LLAS Centre for Languages, Linguistics and Area Studies

Indigenous protest in Peru

These materials concern a protest in Bagua, Peru on 5 June 2009 against a free trade agreement with the USA. According to official sources, 34 people (10 civilians and 24 police) lost their lives during an attempt by 600 Peruvian soldiers and riot-police to remove an indigenous blockade of the Belaunde Terry Highway at Devil's Curve in the northern Peruvian Amazon. They are based on an article published in Social Movement Studies: Hughes, N (2010) Indigenous Protest in Peru: the 'Orchard Dog Bites Back' Vol 9, No1, pp85-90, January. The materials are an example of how easy-to-use and cheap technologies can be used by lecturers to address the nexus between teaching, research and technology.

Colloquial expressions with 'ser' and 'estar' (B2)

This learning object is on the Spanish language. This learning object has been subject to peer review and editing, and is in entirely in Spanish.

Los gestos y ademanes de los españoles

This learning object uses a video clip on YouTube relating to the use of gestures by Spanish speakers. It is intended to help improve audio comprehension, vocabulary and intercultural competence. This learning object has been subject to peer review and editing, and is entirely in Spanish.

Graffiti de Julio Cortázar

This learning object looks at a story by the Argentinian writer Julio Cortázar who was writing in difficult and oppressive political times during the last military dictatorship in Argentina which ended in 1983 just one year before his death.

This learning object has been subject to peer review and editing, and is entirely in Spanish.

En esta unidad leerás el cuento Graffiti de Julio Cortázar (escritor argentino 1914-1984), el cual trata del flirteo de una pareja de enamorados durante los años de la última dictadura militar en Argentina (1976-1983). Aprenderás cómo se pudo haber sentido el ciudadano común en una época de represión cuando los actos más ingenuos se convertían en peligrosos y subversivos. Además de leer el cuento, podrás escucharlo en las grabaciones al principio de cada parte. El acento que escucharás es el de una nativa de Argentina.

Aprendizaje Integrado de Contenidos y Lenguas Extranjeras (AICLE)

This learning object will be looking at Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) for the teaching of Spanish. This learning object has been subject to peer review and editing, and is entirely in Spanish.

En esta unidad Ud. reflexionará acerca del Aprendizaje Integrado de Contenidos y Lenguas Extranjeras (AICLE), conocido en inglés como Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL). Se cubrirán algunos de los principios fundamentales que sustentan la práctica áulica en AICLE, con tareas para pensar. La unidad propone lineamientos para una secuencia didáctica sobre el tema de los insectos, arácnidos y moluscos, en la que se ofrece contenido curricular y el lenguaje para expresar algunos de los conceptos. Se sugiere la implementación de la secuencia en la escuela primaria con alumnos ELE

OpenLearn modern languages courses
The Open University has published several online language learning material on its OpenLearn website. The French module 'En ville' will suit absolute beginners while 'Bien dans sa peau' will suit those with some previous knowledge. The Spanish modules are available for beginners ('Espacios públicos'), upper intermediate ('La historia piedra a piedra'), and advanced ('Perspectivas porteñas' and 'Con mis propias manos'). The German materials include a unit at upper intermediate level about family life in Germany ('Lebensumstaende'), and at advanced level about regions and political structures ('Regionen, Traditionen und Geschichte').

Spanish: processing instruction
These materials set out the principles behind processing instruction. Processing instruction materials are reading and listening activities. The aim is to design tasks such that learners have to show that they have attended to the meaning of specific target features when they are reading or hearing sentences in the target language. These target features are those which a) appear to be slow to be acquired in production, b) have differences with the learners’ L1 and/ or c) are likely to be ‘ignored’ by learners when they normally hear or read the languages because the features are communicatively redundant (i.e. there are other clues in the input which communicate the same meaning, e.g. intonation, syntax, lexical items).

Spanish: Torquemada en la hoguera
An electronic edition of the 1889 novel, 'Torquemada en la hoguera', by one of Spain's greatest writers, Benito Pérez Galdós. This edition has been created as part of the Pérez Galdós Editions Project at the University of Sheffield and allows both students and scholars to engage with this classic text in new and innovative ways.

Spanish: Material for Spanish oral classes
This pack contains beginners, intermediate and advanced classes. Each section includes: instructions and information for the teacher, the topic and learning objectives of the lessons, how to organise students and to conduct each activity, the role/s of the teacher; summary of grammatical points which will be used in the activity or indications of those which need to have been seen before carrying out the activity; suggestions about how to explore the topic of the lesson further by practising other language skills (writing, reading, etc.); and teaching material (ready to photocopy).

Spanish: E-pack (sample)
These materials represent a sample of the interactive online exercises developed at London Metropolitan University for beginners in Spanish. The exercises combine sound, image and text in a single activity and provide instant feedback. They cover the main language learning skills of listening, reading, writing and grammar and involve a variety of activities, such as matching, reordering and games.

Language Testing: Dialang: Diagnostic Tests for Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Icelandic, Irish, Italian, Norwegian, Portuguese, Spanish and Swedish

DIALANG offers validated tests of different language skills, together with a range of feedback and expert advice on how to improve your skills. It also offers scientifically validated self-assessment activities and allows users to determine their language level, strengths and weaknesses as well as to increase their awareness of current skills and of what it means to know a language. It has been developed by more than 20 major European institutions, with the backing of the European Commission and is based on the Council of Europe's "Common European Framework of reference", which has become established throughout Europe as the most widely recognized frame of reference in the field of language learning.

Authorware: The GISMO Project (Guildhall Interactive Software for Multimedia Online)
A selection of teaching materials produced by The Department of Humanities, Arts and Languages at London Metropolitan University using the authoring program developed within the department that allows language teachers to prepare their own audio-enhanced websites containing a variety of interactive exercises. Any educational institution is welcome to use this material. The software combines the ability to edit your own text and then to record someone reading it, all using the same program. The sound and text are then automatically integrated and a web page containing the exercises is generated.

Spanish: From the caves to modern graffiti

This is a specialist language course for students with an advanced knowledge of Spanish.The materials cover the history of the Spanish language from pre-history to modern times. Language artefacts are taken from disciplines such as archaeology, anthropology, history, historical linguistics and popular media. The course looks into geographical and social varieties of Spanish from a historical as well as from a linguistic perspective.

Spanish: Los Peruanos
A sample of a programme developed on the theme of Los Peruanos which includes linguistic and cultural work on web documents, simplified texts and videoclips. The materials are for intermediate level and can be used in combination with the work done in the classroom or as part of an independent learning programme.

Spanish: grammar question bank
This bank of over 1,000 questions was created using Question Mark Perception. It was aimed at first year Undergraduate students of Spanish. The grammar topics covered include uses of ser and estar, definite and indefinite articles, object pronouns, prepositions, comparative and superlative adjectives, verb tenses and the subjunctive mood. Question types are either Selection (student chooses correct item from drop-down list) or Fill in Blanks. All questions have minimum feedback of correct answer; many have differentiated feedback and marking. The questions have been drawn mainly from GramEx Spanish or devised by Spanish tutors. The bank can be used by institutions running Question Mark Perception to create diagnostic, formative or summative tests.

Spanish: for beginners and general Spanish grammar
Interactive exercises for Spanish created using 'Interactive Language Learning Authorware' designed by Steve Cushion, Guildhall University (also available for downloading from www.llas.ac.uk). The materials come in two files (A and B) which are compressed files that can be self-extracted by clicking on them. The programs run using a web browser and can be started by clicking on the 'home' icon.

Phonetics: for Students of Modern Languages
An introductory phonetics course for students of French, German and Spanish

Spanish: El problema del agua, de la seguía y el Plan Hidrológico Nacional
WWW material covering the topic "El problema del agua, de la seguía y el Plan Hidrológico Nacional" which includes personal photographs with texts, links to other www sites relevant or relating to the topic, and exercises aimed at year 2 students to develop reading/summary writing skills and to increase knowledge of this topic.

Spanish: accelerated reading and writing in Spanish
The materials are devoted to the development of lexical structures in Spanish. They contain explanations, descriptions and exercises which will help the learner build up a solid lexical structure. The coursebook is made of 15 dual units (Spanish-English) for accelerated vocabulary acquisition. During the first 10 units the most productive processes for word recognition and word derivation are presented. The second 5 units add more advanced passages, taken from the literature of the Spanish-speaking world, and present vocabulary of high frequency and practical use. The materials in the course go from survival to Advanced Creative Spanish. The first 10 units consist of a Basic Passage, based on survival lexicon and intercultural issues, followed by a Reading Passage connected in topic but at a higher level. The last 5 units present a more literary style followed by practical exercises aimed at using this type of structures and vocabulary.

Spanish: Contemporary Language and Culture

This is a specialist online language and culture course for students who have achieved an advanced level in Spanish because they are in the final year of their University degree, have spent time in a Spanish-speaking country or are false native speakers. The course has been devised to reinforce and develop the language through reading, writing and speaking. The materials in the components follow each other closely and complement vocabulary expansion with development of linguistic structures. The contents of the course cover contemporary cultural issues such as TV, cinema, family and work, and linguistic minorities in the Spanish-speaking world. The cultural-linguistic diversity of Spain and Latin America is exploited through a selection of authentic materials showing different styles, accents and media. The course is structured to develop transferable as well as language skills through hands - on experience of IT use and language activities. The materials can be easily adapted to meet the requirements of students in secondary schools, sixth form colleges or Higher Education. The website also contains pages to help teachers to adapt their own materials or to produce their own courses.

The introduction of Chinese onto the curriculum of Spanish engineering students at the Polytechnic University of Valencia
Ten years ago the introduction of Chinese onto the curriculum of engineering students (offered German and French in addition to English) at the Polytechnic University of Valencia was unthinkable, but last September my first Chinese class was full. This paper sets out to analyse the motivation and experiences of the first batch of students, comparative references being made to German beginners at the same institution. Of particular interest is how students (and potential employers) perceive the relevance of Chinese to their future careers.

Spain today: Language and contemporary society at your fingertips
Many institutions have introduced e-learning into the languages curriculum, often with a commensurate reduction in the number of contact hours. The authors describe this approach using the Spain Today web site at Northumbria University. Student motivation was reported to be high and the site was regularly visited, though the interactive tools available were not greatly used. However, a blended mode was strongly supported by a majority of students. It was found that overall student performance was actually slightly lower than when more contact hours were included. The authors also note that e-learning often shows itself to be far more time-consuming than traditional teaching.

New hats for old: Intercultural competence and the integration of language and linguistics teaching
This paper discusses the development, delivery and outcomes of a module in Intercultural Communication aimed at first year undergraduate students of English Language and Linguistics, French, and Spanish at Kingston University. The incorporation of key skills and the integration of the varied linguistic and cultural experiences of the students was central to the module.

Bridging the Gap: University of Manchester
The University of Manchester's Bridging the Gap project to help students transition between GCSE, As and A2 level is described. Various forums and committees were set up to identify gaps in their respective syllabuses and events days were run at a Language College to help fill these gaps. Feedback on the events was good and it is hoped that this type of event will encourage more students to take languages at university level.

Spanish students in British universities: developing a support resource to improve their academic writing skills

A substantial number of Spanish students enter British universities each year. Those students, like other international students, have to adapt not only to a new academic environment, but also to a new culture and a new way of communicating in a language that is not their native one. This piece of PhD research has analysed the difficulties that Spanish students have to face when studying in higher education in Britain.

New ways of teaching literature
This article outlines my experiences in teaching the novels of the major nineteenth-century author Benito Pérez Galdós (1843-1920) to second-year students at the Department of Hispanic Studies, University of Sheffield. My course (HSS 264) aims to encourage students to think creatively and independently, to appreciate not only the stimulation, but also the enjoyment derived from the study of literature. It combines traditional literature teaching with innovative methods and multimedia resources, including an electronic critical edition of Torquemada en la hoguera (1889) and Buñuel's film of Tristana (1892). It is a venture that has enabled both the students and myself to benefit from the virtues of multimedia and 'research-led teaching' in its broadest sense (Brew 2001, McGuinness n.d.).

Case study: Lecturing in the target language to post A'level Spanish students: linguistic gains and pedagogical implications
This case study aims to present the Spanish Cultural Studies lecture in the first year of the Modern Languages degree at the University of Bath as an example of how lecturing in the foreign language to post A-level learners can be linguistically fertile without neglecting the primary aim of the unit, namely to provide a conceptual and systematic introduction to Spanish culture in the 20th century.

Spanish,the language and culture
The article offers a statistical overview of the growth and current status of Spanish teaching in UK HEIs. It covers in detail current practice in the teaching both of Spanish for beginners and for Honours level students, paying particular attention to ways in which courses build on the customary "four skills" paradigm. It examines Spanish as the sole or major component in degrees and as part of joint and combination degrees, and indicates the ways in which the language is studied as relating to the cultures and identities of contemporary Spain and the language's wide global context.

Iberian studies in the UK
The article offers a brief history of the development of Spanish and Portuguese Studies in the UK and their inter-relatedness with Iberian, Hispanic, and Latin American Studies. It lays out current coverage of linguistics, film, gender, cultural, area, and literary studies relating to Spanish and Portuguese both at BA and MA level; it also covers the teaching of Portuguese language and, more briefly, Catalan and Galician languages and cultures.

Latin American studies in the UK
An outline of the development and current provision of undergraduate and postgraduate teaching of Latin American Studies in UK universities. While concentrating on single honours and joint degrees, it also gives an indication of how Latin American themes are incorporated into other degree programmes.

Language learning gains popularity
An article on the Guardian newspaper website, 21st June, 2005, reports that more pupils are opting to take GCSEs in Arabic, Chinese and Spanish as the traditional allure of French wears off.