‘Is voice inevitable in written texts?’ Animate agents followed by active verbs as writers’ (de)voicing mechanisms in knowledge dissemination practices

Writers’ identity (Ivanic, 1998) and positioning in written text have been studied under multiple terms. However, a clearer distinction should be made between writers’ positioning (Hyland, 2005a) and writers’ presence or voice (John, 2005). This paper explores how disseminators and specialised writers adapt or mediate the voice of the researchers and writers of medical research articles (Med-RAs) in the corresponding medical popularizations published on-line (Med-E-Pops). By manually scanning a self-compiled corpus of 40 Med-RAs and their 40 Med-E-Pops published in digital sources, it will be shown how evidence of the most personal authorial voice used in research articles, self-mentions, are adapted in the Med-E-Pops texts using other (de)voicing mechanisms. Results from the data-driven analysis show that whereas Med-RAs researchers claim their authorship, knowledge and prestige, Med-E-Pops writers make their own voice negligible to guide the readers’ attention back to the Med-RAs writers’ presence. Med-E-Pops writers ratify Med-RAs writers’ agency creating trustworthy texts for the audience

Raising awareness around writers' voice in academic discourse : an analysis of writers' (in)visibility

This paper aims to contribute to the study of the concept of writer's visibility inspired by approaches to the analysis of identity in written discourse (see Ivanic 1998, Charles 1999 and John 2005). The way medical academic writers selfrepresent themselves in their research articles can be seen in terms of a gradable visibility cline crafted and constrained by the academic genre expectations of these texts (Swales and Feak 2004; Stock and Eik-Nes 2016). Traditionally, authorial visibility has been studied within frameworks such as evaluation, authorial voice and stance. Still, there is no framework as yet been proposed that binds together possible textual realisations that can be considered as visibility features in academic written texts. This paper conducts a study of 40 medical research articles that reveal different manifestations of the authors' presence. A cline is proposed that encompasses different lexico-grammatical realisations such as self-mentions, passive constructions and non-animated subjects followed by active verbs. These features can be interpreted as authorial voice realisations that allow us to measure or grade writers' visibility and its rhetorical implication in the text

Assisting language learning with new technologies: A case of Spanish degrees facing European educational change process

One of the biggest challenges European countries have lately faced is The Bologna Process which consists of a series of ministerial agreements between European countries designed to ensure comparability in the standards and quality of higher education qualifications. The resulting European Higher Education Area (EHEA) propelled a sudden implementation of a new organizational approach into the Spanish academic system in 2008. This paper traces the evolution of lectures in English for Specific Purposes (ESP) over three semesters in this changing teaching environment in the Health Science and Medicine Faculties of the University of Zaragoza (Spain). The aim of this paper is to assess the value, among students, of the use of social media and virtual tools in a strictly academic context. The implementation of change in instructional design was necessary due to the limitations in the existing teaching practices. Consequently, the teacher’s and students’ experiences over each of the three semesters led to the implementation of Microsoft MSN Messenger, a course blog and a Facebook profile. Data from this contribution to action research suggest that students’ opinions and perceptions of the use of personally oriented technology in the language learning process were positive in my university academic context

Attitudes and Discourse: Spanish Practitioners' and Undergraduates' Survey Results

The emergence of English as the international language of communication has increased the attention and concern given its teaching and learning. This survey-based study explores the attitudes of Spanish practitioners and undergraduate students towards English as the vehicular language in the field of medicine and towards Medical Electronic Popularizations as an alternative to medical research articles. The survey results point out that these subjects’ perception of English as the vehicle of communication in the medical field and their conceptualization of medical electronic popularizations are positive. Pedagogical implications can be drawn from this study since it confirms our students’ awareness of the use of English and the new-born genres or communication channels

Una reflexión sobre el canon literario y la traducción: el caso de España a finales de los 90 y comienzos de 2000

The term Literary Canon has always been a complex issue to describe. The debate that this fact origins affects either the editorial market and higher education. In this exploratory reflection, based on the literary market observation in the last ten years, a lot of parameters are questioned. I question from the personal criteria that lead somebody to gather an anthology to the relation between canon and power. Fowler, Evan-Zohar, Sullà and Reyes, among others, have presented different approaches to the possible structure of Literary Canon: Dynamic, hierarchic, primary, secondary, etc. Nonetheless, there are neither sources nor academics that openly claim if there is a known identity that establish the Canon under political, social, cultural or globalisation factors. Though, it is generally conveyed that the quality of a work is measured according to the number of languages to which it has been translated.El concepto de Canon literario siempre ha sido una cuestión compleja. El debate que origina afecta tanto al mercado literario, y por tanto editorial, como a la educación de los estudiantes españoles (en este caso). En esta breve reflexión, basada en la observación del mercado literario de los últimos diez años, se plantean desde los criterios personales que llevan a elaborar una antología literaria hasta la relación entre poder y el canon literario. Fowler, Evan-Zohar, Sullà, Reyes (entre otros escritores) han planteado distintos modelos que definen la posible estructura del canon literario: dinámica, jerarquizada, primaria, secundaria, etc. Sin embargo, ninguna fuente o académico puede identificar con claridad si tras la identidad que establece el canon podemos encontrar factores políticos, sociales, globalizantes o culturales. Pese a ello, se sigue creyendo, a nivel general, que la calidad de una obra literaria se puede medir según el número de lenguas al cual se traduce dicha obra

Attitudes and discourse: spanish practitioners’ and undergraduates’ survey results

The emergence of English as the international language of communication has increased the attention and concern given its teaching and learning. This survey-based study explores the attitudes of Spanish practitioners and undergraduate students towards English as the vehicular language in the field of medicine and towards Medical Electronic Popularizations as an alternative to medical research articles. The survey results point out that these subjects’ perception of English as the vehicle of communication in the medical field and their conceptualization of medical electronic popularizations are positive. Pedagogical implications can be drawn from this study since it confirms our students’ awareness of the use of English and the new-born genres or communication channels.El papel del inglés como lenguaje internacional de comunicación ha despertado interés en lo que respecta a su enseñanza y aprendizaje. El presente sondeo explora las actitudes de médicos y estudiantes de medicina españoles hacia el inglés como lenguaje vehicular y hacia nuevos géneros emergentes como las popularizaciones médicas difundidas por Internet. Los resultados señalan que estos sujetos tienen una actitud positiva ante ambos; el inglés como lenguaje vehicular y ante estas popularizaciones médicas. Este estudio confirma que ambos grupos asumen la importancia del inglés como herramienta básica de comunicación en el campo de la medicina y del protagonismo de estos géneros electrónicos emergentes

Integración de competencias transversales a través de la implementación de competencias digitales en la asignatura de Gramática II

El presente trabajo describe una práctica docente planteada en dos fases (la primera en el curso 2018-19 y la segunda en el 2019-20), en la que se quiere trabajar la integración de competencias trasversales mediante la implementación de competencias digitales en una asignatura con un diseño curricular y un planteamiento docente muy tradicional basados en la Gramática Sistémico Funcional de la lengua inglesa. Por ese motivo, y para integrar con garantías de éxito estas competencias que, a su vez, animan a una actitud proactiva entre el alumnado y, que les conducen a una empleabilidad más efectiva, en la fase 1 se ha llevado a cabo la primera parte de la experiencia a modo de pilotaje en el grupo de la tarde de la asignatura de Gramática II. La evaluación de los resultados de este pilotaje ha ayudado a diseñar la fase 2. Además, los resultados obtenidos mediante las herramientas Socrative y Google Apps apuntan a que el alumnado es mucho más consciente (y responsable) de su proceso de aprendizaje y de las ventajas de establecer conexiones entre los contenidos que se adquieren en la asignatura y su aplicación en su futura actividad profesional

Genre evolution in research communication in English

Los géneros académicos de investigación están expuestos, y también emergen, de una evolución constante. El objetivo de este artículo es identificar los posibles problemas con los que nos encontramos a la hora de estudiar, describir y aceptar nuevos géneros electrónicos de divulgación del conocimiento. Este trabajo repasa los estudios recientes sobre la evolución de los géneros digitales y cómo y dónde pueden ser considerados como un género “recién llegado” a la comunicación de la investigación. Por último, se proponen también nuevos enfoques para estudiar y, por lo tanto, aceptar estos nuevos géneros electrónicos de divulgación del conocimiento.Academic genres in research are exposed to, and also emerge from a constant evolution. The aim of this article is to identify potential problems when studying, analysing, and ultimately, describing and accepting new (knowledge dissemination) electronic genres in research communication. It reviews recent studies on evolving and digital genres and how/when they can be considered as newcomer-genres in research communication. Finally, ways to study, and hence, accept new electronic genres in research communication in English are proposed

Nuevos conceptos, distintos enfoques: una aproximación a la visibilidad digital (e-visibilidad) en sitios web de proyectos de investigación

[EN] In the last few years, the web has become a privileged access platform for knowledge for an increasingly globalized society. Thus, digital platforms are currently used by researchers to strengthen the visibility of their research output as well as their own. In this study we explore the concept of e-visibility as a key notion in the current digital discursive practices within the scientific context. For such purposes we have focused on international research project websites as instances of such practices.The analysis undertaken is data-driven and has revealed the existence of various entities which are made visible by means of a combination of lexicogrammatical devices together with other modes afforded by the digital platforms. Results also show that there are various types of e-visibility emerging from the combination of the entities and the lexicogrammatical and visual resources used to make them visible.[ES] En los últimos años, la web se ha convertido en una excelente plataforma de acceso al conocimiento para nuestra sociedad, cada vez más globalizada. Por ello, los investigadores utilizan las plataformas digitales para fomentar tanto la visibilidad de sus resultados de investigación como la suya propia. En este artículo exploramos el concepto de visibilidad digital (e-visibilidad) como una noción clave en las prácticas discursivas digitales dentro del contexto científico. Para estudiar estas prácticas, hemos centrado nuestro análisis en sitios web de proyectos de investigación internacionales. El análisis realizado se basa en datos y revela la existencia de varias entidades que se hacen visibles mediante la combinación de estrategias lexicogramaticales con otros modos que sólo las plataformas digitales ponen al alcance. Nuestros resultados muestran la existencia de distintos tiposde visibilidad digital que emergen de la combinación de estas entidades con los recursos lexicogramaticales y visuales utilizados para hacerles visibles.This research has been funded by the Spanish Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (FFI2017 84205-P), the Gobierno de Aragón (Spain) (H16_17R) and Ibercaja-Unizar (JIUZ-2018-HUM-03).Lorés-Sanz, R.; Herrando-Rodrigo, I. (2020). New concepts, different approaches: tackling e-visibility in research project websites. Revista de Lingüística y Lenguas Aplicadas. 15(1):83-98. https://doi.org/10.4995/rlyla.2020.12782OJS8398151Albalat-Mascarell, A., & Carrió-Pastor, M.L. (2019). "Self-representation in political campaign talk: A functional metadiscourse approach to self-mentions in televised presidential debates." Journal of Pragmatics, 147, 86-99. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pragma.2019.05.011Barbour, K., & Marshall, P. (2012). "The Academic Online: Constructing Persona Through the World Wide Web." First Monday, 17/9. https://doi.org/10.5210/fm.v0i0.3969Biber, D., & Finegan, E. (1989). "Styles of stance in English: Lexical and grammatical marking of evidentiality and affect." Text, 9, 93-124. https://doi.org/10.1515/text.1.1989.9.1.93Bordet, G. (2013). "The Rhetorical Role of 'Collocational Chains' and their Implications in the Building of Scientific Discourse Strategies." European Journal of English Studies, 17/3, 235-250. https://doi.org/10.1080/13825577.2013.867183Breivega, K., Dahl, T., & Fløttum, K. (2002). "Traces of self and others in research articles. A comparative pilot study of English, French and Norwegian research articles in medicine, economics and linguistics." International Journal of Applied Linguistics, 12/2, 218-239. https://doi.org/10.1111/1473-4192.00032Charles, M. (2004). The Construction of Stance: A Corpus-based Investigation of Two Contrasting Disciplines. University of Birmingham. PhD Thesis. (Unpublished).Crismore, A., & Abdollahzadeh, E. (2010). "A review of recent metadiscourse studies: The Iranian context." Nordic Journal of English Studies, 9/2, 195-218. https://doi.org/10.35360/njes.223Dahl, T. (2004). "Textual metadiscourse in research articles: A marker of national culture or of academic discipline?" Journal of Pragmatics, 36, 1807-1825. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pragma.2004.05.004Dressen-Hammouda, D. (2014). "Measuring the voice of disciplinarity in scientific writing: A longitudinal exploration of experienced writers in geology." English for Specific Purposes, 34, 14-25. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.esp.2013.10.001Ferrari, L. (2003). "Marcadores de modalidad epistémica en artículos de investigación." In M. García-Wegroni (ed.) Actas del Congreso Internacional La Argumentación. Buenos Aires: Instituto de Lingüística. Sociedad. Barcelona: Gedisa, 69-93.Giannoni, D.S. (2010) "Metaphoric Values and Disciplinary Identity in English Research Articles." In G. Garzone & J. Archibald (eds.) Discourse, Identities and Roles in Specialized Communication. Linguistic Insights Vol. 125. Bern: Peter Lang, 279-298.Goffman, E. (1981). Forms of Talk. Oxford: OUP.Gosden, H. (1993). "Discourse functions of marked theme in scientific research articles." English for Specific Purposes, 11, 207-224. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0889-4906(05)80010-9Gotti, M. (2010). "Identity traits in written academic discourse across languages." In R. Lorés-Sanz, P. Mur-Dueñas, P. & E. Lafuente-Millán (eds.) Constructing Interpersonality. Multiple Perspectives on Written Academic Genres, Newcastle upon Tyne: Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 49-60.Halliday, M.A.K., & Martin, J. (1993). Writing Science: Literacy and Discursive Power. London: Falmer Press.Harwood, N. (2005a). "Nowhere has anyone attempted… In this article I aim to do just that': A corpus-based study of self-promotional I and we in academic writing across four disciplines." Journal of Pragmatics, 37, 1207-1231.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pragma.2005.01.012Harwood, N. (2005b). "'We do not seem to have a theory... the theory I present here attempts to fill this gap': inclusive and exclusive pronouns in academic writing." Applied Linguistics, 26/3, 343-375. https://doi.org/10.1093/applin/ami012Henderson, W., & Hewings, A. (1990). "A language of model building." In T. Dudley-Evans & Henderson, W (eds.). The language of economics: The analysis of economics discourse. London: Modern English Publication in Association with the British Council. ELT Documents 134: 43-54.Herrando-Rodrigo, I. (2019). "Raising awareness around writers' voice in academic discourse. An analysis of writers' (in)visibility." Brno Studies in English, 45/2, 49-72. https://doi.org/10.5817/BSE2019-2-3Herring, S.C. (2012). "Discourse in Web 2.0: Familiar, Reconfigured, and Emergent." In D. Tannen & A. M. Tester (eds.) Georgetown University Round Table on Languages and Linguistics. Washington, DC: Georgetown Univ. Press, 1-25.Hodge, R., & Kress, G. (1979). Language and Ideology. London/New York: Routledge.Hunston, S., & Thompson, G. (2000). Evaluation in Text: Authorial Stance and the Construction of Discourse. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Hyland, K. (1998). Hedging in Scientific Research Articles. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. https://doi.org/10.1075/pbns.54Hyland, K. (2005). Metadiscourse: Exploring Interaction in Writing. London: Bloomsbury.Hyland, K. (2010). "Community and Individuality: Performing Identity in Applied Linguistics." Written Communication, 27/2, 159-188. https://doi.org/10.1177/0741088309357846Hyland, K., & Sancho, C. (2012). Stance and Voice in Academic Discourse. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137030825Ivanič, R. (1998). Writing and Identity: The Discoursal Construction of Identity in Academic Writing. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. https://doi.org/10.1075/swll.5Ivorra Pérez, F.M. (2015). "The impact of cultural dimensions and politeness on the engagement markers of Spanish, British and US business websites." In M. Hernández-López & L. Fernández-Amaya (eds.) Studies in Pragmatics 14: A Multidisciplinary Approach to Service Encounters. Boston: Brill. Leiden, 139-163. https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004260160_008Ivorra Pérez, F.M. (2016). "Interpersonality and culture: an approach to the movie review genre." Odisea, 17, 159-183.https://doi.org/10.25115/odisea.v0i17.358Jewitt, C. (ed.) (2013). The Routledge Handbook of Multimodal Analysis. London: Routledge.Jewitt, C. (2016). "Multimodal analysis." In A. Georgakopoulou & T. Spilioti (eds.) Routledge Handbook of Language and Digital Communication. London: Routledge,69-84.John, S. (2005). The Writing Process and Writing Identity: Investigating the Influence of Revision on Linguistic and Textual Features of Writer Identity in Dissertations. UK: University of Birmingham. PhD Thesis (Unpublished).Kress, G. (2010). Multimodality: A Social semiotic approach to communication. London: Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203970034Kress, G., & van Leeuwen, T. (2001). Multimodal Discourse: The modes and media of contemporary communication. London: Arnold.Kress, G., & van Leeuwen, T. (2006). Reading Images: The Grammar of Visual Design. London: Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203619728Lewin, B. A. (1998). "Hedging: from and function in scientific research texts." In I. Fortanet & T. Dudley-Evans (eds.) Genre Studies in English for Academic Purposes. Castelló de la Plana: Publicaciones de la Universitat Jaume I: 89-104.Lorés-Sanz, R. (2008). "Authorial visibility in research article and research article abstracts: the intergeneric perspective." In S. Burgess & P. Martín-Martín (eds.) English as an Additional Language in Research Publication and Communication. Berlin: Peter Lang, 105-122.Lorés-Sanz, R. (2011a). "The construction of the author's voice in academic writing: the interplay of cultural and disciplinary factors." Text & Talk, 31/2, 173-193. https://doi.org/10.1515/text.2011.008Lorés-Sanz, R. (2011b). "The study of authorial voice: using a Spanish-English corpus to explore linguistic transference." Corpora, 6/1, 1-24. https://doi.org/10.3366/cor.2011.0002Lorés-Sanz, R., Mur-Dueñas, P., & Lafuente Millán, E. (2010). Constructing Interpersonality: Multiple Perspectives on Written Academic Genres. Newcastle upon Tyne, UK: Cambridge Scholars Publishing.Luzón, M.J. (2018). "Constructing academic identities online: Identity performance in research group blogs written by multilingual scholars." Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 33, 24-39. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeap.2018.01.004Martin, J.R. & White, M. (2005). The Language of Evaluation: Appraisal in English. London: Palgrave. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230511910Martínez, I.A. (2001). "Impersonality in the research article as revealed by analysis of the transitivity system." English for Specific Purposes, 20/3, 227-247. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0889-4906(00)00013-2Martínez, I.A. (2005). "Native and non-native writer's use of first person pronouns in the different sections of biology research articles in English." Journal of Second Language Writing, 14/3, 174-190. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jslw.2005.06.001Miller, C.R. (2014). "Genre as social action (1984), revisited 30 years later (2014)." Letras & Letras, 31/3, 56-72. https://doi.org/10.14393/LL63-v31n3a2015-5Mur-Dueñas, P., Lorés-Sanz, R., & Lafuente Millán, E. (2010). "Editorial." Journal of English for Academic Purposes (Special Issue on Interpersonality in Academic Writing), 9/2, 83-85. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeap.2010.02.006Salager-Meyer, F. (1994). "Hedges and textual communicative function in medical English written discourse." English for Specific Purposes, 13/2, 149-170. https://doi.org/10.1016/0889-4906(94)90013-2Salager-Meyer, F., Alcaraz-Ariza, M.A., & Zambrano, N. (2003). "The scimitar, the dagger and the glove: Intercultural differences in the rhetoric of criticism in Spanish, French and English medical discourse (1930-1995)." English for Specific Purposes, 22/3, 223-247. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0889-4906(02)00019-4Stock, I., & Eik-Nes, N. (2016). "Voice features in academic texts - A review of empirical studies." Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 24, 89-99. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeap.2015.12.006Stubbs, M. (1996). Text and Corpus Linguistics: Computer-Assisted Studies of Language and Culture. Oxford: Blackwell.Suau-Jiménez, F. (2016). "What can the discursive construction of stance and engagement voices in traveler forums and tourism promotional websites bring to a cultural, cross-generic and disciplinary view of interpersonality?" Ibérica, 31, 199-220.Suau-Jiménez, F., Lorés-Sanz, R., Mapelli, G., & Herrando-Rodrigo, I. (in press). "La interpersonalidad discursiva como propuesta alternativa al metadiscurso interpersonal." Onomázein, 54.Tang, R. (2004). An Approach to Written Academic Voice: Exploring the Interpersonal Negotiations in Student Academic Writing Through APPRAISAL. University of Birmingham. PhD Thesis (Unpublished).Tang, R. & John, S. (1999). "The 'I' in identity: Exploring writer identity in student academic writing through the first person pronoun". English Specific Purposes, 18, 23-39. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0889-4906(99)00009-5Thurlow, C., & Mroczek, K. (2011). "Introduction. Fresh Perspectives on New Media Sociolinguistics." In C. Thurlow. & Mroczek, K. (eds.) Digital Discourse: Language in the New Media. Oxford: Oxford University Press, xix-xliv. https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199795437.001.0001Turiman, S., Abdullah, N., & Noor, M. (2018). "Spoken metadiscourse in Malaysian ESL job interviews." Journal of Language Studies, 18/3, 135-152. https://doi.org/10.17576/gema-2018-1803-08Wise, L. (2005). "Blogs versus discussion forums in postgraduate on line continuing medical education". BlogTalk conference paper. Sydney.Yakhontova, T. (2006). "Cultural and disciplinary variation in academic discourse: The issue of influencing factors." Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 5, 153-167. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeap.2006.03.002Yamamoto, M. (2006). Agency and Impersonality: Their Linguistic and Cultural Manifestations. Amsterdam/ Philadelphia: John Benjamins. https://doi.org/10.1075/slcs.7

Apoyo en el aprendizaje de idiomas con nuevas tecnologías: Un estudio basado en la práctica de la enseñanza de idiomas con tecnología integrada

This paper aims to reflect on the results of the action research which was personally conducted in the English language lessons of a reduced group of the Programa de Diversificación curricular of 4th grade over a three weeks period. The purpose of study was to explore the effects of ICT as a teaching tool in the language classroom. The results are presented in terms of second language acquisition and students‘ motivation. The overall inference of the research is that students have a more positive attitude towards language learning when they are presented with engaging and challenging activities through technological devices that can better meet their generational needs. Nonetheless, results show that students continued with the same language level and skills may eventually were not significantly improved due to the short term nature of study