Grammar features and discourse style in digital genres: the case of science-focused crowdfunding projects

As advances in digital media render new forms of knowledge dissemination, new genres in the Internet are attracting increasing scholarly attention. Yet, although these genres have been investigated extensively from the perspectives of rhetoric and discourse, research on their linguistic features is limited. To fill this gap, this study analyses grammar features and their functional associations in a corpus of crowdfunding project proposals. The study shows that these proposals are characterised by a structurally elaborate (not compressed) discourse style, with a high presence of both complex noun phrases containing post-modification and/or (finite and non-finite) clauses and verb phrases controlling subordinate clauses that make meanings very explicit. Salient among the findings is the hybrid discourse style of these proposals. Their style shows linguistic features associated with formal academic prose (complex noun phrases, phrases with embedded relative clauses with que, non-finite infinitive and participle clauses, and prepositional phrases as nominal post-modifiers) as well as features that are especially common in conversation (verb phrases encapsulating first person pronouns, and verb phrases with epistemic/deontic modals and non-face threatening expressions of modality). It is concluded that the hybridisation of this genre, as reflected in the use of linguistic features, is functionally motivated by the various communicative purposes of the genre—to inform about science, educate in science and create a persuasive appeal to prompt donation

Editorial

Like previously published issues, this new issue of Ibérica (Fall 2015) instantiates the international scope of the journal, as it compiles the work of scholars from three different geographical areas, Europe, South-America and Asia. The issue also illustrates the rich diversity of theoretical and empirical approaches that the field of Languages for Specific Purposes embraces. It is also worth noting in this editorial that Ibérica is a multilingual journal, and thus invites contributions in five academic languages – English, French, German, Portuguese and Spanish. Instantiating Ibérica ’s multilingual language policy and its support to multilingual publishing practices, this issue includes contributions in four languages...

Textual, genre and social features of spoken grammar: A corpus-based approach

This paper describes a corpus-based approach to teaching and learning spoken grammar for English for Academic Purposes with reference to Bhatia’s (2002) multi-perspective model for discourse analysis: a textual perspective, a genre perspective and a social perspective. From a textual perspective, corpus-informed instruction helps students identify grammar items through statistical frequencies, collocational patterns, context-sensitive meanings and discoursal uses of words. From a genre perspective, corpus observation provides students with exposure to recurrent lexico-grammatical patterns across different academic text types (genres). From a social perspective, corpus models can be used to raise learners’ awareness of how speakers’ different discourse roles, discourse privileges and power statuses are enacted in their grammar choices. The paper describes corpus-based instructional procedures, gives samples of learners’ linguistic output, and provides comments on the students’ response to this method of instruction. Data resulting from the assessment process and student production suggest that corpus-informed instruction grounded in Bhatia’s multi-perspective model can constitute a pedagogical approach in order to i) obtain positive student responses from input and authentic samples of grammar use, ii) help students identify and understand the textual, genre and social aspects of grammar in real contexts of use, and therefore iii) help develop students’ ability to use grammar accurately and appropriately

Editorial

It is a great pleasure to open this Editorial by informing Ibérica’s readership that the journal has renewed the Seal of Excellence (2016). This seal, which is awarded by the Spanish Foundation for Science and Technology (FECYT), is a recognition to those journals that fully comply with the high- quality standards set by FECYT. I would like to thank Ibérica’s national and international readership, as well as AELFE’s President and AELFE’s Executive Board for their institutional support to the journal. My special thanks, also, to the former journal Editor, the current editorial team, Editorial Board and International Editorial Board, for their generous time and dedication to the journal. Though in many different ways, and playing different roles, they have all supported the journal’s compliance with high quality standards and contributed to this achievement. ..

Editorial

A review of Languages for Specific Purposes (LSP) research over the past years, as seen through the lens of an international, JCR journal like Ibérica, reveals a wealth of interdisciplinary research on academic and professional discourses. This is also reflected in this new issue of Ibérica, which contains eight original research articles and two book reviews that provide rich interdisciplinary insight into LSP. All the contributions illustrate the wide- ranging scope of current research in the field of LSP, as well as the wide range of theoretical and methodological approaches. These various approaches enable us to gain a better grasp of how specific languages work and what functions they perform in real life communication. The eight contributions of this new issue are summed up below. The issue opens with an invited contribution by ELENA SHELDON, from the University of Technology, Sydney (Australia). Her article, entitled “dialogic spaces of knowledge construction in research article conclusion sections written by english l1, english l2 and spanish l1 writers”, provides a very insightful corpus-based comparison of evaluative resources in academic written discourse in three language variables..

How is the digital medium shaping research genres? Some cross-disciplinary trends

There is little dispute that technologies are impacting academic communication today, rendering new forms of accessing information and disseminating knowledge. To explore this impact, in the first part of the paper I review a selection of scholarly literature that addresses ways in which digital technologies are shifting the scholars’ information access behavior and introducing new forms of research dissemination. I also discuss how these new forms of communication are modeling new ecologies of genre systems and genre sets. In the second part of the paper I conduct genre analysis with a sample corpus of texts from different disciplines to illustrate how the emergence of new multimedia genres and the use of multimodality, hypertextuality and interdiscursivity features in genres within electronic environments appear to be pointing at generic evolution and innovation. In light of the findings, I propose some areas in which genre research can engage in interdisciplinary conversation (with ethnography, academic/digital literacies studies, situated genre analysis and reception studies). Regarding EAP instruction, I suggest a pedagogy that provides corpus-based linguistic and rhetorical input on the new genre formats, opportunities for noticing, hands-on practice and critical awareness of aspects of genre innovation and change

A Genre-oriented Translation-based Instruction to Professional Communication

This paper seeks to validate the use of translation as a methodological procedure that facilitates learners' interpretation of professional writing practices. We mainly contend that translation activities can become an adequate linguistic input in the teaching of professional written genres as regards the analysis of the linguistic, rhetorical and social components of these genres. Relying on the students' comparison of source text and target text, the paper discusses (i) how translation- based assignments reinforce the acquisition of lexico-grammatical patterns at a textual level, (ii) how L1 to L2 transfer foregrounds the way texts are organised and the way thematic elements are semantically connected within a rhetorical structure, and (iii) how translation-based noticing helps teachers raise learners' aware- ness of interpersonal mechanisms, epistemic positions and, more broadly speaking, of the construction and negotiation of social relations in the professional arena. As reported in the paper, teacher/students discussion in an ESP classroom illustrate the role of translation as a suitable pedagogical means to raise students' awareness of those textual, rhetorical and social aspects involved in professional genres.

Genres in the forefront, languages in the background: the scope of genre analysis in language-related scenarios

Drawing on bibliometric methods (citation analysis and content analysis) and literature review, this paper offers some critical reflections of how genre analysis has been used, applied, expanded and refined to address the challenges of a culturally and linguistically diverse academic and research community. The first reflection opens with a brief review of the privileged status of English as the international language of academic and research communication to discuss contrasting scholarly positions that regard ‘Englishization’ as either ‘help’ or ‘hindrance’. The second reflection focuses on rhetorical move analysis, an aspect of genre theory that to date has been little considered outside ESP/EAP traditions of genre analysis. It discusses how move analysis, in cross-fertilization with various theoretical/analytical frameworks, can add to our understanding of the way L2 academic English writers accomplish meso- and micro-rhetorical manoeuvres. The final reflection touches upon the impact of internationalization and research assessment policies on the current knowledge exchange, dissemination and publication practices to emphasize the value of the Swalesian task-based approach and advocate a multiliterate rhetorical consciousness-raising pedagogy. The paper concludes with some suggestions for future genre research and proposes ways of articulating cogent language instructional intervention to empower members of bi-/multiliterate academic and research communities professionally

A longitudinal attitude survey on English oral skills: classroom, curriculum, learning and pedagogy implications

Although English oral skills have often been a somewhat neglected aspect of foreign language learning within the Spanish educational context, they nonetheless represent a fundamental language component for successful communication in real life settings. To date, very little research has approached this issue in depth but the prospective assessment of oral skills in the 2012 Selectividad exam —as established by the Real Decreto 1892/2008— has raised debate and great concern on the issue. To contribute to this area of enquiry, this paper reports on a longitudinal survey on English teachers’ attitudes towards the assessment of oral skills in the new Selectividad English exam. The survey was conducted in 2004 and 2009 and involved almost 200 Bachillerato teachers from the Community of Aragón. Comparative results within the 5-year time span reflect similar attitudes, observations and comments from the two groups of respondents. Implications as regards classroom, learning, curriculum and pedagogy are discussed at the end of the paper

The Effect of External factors in SLA in a Naturalistic and Instrumental Environment.

La adquisición de una segunda lengua es un fenómeno que está creciendo exponencialmente debido al proceso de globalización que el mundo ha experimentado y que exige nuevas competencias lingüísticas para convivir y trabajar en entornos pluriculturales. Este trabajo pretende explicar cómo se produce la adquisición de una segunda lengua y cómo los factores externos afectan positiva o negativamente en un entorno natural y en un entorno instruccional. Para ello, se va a utilizar la herramienta del Council of Europe conocida como The Autobiography of Intercultural Encounters, ya que sirve para ayudar a los estudiantes de un idioma a explicar sus experiencias desde una perspectiva émica. Esta herramienta ha servido para narrar tres experiencias que el autor de este trabajo vivió mientras aprendía español e inglés en España. Partiendo de dicha metodología, se explicará cómo los factores externos interfirieron en su particular adquisición de la lengua, englobándolo todo ello en el marco teórico descrito por las principales autoridades académicas en la materia.<br /