Sentence external elements in Catalan

This paper deals with the intonation of sentence external elements in Catalan. Its main purpose is to investigate the claim that there is a correspondence between prosodic form and grammatical function, so that syntactic independence is paralleled by prosodic independency. A related goal is to identify the mechanisms for signalling prosodic independency and/or dependency. To that end, a production experiment was devised eliciting the same sentences in different pitch ranges. The conclusion is that sentence external elements do not constitute a uniform category, either syntacticallyor prosodically. Quotation attributions are nearly always deaccented, appositions and non-restrictive relatives copy the pattern of the main phrase in a lower voice, some parentheticals are produced in a lower pitch range, while sentence adverbs do not show any tonal subordination at all

An exploratory study of translanguaging practices in an online beginners' foreign language classroom

Translanguaging, the movement between communicative modes and features of different languages, is becoming an established research tradition in content-focused second language learning contexts. Pedagogic translanguaging practices nevertheless remain under-applied and under-researched in foreign language instructional settings, whether face-to-face or online. Synchronous virtual foreign language classrooms represent particularly rich spaces in which to begin to explore such practices, due to their multimodal affordances on the one hand and their technical constraints on the other. This study examines the pedagogic translanguaging practices that occur in a corpus of beginner-level Spanish online group tutorial data. A macro-level analysis of the interactional patterns that occur within this context reveals that both teacher participants follow closely the pedagogic prescriptions provided by the course designers with regard to the activities they employ. The finding that these activities offer limited opportunities for students to move between communicative modes and languages may be attributed in part to the emphasis on spoken interaction in this particular setting. A complementary micro-level analysis nevertheless reveals a more autonomous and intuitive approach to the teachers' choice of language when mediating such activities. Instances of student code-switching are relatively few, however. The study concludes with a call to course designers and practitioners to experiment with integrating a wide range of pedagogic translanguaging opportunities into online foreign language classroom activities, with a view to enhancing teaching, learning and communication in such environments

Sentence external elements in Catalan

This paper deals with the intonation of sentence external elements in Catalan. Its main purpose is to investigate the claim that there is a correspondence between prosodic form and grammatical function, so that syntactic independence is paralleled by prosodic independency. A related goal is to identify the mechanisms for signalling prosodic independency and/or dependency. To that end, a production experiment was devised eliciting the same sentences in different pitch ranges. The conclusion is that sentence external elements do not constitute a uniform category, either syn- tactically or prosodically. Quotation attributions are nearly always deaccented, appositions and non-restrictive relatives copy the pattern of the main phrase in a lower voice, some parentheticals are produced in a lower pitch range, while sentence adverbs do not show any tonal subordination at all

Stress and accent: acoustic correlates of metrical prominence in Catalan

Abstract This study examines the phonetic correlates of stress and accent in Catalan, analyzing syllable duration, spectral balance, vowel quality, and overall intensity in two stress [stressed, unstressed] and in two accent conditions [accented, unaccented]. Catalan reveals systematic phonetic differences between accent and stress, consistent with previous work on Dutch, English, and Spanish (Slujter & va

Simplification of open educational resources in English

Open Educational Resources (OERs) aim to provide equal access to education to all. Yet, the language level used in OERs in English was found to require native speaker or advanced English language proficiency. There is a call to make these resources more comprehensible, yet, few previous studies have explored the effects of simplifying OERs for non-native English speakers (NNES). This study aims to address this gap by testing whether text simplification of OER reading materials facilitates text processing. To that end, eye-tracking stimulated recall interviews were conducted with nine NNES at lower levels of English proficiency reading authentic and linguistically simplified OERs in English. Content analysis of participants’ thought processes during each eye fixation and look-back in the texts suggested that text simplification led to a reduction in cognitive load and the increase in the usage of higher-level processing. Both findings provide some emerging evidence in support of the use of simplification when adapting OERs to the global audience of NNES. These findings are further discussed in the light of their practical applications for online teaching with OERs

Podcasts as a metacognitive strategy for improving listening comprehension and oral production in English as a Foreign Language

Este artículo presenta resultados preliminares de la implementación de un estudio financiado por un Proyecto de Innovación Docente con el objetivo de mejorar la comprensión auditiva y la pronunciación en inglés de los estudiantes de la asignatura de Inglés como Lengua Extranjera matriculados en una universidad española. Para ello, hemos desarrollado un programa de entrenamiento basado en principios metacognitivos. Los materiales son unos pódcast sobre temas atractivos para los jóvenes. Los participantes son 75 estudiantes de entre 18 y 21 años que están matriculados en el Grado de Maestro en Educación Primaria en una universidad española. Cada semana durante un periodo de cinco semanas, los participantes se graban a sí mismos leyendo un fragmento del texto antes de escuchar el texto completo. Luego escuchan el texto al menos una vez al día durante cinco días y se graban leyendo el mismo fragmento al final de cada semana. El programa se evalúa a través de cuestionarios (inicial, medial y final), registros de los participantes y grabaciones de los participantes. Los resultados iniciales muestran una mayor confianza de los alumnos en sus capacidades y un cambio hacia las creencias positivas y mayor motivación respecto al aprendizaje de lengua inglesa en la asignatura de inglés.This paper presents preliminary results from an Innovative Teaching Project that aims to improve the listening and pronunciation skills of first-year students studying English as a Foreign language at a Spanish university. We have designed a training programme based on metacognitive principles, using podcasts as a primary teaching tool. The study includes 75 participants between the ages of 18 and 21 who are registered in the Degree in Primary Education. Each week, participants record themselves reading an excerpt of a text before listening to the recording of the full text. They then listen to the complete recording at least once a day for 5 days and they record themselves reading the same excerpt again. We evaluate the effectiveness of the programme through questionnaires (at the beginning, middle and end of the programme), students’ logs and voice recordings. Preliminary results show that participation in the programme has increased students’ confidence in their language skills and improved their motivation and self-confidence towards learning English as a Foreign Language.Educació

Accessibility of Open Educational Resources:how well are they suited for English learners?

Open Educational Resources aim to offer learning to all, yet the language level used in resources could be a barrier to many potential learners. This paper examines the readability of 200 OER courses in English from two major OER course platforms. We compared the means of readability metrics between these OER courses at different educational levels and subject categories that the platforms offer using inferential statistics as well as cluster analyses. Results prove that there is a progression of difficulty between lower and higher educational levels with introductory courses being easier to read. However, the analysis also highlighted that more than 86% of the courses require an advanced level of English language proficiency. On the other hand, subject matter does not appear to be linked with the readability of the courses. This study contributes further to the current discussion of the inclusiveness of OER and the factors that hinder its universal use. The study addresses a gap in the literature as, to our knowledge, no other studies have analysed the linguistic accessibility of OER English learners and consideration of the meaning of the educational levels assigned to OER courses has been limited

Methods in prosody: A Romance language perspective

This book presents a collection of pioneering papers reflecting current methods in prosody research with a focus on Romance languages. The rapid expansion of the field of prosody research in the last decades has given rise to a proliferation of methods that has left little room for the critical assessment of these methods. The aim of this volume is to bridge this gap by embracing original contributions, in which experts in the field assess, reflect, and discuss different methods of data gathering and analysis. The book might thus be of interest to scholars and established researchers as well as to students and young academics who wish to explore the topic of prosody, an expanding and promising area of study

Methods in prosody: A Romance language perspective

This book presents a collection of pioneering papers reflecting current methods in prosody research with a focus on Romance languages. The rapid expansion of the field of prosody research in the last decades has given rise to a proliferation of methods that has left little room for the critical assessment of these methods. The aim of this volume is to bridge this gap by embracing original contributions, in which experts in the field assess, reflect, and discuss different methods of data gathering and analysis. The book might thus be of interest to scholars and established researchers as well as to students and young academics who wish to explore the topic of prosody, an expanding and promising area of study