Grammar instruction and the acquisition of gustar-type verbs by English-speaking learners of Spanish

Spanish gustar-type verbs form part of a group called psych verbs (Belletti and Rizzi 1988). These verbs pose potential learnability problems for English-speaking learners of college-level Spanish since the most frequent and unmarked word order with gustar-constructions is OVS in contrast to the obligatory SVO pattern in English. This study addresses two questions: a) Does instruction promote the acquisition of gustar-type verbs? b) If so, are there task effects1? A total of 24 upper-level beginners (first year, second semester) of Spanish as an FL participated in this study: 12 formed part of the treatment group and 12 were included in the control group. Two threepart tests were administered in a 3-week period. The pre- and post-teaching tests consisted of a multiple-choice task, a scrambled sentences task and a free production task, and were distributed during the first and third week, respectively. Teaching which consisted of grammar explanation and practice took place the third day of class of the first week. A total of six days of class elapsed between both tests. Results indicated that the treatment group outperformed the control group in the scrambled sentences and the multiplechoice tasks, but not in the free production task in the post-teaching test. A task effect was found: production of target-like forms by both the experimental and control groups decreased as production became less controlled

Construcciones con verbo soporte, verbo simple y nombre predicativo: un ejemplo en griego antiguo

El análisis de las estructuras de complementación o marcos predicativos (MP) resulta eficaz en el estudio de las construcciones con verbo soporte (CVS): por un lado como complemento al criterio de la comparación de estas construcciones con los verbos simples correspondientes y, por otro, en relación con la naturaleza predicativa y estructura argumental del nombre de estas construcciones. Los nombres πόλεμος, μάχη, είρήνη se combinan con el verbo ποιέω en dos tipos de construcciones diferentes: con el verbo en voz media constituyen una CVS y con el verbo en voz activa este se comporta como un verbo pleno. Esta distribución podría no ser absolutamente nítida en el caso de μάχην ποιέω.The analysis of predicate frames (PF) is effective in studying support verb constructions (SVC): on the one hand, as a complement to the test of comparison between these structures and the corresponding simple verbs and, on the other, in relation to the predicative nature of the noun in these constructions and its argument structure. The nouns πόλεμος, μάχη, είρήνη are combined with the verb ποιέω in two different types of construction: with the middle voice forms they constitute a SVC, whereas with the active voice forms the verb acts as a full verb. This distribution may not be quite clear in the case of μάχην ποιέω

The treatment of vocabulary in EFL textbooks

This empirical study researches the treatment given to vocabulary in current textbooks published for teaching English as a foreign and/or second language (EFL/ESL). The article starts with a description of some of the strengths and weaknesses of L2 textbooks. It continues with different aspects related to the introduction of new vocabulary such as ways of organizing it and the main presentation techniques. It moves on to vocabulary practice and factors that influence L2 vocabulary retention in long term memory. Furthermore, the importance of other lexical aspects such as vocabulary recycling, vocabulary learning strategies and the presence of glossaries with L1 translation equivalents at the end of textbooks is discussed. The rest of the article is devoted to the empirical study which consisted of (a) an analysis of 12 textbooks for teaching English in Spain and (b) a questionnaire distributed among 116 Spanish EFL teachers in order to assess their views of the treatment of vocabulary in EFL textbooks they were using. The analysis of the data from both sources, that is, the textbooks under scrutiny and the responses to the questionnaire reveals that the treatment of vocabulary in current EFL textbooks is rather traditional and economic benefits are given preference over pedagogical ones.En este estudio empírico se examina el tratamiento dado al léxico en libros de texto para la enseñanza del inglés como lengua extranjera o segunda lengua (LE/SL) y que están en uso. El artículo parte de una descripción de los puntos fuertes y las debilidades de los libros de texto destinados a la enseñanza de L2. Continúa con aspectos que hacen referencia a la presentación del vocabulario nuevo como son las distintas formas de organizar la presentación de dicho vocabulario y las técnicas de presentación más destacadas, para pasar a la práctica del vocabulario y los factores que ejercen influencia en la retención del léxico en una L2 en la memoria a largo plazo. Asimismo, se revisa la importancia de otros aspectos léxicos como, por ejemplo, el reciclaje del léxico, las estrategias de aprendizaje del vocabulario y la presencia de índices léxicos con traducción a la L1 al final del libro de texto. El resto del artículo se centra en el estudio empírico en el que se analizaron 12 libros de texto para la enseñanza del inglés en España junto con un cuestionario distribuido a 116 profesores españoles de inglés como LE para estudiar sus opiniones acerca del tratamiento dado al vocabulario en libros de texto en uso para la enseñanza del inglés como LE. El análisis de los libros de texto y de los cuestionarios indica que el tratamiento dado al vocabulario en libros de texto actuales para la enseñanza del inglés como LE es bastante tradicional y en dicho tratamiento se le otorga preferencia a los factores económicos antes que a los pedagógicos

Preface

This volume contains a collection of articles that present dierent mathematical approaches to languages. Languages can be natural or formal/articial. In both cases, we can dene a language as a set of sentences, where a sentence is a nite string of symbols over an alphabet. Therefore, languages, natural or articial, are particular cases of symbol systems

Aggregation with Recombination Patterns

In this paper, we show the commonalities between aggregation processes in Natural Language Generation and recombination patterns, a framework introduced recently as a way of generating complex sentences in natural languages using very simple recombination –and therefore biological– rules. By showing similarities between these two mechanisms, we suggest the possibility of carrying out aggregation by means of recombination patterns. We also refer to the possibility of using such a biological-motivated framework in the design of efficient and simple natural language generation devices

GNS: Abstract Syntax for Natural Languages

This paper presents an overview of General Natural Syntax (GNS), a formal theory of general explicative power that generalizes and formalizes syntactic concepts in order to oer a general notion of syntax that is independent of any particular language

El pluralismo y la diversidad en los contenidos (inter)culturales de los libros de texto para la enseñanza de inglés en los centros bilingües de Andalucía

Pluralism and diversity in the (inter)cultural content of EFL textbooks in Andalusian bilingual schools. The teaching of (inter)cultural content in L2 classrooms has acquired an increasingly prominent role, as shown by the ‘Bilingual Schools’ program within the ‘Multilingualism Promotion Program’ (2005) in Andalusia (Spain). This study examines whether the (inter)cultural content introduced in a set of 10 EFL textbooks is pluralist and diversified. Specifically, the selected textbooks were published between 2006 and 2012 and are being used in bilingual public schools at the required secondary education level in Andalusia. It is concluded that the (inter)cultural content found in these textbooks concerning the English-speaking world tends to be selective and homogeneous and that these required teaching materials in use in the Bilingual Schools program do not promote the development of (inter)cultural pluralism or diversity.Hoy en día la enseñanza de contenidos (inter)culturales en aulas de L2 ha adquirido un papel cada vez más relevante, tal y como se evidencia en el programa de ‘Centros Bilingües’ dentro del ‘Plan de Fomento del Plurilingüismo’ (2005) en Andalucía (España). Este estudio investiga si el enfoque (inter)cultural que se emplea en un conjunto de 10 libros de texto para la enseñanza del inglés como lengua extranjera es pluralista y diversificado. En concreto, los libros de texto analizados se publicaron entre 2006 y 2012 y se usan actualmente en institutos de Enseñanza Secundaria Obligatoria dentro de la red de institutos bilingües en Andalucía. Se concluye que en estos libros los contenidos (inter)culturales referentes al mundo de habla inglesa tienden a ser selectivos y homogéneos y que estos materiales pedagógicos obligatorios en uso en el programa Centros Bilingües no fomentan el desarrollo del pluralismo ni de la diversidad (inter)culturales