Virginia Unamuno

The emergence of new linguistic repertoires among Barcelona's youth of Latin American origin

Abstract Since the end of the last century, more than 10% of students in Catalonias schools are immigrants, mostly concentrated in areas of Catalonia where the population speaks Castilian in everyday life. Although these newcomers are educated in Catalan, the majority use diverse varieties of Spanish as their language of everyday communication. In the case of students from Latin America, it is possible to observe the emergence of a new repertoire that shares traits of different varieties of Spanish spoken in South America. This article focuses on the hybrid features of this repertoire, its transmission among peers, and also on the way teachers categorize and value it. The research results reveal that students develop multilingual abilities to fulfill practical goals. The data also show that varieties of vernacular Catalan and Spanish are articulated with a new Latino language repertoire in a complex set of resources in which linguistic forms of various origins are mixed. The uses of this hybrid repertoire can be related to key issues such as the speakers stance regarding school, but also to symbolic aspects of broader processes, such as the re-territorialization of languages and people and the emergence of new processes of identity construction in a multilingual and cosmopolitan city.

The discourse marker a ver (Catalan, a veure) in teacher-student interaction☆

Abstract The objective of this study is to analyse the meaning and use of the discourse marker a ver (Catalan, a veure) in the conversational context specifically derived from teacher-student interaction. Our hypothesis is that - as recent research has suggested - the discourse markers used in specific, socially identified interactions (such as therapy sessions, visits to the doctors office, TV sports broadcasts, school interactions, etc.) present functions which, to a certain extent, differ from those described in the literature. The analysis presented here is based on the contributions of discourse analysis in relation, on the one hand, to the idea of the social context as a determining element in the interpretative process and, on the other hand, to the focus on discourse organization beyond the sentence level. Both sides of the question provide relevant material for the description of verbal interactions.

Multiple languages in one society: categorisations of language and social cohesion in policy and practice

This article examines the way in which socially constructed notions of ‘language’, ‘social cohesion’ and ‘diversity’ create tensions within different educational arenas, particularly concerning educational policies developed at administrative levels and the subsequent interpretation of these policies in the classroom. Specifically, the article looks at the different production and reproduction processes of an official policy concerning ‘language and integration’, aimed at the immigrant population in Catalonian schools (Spain). The method used combines conversation analysis with text analysis of official documents in order to find traces of interdiscursivity between texts and practices. While the focus of the article is based on a case study of conceptualisations of languages, social cohesion and cultural diversity in two classrooms in Barcelona, it is generally relevant to the world of education, especially as the rate of population movements worldwide has increased significantly in recent years.

Language dispute and social change in new multilingual institutions in Chaco, Argentina

Intercultural bilingual education (IBE) programmes in Latin America pose interesting questions for sociolinguistics, since their implementation interrogates the link between language and the nation resulting from the emergence of nation-states, but also from processes of decolonization. In the case of Argentina, a new legal framework and the recent implementation of new public policies at national and provincial levels have caused key social and linguistic transformations in educational institutions in indigenous contexts. This paper aims to show some current transformations in multilingual management in Chacos educational institutions. To do this, I consider the case of public schools, traditionally monolingual in Spanish, to which new actors are incorporated, i.e. Wichi bilingual teachers. Their presence at school and their linguistic practices illustrate the tensions between different language ideologies that coexist today in the Argentinean educational system. As I try to show, bilingualism – as an ideological sign and as symbolic capital – and bilingual practices constitute a contested terrain that can be explored through a sociolinguistic ethnography.

Participation and language learning in bilingual classrooms in Chaco (Argentina) / Participación y aprendizaje de lenguas en las aulas bilingües del Chaco (Argentina)

Abstract This paper analyses the possibilities for participation and bilingual learning of Wichi children in Chaco (Argentina) in the contexts in which they are currently educated. From a theoretical and methodological approach that links language learning and participation in social and historically located events, two learning environments are discussed: (i) with two teachers (a teacher fluent only in Spanish and a bilingual assistant); and (ii) a bilingual teacher. The data analysis reveals that in type (i) environments the common participation formats, as well as the method in which the semiotic resources at stake are managed, limit the possibilities of bilingual learning in Wichi pupils. However, the more open and flexible interaction formats in type (ii) environments, as well as the activation of bilingual speaking modes, promote spontaneous and guided participation by pupils, therefore offering a greater potential for bilingual learning. Both cases reflect the place that languages and speakers hold in classrooms.

Gestión del multilingüismo y docencia indígena para una educación intercultural bilingüe en la Argentina. Doi: 10.5212/PraxEduc.v.7iEspecial.0002

Que historia, para qual cidadania? O ensino de historia na educacao basica no Mexico No Mexico a reflexao acerca dos vinculos entre a historia como disciplina escolar e os processos sociais de construcao de cidadania, requer conceber este objeto de estudo como apenas uma parte de um processo muito mais complexo que o vincula tanto a educacao civica e etica, como as praticas cotidianas conformadoras de uma certa cultura escolar. E necessario situar historicamente as origens e formas de funcionamento de cada uma dessas facetas, assim como a maneira em que entre elas se reforcam em suas pretensoes formativas. Somente desse modo e possivel reconhecer os fins, utilidades e limites do ensino de historia tal qual e concebido hoje em dia, assim como sua impossibilidade de assumir como objetivos educativos a construcao de nocoes democraticas referidas a uma concepcao moderna de cidadania. Palavras-chave: Cidadania. Historia e seu ensino. Formacao para a democracia. Resumen En Mexico la reflexion acerca de los vinculos entre la historia como disciplina escolar y los procesos sociales de construccion de ciudadania, requiere concebir este objeto de estudio como solo una parte de un proceso mucho mas complejo que lo vincula tanto a la educacion civica y etica, como a las practicas cotidianas conformadoras de una cierta cultura escolar. Es necesario ubicar historicamente los origenes y formas de funcionamiento de cada una de esas facetas, asi como la manera en que entre ellas se refuerzan en sus afanes formativos. Solo de esa forma es posible reconocer los fines, utilidades y limites de la ensenanza de la historia tal cual es concebida hoy en dia, asi como su imposibilidad de asumir como objetivos educativos la construccion de nociones democraticas referidas a una concepcion moderna de ciudadania. Palabras claves: Ciudadania. Historia y su ensenanza. Formacion para la democracia. Abstract Which history, to which citizens? History teaching in basic education in Mexico In Mexico, a reflection on the links between History as a school subject and the processes of social construction of citizenship requires conceiving the object of study as only part of a much more complex process that binds it both to civic education and ethics, and to everyday forming practices of a certain school culture. It is necessary to historically locate the sources and forms of operation of each of these facets as well as the way they reinforce their training claims.Only in this way it is possible to recognize purposes, uses and limits of teaching History as it is conceived today, as well as its inability to take as an educational goalthe building of democratic notions related to a modern conception of citizenship. Keywords: Citizenship. History and its teaching. Training for democracy.Resumen En este trabajo se evaluan algunos elementos del conocimiento matematico comun y especializado del contenido y del conocimiento del contenido y los estudiantes en relacion con la probabilidad elemental en una muestra de profesores en formacion. El conocimiento comun del contenido se evalua a partir de las soluciones de 157 profesores en formacion a tres problemas. Una vez discutidas con los participantes estas soluciones, se analizan dos componentes del conocimiento de 81 de ellos, trabajando en pequenos grupos: (a) El conocimiento especializado del contenido se evalua a partir de los contenidos matematicos identificados en los problemas; (b) el conocimiento del contenido y los estudiantes a partir de la identificacion y justificacion de respuestas de alumnos de educacion primaria. Aunque en la evaluacion inicial se observo un bajo razonamiento probabilistico, en la segunda los participantes son capaces de identificar y explicar las respuestas incorrectas de los alumnos. Palabras clave: Conocimiento Matematico para la Ensenanza. Probabilidad. Educacion Primaria. Abstract Normal 0 21 false false false PT-BR X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 Prospective primary school teachers’ mathematical knowledge for teaching probability: an exploratory study This study assesses some elements of common and specialized mathematical knowledge and of knowledge of content and students in relation to elementary probability from a sample of prospective primary school teachers. Common knowledge of content is assessed from the individual solution of 157 prospective teachers to three problems. Once the solution to these problems was discussed with the participants, two additional components of these teachers’ mathematical knowledge for teaching were analyzed based on small group work developed by 81 participants: (1) To assess specialized knowledge of content we asked participants to identify the tasks mathematical content; (b) to assess their knowledge of content and students we asked them to identify and justify correct and incorrect answers to the problems given by primary school children. While in the initial assessment we observed a poor probabilistic reasoning, in the second part they were able to identify and explain incorrect answers given by students. Keywords: Mathematical Knowledge for Teaching. Probability. Primary School. Resumo Normal 0 21 false false false PT-BR X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 Conhecimento m atematico de p rofessores dos anos iniciais do Ensino Fundamental em formacao para o ensino de probabilidade : u m estudo exploratorio Neste trabalho foi realizada uma avaliacao de alguns elementos do conhecimento matematico comum e especializado e do conhecimento do conteudo e os alunos sobre a probabilidade elementar de professores do ensino primario em formacao. O conhecimento comum do conteudo e avaliado a partir das solucoes de 157 professores em formacao a tres problemas. Uma vez que os participantes discutiram com estas solucoes , analisamos dois componentes do conhecimento matematico para o ensino de 81 desses alunos , trabalhando em pequenos grupos: a) O conhecimento especializado do conteudo e avaliado com base no conteudo matematico dos problemas identificados , ( b) o conhecimento do conteudo e os alunos sao avaliados com base na identificacao e justificacao das respostas de alunos do ensino fundamental . Enquanto na avaliacao inicial mostrou um raciocinio probabilistico pobre, na segunda, os participantes sao capazes de identificar e explicar as respostas incorretas dos alunos. Palavras-chave: Conhecimento matematico para o ensino. Probabilidade. Ensino Fundamental.1024x768 Este artigo visa enfatizar a necessidade, que um Programa de Pos-Graduacao em Educacao pode ter, de produzir conhecimentos, a partir de um esforco continuado de abertura a totalidade da experiencia humana, nao se fechando em posicoes epistemologicas reducionistas dessa experiencia. O artigo pontua, tambem, que a formacao de estudiosos e de profissionais da educacao tem, como tarefa principal, a consolidacao do habito intelectual de sensibilidade e de criatividade diante de qualquer manifestacao da vida humana, tal como aflora nos varios processos culturais, na diversidade e na complexidade de cada um deles, na concreticidade das praticas sociais que os engendram. Palavras-chave: Educacao. Experiencia. Significado. Abstract Meaning of knowledge production in Postgraduate studies and its communication with social practices This paper highlights the need, which a Postgraduate Programme in Education may have, of producing knowledge from a continuous effort of integral human experience openness, not closing itself to narrow epistemological positions of that experience. This paper also enphasizes that the education of scholars and education professionals has as main task the consolidation of the intellectual habit of being creative and sensitive towards any manifestation of human life, just as it emerges in various cultural processes, in the diversity and complexity of each one of them and in the reality of social practices that give birth to them. Keywords: Education. Experience. Meaning. Resumen Significados de la produccion del conocimiento en el Posgrado y en sus interlocuciones con la practica social El articulo tiene como objetivo enfatizar la necesidad, que un Programa de Posgrado en Educacion puede tener, de producir conocimientos, empezando por um esfuerzo continuado de apertura a la totalidad de la experiencia humana, sin cerrarse en posiciones epistemologicas reduccionistas acerca de esa experiencia. Enfatizar tambien que la formacion de estudiosos y profesionales de la educacion tiene, como tarea principal, la consolidacion del habito intelectual de la sensibilidad y de la creatividad, delante de cualquier manifestacion de vida humana, tal como emerge en sus varios procesos culturales; en la diversidad y complejidad de cada uno de ellos; em la concrecion de las practicas sociales que los engendran. Palabras clave: Educacion. Experiencia. Significado.