I. Articles
Maduabuchi Agbo (Benin, Nigeria):
Abstract
This analysis of Igbo verbs with body-part complements is done within the theoretical perspective of Role and Reference Grammar. This framework has the advantage of determining the lexical decomposition of verbs and their inherent temporal properties. There are five sub-classes of verbs with body-part complements. The complements are:ónú ‘mouth’, óbi ̀ ‘heart’, ísí ‘head’, àhú ‘body’ and ányá ‘eye’. These complements are NPs which are semantic modifiers to the verbs. When used in sentence constructions, these complements give extended meanings beyond the basic expressions. For example, the complement ónú ‘mouth’ tends to carry an added sense of negativity in a sentence. The complement óbi ̀ ‘heart’ tends to always refer to the experiences of the soul. The complement ísí ‘head’ in a sentence, conjures up the state of the mind of the speaker or addressee, and the complement àhú ‘body’ brings up the mental picture of the state of the speaker’s or addressee’s well-being. The complement ányá ‘eye’ conjures up the knowledge of the worth of something by the speaker or addressee. The work concludes that the Igbo speaker’s knowledge of a verb’s meaning includes the meaning of its complement and their interaction with the principles of grammar.
Dinh Trong Pham (Regensburg, Germany):
Abstract
This study investigates how native speakers of Vietnamese observed Grice’s maxims. Three hundred conversational contributions in live talk exchanges from varied Vietnamese television channels and naturally occurring discourse were analysed. The results showed that Grice’s maxims were fulfilled in many instances. Nevertheless, in many other situations, two kinds of non-fulfilment of the maxims were observed: (i) the speaker deliberately exploited a maxim, which fits Grice’s framework and (ii) the speaker failed to observe but did not exploit a maxim, which leads to the possible interpretation of the cultural patterns of the Vietnamese language: “circular” discourse, communicative politeness, high context culture and the values of harmony in communication, all of which are regarded as the cultural identities and values manifesting in Vietnamese culture. The results implicate that understanding different ways of speaking in different cultures is a crucial point in intercultural communication and (foreign) language teaching and learning.
Maite Correa (Fort Collins (Colorado), USA):
Abstract
In this paper, I suggest an approach to Heritage Language teaching that is critical and comprehensive in nature because (1) it puts into question the social and economic power relationships that have been created surrounding the status of standard and local varieties; (2) it empowers students to reflect critically on the intrinsic value of the variety they bring with them into the classroom; and, more in line with comprehensive approaches to HL teaching, (3) it considers that preventing our students from exposure to academic or standard language would be negligent on the part of teachers and takes into consideration the different realities and attitudes that HL learners might face after they leave the classroom. This approach fills the gap in the Critical Pedagogy literature on why, how and when local and standard varieties should be incorporated into the HL curriculum in order to improve the learning experience for students both in the HL classroom and beyond.
Abstracto
En este artículo propongo un enfoque a la enseñanza de Lenguas de Herencia (LH) que es crítico y exhaustivo porque: (1) pone en duda las relaciones de poder socio-económicas que se han creado en torno al estatus de las variedades locales y estándares; (2) capacita (empodera) a los estudiantes para que reflexionen críticamente sobre el valor intrínseco de la variedad que ya traen consigo al aula; y más en línea con los enfoques exhaustivos a la enseñanza de Lengua de Herencia (3) considera que negarles a nuestros estudiantes la exposición a variedades estándares o académicas sería un acto de negligencia por parte de los instructores y toma en consideración las diferentes realidades y actitudes que los hablantes de herencia podrían afrontar después de abandonar el aula. Este enfoque complementa lo ya publicado sobre Pedagogía Crítica, específicamente por qué, cómo y cuándo deberían incorporarse las variedades locales y estándares en el curriculum de Lengua Heredada con el objetivo de mejorar la experiencia de aprendizaje para los estudiantes en el aula y cuando salen de ella.
Shing-Lung Chen (Kaohsiung, Taiwan):
Abstract (English)
Patents are generally said to deal with solutions to technical problems. In reality, however, some patents deal with the learning of foreign languages. Patents of this kind have hardly been examined up to the present day, and no adademic literature exists on this field of research, yet. The present article aims at such an academic analysis. Only an innovative model can become a patent. Patents often deal with the question of how the success of language learning can be improved by means of information technology. Moreover, a learning effect is to be generated, which cannot be produced by traditional print media. In the present article, selected patents on the learning of foreign languages are classified and subdivided in three groups: patents on the problems of language learning, patents for the promotion of learner motivation and patents on the development of learning tools. TÍn this analysis of patents, new models are described by which the success of learning foreign languages can be increased via information technology.
Key words: Patents of language learning, development of learning systems, analysis of patents, e-learning, learning and technology
Abstract (Deutsch)
Es besteht häufig der Eindruck, dass Patente sich auf die Lösung technischer Probleme beschränken. In Wirklichkeit behandeln manche Patente jedoch das Fremdsprachenlernen. Diese sind bisher kaum untersucht worden, und es existieren noch keine entsprechenden wissenschaftlichen Artikel. Dieser Artikel versucht sich an einer einschlägigen Analyse. Nur ein innovatives Denkmodell kann ein Patent werden. Bei Patentschriften handelt es sich oft darum, wie das Fremdsprachenlernen mittels der Informationstechnologie in seinem Lernerfolg verstärkt werden kann. Außerdem soll eine Lernwirkung erzielt werden, die traditionelle Printmedien nicht erreichen können. Dieser Artikel klassifiziert ausgewählte Patentschriften zum Fremdsprachenlernen und untergliedert sie in drei Gruppen: Patente zu Sprachlernproblemen, Patente zur Förderung der Lernmotivation und Patente zur Entwicklung der Lernwerkzeuge. In dieser Analyse der Patentschriften bietet der Artikel Lehrern neue und vielfältige Denkmodelle an, mit denen der Lernerfolg mittels der Informationstechnologie erhöht werden kann.
Kay Cheng Soh (Singapore):
Abstract
The use of L1 in L2 learning (and teaching) is a controversy of long history which typically appears as a debate between the audio-lingual and the cognitive-code approaches to L2/FL instruction. The Paivio-Desrochers bilingual dual-coding model has spawned a number of empirical studies involving both European and Asian languages largely supporting the latter. This article adopts the Paivio-Desrochers model and re-interprets data collected for a study on bilingual code-switching between English and Chinese among primary school children in Singapore where young children learn two languages concurrently within the school context. High correlations were obtained for scores of monolingual and bilingual tests based on the same content. Implications for L1 in L2 instruction are discussed.
II. University Report
Adriano Murelli (Mannheim, Germany) / Rosanna Pedretti (Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany):
Abstract (English)
This paper represents a report on an e-tandem project conducted at Freiburg University (Germany) from the winter term 2009/2010 on. It started with a German-Italian pilot course organised in cooperation with Pavia University (Italy). In order to promote autonomous language learning, the authors used several web-based applications, relying on Skype to enable full (i.e. visual, auditive) interaction between learning partners and on e-mails to let participants practise writing and reading in the respective foreign language. Additionally, participants were asked to compile a weekly electronic portfolio (EPOS) to record their improvements as well as their difficulties. In the paper, the structure of the pilot course will be described and a first balance will be drawn.
Abstract (Italiano)
Oggetto del presente contributo è il progetto di e-tandem condotto all’università di Freiburg a partire dal semestre invernale 2009/2010. Il primo passo è stato un corso pilota tedesco-italiano in cooperazione con l’università di Pavia. Per favorire l’autonomia dei discenti nell’apprendimento linguistico ci siamo serviti di diverse applicazioni web: Skype ha consentito di ottenere una piena interazione (visuale e auditiva) tra i partecipanti; scambi e-mail hanno permesso di esercitare anche le abilità di lettura e scrittura. Inoltre, i partecipanti hanno compilato di settimana un portfolio elettronico (EPOS), elencando tra le altre cose progressi e difficoltà incontrate. Nel contributo descriveremo brevemente la struttura del corso pilota e tracceremo poi un primo bilancio.
III. Book Reviews
Barbara Beyersdörfer (Saarbrücken, Germany):
Thomas Tinnefeld (Saarbrücken, Germany):
IV. Announcements
"Beiträge zur Fremdsprachenvermittlung (bzf)"