Análisis de los aspectos intrínsecos y extrínsecos de la coherencia en los textos para la enseñanza del inglés académico y profesional

RESUMEN. En este artículo abordamos la evaluación de textos especializados, con fines docentes, mediante un estudio experimental basado en los rasgos de textualidad que hacen que el texto resulte coherente para sus lectores. Se comprueba, empíricamente, que existe una correlación positiva entre la adecuación del texto a los rasgos de textualidad y su comprensión por parte de los alumnos de ingeniería de Minas que han formado el grupo experimental. Queda patente cómo textos que en un primer análisis se pudiera afirmar que cumplen los criterios de textualidad, aplicados a otro contexto situacional distinto de aquel para el que fueron escritos, pueden no cumplir con los mismos criterios, resultando inadecuados o no totalmente inteligibles. Se constata que la coherencia textual no depende exclusivamente de factores intratextuales, sino también de aquellos otros extratextuales relacionados con la comunidad receptora. ABSTRACT. This article deals with the evaluation of specialised texts for eduactional purposes. It reports on an experimental study based on those textuality feactures which make a text coherent to the readers. It is empirically tested that there exists a positive correlation between textuality features of a given text and its reading comprehension by engineering students participating in the experimental study. It is shown how texts, that initially comply with textuality features, taken into a different context from that for which they were written, may become inadequate or even non understandable. It becomes evident that textual coherence does not depend exclusively on intratextual elements but on those extratextual ones related to the receiving community as well

Teaching writing through reading: a text-centred approach

Se comparan y contrastan las destrezas requeridas para la comprensión lectora con aquellas que se necesitan para la producción de escritos correctos, en inglés, coherentes y bien cohesionados. Se comentan las actividades didácticas relacionadas con ello.The aim of this article is to establish the relevance of teaching reading and writing skills to students at Madrid Polytechnic University, and to show the relationship and interdependence of these activities in EAP courses. The skills involved in reading and writing processes for academic purposes for L2 students are compared and commented on from a rhetorical point of view. Learning tasks based on text-type analysis are recommended as adequate activities to build schemata for writing and represent a synthesis of the teaching objectives proposed for reading and writing English courses

Estrategias metacognitivas y metalingüísticas empleadas en la redacción de los informes técnicos

Este trabajo presenta un análisis de las estrategias cognitivas, metacognitivas y metalingüísticas implicadas en la elaboración de los informes técnicos en las asignaturas de IPA, para alumnos de ciencias e ingenierías. Las aplicaciones didácticas se formulan en relación con los niveles comunicativos del Marco de Referencia Europeo para las lenguas, teniendo en cuenta uno de los géneros lingüísticos más frecuentes dentro de los ámbitos de la ciencia y la técnica.. ABSTRACT. This paper presents an analysis of cognitive, metacognitive and metalinguistic strategies implied in the written production of technical reports, as they may be considered in academic writing courses for science and engineering students. Methodological applications are made bearing in mind the European Framework of Reference for Languages in relation to one of the most frequent genres produced by scientists and engineers.

Funciones de la lectura en la enseñanza del inglés profesional y académico y estrategias de comprensión lectora

Este artículo analiza las funciones de la lectura en la enseñanza-aprendizaje del inglés profesional y académico, desde el marco de la comunicación, considerándola como un proceso interactivo entre lector y texto. El lector, alumno universitario que necesita desarrollar sus habilidades lingüísticas en inglés, como vehículo de transmisión del conocimiento científico. El texto, con la estructura propia de los géneros científicos, constituye para el alumno de habla española, además de un reto para el aprendizaje del IPA, una fuente de información. Para ello, se proponen unas actividades pedagógicas relacionadas con la didáctica de las estrategias lectoras previas, simultáneas y posteriores a la lectura de un texto. Abstract This article analyses the role of reading in the teaching of English for Professional and Academic Purposes from a communicative perspective, considering it as an interactive process between reader and text. The reader is a university student who needs to develop his linguistic abilities in English as a vehicle for the transmission of scientific knowledge. The text, with a structure proper of scientific genres, represents for the Spanish speaking student a stimulus for the learning of Academic English as well as a source of information. Several pedagogical activities, related to the methodology of teaching reading strategies: previous, simultaneous and after the reading process, are proposed

Alternative Assessment in Engineering Language Education: The case of the Technical University of Madrid

This article describes a research project involving students from nine different engineering degrees at the Technical university of Madrid. The purpose of the project was to analyze the use of peer and self assessment and the students? attitudes toward alternative assessment procedures

Exploring cognition processes in second language acquisition: the case of cognates and false-friends in EST

This article explores one aspect of the processing perspective in L2 learning in an EST context: the processing of new content words, in English, of the type ‘cognates’ and ‘false friends’, by Spanish speaking engineering students. The paper does not try to offer a comprehensive overview of language acquisition mechanisms, but rather it is intended to review more narrowly how our conceptual systems, governed by intricately linked networks of neural connections in the brain, make language development possible, creating, at the same time, some L2 processing problems. The case of ‘cognates and false friends’ in specialised contexts is brought here to illustrate some of the processing problems that the L2 learner has to confront, and how mappings in the visual, phonological and semantic (conceptual) brain structures function in second language processing of new vocabulary. Resumen Este artículo pretende reflexionar sobre un aspecto de la perspectiva del procesamiento de segundas lenguas (L2) en el contexto del ICT: el procesamiento de palabras nuevas, en inglés, conocidas como “cognados” y “falsos amigos”, por parte de estudiantes de ingeniería españoles. No se pretende ofrecer una visión completa de los mecanismos de adquisición del lenguaje, más bien se intenta mostrar cómo nuestro sistema conceptual, gobernado por una complicada red de conexiones neuronales en el cerebro, hace posible el desarrollo del lenguaje, aunque ello conlleve ciertas dificultades en el procesamiento de segundas lenguas. El caso de los “cognados” y los “falsos amigos”, en los lenguajes de especialidad, se trae para ilustrar algunos de los problemas de procesamiento que el estudiante de una lengua extranjera tiene que afrontar y el funcionamiento de las correspondencias entre las estructuras visuales, fonológicas y semánticas (conceptuales) del cerebro en el procesamiento de nuevo vocabulario

Los géneros lingüísticos científicos y técnicos. Aspectos pragmáticos y convencionales

Se analiza el concepto de género lingüístico contrastándolo con el de tipo de texto. Se describen las características de los géneros científicos y se relacionan y comentan los más frecuentemente utilizados por la comunidad científica. Se detallan los aspectos organizativos de cada género de acuerdo con las convenciones establecidas por la comunidad discursiva a la que se alude.This paper deals with the concepts of discourse, text, text-type and genre within the context of English for Science and Technology. There is an attempt to establish their boundaries, at times unclear, with the purpose of their clarification, following contextual reference and conventional aspects of the discourse community. Examples of the use of these terms by different authors are discussed, reaching the conclusion that texts are the material realisation of discourse whereas genre represents the pragmatic dimension of a type of text, constructed according to the purpose assigned to it by the discourse community. Taking into account the communicative purpose of the text producer and the scientific community where they occur, several genre texts are described, which should be of interest for the teaching of English in academic settings

Self-assessment based on language learning outcomes: a study with first year engineering students

As the Bologna Process moves forward, changes in European systems of higher education are expected. The introduction of the ECTS focussing on the students’ achievements described in terms of the learning outcomes and competences acquired is one of the innovations. This process, encouraged by Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, signifies a change in teaching focus, from an input model to an output one, which promotes self-assessment in a flexible curriculum, in this case adapted to student’s language profile. To illustrate this new approach in language learning, a pilot experience with Technical English mining engineering students is discussed, with special attention to learner reflection and self-assessment practices. Students’ progress in self-assessment, based on the introduction of learning outcomes in specific language courses, is analysed to conclude that personal engagement and clear purpose -specified in terms of learning outcomes- seem to have become relevant components to student's self-assessment practice

Constitutive metaphor and mental mappings: meaning construction in the language of science and technology

The study of scientific and technical language, where metaphor is central, is enriched by the cognitive linguistics approach. This paper is based on the research project that culminated in the Bilingual Dictionary of Scientific and Technical Metaphors and Metonymies, developed to depict metaphorical terms and mental mappings, thus unfolding cognitive metaphors in science and technology. Although terminological metaphors as a whole exceed widely in number those that constitute part of conceptual metaphors, the importance of the latter radicates in its relevance as a constitutive element of scientific thought and language. Focusing on the analysis of metaphorical terms from earth sciences, agronomy, and mechanical engineering, the study reveals the presence of several conceptual metaphors, typified as ‘humanizing’, ‘organicist’, and ‘objectual’, according to their source domain’s nature. The work presents some very productive conceptual metaphorical patterns found in knowledge representation in engineering, in English and in Spanish, and shows evidence that metaphorical reasoning is a mechanism present at the core of creative scientific development albeit certain socio-cultural variations. This contribution opens a door for further research on the role of metaphor in constructing meaning within all branches of science and technology, as well as on the study of knowledge representation variations in different languages and cultures

Language Communication Competencies in Engineering Education Revisited

The ability to learn languages and adapt communication competencies to the changing needs and situations of a global knowledge society and the European Higher Education area is becoming a necessity for future engineers. This article first discusses the demand for communication skills in Engineering Education in general. Secondly, it describes the present state of the Bologna process in Spanish higher education, which calls for a change in focus from an input model to an output one, in which learning outcomes are central. Finally, it summarizes the proposal of developing a ªbankº of language learning outcomes for Engineering Education studies framed within the European Language Portfolio. This bank of learning outcomes, expressed as ªcan doº statements, will serve three purposes: curricula guidance for teachers, guidelines for student life-long learning and autonomous learning