El pensamiento en la clase de inglés: fuente de poder o vulnerabilidad

The students’ thoughts are a source of power when they are used correctly in the EFL classroom, but, on the contrary, they may be an obstacle to learning and cause emotional instability if the students do not use them well. According to general studies of psychology, thoughts can be classified as relevant and irrelevant. A relevant thought takes place when a person dedicates his thinking to a specific task. For instance, a student is doing a multiple-choice exercise about phrasal verbs, and makes hypothesis and deductions from his knowledge of phrasal verbs in order to do the exercise. Then, as those relevant thoughts take place, other thoughts that are not related directly to that exercise emerge. Those can be irrelevant thoughts when they do not help in doing the task, and interfere with relevant thoughts. They refer to intrapersonal matters, as self-efficacy, motivation, self-esteem, etc. For instance, the student thinks: “I won’t be able to do the exercise” or “I should have studied harder”, etc. However, these irrelevant thoughts can be facilitating to the task if the student is able to analyze those thoughts and change them into positive ones: “I will do my best” or “Although I have not studied hard, I will give it a chance” .This paper shows how cognition and emotion relate to each other and how relevant and irrelevant thoughts are created. It will also explain how the language learner employs self-defense mechanisms as s/he finds difficulties or aversion in doing learning tasks. As a general consideration, irrelevant thoughts can be as important as relevant thoughts in learning a language. Moreover, many researchers claim that they are responsible for determining success or failure in ordinary classroom learning tasks

Una forma de reducir la ansiedad en los exámenes orales de inglés como lengua extranjera: técnica de reevaluación positiva

This paper deals with a research project, which aims to analyze the application of a technique in order to reduce anxiety in foreign language oral exams. After considering reasons for the existence of exam anxiety and some options for anxiety reduction, the technique of positive reevaluation is described and presented as a possible alternative. An empirical study carried out with secondary-school students showed reduction of anxiety when using this technique.The study attempts to verify the hypothesis that anxiety levels drop when candidates, who perceive the oral exam negatively, reevaluate their own performance at the start of the exam and succeed in perceiving it positively. To facilitate this, examiners model their discourse at the very beginning of the oral exam, providing candidates with comprehensible input and the opportunity to reduce their anxiety

UNA FORMA DE REDUCIR LA ANSIEDAD EN LOS EXÁMENES ORALES DE INGLÉS COMO LENGUA EXTRANJERA: TÉCNICA DE REEVALUACIÓN POSITIVA

AbstractThis paper deals with a research project, which aims to analyze the application of a technique in order to reduce anxiety in foreign language oral exams. After considering reasons for the existence of exam anxiety and some options for anxiety reduction, the technique of positive reevaluation is described and presented as a possible alternative. An empirical study carried out with secondary-school students showed reduction of anxiety when using this technique.The study attempts to verify the hypothesis that anxiety levels drop when candidates, who perceive the oral exam negatively, reevaluate their own performance at the start of the exam and succeed in perceiving it positively. To facilitate this, examiners model their discourse at the very beginning of the oral exam, providing candidates with comprehensible input and the opportunity to reduce their anxiety

EL PENSAMIENTO EN LA CLASE DE INGLÉS: FUENTE DE PODER O VULNERABILIDAD

AbstractThe students’ thoughts are a source of power when they are used correctly in the EFL classroom, but, on the contrary, they may be an obstacle to learning and cause emotional instability if the students do not use them well. According to general studies of psychology, thoughts can be classified as relevant and irrelevant. A relevant thought takes place when a person dedicates his thinking to a specific task. For instance, a student is doing a multiple-choice exercise about phrasal verbs, and makes hypothesis and deductions from his knowledge of phrasal verbs in order to do the exercise. Then, as those relevant thoughts take place, other thoughts that are not related directly to that exercise emerge. Those can be irrelevant thoughts when they do not help in doing the task, and interfere with relevant thoughts. They refer to intrapersonal matters, as self-efficacy, motivation, self-esteem, etc. For instance, the student thinks: “I won’t be able to do the exercise” or “I should have studied harder”, etc. However, these irrelevant thoughts can be facilitating to the task if the student is able to analyze those thoughts and change them into positive ones: “I will do my best” or “Although I have not studied hard, I will give it a chance” .This paper shows how cognition and emotion relate to each other and how relevant and irrelevant thoughts are created. It will also explain how the language learner employs self-defense mechanisms as s/he finds difficulties or aversion in doing learning tasks. As a general consideration, irrelevant thoughts can be as important as relevant thoughts in learning a language. Moreover, many researchers claim that they are responsible for determining success or failure in ordinary classroom learning tasks

A systematic review on evidences supporting quality indicators of bilingual, plurilingual and multilingual programs in higher education

This systematic review intends to report on the strength of evidences supporting the quality indicators (predictors) attributed to higher education bilingual, plurilingual or multilingual practices and programs across four key dependent variables (outcomes) analyzed (i.e., student performance, second language proficiency, employment, and motivation and attitudes). The rapid growth of both offer and demand of this type of higher education and learning worldwide requires the implementation of high-quality evaluation strategies and techniques to measure potential causal links between interventions and results. To do so, a pre-specified systematic review protocol following the Campbell Collaboration (2015) recommendations is designed and implemented. The results suggest the urgent need to increase the primary research quality standards in this sub-discipline by reducing bias in the processes of designing, implementing and reporting research. Despite the scarcity of results sustained on statistical conclusions with the higher statistical power found in this review, specific results of the dependent variables indicate that this type of education benefits students’ performance and second language proficiency, with a higher impact on receptive skills. Although no results were obtained concerning student employment, other results point out that there is general satisfaction of participation with the programs. Finally, several recommendations on how to scale up those quality research standards in this sub-discipline are provided

Clonal chromosomal mosaicism and loss of chromosome Y in elderly men increase vulnerability for SARS-CoV-2

The pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19) had an estimated overall case fatality ratio of 1.38% (pre-vaccination), being 53% higher in males and increasing exponentially with age. Among 9578 individuals diagnosed with COVID-19 in the SCOURGE study, we found 133 cases (1.42%) with detectable clonal mosaicism for chromosome alterations (mCA) and 226 males (5.08%) with acquired loss of chromosome Y (LOY). Individuals with clonal mosaic events (mCA and/or LOY) showed a 54% increase in the risk of COVID-19 lethality. LOY is associated with transcriptomic biomarkers of immune dysfunction, pro-coagulation activity and cardiovascular risk. Interferon-induced genes involved in the initial immune response to SARS-CoV-2 are also down-regulated in LOY. Thus, mCA and LOY underlie at least part of the sex-biased severity and mortality of COVID-19 in aging patients. Given its potential therapeutic and prognostic relevance, evaluation of clonal mosaicism should be implemented as biomarker of COVID-19 severity in elderly people. Among 9578 individuals diagnosed with COVID-19 in the SCOURGE study, individuals with clonal mosaic events (clonal mosaicism for chromosome alterations and/or loss of chromosome Y) showed an increased risk of COVID-19 lethality

La comunicación oral del inglés en España: influencia de los aspectos educativos y mediáticos en el éxito del aprendizaje

Que los españoles no saben defenderse en una conversación cotidiana en inglés no es una aseveración de carácter novedosa, pero sí de tratamiento urgente. Mientras que los últimos datos indican que el inglés es el idioma más hablado en la Unión Europea en su conjunto, y que se considera lengua franca (Crystal, 2003), menos del 30% de la población española se muestra capaz de poder comunicarse en dicho idioma (Comisión Europea 2005; 2006). Esta situación puede poner en peligro, entre otros aspectos, la cohesión social europea ante un claro desequilibrio de las oportunidades de movilidad laboral y estudiantil. Este artículo aborda esta problemática y analiza los principales factores que conducen al éxito del aprendizaje del inglés, agrupándolos en las categorías lingüística, educativa, social y mediática. Ante la ausencia de estudios empíricos, se han empleado informes de organismos oficiales, literatura científica y observación profesional para basar los argumentos. Si bien no se pueden ofrecer conclusiones definitivas, se describen los factores educativos y mediáticos como importantes influyentes en el éxito del aprendizaje del idioma.The fact that the Spanish cannot hold an everyday conversation in English comes as no surprise, but it remains a matter for urgent redress. Although recent research shows that English is the most widely spoken language in the European Union as a whole, and that it is considered a lingua franca (Crystal, 2003), less than 30% of the Spanish population are able to communicate in said language (European Commission 2005; 2006). This situation may negatively affect the EU’s consolidation process since there is a clear imbalance in the opportunities for student and work mobility. This article tackles this issue and analyses the factors that contribute towards success in learning English, through grouping these factors into those that are linguistic, educational, social, and media-based. In the absence of empirical studies, official reports, scientific literature and professional observation are drawn upon to develop and sustain the argumentation. Although definite conclusions cannot be reached, educational and media factors have been identified as strong influences on foreign language success

Foreign language as a social instrument in the European Higher Education Area

The consolidation of the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) has brought forward significant changes in the conception of teaching and learning. In the area of foreign language teaching/learning those changes have been accompanied by the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFRL), which advocates for the development of communicative language competences in the context of formal instruction. This paper aims to answer whether the new EHEA language learning guidelines point to the appropriate direction and highlights the role of language as a social instrument to favour language learning and to encompass the EHEA. It also discusses the role of society, identity, and its influence to language learning

La evaluación en el aprendizaje integrado de contenido y lengua extranjera

En este capítulo se examina el proceso de evaluación en AICLE (Aprendizaje Integrado de Contenido y Lengua Extranjera) tanto para el área língüística como para la no lingüística, y se proponen pautas metodológicas para la administración de instrumentos de evaluación. Además, se describen y analizan elementos innovadores del proceso, como la evaluación de competencias y la evaluación de los conocimientos declarativos y no declarativos