Needs analysis and competence profiling through ethnographic methods: the case of the Academic English course at the Graduate School of a Spanish university

This paper reports findings from a micro-ethnographic study of the academic literacy practices of the doctoral students that participate in the course in Academic English (AE) taught at the Graduate School of the University of Zaragoza (UZ), Spain. So far there is no evidence regarding the degree of competence in spoken and written communication in academic English to be expected from the students that enroll in the course. Accordingly, the UZ has funded a Teaching Innovation Project (TIP) with the aim of developing ethnographic study protocols capable of providing empirical data on competence profiles, and analysing the learning needs of a specific type of EFL adult learner. The aim of this paper is, therefore, to report on those results that can help to improve the AE course by planning it more efficiently on the basis of a needs analysis that takes disciplinary factors, among others, into account. Reading specialized bibliography, writing a dissertation, giving an oral presentation... all seem to constitute manifestations of, or generic competences for, Academic English in tertiary education, but the acquisition of those competences in an EFL environment may become a challenge for the young researcher attending the AE course. Nowadays, effective teaching in that context requires going beyond mere experience and gathering empirical, ethnographic information suitable for competence profiling (see e.g. Bocanegra-Valle, 2016). Consequently, our study draws on relevant ethnographic techniques in the field of EAP (see e.g. Dressen-Hamouda, 2012), the paper thus beginning by reporting on the results of the analysis of the answers to a structured questionnaire administered to students as the starting point for small-scale semi- structured interviews. Our ultimate aim is the examination of the acquisition and learning of second-language academic literacy practices in line with e.g. 'New Literacies' studies such as Seloni (2012)

Achieving Intelligibility in Spoken English: the Role of Weak Forms

El objetivo principal de este trabajo es mostrar cómo las llamadas weak forms en el inglés hablado son frecuentemente mal utilizadas por los hablantes de inglés como lengua extranjera, dando como resultado numerosos malentendidos. La información utilizada para este estudio se obtuvo de artículos escritos por autores especializados en este campo, así como de materiales de enseñanza que actualmente se utilizan en España. Finalmente, se sugiere la posibilidad de mejorar la competencia fonológica de los estudiantes, tanto en producción como en percepción, aplicando nuevos enfoques que pudieran potenciar la enseñanza de las destrezas orales en la lengua inglesa. Abstract The major objective of this essay is to show how weak forms are frequently misused among speakers of English as a foreign language, giving as a result numerous misunderstandings. The data used for this study were obtained from papers written by specialized scholars on this field and also actual teaching materials, which were chosen because they are now used in Spain. It was concluded that learners of English as a foreign language could improve their phonological competence, in both production and perception, if recent approaches were applied to teaching oral skills including phonology

The new era of 'Post-ELF': the dismantlement of the need of a model for ELF. A mixed-methods empirical study of learners' attitudes towards the teaching of English pronunciation in Spain.

This dissertation questions the need of a pronunciation model for English Language Teaching (ELT) in the Spanish educational system due to the consequent competitiveness, insecurities and feeling of inferiority that its use triggers among students. As a starting point to change this, a new egalitarian and tolerating approach is proposed along the lines of what the linguist Mark Hancock in his article published in 2018 names ‘Post-ELF’, the new era following that known as English as a Lingua Franca (ELF). This new proposal presents the teaching of English from a multicultural and free perspective based on communication and intelligibility among speakers. The present study is based on a mixed-methods empirical research in which the attitudes towards the teaching of English of learners from Spain are analysed and evaluated. The study confirms the learners’ negative opinions on the way in which ELT is organised in Spain concerning pronunciation teaching and their preference towards ‘Post-ELF’. The results of the study can be used to highlight the importance of communication, intelligibility and tolerance as the basic premises for the teaching of the English language as the language of international communication. <br /

Looking Inwards

This dissertation is about my reflections about my own learning teaching process this year. To do this, I have included the two assignments I consider the most relevant ones in this Master: the Learning Unit and the Innovation Proposal, as a starting point for my musings

An in-depth analysis of the terminology surrounding the concept of noun and its associated structures and functions in English grammar.

Abstract: El objetivo del presente estudio es realizar un análisis de los capítulos de diferentes libros gramaticales que tratan el nombre y su estructura para descubrir por qué algunos autores utilizan un término para referirse a dicha estructura (“Noun Phrase”) y por qué otros utilizan otro diferente (“Nominal Group” o “Noun Group”); y así averiguar cuál sería más adecuado para una clase de inglés. Para elegir dichos libros se han seguido una serie de criterios que, a su vez, han sido clasificados en: libros para estudiantes y libros pertenecientes a una determinada escuela gramatical. Además, los factores o aspectos que se han tenido en cuenta y, los cuales se han organizado en tablas son: el nombre utilizado para referirse a la estructura del nombre, la sección dedicada por cada libro para este propósito, su longitud, la explicación del concepto, la finalidad de cada libro, la razón para la elección del término y cuál sería el más apropiado para una clase de inglés. El resultado principal es la aparente relación entre el motivo de la utilización de un término u otro por parte de los libros y autores con el nivel del público destinatario; prevaleciendo “Noun Phrase” para niveles más bajos o simples y “Noun Group” y “Nominal Group” para usuarios con niveles más altos. En conclusión, el término más apropiado para una clase de inglés sería “Nominal Group”, ya que es beneficioso debido a su finalidad didáctica más clara, la adaptación de la forma y significado en la que se basa y su pertinencia general en otros aspectos

“Travelling together”: A learning unit based on current communicative approaches as a way of redressing some of the negative aspects of traditional methodologies

This dissertation deals with the elaboration of a six-lesson learning unit designed in order to respond to the needs observed in a bilingual 1st year ESO group during the placement period for the Máster En Profesorado de E.S.O. Especialidad de Lenguas Extranjeras: Inglés

English-Spanish translation: strategies for solving translation problems of a cultural or linguistic nature.

This dissertation focuses on the analysis of specific aspects of translation: the translation of cultural and linguistic elements. For the purpose of illustrating those theoretical aspects, a corpus of analysis has been used. The corpus that has been selected is a sitcom: Modern Family, which provides many examples in which a translation of cultural or linguistic elements is needed. The dissertation provides an introduction to audiovisual translation, since the corpus of analysis belongs to this field of translation. It is followed by the presentation of three theoretical aspects that play a significant role in the translation of humour in audiovisual texts: cultural elements, the visual element and wordplay. The final part of the paper focuses on the analysis of the translation of several scenes extracted from the corpus and on the proposal of improved translations for those scenes. The main aim of the dissertation is to prove that linguistic and cultural elements play a crucial role in the creation of humour in audiovisual texts and to provide the reader with useful strategies in order to obtain a successful result when translating them.<br /

Critical reflection on the learning unit and the research project

This project contains some critical reflections about the learning unit and the research project made for this Master's Degree. Language and culture go hand in hand. Language cannot be explained without culture. Furthermore, students need real-life contents in order to be able to correctly use the language. That is why the research project and the learning unit included seek for that aim. Students need real situations and real-life elements to set the language and the culture into a context

The phonetical transcriptive British tradition vs. the phonetical transcriptive Northamerican tradition.

The phonetical transcriptive British tradition and the phonetical transcriptive Northamerican tradition. A study of two different transcription systems, resulting in two different forms of pronunciation of the same language, English. <br /

A Sociolinguistic Perspective on Accents and Popular Cinema: the Variety of English Accents in 'Game of Thrones', 'Star Wars' and the Villains in Hollywood Films.

Este trabajo de fin de grado muestra cómo las diferentes formas de hablar de los personajes en las películas están totalmente estudiadas y justificadas para exponer el argumento y características de las mismas. Además, tiene como finalidad demostrar la relación existente entre la identidad y entorno de cada individuo y el habla de estos personajes gracias a diversas películas y series, en concreto, los personajes de Juego de Tronos, la saga de La Guerra de las Galaxias y los villanos en las películas de Hollywood. Los resultados confirman que los factores extralingüísticos influyen de manera directa en la forma de hablar de los personajes, por lo que el espectador puede deducir y concluir el papel de cada uno en la película sólo por el acento que ese personaje tenga. <br /