Teaching English Word Order to ESL Spanish Students. A Functional Perspective

This paper's main goal is to approach the problem of teaching English word order to Spanish native speakers from a functional point of view. It is a well known belief that English is a fairl y rigid SVO word order language whereas Spanish is a more flexible tongue which orders claus e constituents pragmatically. As ESL teachers, we are all aware of the problems that thi s difference causes to the ESL Spanish leamer not only in early stages of leaming but beyond . In this study we will provide an account for the m ost common problems regarding word order found in a sample of ESL student compositions written by Spanish native speakers at th e University Autónoma of Madrid and later we will sugg est some didactic lines of action which could be useful to familiarize students with English word order and the pragmatic organizatio n of English sentencesNuestra intención en este artículo es estudiar el orden de los constituyentes en la oración declarativa en inglés desde un punto de vista funcional. Es bien sabido que el inglés tiene un orden de palabras bastante rígido gobernado por la sintaxis, mientras que el español es una lengua mucho más flexible, que dispone del orden de los elementos en la frase con fines pragmáticos. Nuestro objetivo es dar cuenta de cuáles son los problemas más comunes que la rigidez del orden de los constituyentes en la cláusula en inglés causa a los alumnos hispano - hablantes. Para ello analizaremos una muestra de redacciones escritas por estudiantes de la Universidad Autónoma de Madrid. Después realizaremos algunas sugerencias didácticas que pueden resultar útiles para familiarizar a los estudiantes con el orden de constituyentes en la claúsula en inglés

EL USO DEL LENGUAJE EVALUATIVO EN LOS DIARIOS REFLEXIVOS DE LOS PROFESORES DE INGLÉS EN FORMACIÓN: UN ESTUDIO DE CORPUS

This article presents a computer-assisted discourse analysis of the main topics and evaluative parameters used by student teachers of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) in their reflective journals. By applying Bednarek’s parameter-based approach to the study of evaluation, 329 reflective journals (aprox. 90,000 words) were analyzed by using the UAM Corpus Tool. The correlation of three sources of data – topic analysis, evaluative parameters and keywords – allowed to uncover the most typical evaluative language choices made by EFL student teachers in their reflective journals and their overall evaluation of their training process during their prácticum studies. Results show that most journal entries pivot around the figure of the secondary student of EFL and that student teachers feel confident enough as to explicitly assess products, performances, and human behavior along the emotivity and the expectedness parameters. Findings are discussed in relation to the development of the EFL student teachers’ professional teaching identity and on the contextual factors that promote it or hinder it.Este artículo presenta un análisis asistido por ordenador de los principales temas y parámetros de evaluación utilizados por los futuros profesores de inglés como lengua extranjera (ILE) en sus diarios reflexivos. En base al estudio de parámetros de evaluación propuesto por Bednarek, se analizaron 329 entradas de diarios de aula (aproximadamente 90.000 palabras) con la herramienta UAM Corpus Tool. La correlación de tres fuentes de datos (análisis de temas, parámetros de evaluación y palabras clave) permitió mostrar el uso del lenguaje evaluativo que hacen los futuros profesores de inglés y su valoración del proceso de capacitación recibido durante el prácticum en los centros de secundaria. Los resultados muestran que la mayoría de los diarios reflexivos analizados giran en torno a la figura del estudiante de inglés de secundaria y que los futuros profesores de inglés evalúan explícitamente productos, actuaciones y comportamientos humanos en base a los parámetros positivo/negativo y esperado/inesperado. Los resultados se analizan en relación con el desarrollo de la identidad profesional de los futuros docentes de ILE y sobre los factores contextuales que la promueven u obstaculizan.This article presents a computer-assisted discourse analysis of the main topics and evaluative parameters used by student teachers of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) in their reflective journals. By applying Bednarek’s parameter-based approach to the study of evaluation, 329 reflective journals (aprox. 90,000 words) were analyzed by using the UAM Corpus Tool. The correlation of three sources of data – topic analysis, evaluative parameters and keywords – allowed to uncover the most typical evaluative language choices made by EFL student teachers in their reflective journals and their overall evaluation of their training process during their prácticum studies. Results show that most journal entries pivot around the figure of the secondary student of EFL and that student teachers feel confident enough as to explicitly assess products, performances, and human behavior along the emotivity and the expectedness parameters. Findings are discussed in relation to the development of the EFL student teachers’ professional teaching identity and on the contextual factors that promote it or hinder it

Teaching English Word Order to ESL Spanish Students. A Functional Perspective

This paper's main goal is to approach the problem of teaching English word order to Spanish native speakers from a functional point of view. It is a well known belief that English is a fairl y rigid SVO word order language whereas Spanish is a more flexible tongue which orders claus e constituents pragmatically. As ESL teachers, we are all aware of the problems that thi s difference causes to the ESL Spanish leamer not only in early stages of leaming but beyond . In this study we will provide an account for the m ost common problems regarding word order found in a sample of ESL student compositions written by Spanish native speakers at th e University Autónoma of Madrid and later we will sugg est some didactic lines of action which could be useful to familiarize students with English word order and the pragmatic organizatio n of English sentencesNuestra intención en este artículo es estudiar el orden de los constituyentes en la oración declarativa en inglés desde un punto de vista funcional. Es bien sabido que el inglés tiene un orden de palabras bastante rígido gobernado por la sintaxis, mientras que el español es una lengua mucho más flexible, que dispone del orden de los elementos en la frase con fines pragmáticos. Nuestro objetivo es dar cuenta de cuáles son los problemas más comunes que la rigidez del orden de los constituyentes en la cláusula en inglés causa a los alumnos hispano - hablantes. Para ello analizaremos una muestra de redacciones escritas por estudiantes de la Universidad Autónoma de Madrid. Después realizaremos algunas sugerencias didácticas que pueden resultar útiles para familiarizar a los estudiantes con el orden de constituyentes en la claúsula en inglés

USING DIGITAL STORIES TO IMPROVE LISTENING COMPREHENSION WITH SPANISH YOUNG LEARNERS OF ENGLISH

This paper examines the effects that digital stories may have on the understanding of spoken English by a group of 6-year-old Spanish learners. To accomplish this aim, a quasi-experimental research study was launched in six state schools in Madrid. A pre-post test design was used to investigate whether internet-based technology could improve listening comprehension in English as a Foreign Language (henceforth, EFL). Findings indicate that the experimental group outperformed the control group in the final test administered. These results raise interesting issues related to the use of technology in the context of foreign language learning. Future research which includes other age groups and digital materials and which explores other linguistic areas could further substantiate the link between Information and Communication Technology (ICT) rich environment and improved language learning

Teachers’ narratives of resistance to Madrid's bilingual programme: an exploratory study in secondary education

This paper looks at secondary teachers’ discourse about Madrid's Bilingual Programme (Spain). Madrid's Bilingual Programme is a large education plan whereby some content subjects are taught in a foreign language –mainly English– following Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) and whose characteristics and ubiquity have had an impact on teachers’ daily lives and professional career. By drawing on both Grounded Theory and Positioning Theory as analytical tools, data were collected and analysed from the transcription and annotation of 30 semi-structured interviews with experienced secondary teachers working in CLIL and non-CLIL secondary schools. Our findings point to clear tensions in reconciling these teachers’ personal beliefs and professional motivations within the current organisational and political setting and describe a pattern of resistance towards the Bilingual Programme which manifests discursively through emphatic and emotional verbalisations. The results may be of interest to education authorities, policy makers and researchersThis work was supported by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Competitiveness (Research Project FFI2016-77540-P

Primary teachers' insights on the use of the internet in their english as a foreign language lessons: a research case study

While language teachers are progressively aware of the potential benefits of technology in foreign language instruction, one challenge they face is how to implement effective technology-based language tasks. This paper reports on the results from a case study on the instructional experience of a group of teachers in a research project aimed at investigating the effects of Internet-based instruction on six year old children’s linguistic outcome in English as a foreign language. The analysis of pre- and post- questionnaires provides data on the teachers’ expectations, achievements and the difficulties they came across when using Internet-based tasks in the EFL classroom.A la vez que el profesorado de idiomas se va concienciando de las potenciales ventajas de la tecnología en la enseñanza de lenguas extranjeras, se enfrenta al desafío de llevar a clase tareas eficaces basadas en el uso de la tecnología. Este artículo presenta los resultados de un estudio de caso sobre la experiencia de un grupo de profesores en un proyecto de investigación sobre los efectos de la enseñanza a través de Internet en la producción lingüística en inglés de niños de seis años. El análisis de los cuestionarios pre y post test proporciona datos sobre las expectativas de los profesores, sobre sus logros y las dificultades a las que se enfrentaron al llevar a clase de inglés tareas basadas en el uso de Internet.We would like to thank UAM for their financial support during the development of this research project

I Feel as if I Were a Real Teacher”: An Analysis of EFL Student Teachers’ Evaluative Discourse through Appraisal Theory

The present paper reports on the results of a study on how future teachers of English as a Foreign Language (henceforth, EFL) at the Universidad Autonomy of Madrid (UAM) linguistically construe themselves and their teaching experiences in their written narratives. Data is obtained from the quantitative and qualitative analysis of the refl ective journals that EFL student teachers at the UAM write on a weekly basis during their twelve week practicum in the region of Madrid. Drawing on Appraisal Th eory (Th e Appraisal Web site; Martin; Martin and White) and more specifi cally, by the study of the attitude subsystem, this paper shows that attitudinal resources are prevalent and varied in the student teachers’ written narratives analysed, that they are expressed explicitly and that they are mainly positive. Findings also show that student teachers’ assessments go along with some evaluative parameters that go beyond the evaluation of participants, processes and things as positive or negative. Data is discussed in relation with the writers’ emergent professional identity and with the diff erent variables observedEste artículo presenta los resultados del análisis del discurso evaluativo de los profesores en formación de inglés como lengua extranjera de la Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (UAM), a partir de la aplicación de la Teoría de la Valoración (Th e Appraisal Web site; Martin; Martin and White) y más concretamente, del análisis del subsistema de actitud. Más concretamente, los datos que se presentan aquí provienen del análisis cuantitativo y cualitativo de los diarios de aula que los alumnos de la UAM escriben semanalmente durante sus doce semanas de prácticas docentes en centros de la Comunidad de Madrid. Entre los resultados obtenidos destacan: 1. que los recursos lingüísticos utilizados por los alumnos de la UAM para expresar actitud son frecuentes y variados; 2. que se expresan de forma explícita; y, 3. que son generalmente positivos, aunque los alumnos de la UAM también utilizan otros parámetros evaluativos que van más allá de la valoración meramente positiva o negativa. Los datos se discuten en relación a la emergente identidad profesional de los autores de los diarios y a las diferentes variables observada

The Development of Written Discourse Competence in ELT Materials: A Preliminary Analysis

En el presente artículo estudiaremos el tratamiento que ha recibido la competencia discursiva escrita en los principales modelos de competencia comunicativa y delimitaremos algunos criterios para su aplicación pedagógica. Después, analizaremos las actividades de expresión escrita que ofrecen una selección de libros de texto de inglés como lengua extranjera, en base a los criterios anteriormente descritos. Finalmente, constataremos que, a pesar de los avances realizados en el desarrollo de la competencia discursiva escrita en los materiales analizados, queda mucho que hacer todavía para concienciar a nuestros alumnos de la naturaleza interactiva del discurso, o de su estructuración a nivel micro-textual.Trends in discourse analysis have brought to language teaching an interest in communication through effective discourse, moving beyond the traditional focus on the sentence. We analyse this trend in communicative competence in writing, and establish some criteria for the development of written discourse competence in pedagogical tasks. We then review several ELT coursebooks, analyzing their provision of writing activities which fit the criteria. Text types, degrees of formality and informality, and linking words are present; however, there remains room for improvement in terms of raising L2 writers’ awareness of audience, interaction and context, and of micro-level concerns of text structuring