In: Chakiñan: revista de ciencias sociales y humanidades, Heft 8, S. 133-147
ISSN: 2550-6722
In one way or another, teachers who are dedicated to teaching foreign languages in general, and English in particular, are aware of the challenges they face when carrying out their work. This article analyzes some of the main reasons why the teaching of foreign languages should be revised. Focusing on the specific case of Spain, some possible solutions will be presented in order to address deficiencies previously detected. In this sense, it is considered that the proposals analyzed can serve as a reference to address the situation with certain guarantees of success in terms of contributing strategies and positive solutions. It is important to emphasize that the present analysis has been carried out after detecting a series of problems. The result aims to be one of the engines that allows a profound debate. This debate should lead, inexorably, to a change in methodology, training, design, conception, and, ultimately, in the teaching of foreign languages in Spain.
In: Chakiñan: revista de ciencias sociales y humanidades, Heft 20, S. 196-209
ISSN: 2550-6722
In a world of permanent change, traditional language teaching methods do not solve the communicative needs in foreign languages that favor knowledge and adaptation to changing educational contexts. The CLIL method is widely used to develop skills both in the learning language and in other areas of knowledge, it allows for the strengthening of teaching capacities to assume the teaching of contents of the different subjects in a foreign language. The objective of this bibliographic review is to collect significant and existing information on the CLIL method and contribution of this method in the educational field. The documentary descriptive approach of recent research related to the subject of study is used, based on the theoretical foundations of bilingual education. The literature review shows that by teaching the foreign language as a vehicle to instruct content from other subjects, students understand the need to learn the language to seize the knowledge of the subject and allows teachers to explore their own teaching context, reflect and identify factors that can improve their teaching practice, especially in the inclusion of writing activities in English.
In Karl Popper's famous book, The Open Society and Its Enemies, appears the formulation social engineering. That is an unfortunate wording. There is nothing mechanical in Popper's political strategy. The keywords are rather piece-meal & trial & error. It is even possible to characterize Popper as -- up to a point -- anti-rationalistic. His warning that we should not think too much of our knowledge of the functioning of the social world & of our ability to make forecasts, reminds one of what a critic of the French Revolution like Edmund Burke had to say. We should start with the delivered institutions, diagnose what is working badly &, aware of possible error, try to improve it. That said, one is not surprised of meeting a strain of antipolitics in Popper's philosophy. Although Popper welcomes measures to clear away suffering & distress, it is uncertain how he would balance his negative utilitarianism against individual freedom. He is distrustful of political power. The idea that democracy gives the people the instrument of governing is an illusion. Democracy's point is to make it possible to dismiss a government (notice the parallel with his methodology, a government is a kind of hypothesis, the election an opportunity for falsification.) However, it is not Popper's political philosophy in a substantial meaning that makes him worth studying, but his theory of the critical discourse, a theory that is very relevant for a reformistic political strategy. The idea of the Popperian discourse is not to get the parties closer emotionally, not to reach a compromise, not even to convince, but for me to listen to & learn from the criticism of my hypotheses. People with divergent standpoints should not be kept out of the discourse, they should be welcomed. Popper admires Greek culture up to Socrates & he emphasizes its openness to influences from other cultures along the shores of the Mediterranean. That is in keeping with Popper's antinationalism. Nationalism fattens stupidity & is often the cause of devastating violence. In his later works Popper regularly uses an evolutionary model & his theory of language is no exception. He sets forth how the development of describing, language's third function besides expressing & warning, created the possibility of storytelling. Now, stories can be true & false, & that makes language's fourth function necessary, the function of argumentation, of proving or disproving of what has been said. Lying, however, is a wonderful invention. To lie, to say what is not, but could be true, is a nursery for fantasy & creativeness. 33 References. Adapted from the source document.
In: Chakiñan: revista de ciencias sociales y humanidades, Heft 9, S. 48-56
ISSN: 2550-6722
The induction of new English teachers is not often made the focus of language programs. In many institutions, the orientation experience receives little attention, resulting in work-related stress at the beginning of an instructor's teaching contract. Consequently, not only the quality of teaching is affected but also the teachers' motivation and perception of the program. This research article analyses the results of a case study of an innovation to a new teacher induction in a language program in the city of Cuenca, Ecuador. For this, the case study was based on two-way communication between the administration and the teaching staff through direct feedback, the consideration of language program management principles, as well as the application of a teacher survey after implementation. As a result, the innovation to the induction of new teachers seemed to reduce teachers' job-related stress during the first week of classes, thus helping to create a learning environment where the program, its teachers, and its students benefit as a whole.
The thesis of this article is that logic/science does not exclude but requires knowledge of rhetoric. Rhetoric is not merely a technique for persuasion but, more importantly, a science of how we structure our knowledge through language. Logic & science are nothing but instruments that natural language constructs to handle observable factual circumstances, something that became possible with the invention of the alphabet & written language. A positivistic, reductive science is suitable only by research on given facts. Alongside the knowledge of facts, we must also handle the knowledge of action, which is impossible to do only with the positivistic methods of conventional social science. Drawing on his personal experiences of municipal politics & communal planning the author suggests that rhetorical conceptions & methods of research can play a big role in community planning research & in sciences of man, which necessarily brings facts & actions together. The article refers to a rhetorical based theory called 'human-scientific theory of action.' While science helps us to know (knowledge of causes), rhetoric helps us to understand (knowledge of intentions & meanings). 40 References. Adapted from the source document.
In: Chakiñan: revista de ciencias sociales y humanidades, Heft 15, S. 80-96
ISSN: 2550-6722
Assessment tends to be associated with students and learners; however, the term assessment encompasses both teachers and students. To understand the purpose of language assessment instruments, it is key to look for the designers and their preferences. This research aims to characterize 209 assessment instruments created by English teachers. This is a non-experimental and descriptive study that analyzes the types of instruments, the educational level, the language systems and skills, and the type and number of items. Two of the most important findings are related to the preferences Chilean English teachers have towards traditional assessment and the tendency to assess vocabulary and grammar; besides, the participants' preference for tests and fill-in-the gap items.
In: Chakiñan: revista de ciencias sociales y humanidades, Heft 12, S. 106-117
ISSN: 2550-6722
It is widely known that effective readers are those who have appropriately developed reading skills. If those skills are not developed, the readers will not achieve the levels of perception needed to solve problems or pass academic tests, neither in their mother tongue nor in a foreign language. For this reason, it is imperative to find the right strategies to enhance reading comprehension in English as Foreign Language (EFL) learners. One of those strategies is the use of graphic organizers, and this study aimed to measure the extent to which it influences the development of reading comprehension of Unidad Educativa Joaquin Lalama students, in Ambato-Ecuador. 40 students in the control group and 35 students in the experimental group constituted the sample. The data was collected through the observation technique and the comparison of results from a reading comprehension pre-test and post-test. Finally, this study found the use of graphic organizers to be effective for developing reading comprehension in the subjects observed.
In: Chakiñan: revista de ciencias sociales y humanidades, Heft 17, S. 23-39
ISSN: 2550-6722
This article presents the analysis of the news production of El Extra, La Hora and La Gaceta, three written media in Ecuador with the highest national, regional and local circulation respectively. The objective was to determine to what extent their contents are generated from a human rights perspective. Thus, two aspects were addressed: 1) informative production based on the index of violation of rights in the media, and 2) evaluations of journalistic discourse in relation to themes, sources, images and headlines. A mixed approach was used through content analysis and a focus group (FG) in which journalists participated. Among the most relevant results, the predominance of content that violates rights in two of the three media stands out in the indicators overrepresentation of reality and manipulation, although in the indicators ridicule and misuse of language there is no prevalence, there is a significant frequency of content who use language inappropriately and discriminate against individuals or groups. In addition, the differences in the organizational dynamics of the media affect journalistic routines and need to promote permanent training mechanisms on human rights.
In: Chakiñan: revista de ciencias sociales y humanidades, Heft 14, S. 42-56
ISSN: 2550-6722
English language textbooks are widely used as one of the essential resources in education. In Ecuador, local authorities created specific course books for state schools and high schools called pedagogical modules. Hence, the terms pedagogical textbook, course book, and modules will be used interchangeably. This study aims to explore perceptions of Ecuadorian English as a Foreign Language teachers on implementing the pedagogical modules to state schools, which were provided by the Ministry of Education. Besides, participants will provide perceptions on the connection of the mentioned textbooks with the Ecuadorian National Curriculum. The study includes an exploratory qualitative design using a focus group interview with eight EFL teachers from primary and secondary schools. The focus group interview findings indicated that teachers have both positive and negative perceptions towards using these pedagogical textbooks. Teachers agree that these pedagogical modules promote English learning success in a contextualized and authentic way by connecting aspects from the curriculum and current ELT principles. Nonetheless, all of the teachers indicated that integrating the pedagogical modules to state schools was, in many ways, disorganized. Based on the results, this study suggests constructive changes to specialists in charge of creating and editing EFL pedagogical modules.
Holmberg, an anarchist & syndicalist, has indicated his beliefs in his writings. He has clearly come under the influence of Duhring, whose mark appears in many of his works. Like Duhring, he places a positive philosophy of the world at the base of his system, & is therefore opposed to econ socialism. His anarchistic position is also derived from the Swedish theoretician, Quiding, for whom the history of society is characterized by a fight for right. Finally, the last elements of Holmberg's beliefs is borrowed from the French syndicalists who, at first glance, seem to stress action, while Holmberg's socialism is pure theory. Toward the end of his life, the Swedish anarchist characterized his views by labeling himself a humanist & defining precisely the meaning of this designation. While Holmberg has not had an extensive influence, he occupies a unique position in the history of Swedish pol'al thought. Tr by J. A. Broussard from IPSA.
A professor in public law discusses her experience with interdisciplinary sciences, especially between public law and political science regarding peace and conflict research. Public law and political science are unified in many ways, especially after the increasing influence of the highly politicized EU-law, and have yielded good results within the study of soft law (i.e. informal rules), conflict, human trafficking, and the power of the EU jurors. However, maybe the most ambitious project of them all is the research of how states of war and dictatorships can be transferred into states of peace and democracy. Despite its many opportunities, interdisciplinary science has its problems, such as a lack of a mutual scientific language and different theoretical structures. Luckily, many of these problems can be countered with thorough planning. L. Pitkaniemi
A reply to Marie Demker on Swedish, European and international political science arguing that while Demker's analysis points towards potential real problems, these issues are not as pronounced as one might believe. It is problematic and innovation threatening that theories and models in political science are driven by social scientists in the United States. However, it is not true that Sweden in this case would merely become a case study; instead Swedish political scientists are experts in the political relations of Sweden and this information can directly benefit the political scientists in other countries and thus advancing the science. While English is clearly the linuga franca of our time, Swedish is still the most popular dissertation language and Sweden is by far the most common research subject in Sweden. L. Pitkaniemi
This article presents a typology of discursive discrimination, discrimination earned out through the use of language. It is argued that there is a need for a typology that focuses more clearly on an understanding of what discrimination is than what is the case in existing research & that such a typology should fulfil certain criteria in order to he useful for empirical research. The typology proposed consists of four main concepts: exclusion from discourse, negative other presentation, objectification, & proposals pointing towards unfavorable non-linguistic treatment. The related concept of othering -- the creation of a psychological distance to people understood to belong to groups others than "us" -- is also presented. The manner in which the different forms of discursive discrimination & othering can be operationalised is demonstrated with the help of examples from empirical studies of discourses of people categorized as mentally deficient, as deaf, & as immigrants in Swedish public debate during the last 75 years. The importance of categorization of people is also discussed. Tables, References. Adapted from the source document.