utsträckning styrs av tillfälligheter, men att en stor del av eleverna ändå ser nyttan i att lära sig ytterligare ett språk.By the means of a questionnaire survey performed in a Swedish compulsory school, the present work examines the attitudes towards studies in the French, Spanish and German languages amongst pupils in the 7th, 8th and 9th forms. Questions essential to the survey are: what are the pupils’ feelings towards studying languages; how do they choose which language to study; what motivates them to keep studying; what refrains them from further studies? The answers given by the pupils show that the majority enjoys their language studies; that the pupils are deterred from studying when the burden of studies gets too heavy, the lessons become too tedious or the subject too difficult; that the choice of language to a great extent is governed by coincidence, yet that a large number of the pupils do see the advantage of learning another language

Shortcuts, detours and dead ends : Upper secondary school pupils’ use of machine translation during essay writing in Spanish

Based on four published articles on Swedish upper secondary school pupils’ use of online resources during essay writing in Spanish L3, this thesis in educational work and Romance languages focuses, from a language education perspective, on the use of machine translation. Two of the articles observe pupils’ use of online resources in general, and of Google Translate in particular, revealing a complex weave of strategies where Swedish, Spanish, and English are used to search, change and control word sequences, simultaneously including lexical, morphological, and syntactic aspects of the languages. The other articles study the effects of machine translation on text length and on lexical, morphological, and syntactic accuracy and complexity, as compared to texts written with printed dictionaries as the only translation tool. The results point to small but statistically significant positive and negative effects on complexity and accuracy. As for effects on vocabulary, the use of machine translation is shown to increase lexical diversity as long as it remains in use, the effect, however, vanishing when the tool is no longer utilised. In the introductory chapters of the thesis, the results from the articles are re-analysed from a Gibsonian ecological affordance perspective, focusing on the pupils’ explorative and performative interactions with the affordances of machine translation, and on the pupils’ strengths and challenges when handling the Spanish language. The thesis contributes to a deepened understanding of the complexity of foreign language learners’ interactions with machine translation, and further points to the importance of strengthening (meta-)linguistic awareness, linguistic self-confidence, and technological know-how in foreign language education. The thesis also underscores the importance of language teachers’ taking an active part in reinforcing the above-mentioned areas, and raises key questions about the future of writing in foreign language education.Genvägar, omvägar och irrvägar är en avhandling om gymnasieelevers användning av maskinöversättning medan de skriver uppsatser på spanska. Avhandlingen bygger på fyra delstudier. I den första beskrivs hur elever söker språklig information på internet. Den andra delstudien granskar maskinöversättningens effekter på språklig korrekthet, komplexitet och textlängd. Den tredje studien undersöker hur användningen av maskinöversättning påverkar elevers ordförråd under ett läsår. I den fjärde studien görs en ingående beskrivning av elevers sätt att bearbeta sökresultat från Google Translate. Delstudierna visar på komplexa strategier där elever använder sina kunskaper i svenska, spanska och engelska för att utföra handlingar där lexikala, morfologiska och syntaktiska aspekter av språket blandas. De observerade strategierna analyseras utifrån ett ekologiskt affordansperspektiv, som synliggör hur elevernas förkunskaper i fråga om både språk och teknikhantering påverkar deras möjligheter att utnyttja maskinöversättningsteknikens handlingserbjudanden. Avhandlingens resultat pekar på vikten av gedigna kunskaper i och om språket, om teknikens möjligheter, och språklärarens viktiga roll för att hjälpa eleverna att nå dessa kunskaper.Artikel 4 är nu publicerad men ingick som manuskript i avhandlingen, då med titeln: "Google Translate search strategies among learners of Spanish L3: A complex lexico-morpho-syntactic weave of trial-and-error".</p

Effects of Google translate on lexical diversity: vocabulary development among learners of Spanish as a foreign language

This article presents the results of a longitudinal study of vocabulary development among Swedish upper secondary school pupils of Spanish as a foreign language. During one schoolyear, the pupils (N=31) wrote four essays in Spanish, a pre-test and a post-test. 15 pupils used a printed dictionary as translation tool, 16 used Google Translate (GT). Vocabulary development was measured as the change in lexical diversity from pre-test to post-test, using Guiraud’s index. The results show that the use of GT leads to higher degrees of lexical diversity as long as it is used, but that the effect vanishes when the tool is no longer used. The results point to the need for a deeper understanding of language structure and lexicon, a reinforced focus on vocabulary in foreign language teaching, and a widened range of explicit instruction of translation tools and strategies.Este artículo presenta los resultados de un estudio longitudinal sobre el desarrollo de vocabulario entre un grupo de estudiantes suecos de español como lengua extranjera. Durante un año escolar, los estudiantes (N=31) escribieron cuatro redacciones en español, una prueba previa y una prueba posterior. 15 estudiantes usaron un diccionario impreso como herramienta de traducción, 16 el Traductor de Google (GT). El desarrollo de vocabulario escrito fue medido como el cambio de diversidad léxica entre la prueba previa y la prueba posterior, utilizando el índice de Guiraud. Los resultados muestran que el uso de GT da una diversidad léxica mayor mientras los alumnos lo usan, un efecto que desaparece cuando GT no se utiliza más. Los resultados indican la necesidad de una comprensión más profunda de estructuras lingüísticas y de léxico, un enfoque reforzado en el vocabulario en la enseñanza de idiomas extranjeros, y una extensión más amplia de enseñanza de herramientas de traducción

Google Translate search strategies used by learners of Spanish L3 : A complex lexico-morpho-syntacticweave of trial and error

This article presents a study on Google Translate search strategies among 16 Swedish senior high school students (age 17–18) engaging in writing tasks during their sixth year studying Spanish L3. The students wrote on laptops with Internet access and were allowed to use Google Translate to search for Spanish words. Analyses of approximately 43 hours of screen recordings covering the writing of 57 essays reveal a complex weave of Google Translate search strategies performed in Swedish, English, and Spanish. The strategies combine lexical and morphosyntactic searches, ranging from single words to longer sequences of words. The searches were frequently characterised by trial-and-error-based approaches that comprised numerous control translations of already known words. The observations also reveal search behaviors interpreted as lack of trust among the students in the search results and in their own language skills.Este artículo presenta un estudio sobre las estrategias de búsqueda en el traductor de Google empleadas por un grupo de 16 estudiantes suecos del bachillerato (17 a 18 años de edad) en ejercicios de redacción realizados durante su sexto año de estudios de español L3. Los estudiantes utilizaron ordenadores portátiles con acceso a internet y podían usar el traductor de Google para buscar palabras en español. El análisis de aproximadamente 43 horas de grabación de las pantallas durante la escritura de 57 ensayos reveló una compleja trama de estrategias de búsqueda en sueco, inglés y español. Las estrategias incluyeron búsquedas léxicas y morfosintácticas, desde palabras sueltas hasta secuencias más largas. Las búsquedas frecuentemente se caracterizaron por seguir métodos de prueba y error que incluían numerosas traducciones de control de palabras que los estudiantes ya conocían. Las observaciones evidenciaron también ciertos comportamientos en la búsqueda que pueden interpretarse como falta de confianza de los estudiantes en los resultados de su búsqueda así como en su propio conocimiento de la lengua.Artikelns titel på spanska: "Estrategias de búsqueda en el traductor de Google usadas por estudiantes de español L3: una compleja trama léxico-morfo-sintáctica de prueba y error"Artikeln ingick som manuskript i Fredholms (2021) doktorsavhandling Genvägar, omvägar och irrvägar: Gymnasieelevers användning av maskinöversättning under uppsatsskrivande på spanska, då med titeln "Google Translate search strategies among learners of Spanish L3: A complex lexico-morpho-syntactic weave of trial-and-error".</p

The Pupils, the Computer and the Language : Studies of the Effects of School Computerisation on Pupils’ Attitudes, Writing Strategies and Written Text Production in Upper Secondary School Spanish Classes

Kent Fredholm (2015). Eleverna, datorn och språket: Studier av skoldatoriseringens effekter på elevers attityder, skrivstrategier och textproduktion i spanskundervisningen på gymnasiet. (The Pupils, the Computer and the Language: Studies of the Effects of School Computerisation on Pupils’ Attitudes. Writing Strategies and Written Text Production in Upper Secondary School Spanish Classes.) Stockholm University, Studies in Language Education 12. ISBN 978-91-7649-090-7. Written in Swedish, English and Spanish with abstracts in the three languages and a summary in English. The present work is based upon three studies performed between 2012 and 2014 at the Swedish upper secondary school with pupils studying Spanish as a foreign language. The first study investigates through lesson diaries and an online survey the pupils’ attitudes towards and perceptions of computer use in language learning at large, and specifically of online grammar exercises as compared to paper-based exercises. The participating pupils showed mixed attitudes towards using online exercises for grammar practice, with high demands on websites’ design and user friendliness, as well as for the correctness and reliability of automated corrections. A majority preferred mixed teaching methods (including computer use, teacher-led explanations and the use of paper- and pen-based exercises, especially translation tasks). The major advantage of using computers was considered to be for essay writing and information search. The second study investigates how a group of pupils use online resources when writing essays in Spanish, focussing on their extensive use of online translation services such as Google translate. The writing strategies of these pupils with free access to the Internet are compared to the strategies of another group working without Internet access. The third study examines effects of the use of online translation on the language in the pupils’ essays. The texts written with online translation are compared to texts written without Internet access, but with access to printed dictionaries. Few statistically significant differences can be seen between the two groups. These concern grammatical and lexical complexity and accuracy. The most clear differences regard spelling and article/noun/adjective congruence (with higher degrees of accuracy among the users of online translation), and syntax (with fewer errors in the group writing without online translation). The grammatical complexity was also somewhat higher in the online translation group. As for fluency (text length) and complexity, differences can be correlated to the pupils’ proficiency in Spanish, whereas no such correlation can be seen regarding accuracy.

Flerspråkig användning av Google Translate : Det utökade transspråkandets affordanser för skriftlig produktion på spanska L3

I denna artikel redogörs för elva gymnasieelevers flerspråkiga användning av Google Translate i samband med skrivuppgifter i spanska under ett läsår. Tidigare studier har fokuserat på tvåspråkig användning av maskinöversättning. Svenska elever i moderna språk har dock i regel minst tre språk i sin språkliga repertoar: svenska, engelska samt minst ett modernt språk. Genom att ge exempel på mer komplexa sökstrategier där tre eller fler språk blandas bidrar studien till fördjupade inblickar i elevers användning av maskinöversättning i undervisningen i moderna språk. Med hjälp av skärminspelningar av elevernas datorskärmar har deras användning av Google Translate detaljgranskats. Eleverna uppvisade olika preferenser i fråga om vilket språk de oftast utgick ifrån i sina sökningar: företrädelsevis svenska, engelska, eller en jämnare blandning av språken. Några elever uppvisade olika beteenden vid olika skrivtillfällen. Gemensamt för dem alla var att de frekvent växlade fram och tillbaka mellan svenska, engelska och spanska (samt i ett fall även tyska). Dessa språkväxlingar gjordes för att kontrollera tillförlitligheten i sökresultat, för att komplettera söksträngar när språkkunskaperna på det föredragna utgångsspråket inte var tillräckliga, samt för att möjliggöra fortsatt sökande när utgångsspråket inte gav tillförlitliga eller konsekventa resultat. Användandet av språk och teknik förstås här i termer av ett utökat transspråkande, där kunskaper i flera språk och förmågan att hantera tekniken tillsammans bildar en semiotisk resurs som erbjuder affordanser för skriftlig kommunikation.Önskat referensformat från utgivaren:Fredholm, K. (2023). Flerspråkig användning av Google Translate: Det utökade transspråkandets affordanser för skriftlig produktion på spanska L3. I Nelson, M., Michanek, M., Rydell, M., Sayehli, S., Skogmyr Marian, K., &amp; Sundberg, G. (Red.). Språk i praktiken – i en föränderlig värld. Rapport från ASLA-symposiet. Stockholms universitet, 7–8, april 2022. [Language in practice – in a changing world. Papers from the ASLA symposium. Stockholm University, 7–8 April, 2022] (s. 131–156). ASLA,  Svenska föreningen för tillämpad språkvetenskap. Stockholm. https://doi.org/10.17045/sthlmuni.24321526   </p

Att skriva i en digital miljö

Skriftlig produktion och interaktion är en webbmodul i området moderna språk på Skolverkets hemsida.</p