Dialectal Variation and Spanish Language Teaching (SLT): Perspectives from the United Kingdom

This paper presents the results of an empirical investigation into the teaching practices and opinions of UK-based Spanish teachers concerning the treatment of language varieties in the L2/FL classroom. Qualitative and quantitative data obtained through an online survey provide the basis for an analysis of participants’ knowledge of dialectal varieties and how to teach them, their perceptions of their own and other varieties, and the extent to which they accept new Pan-Hispanic ideologies and the conception of Spanish as a pluricentric language. The study reveals a lack of correlation between teachers’ declared knowledge about Spanish dialectal varieties and their own teaching practices

Translanguaging: navegando entre lenguas – pedagogical translanguaging for multilingual classrooms

What is it? Most of the world population speaks two or more languages, which means many classrooms are intrinsically multilingual. In addition, education in more than one language is currently being promoted across the world, and there is an increasing interest in exploring how bilingual speakers are educated, reflecting “the shift from monolingual ideologies in the study of multilingual education to multilingual ideologies and dynamic views of multilingualism” (Cenoz & Gorter, 2020, p. 300). This change in interpreting multilingualism is supported by the emergence of concepts such as translanguaging. Nowadays, the term translanguaging is used in various contexts (for example, bilingual and multilingual education, English-medium instruction, or language teaching, including Content and Language Integrated Learning, or CLIL; see Cenoz & Gorter, 2020, pp. 305-306). Everyday or social translanguaging refers to how multilinguals tactically use their whole linguistic repertoire for communication purposes. Rather than indicating what languages are, translanguaging focuses on what multilingual speakers do with languages, which is to fluidly navigate across them. Therefore, the boundaries between languages become more diffused

Lo que se sabe de Hervás: ideas lingüísticas, errores y revitalización de su figura en el marco de la historiografía lingüística

The works of the ex-Jesuit Lorenzo Hervás y Panduro (1735-1809) represent one of the most relevant contributions to 18th-century Linguistics. In particular, his linguistic texts can be classified into three strands: 1) treatises discussing the origin of language and the development of speech, 2) treatises covering the origin and evolution of languages across time and their relationships and 3) materials developed to study the former topics. The analysis of Hervás' contributions to these themes shows the implementation of an innovative method which allowed him to achieve several original findings linked mainly to the description of the languages of the world and their distribution in linguistic families. However, despite the significance of his conclusions, traditionally Hervás' works haven't been exhaustively scrutinized, due to several intrinsic and extrinsic reasons, hence it is common to come across errors and inaccuracies on the works that mention his contributions to the history of linguistics and science; only recently several scholars have tried to restore Hervás' role in the history of linguistics.Los trabajos del ex jesuita conquense don Lorenzo Hervás y Panduro (1735-1809) constituyen una aportación esencial a la historiografía lingüística ilustrada. De manera global, sus obras dedicadas al estudio de lenguaje y las lenguas pueden clasificarse en tres bloques temáticos: 1) tratados sobre el origen del lenguaje y el desarrollo de la facultad del habla, 2) tratados sobre el origen y la evolución de las lenguas a lo largo del tiempo y las relaciones entre ellas y 3) materiales para el estudio de los dos tópicos anteriores. El análisis de las aportaciones del abate al conocimiento de estas cuestiones revela determinados hallazgos notables, sobre todo con relación a la descripción de las lenguas del mundo y al establecimiento de familias lingüísticas; además, destaca el empleo por parte de Hervás y Panduro de una metodología innovadora, cuya aplicación le permite alcanzar varias conclusiones originales. Sin embargo, ciertas causas intrínsecas y extrínsecas provocan que los trabajos de Hervás y Panduro carezcan, hasta épocas recientes, de estudios exhaustivos, detallados y hasta cierto punto objetivos acerca de sus ideas lingüísticas, aunque desde hace un tiempo determinados autores se preocupan por revitalizar la figura de don Lorenzo

Interactional patterns in the online language classroom: a quantitative analysis across proficiency levels and lesson types

Online second language instruction has boomed in recent years, aided by technological affordances and the forced changes in instructional modality resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. This transformation has underscored the critical role of interaction in online pedagogy. Research suggests that increasing opportunities for interaction between students and instructors is essential for fostering second language acquisition (SLA). However, little research exists quantifying the production of diverse types of interaction in online language instruction, particularly among experienced instructors. The present study utilizes an interactionist framework to perform a quantitative analysis of interaction in online Spanish language coursework, categorized according to interaction initiation type: Instructor-Prompted Participation (IPP), Unprompted Oral Participation (UOP), Unprompted Text Participation (UTP), i.e., chat usage, and interaction length (as exhibited by both the number of student turns in an interaction and the average length of those turns). Data includes 18 h of video recordings of synchronous L2 Spanish language instruction across proficiency levels and lesson types at a distance-learning university in the UK. Lesson types included grammar workshops and exam preparation. Results show that the interactional patterns in online language courses are influenced by proficiency level and lesson type. Lower proficiency students engaged in interaction routines more frequently, while the ability to engage in extended discourse was contingent upon the specific activity/lesson type. The study helps address the dearth of research on interaction and language teaching in languages other than English (LOTE)

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

Textos de didáctica de la lengua y la literatura

Resumen basado en el de la publicaciónMonográfico con el título: La reflexión interlingüísticaLos aprendices de lenguas extranjeras utilizan con frecuencia su lengua nativa y su conocimiento de otras lenguas como punto de partida o estrategia de aprendizaje. A partir de esta idea se comenta una selección de fenómenos correspondientes a varios niveles de análisis lingüístico para ejemplificar la pertinencia del empleo de la reflexión interlingüística como procedimiento didáctico en la enseñanza del español a anglófonosES

Actividades lúdicas en el aula de E/LE: una propuesta

A lo largo de las últimas décadas, numerosos especialistas destacan la pertinencia, validez y rentabilidad del empleo de elementos lúdicos con objetivos didácticos en la enseñanza y aprendizaje del español como lengua extranjera (cf., entre otros, Moreno 2004, Barretta 2006, Muñoz-Basols 2007, Nevado 2008 o Fernández 2010); de hecho, tanto el Marco Común Europeo de Referencia para las Lenguas como el Plan Curricular del Instituto Cervantes reconocen su validez para potenciar la adquisición de las diversas competencias lingüísticas (cf., respectivamente, Consejo de Europa/Ministerio de Educación, Cultura y Deporte 2002: 53, 59-60 y 143 entre otras; Instituto Cervantes 1994: 110-112). Entre los argumentos más frecuentes aducidos para reclamar su uso, se citan, por ejemplo, el desarrollo de la creatividad, el incremento de la interacción y el fomento de la práctica cooperativa y comunicativa de la lengua