La imitación de textos orales ingleses: ¿Una herramienta útil para aprender la pronunciación inglesa?

This is a report on a specific methodological intervention to improve the pronunciation of 15 Spanish students of English. For 14 weeks, the students were trained in the imitation of English recordings (from films and TV series). One initial (at week 1) and one final (at week 14) imitation, as well as a free speech delivered by every student (at week 14), were analysed. The results indicate that the students slightly improved their pronunciation when imitating but were unable to transfer the gains to their free speech. Students’ impressions were also investigated. All students found the activity helpful and motivating.Este trabajo presenta una intervención metodológica concreta para mejorar la pronunciación de 15 aprendices españoles de inglés. Durante 14 semanas los alumnos escucharon e imitaron extractos de series y películas en inglés. El análisis de datos incluye una imitación inicial (semana 1), una final (semana 14) y un pequeño discurso libre (semana 14) de cada alumno. Los análisis parecen indicar una leve mejora de la pronunciación en la imitación de textos pero cuyas características no parecen transferirse al discurso libre de los alumnos. Por otra parte, los alumnos explicaron que la actividad les había resultado útil y motivadora.This study was supported by the grant HUM2006-09775-C02-01/FILO awarded by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Technology

Are EFL Writers Motivated or Demotivated by Model Texts and Task Repetition? Evidence from Young Collaborative Writers

Studies on multi-stage writing tasks with adults and children have shown that model texts and task repetition aid language acquisition, especially when learners work in collaboration. However, these studies have not included measures of task motivation, which is vital in young learners (YLs) and could help develop a more comprehensive understanding of task effectiveness. The present study analyses task motivation in 24 EFL YLs writing in pairs during three sessions divided into a model group (MG) and a task repetition group (TRG). Results show that students’ task motivation is high in general but declines in the MG while it is maintained in the TRG. As for the motives, working together is the main reason students give to justify their positive scores. These results complete previous knowledge about models and TR, reinforce the value of collaborative writing and encourage the inclusion of motivation measures in task-based research.

La efectividad de la repetición: El caso de alumnos españoles de inglés como lengua extranjera en Educación Primaria

Special thanks go to the school José María de Huarte in Pamplona for granting permission to conduct the study and to the school teachers for donating their precious class time. Our most heartfelt gratitude to the students for their enthusiasm and help. Last but not least, thanks to Maite and Euri for being there 24/7.It has been claimed that the repetition of the same task type with different content, known as procedural repetition (PR), seems to offer opportunities to focus on form and develop syntactic complexity. At the same time, PR is common and deemed appropriate for the language classroom. This quasi-experimental study explores the effects of PR on the overall production of 5 pairs of young Spanish EFL (age 11) learners in a school context with a beginner level of English. The pairs co-constructed and narrated three stories following the same procedure at three testing times over a three-week period. The analysis of the complexity, accuracy, and fluency of their narratives shows that, unlike previous studies, PR does not have any significant impact on the students’ performance, except for lexical density, which increases in the third attempt. In light of these results, the validity of PR for child populations is discussed.Varios estudios han mostrado que repetir la misma tarea con diferente contenido, lo que se denomina repetición procedimental (RP), ayuda a prestar atención a la forma y al desarrollo sintáctico. Asimismo, la RP es común y apropiada para el aula. Este experimento investiga los efectos de la RP en la producción de 5 parejas de niños españoles (11 años) aprendiendo inglés como lengua extranjera en un colegio y con un nivel de principiante. Las parejas construyeron y narraron tres historias, una cada semana, siguiendo un procedimiento similar. El análisis de la complejidad, precisión y fluidez de sus narraciones muestra que la RP no tiene un impacto significativo en las narraciones de los estudiantes, excepto en el caso de la diversidad léxica, que mejora en la tercera narración. A la luz de los resultados, se discuten las posibilidades de la RP con niños.The authors gratefully acknowledge the funding from research grant FFI2012-32212 (Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness)

Spatial analysis of Euterpe edulis (Arecaceae) in the Atlantic Forest. Does adult density affect the spatial distribution of the seedlings?

Análisis espacial en plántulas de Euterpe edulis (Arecaceae) en el bosque Atlántico ¿Afecta la densidad de adultos a su distribución? Las actividad de frugívoros y dispersores de semillas determina la distribución de las plantas. Estudiamos la influencia de la dispersión de semillas en la distribución espacial del palmito (Euterpe edulis) en el bosque atlántico de Isla do Cardoso, Brasil. Nuestras preguntas fueron: 1) ¿condiciona la densidad de adultos de palmito la distribución de sus plántulas? y 2) ¿se distribuyen las plántulas de palmito de forma similar al resto de plántulas de especies leñosas de la zona? Para responderlas seleccionamos dos parcelas (10 m x 10 m) en las que mapeamos todos los individuos presentes en el área, y analizamos su distribución espacial. Encontramos una mayor cantidad, densidad y agregación de plántulas tanto de palmito como de otras especies en la parcela con mayor número de palmitos adultos. Además, la varianza del número de plántulas/0.25 m2 y la distancia en la que la varianza se estabiliza, fueron también mayores en la parcela con alta densidad de palmitos adultos que en la de menor densidad. La densidad de adultos de E. edulis parece condicionar no sólo la cantidad sino también la distribución a pequeña escala de las plántulas de conespecíficos así como de otras especies a través de la actividad de los frugívoros. La abundancia de juveniles sugiere sin embargo que mecanismos denso-dependientes actuando en etapas sucesivas del ciclo de vida, modifican estos patrones espaciales creados en inicio por los frugívoros.Spatial analysis of Euterpe edulis (Arecaceae) seedlings in the Atlantic Forest. Does adult density affect their spatial distribution? The activity of frugivores and seed dispersers can affect the spatial distribution of plants. We evaluated whether seed dispersal affected the spatial distribution of palmetto, Euterpe edulis, in the atlantic forest of Ihla do Cardoso, Brazil. Our specific questions were: 1) can adult density affect seedling distributions? and 2) do E. edulis seedlings distribute spatially similar to the seedlings of other woody species in the area? To answer these questions, we selected two (10 m x 10 m) plots and spatially mapped all the individuals occurring in them. We found more seedlings, higher densities and seedling clumping both for palmetto and other species in the plot with more E. edulis adults. Furthermore, both the variance in number of seedlings/0.25 m2 and the distance at which the variance estabilized were higher within the plot with higher adult density. These results suggest that the density of palmetto adults influences not only the quantity but also the spatial distribution of its seedlings and the seedlings of other species at finer spatial scales through the activity of frugivores. However, sapling´s abundance suggests that diverse density-dependence mechanisms acting on successive life-stages may modify the initial spatial pattern created by frugivores

Are EFL writers motivated or demotivated by model texts and task repetition? Evidence from young collaborative writers

Studies on multi-stage writing tasks with adults and children have shown that model texts and task repetition aid language acquisition, especially when learners work in collaboration. However, these studies have not included measures of task motivation, which is vital in young learners (YLs) and could help develop a more comprehensive understanding of task effectiveness. The present study analyses task motivation in 24 EFL YLs writing in pairs during three sessions divided into a model group (MG) and a task repetition group (TRG). Results show that students' task motivation is high in general but declines in the MG while it is maintained in the TRG. As for the motives, working together is the main reason students give to justify their positive scores. These results complete previous knowledge about models and TR, reinforce the value of collaborative writing and encourage the inclusion of motivation measures in task-based research.This work was supported by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (MINECO) under grant FFI2016-74950-P (AEI/FEDER/UE) and by the Government of Navarre (Spain) under grant (CENEDUCA18)

¿Deberían los profesores de inglés como lengua extranjera presentar el vocabulario agrupado en campos semánticos?

Teaching vocabulary in semantically related sets is common practice among EFL teachers. The present study tests the effectiveness of this method by comparing it to the alternative technique: presenting vocabulary in an unrelated way. In the study two intact classes of Spanish learners of English in high-school were presented with a set of unrelated and related words and were then asked to complete a post-test to measure the impact of both techniques on learning. The results indicate that, while both techniques successfully help the learners to acquire new words, presenting words in unrelated sets seems to be more effective.La enseñanza de vocabulario agrupado en campos semánticos es práctica habitual en el aula de inglés como lengua extranjera. En este estudio se compara esta técnica con su contraria, la presentación de vocabulario no relacionado, con dos grupos de alumnos de un instituto. Tras presentar las palabras con ambas técnicas los alumnos completaron un post-test. Los resultados muestran la efectividad de ambas técnicas pero con una ligera ventaja para la enseñanza de vocabulario no relacionado semánticamente

¿Deberían los profesores de inglés como lengua extranjera presentar el vocabulario agrupado en campos semánticos?

[EN] Teaching vocabulary in semantically related sets is common practice among EFL teachers. The present study tests the effectiveness of this method by comparing it to the alternative technique: presenting vocabulary in an unrelated way. In the study two intact classes of Spanish learners of English in high-school were presented with a set of unrelated and related words and were then asked to complete a post-test to measure the impact of both techniques on learning. The results indicate that, while both techniques successfully help the learners to acquire new words, presenting words in unrelated sets seems to be more effective.[ES] La enseñanza de vocabulario agrupado en campos semánticos es práctica habitual en el aula de inglés como lengua extranjera. En este estudio se compara esta técnica con su contraria, la presentación de vocabulario no relacionado, con dos grupos de alumnos de un instituto. Tras presentar las palabras con ambas técnicas los alumnos completaron un post-test. Los resultados muestran la efectividad de ambas técnicas pero con una ligera ventaja para la enseñanza de vocabulario no relacionado semánticamente

Enseñanza de la lectura a través de phinics en el aula de Lengua Extranjera de Educación Primaria

En la última década el aula de inglés ha cambiado en España principalmente en dos aspectos: el descenso en la edad de comienzo y el incremento en el número de horas. Sin embargo, la práctica docente no siempre se ha adaptado a estos cambios. Una carencia es la falta de método para ayudar al alumno a enfrentarse al texto escrito, lo cual dificulta el proceso lector y perjudica la pronunciación, ya que el alumno transfiere las normas grafo-fonémicas del castellano. Por ello, proponemos la utilización de los métodos de concienciación fonológica denominados phonics para enseñar a nuestros alumnos a leer en inglés.Over the last decade, Spanish EFL classrooms have changed dramatically: the onset age has gone down and the number of English sessions per week has increased. However, these changes have not always been accompanied by new teaching practices. A strong deficiency is the entire lack of method to assist Spanish children in EFL reading, which makes the process difficult and worsens the pronunciation due to L1 grapho-phonemic transfer. Within this context, we propose the use of phonics, phonological awareness methods designed to teach English natives to read, in EFL classrooms