Languages, Cultures and Linguistics Research Collection
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Browsing Languages, Cultures and Linguistics Research Collection by Type "Conference Publication"
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- PublicationDesperately Seeking Pancho Villa: Hero or Villain, Bandit or Revolutionary? Three contrasting literary perspectives on Villa which examine the tension between iconisation and historical realityThis paper forms part of a larger research project focusing on literary and iconic representations of historical figures from Mexico. One such example is revolutionary bandit, Pancho Villa. Hated and hallowed in almost equal measure, Villa has never ceased to figure in the Mexican political and cultural imaginary, despite his relatively brief period of influence over revolutionary politics, in which he ceased to take part after 1915. This paper looks at the tension between iconisation and historical reality in three contrasting portrayals of Villa by Mexican authors. These three works typify the debate about Villa's achievements and misdeeds, and offer conflicting viewpoints of the man and the myths.
125 - PublicationEl concepto de tiempo en Pasado perfecto de Leonardo Padura Fuentes: dualidad estructural y multiplicidad temáticaPasado perfecto es la primera novela de la tetralogía Las cuatro estaciones. Las cuatro novelas tienen como protagonista al Teniente Mario Conde. Cada una transcurre en una estación del año 1989, fecha de importancia capital, ya que la caída del muro de Berlín representará el fin de la guerra fría y, al mismo tiempo, un golpe muy duro para el sistema socialista cubano. Las cuatro partes giran en torno a otros tantos crímenes con sus raíces hundidas en el pasado investigado por “el Conde”. La investigación policial, por su misma naturaleza, es una búsqueda en el pasado para reconstruir los acontecimientos que causaron los homicidios, pero en el caso de Conde, ese constante mirar hacia atrás tiene también un valor distinto ya que por un lado forma parte de su instinto y de su personalidad y por el otro le permite reinterpretar de forma más personal y subjetiva la historia de su país.
82 - PublicationFacilitating Collaborative Foreign Language Learning Using the VLE (Virtual Learning Environment)Learning a second language takes time and many university students in their evaluation of language modules indicate that they would like to have more teaching "contact hours". The Bologna Process has established that 1 ECTS requires approximately 25 hours of student work, including teaching, learning and assessment activities. Thus, a module worth 5 ECTS entails approximately 125 hours of student engagement. Digital technologies afford student the support needed to increase the time they spend on learning a language and, more importantly, these technologies provide opportunities to facilitate learning with others in a supported learning environment. This paper explains a number of e-learning tasks undertaken by university students of Spanish using tools that are available on Blackboard, the Virtual Learning Environment used by the university, to complement classroom activities. The paper also identifies the skills (e.g. language specific and transferable) that students have developed by completing the learning tasks. Reflections from the students and the teacher provide insights about the advantages of using collaborative learning tasks to increase learning time. Some limitations are also outlined so that future iterations of similar e-learning tasks can be even more successful in terms of student learning experience.
109 - PublicationIncreasing Student Engagement through Collaborative Learning Outside the ClassroomSeveral factors, including the Bologna process, the embargo on university posts and a larger student population pursuing degrees, have contributed to radical changes in teaching, learning and assessment in Higher Education in the last few years. It was in this context that a collaborative component has been introduced into a Level 2 Spanish Language module at University College Dublin. This paper presents the rationale for introducing a collaborative component into this module and it describes the self-directed tasks completed by the students. It also addresses the extent to which collaborative learning outside the classroom contributes to the enhancement of student learning and it examines the obstacles encountered by the students during the semester. The discussion of the findings focuses on feedback from the students and on group reflections submitted via Blackboard, the university's Virtual Learning Environment.
136 - PublicationThe Internet Generation and its implications on Higher Education Quality ManagementGeneration Z, or Internet Generation, as it is commonly called, is the first to have Internet technology freely available and from a very early age. Since the web revolution in the 1990s, this generation has been exposed to an unprecedented amount of technology. As they became more compact and affordable, the popularity of laptops, tablets and smartphones grew considerably all around the world. It is expected by the time this generation enters the work market digital technology will be part of almost all career pathways consequently the impact in education is somewhat obvious and expected. The future holds exciting opportunities as the accelerating economic integration, changes in demographic trends, and advances in ICT bring great changes to Higher Education, and nonetheless they also pose several implications for universities. In this paper we consider Fiji Higher Education Institutions who performed a fundamental shift in their quality assurance, especially after the creation of Fiji Higher Education Commission (FHEC), regulating higher education institution standards and present blended learning as a pedagogical practice that can be successfully implemented as part of an educative restructuring process that ensures quality and high standards.
46 - PublicationLearning-oriented Assessment: Beyond a Marriage of ConvenienceThis paper aims at examining the effectiveness of students’ learning when they are involved in self- and peer-assessment practices as part of a final-year module in Hispanic Studies at University College Dublin. The two research questions that arose are as follows: 1) In what way can learners be involved in the development of criteria to be adopted for selfand peer assessment purposes? 2) What is the impact of that involvement in their learning? Birenbaum (1996) states that in the new assessment culture learners are active participants who share responsibility with the teacher in the assessment process. In the light of research literature on self- and peer-assessment practices, a case study was conducted on a final-year undergraduate class (N=20) who entered the module having being exposed to traditional methods of assessment, mainly essay writing and end-of-year written exam papers. Innovative assessment practices were integrated into the teaching and learning process. The first part of this paper describes how learners were involved in the development of assessment criteria to be adopted in the assessment of their work and in that of their peers. It is followed by an analysis of the impact that such experience had on students’ learning, based on the learners’ reflections about the process and on a short survey conducted at the end of the module. The findings of the study indicate that such approach to teaching and assessment had a positive impact on students' learning. Benefits arising from integrating assessment into learning include the development of students’ ownership of their learning through assessment and a better understanding of the features of different written texts. Some possible shortcomings are also identified. Finally, the pedagogical implications that learning-oriented assessment entails for the teaching of foreign languages to university students are also outlined.
78 - PublicationO ensino superior no séc. XXI - novas práticas pedagógicasO trabalho que aqui propomos tem como objetivo analisar alguns dos desafios que se colocam ao Ensino Superior na atualidade e que têm vindo a ser o motor de transformação da prática pedagógica do 3.º Ciclo nas últimas décadas. Fatores como a globalização, o neoliberalismo e o desenvolvimento tecnológico têm vindo a contribuir para uma alteração da forma como o conhecimento científico é construído. Estes fatores repercutem também na forma como as in-stituições tentam gerir a pressão entre a necessidade de manter a sua autonomia, os valores académicos tradicionais e a submissão a critérios de eficácia e de produtividade de natureza empresarial. A instituição universitária está a mudar e este deslocamento do seu papel enquan-to agente produtor de alta cultura, de pensamento crítico e de conhecimento exemplar científi-co e humanista, para agente formador de competências, designado por Boaventura de Sousa Santos como a passagem do conhecimento universitário ao conhecimento pluriversitário, têm um impacto direto nas práticas pedagógicas. A alteração das relações entre conhecimento e sociedade, a valorização do pluralismo epistemológico, bem como a crescente tecnologização conduziram à necessidade de novas práticas pedagógicas que permitam a integração e o de-senvolvimento significativo das literacias multidimensionais requeridas pelos ambientes digi-tais. Métodos de aprendizagem como o blended learning e o ICT enabled learning estão a ser alargados a todas as áreas do saber e a constituir uma prática universitária generalizada, dando lugar ao surgimento de teorias alternativas da aprendizagem tal como o conetivismo. Neste contexto, duas questões se nos colocam. Primeiro, estará o crescente nível de mercadorização dos serviços universitários a transformar o ensino académico e a passagem pela universidade numa forma de consumismo? Segundo, será a generalização do uso de tecnologias e-learning na universidade uma forma de epistemicídio? A estas questões daremos resposta através de conceitos fundamentais da obra do filósofo finlandês Jaakko Hintikka, nomeadamente os con-ceitos de questionamento socrático e semântica dos jogos, e da revisão crítica da obra do so-ciólogo português Boaventura de Sousa Santos.
64 - PublicationRoots and Lexicality in Distributed MorphologyThis paper examines the nature and content of morphological roots in relation to their syntactic context. A careful consideration of doublets, where the same root may take alternative noun - inherent features, leads to the claim that roots do not carry selectional features or class diacritics. Relying on the distinction between syntactic nodes and their exponents, central to a realizational model like Distributed Morphology, I argue that the syntactic atoms corresponding to root nodes are associated with open - class exponents but not with a specific meaning that might select a licensing syntactic context. "Lexical" meaning arises constructionally, and so do lexical properties like gender or class, which however emerge at Vocabulary insertion and may show selectional properties. Content and exponence of roots are thus dissociated, in line with the separationist character of Distributed Morphology. This predicts the existence of root - like elements with mixed status, namely open - class exponents used as grammatical morphemes (like auxiliaries or classifiers), or category - free root extensions below the innermost category - assigning head (like de- in de-struction).
1793 - PublicationStudent Engagement in Assessment for LearningStudent engagement has become a frequently used term in the vocabulary of Higher Education, and particularly among those involved in research associated with teaching and learning. Although the term is a complex and broad one, for the purpose of this paper it is defined as 'the extent to which students are actively involved in a variety of educational activities that are likely to lead to high quality learning' (Coates, 2005, p.26). It should be noted that student engagement in assessment is a novel practice, which is slowly making its way into Higher Education pedagogy. The aim of this paper is to present an evaluative study of student engagement in assessment for learning conducted on a final-year undergraduate class (n=22) undertaking a module on the development of writing skills in Spanish through, a) reflection on written texts and b) the production of a variety of texts in Spanish. The first part of this paper describes how learners were involved in the development of assessment criteria to be adopted in the assessment of their work by the teacher, as well as in self- and peer-assessment practices. It is followed by an analysis of the impact that engaging students in assessment had on their learning, based on the students' evaluation of the module and on a short survey conducted at the end of the semester. The findings indicate that students valued positively the experience; they also acknowledged that engagement in assessment had a great beneficial impact on their learning. Some possible shortcomings are also identified. Finally, a number of pedagogical implications arising from the experience of student engagement in assessment for learning in level education are also outlined.
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