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The Teaching of Spanish as a Second Language and Spanish for Specific Purposes: Sociolinguistic and Variationist Perspectives

Author(s): Victor-Emanuel Ciuciuc / Language(s): English / Issue: 1/2021

Keywords: SSP (Spanish for Specific Purposes); Second Language Acquisition; Teaching Spanish as a Foreign Language; Sociolinguistics; Linguistic Variation;

Since the teaching of Spanish as a foreign language makes us feel in constant change as the dynamics in our globalized world are also in constant change, we can have the same, even more enhanced, feeling when it comes to the teaching / learning of Spanish for specific purposes, because the same evolution in research makes this subjacent teaching context an exciting task. We already know that the teaching / learning of a language, according to J. Sánchez Lobato and I. Santos Gallargo (2004: 11) is a “processual, complex and multidisciplinary” phenomenon, but we want to investigate whether we could consider specialty language learning under the same principles. This article’s cornerstone is that teaching Spanish for specific purposes is a type of teaching with great potential. We rely on the fact that the needs of current learners have evolved, that is, they have more practical objectives for language learning as it can ease or even upgrade their professional situation. Moreover, in the case of Spanish students from the world of social sciences, economics, or even construction and engineering, they want their knowledge of language and specialized vocabulary in Spanish to singularize them, acting therefore as a differentiator from their fellows. Consequently, their becoming specialists in Spanish for architecture and construction is a means to an end, driven by a professional development motivation, with a significant linguistic counterpart.

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Digital Competences in the Acquisition of Romanian as a Foreign Language

Author(s): Ana-Mihaela Istrate / Language(s): English / Issue: 1/2021

Keywords: Computer Mediated Communication; Romanian as a Foreign Language; intrinsic and extrinsic motivation; linguistic processes; social processes;

The study highlights the most important challenges encountered by the language professors in teaching online, enumerating some of the most important tools available during an entire year of online teaching Romanian as a Foreign Language. It focuses particularly on the difficulties that international students had, while learning a completely new language, without any face-to-face interaction, stressing the most important online instruments, which could help us teach Romanian grammar and vocabulary. The study highlights also the most important theoretical frameworks regarding intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, which can trigger the learning process, even in an exclusively online environment. Very important is the change of mentalities, first at the level of the teachers, who can and should embrace the change, so that they can push the limits of teaching languages in the virtual space, in such a way that classes could be equally interesting and challenging for the learners. A very important section of the article is dedicated to the study of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, in the case of international students learning Romanian as a foreign language, explaining the mechanisms that trigger language acquisition and offering examples of instruments that we have at hand, to help the language production. The study also enumerates some of the most important models that focus on linguistic and social processes, which trigger foreign language acquisition, which can explain why in certain cases learners can learn a foreign language faster or experience a culture shock, due to the inappropriate cultural adaptation.

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Providing Linguistic Hospitality through Cultural Awareness: Some Case Studies

Author(s): Marina-Cristiana Rotaru / Language(s): English / Issue: 2/2020

Keywords: Linguistic hospitality; cultural awareness; culture-bound terms; British culture; translation;

Culture is a particular construction, with its own values and idiosyncrasies. Culture-bound terms carry these idiosyncrasies, which make such terms difficult to translate. Transferring the original meaning into the target language often proves a challenge, especially when the translator is little aware of the peculiarities of the source culture. Hence, developing cultural awareness is essential for developing linguistic awareness. Both types of awareness contribute to extending linguistic hospitality to a source-language term, making it as transparent as possible in the target language.

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The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins, or the Redemption (?) of Coriolanus Snow

Author(s): Alexandra Roxana MĂRGINEAN / Language(s): English / Issue: 2/2020

Keywords: Hunger games; prequel; Coriolanus Snow; narrative links; symbols;

The starting point for this analysis is that Coriolanus Snow is a character that has not beencapitalized on fully in the trilogy of The Hunger Games, leaving us with a sense ofincompleteness, as far as the narrative, emotional and psychological potentialitiesconnected with him, as well as, perhaps, a feeling that this unexploited potential has donehim injustice. The introduction to the study, called Relay, puts this notion forth, lookingback (or, rather, forward, in the chronology of the story) to the context of the trilogy’sending, to see what avenues of meaning it has opened to cause this sense in both thereceiver of the work and in its author, since Collins decided upon a prequel. Then, once wehave established that Coriolanus Snow is the highlight of the research and explained thepotential rationale behind that, the next section looks into the biography of the character,relying on the logic that his background and origin of his family, as well as significantevents in his early life, which turn out to be highly traumatic, may delineate some traits ofcharacter that he sets out with in the journey of his life and becoming. The third partfocuses on elements that may be considered as links with the trilogy, i.e. aspects that arehighly symbolical and rich in signification and which will go through a type of flourishmentlater on, holding the skeleton for the interpretation of the whole story. This part reveals theother directing line in our research, or other interest, but the scrutiny into these aspects isalways related with the character Snow, shedding light on his future way of being as well.The conclusions reiterate the ideas stated previously with respect to Snow’s personality andaspects that connect the prequel with the trilogy, also highlighting the focal protagonist’sevolution. We conclude that Coriolanus Snow’s becoming is influenced by his traumaticpast, but mainly and mostly, as far as its negative turns, by the politics and morals of TheCapitol.

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Deep culture-rooted stereotypes: a contrastive study of Romanian and Spanish cultures through ethnic-referring expressions

Author(s): Victor-Emanuel Ciuciuc / Language(s): English / Issue: 1/2020

Keywords: Deep-culture; stereotypes; pragmatics; ethnic-referring expressions; language and culture;

The contrasts that sometimes exist between what is said literally and what is really meant, the adequacy of the sequences, as well as the adjustment of grammatical constructions to the context and the situation, or the adequate selection of the referent as a previous step for achieving full comprehension of the statements are three types of phenomena that elude a precise characterization in purely grammatical terms. Escandell Vidal (2013) emphasizes the importance of extra-linguistic factors that condition the effective use of language, including this characteristic in the definition of pragmatics that encompasses, in her opinion, "the considerations that determine both the use of a specific statement by a specific speaker in a specific communicative situation, such as its interpretation by the addressee " (Escandell Vidal 2013: 15). However, the fact that the relationship between language and reality is not straightforward (and subsequently, that language is not mere nomenclature) is apparent in the lack of lexical-grammatical correspondence between different languages– a phenomenon observable in different instances of language contact, including interlingual translation and language learning. Moreover, the same stimulus from reality is “interpreted” and rendered differently by different languages. Therefore, our analysis is a descriptive one, which will focus especially on the extra linguistic situation, in order to provide context, the register of use, the meaning, the communicative function, the use restrictions and examples of use. Altogether, all these pieces of information will help us contour the image that the analysed expressions depict. In order to do so, the following steps have been followed: selection of the ethnic-referring expressions; data compilation and the need of establishing a frequency of use for each expression, in order to identify the most frequently-used stereotypes; reference to the definition proposed by the dictionaries (and if considered relevant or/and available, the etymological data); reference to sociological and/or cultural data, when needed.

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Turning the European Initiative into Reality – Focus on the EUROPASS CV

Author(s): Yolanda-Mirela Catelly / Language(s): English / Issue: 2/2019

Keywords: European Initiative; Europass CV; job application documents; ESP;

For over a decade our country has become a full member state of the European Union, which has meant a series of deep changes in all the domains of human endeavor, including education. Currently, the Europass CV is in general use in approximately 30 countries, as it has proved to have a series of major advantages. Therefore, it is one of the roles of the academia to provide support to the future graduates to develop their appropriate job application package of documents, which should include a widely-recognized CV and an appropriate cover letter, as well as preparation for job interviews. The study will thus include both a discussion of the Europass CV pros and cons, and a proposal of a model approach to the teaching of it within an ESP course for engineering students, as a means of updating the course book content.

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Necropolitics and The Biafran War in Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's Half of a Yellow Sun

Author(s): Roxana Elena Doncu / Language(s): English / Issue: 2/2019

Keywords: Nigerian Civil War; historiographic metafiction; necropolitics;

After Nigeria became independent in 1960, the divisions engendered by the long history of colonialism as well as the artificiality of borders imposed by the British led to a three-year civil war following the Igbo-led military coup in 1966. In her novel Half of a Yellow Sun, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie depicts the events leading to the Biafran war and the horrors of the "war of starvation" through a polyphony of voices from different social backgrounds as well as through a metatext, a book called The World Was Silent When We Died, excerpts from which are inserted at the end of certain chapters as a comment on colonial and postcolonial politics. Thus, the novel turns into a large-scale historiographic metafiction that documents the transition from the early postcolonial state to what philosopher and political theorist Achille Mbembe called “necropolitical” systems of domination.

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“From Japan, With Love”: Frozen and Baymax in Cross-Cultural Perspective

Author(s): Maria Grajdian / Language(s): English / Issue: 2/2019

Keywords: animation; cartoons; Walt Disney; femininity; masculinity;

Based on a decade-long fieldwork in the volatile and convoluted area of mass-media in Japan, this paper draws on empirical data and ethnographic research combined in hermeneutic interpretation and contributes with fresh insights into the impact Japanese popular culture has been providing on Western products of similar caliber. In this case, the animation movies Frozen (2013) and Baymax (2014), both released by Walt Disney Productions and hugely popular in Japan, are carefully scrutinized in their cross-cultural significance, on the background of an increasing awareness on the identity crisis faced by the concepts of “femininity” and “masculinity” nowadays and inspite of repeated waves of feminism, public outrage and legislative progress. By proposing the concept of “empowered, enlightened human being”, the current paper seeks to foster a more profound alternative to the ongoing debate, while taking into account the fundamental human needs to belong and to be free – an apparent contradiction, though nevertheless, an essential precondition on the path to becoming a responsible, self-confident citizen in late modernity.

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Prince Harry and Meghan Markle: Politics of Bloodline after Brexit

Author(s): Marina-Cristiana Rotaru / Language(s): English / Issue: 2/2019

Keywords: dress; dressing; the Commonwealth; royal diplomacy; royal wedding; race;

The aim of this paper is to try and identify political meanings attached to the wedding of Prince Harry of Great Britain and his biracial wife, the American Meghan Markle. Given the particular context triggered by Brexit and the recent approval of Prince Charles as the next head of the Commonwealth, it is not far-fetched to consider that there may be components of the wedding ceremony that carefully carry particular political meanings. Traditionally, foreign policy was the prerogative of the Crown, but starting with the reign of Queen Victoria, things progressively began to change in spite of the queen’s robust opposition to being deprived of what she considered to be her powers. Today, British foreign policy is established by the Foreign Office, but the monarch and the royal family still play important diplomatic roles, being the spearheads of British interests abroad. This analysis makes use of the concepts of “dress” and “dressing” coined by Roland Barthes in order to decodify the symbolism of the uniform of the groom and the wedding veil of the bride. This investigation aims to highlight the connection between the royal attire and the potential roles the two spouses may play in the relationship between Great Britain and the Commonwealth.

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The acquisition of English phrasal verbs. A teaching perspective

The acquisition of English phrasal verbs A teaching perspective

Author(s): Madalina Mantescu (Adam) / Language(s): English / Issue: 2/2019

Keywords: schemata; acquisition of phrasal verbs; guided discovery; receptive skill; explicit instruction; positive evidence; negative evidence; authentic tasks; metaphoric meaning; collocative competence;

To help students learn the intricate field of phrasal verbs, we, as teachers, should rely on the cognitivist view according to which the meaning of the phrasal verbs is given by the idiomatic, metaphorical meaning of the particles. By teaching the meanings associated with frequently used particles as George Yule suggests, we will offer students a better understanding of decoding various particles and thus, of uncovering “the mystique which surrounds multi – word verbs for many learners”. Futhermore, teachers should focus on enhancing students’ collocative competence by providing them practice based on “word forks”, namely schemata that give all the objects which match a phrasal verb. “Word forks” appeal to the long-term associative memory of the learners, making phrasal verbs part of our active vocabulary. Thirdly, teachers should facilitate the acquisition of phrasal verbs in the classroom by providing texts with a high frequency of phrasal verbs in them (Thornbury). Students need to be encouraged to discover the meaning of the phrasal verbs relying on the context (guided discovery) and if these positive routines are kept for a long – time basis, the reception of such target structure is going to be enhanced. On the other hand, for more advanced students, we stress the importance of learning grammar as a receptive skill and devising exercises and activities which are meant to teach the syntactic properties of the phrasal verbs in an explicit manner, explicit instruction which containds both positive and negative evidence. In later stages of teaching phrasal verbs, encouraging free production of phrasal verbs in daily, authentic, spoken and written tasks, will boost students’ creativity and integrate the “intricate” phrasal verbs in their active vocabulary.

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Assessing Students’ Disciplinary Content Knowledge in Selected Disciplinary Genres

Author(s): Mariana Coancă / Language(s): English / Issue: 2/2019

Keywords: ESP context; test papers; common mistakes; disciplinary genre; research;

English for Specific Purposes was included in language teaching programs toprepare students for future job roles by enhancing students’ specialized communication –vocabulary, grammar, tone, style and mechanics. Nowadays, to meet students’ underlyingneeds, we are challenged to diversify our teaching methods and find innovative ways tokeep students focused on the tasks. Test papers are designed to highlight the competence ofusing the language in authentic, everyday situations, covering economic, social andcultural aspects that are part of the environment in which the students will live and work.Syllabus redesign, materials design, careful materials selection and proactive teaching forvarious ESP contexts will enhance students’ soft skills and will ensure a betteremployability of applicants (students).With this in mind, the current paper set out to explore the tertiary level students’common mistakes in test papers scheduled in the end of-academic semester to identify theirstrengths, gain a better understanding of their weaknesses, and consequently assess ifstudents have acquired sufficient disciplinary content knowledge to write in future selecteddisciplinary genres such as journal articles and thematic projects for workshoppresentations.

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The acquisition of medio – passive constructions - A teaching perspective

Author(s): Madalina Mantescu (Adam) / Language(s): English / Issue: 2/2019

Keywords: language acquisition; middles; medio-passive constructions; Subset - Superset relation; negative transfer; avoidance strategy;

The aim of the present paper is to examine how Romanian learners of English acquire theEnglish medio -passive constructions. The hypothesis is that since the domain of theEnglish middles is restricted, language-specific and a subset of their Romanianequivalents, the English middles are hard to acquire for the Romanian learners. Theprediction was that this would lead to negative transfer which would further result in errorsand avoidance of the target structure. The prediction was tested by means of agrammaticality-judgement task and a translation task, the subjects being Philology studentswho have studied the structure previously and High School students who have not studiedthe structure yet. The tendency in both groups was to judge the English middles in generalas illicit, using the avoidance strategy.This proves that acquiring the English middle is difficult for the Romanian learners ofEnglish and that in order to acquire these language specific properties, the Romanianlearners of English need explicit instruction with both negative and positive evidence in theinput.

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The Terminology of Pedagogy in the Facebook Age

Author(s): Cristina NICULESCU-CIOCAN / Language(s): English / Issue: 2/2019

Keywords: pedagogy; terminology; educational sociology; Facebook; social networking services;

Considering that people belonging to different age categories have changed and will continuously be subjected to change, science also needs to undergo various stages in order to meet the current and future needs of people and social groups. Therefore, both categories of participants in the educational process - learners and teachers – need to shift their focus from the classical elements and methods or to adjust them and to adjust themselves to the new pedagogy and the new educational context, which we shall name the FB age pedagogy within the current paper. It is basically a matter of communication, as many pedagogical processes rely on some form of interaction between teacher and learner.

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Signs of Translator Visibility in J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit or There and Back Again

Author(s): Roxana Bîrsanu / Language(s): English / Issue: 2/2019

Keywords: translator visibility; strategies; translation style; domestication; foreignization;

The translation of any literary work is a form of confirmation of its worth and of theappreciation it enjoys in a certain target literary system. J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit orThere and Back Again has four Romanian translations, performed at various moments intime, both during and after the fall of the communist regime. The moment of translationproduction is relevant in respect of the translation norms that govern the act of translationand influence translating decisions in different periods. This paper analyses thesetranslations from the perspective of the translators’ degree of visibility in the texts. To thisend, we will provide a series of general observations extracted from the comparison of theRomanian versions and from the analysis of some excerpts specific to the writing style andtechniques of the author and of the genre within which the novel under discussion isinscribed.

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Changing Images of Gender in Sports: Comparative Gender Images in Romania and Japan

Author(s): Eiko Hara / Language(s): English / Issue: 1/2019

Keywords: women's sports; gendered images in sports;

This study is based on a questionnaire to explore sports images associated with men and with women. Small groups of men and women in Romania and in Japan were asked what sports men liked to play, and what sports women liked to play. The study compares the differences among male and female Romanian and Japanese respondents. The top 3 sports named occupy over 50% of the data among male and female Romanians, and male and female Japanese. The top 2 sports named for women are same between the Romanians and the Japanese. Three of the top 4 sports named for men are same for Romanians and the Japanese. Some sports are associated with gender, however they are more strongly associated images for women or for men. Finally, I will consider some possible influences on people’s gender images associated with women or with men, especially for sports for Japanese cases.

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Terminological Entry in Animal Science Language

Author(s): Izabela Oprea / Language(s): English / Issue: 1/2019

Keywords: Animal science language; terminological entry; general lexicon; scientific lexicon;

Recently, the number of works centred upon terminological entries has multiplied, a great number of linguists showing interest in this field. Nevertheless, concerning animal science language, terminological entries aren’t studied enough. Thus, we aim at presenting in our work a trial of delimitating certain phrases and terms which are very important for animal science specialists and students, making comparisons between words and terms. Consequently, we will present significant information on general lexicon in order to conclude with animal science lexicon. Our work will comprise the following stages: 1. definition of terminological entries and conveying a short history; 2. extraction of phraseological units candidates to the terminological unit status; 3. application of Cabré (1998)’s principles.

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The Search of the Absolute in Vasile Voiculescu ’s Poetry

Author(s): Mădălina-Steliana Deaconu / Language(s): English / Issue: 1/2019

Keywords: the Absolute; cognitive stylistics; cognitive/conceptual metaphors;

The present paper aims at giving a brief insight into the poetry of one of the most important Romanian poets, Vasile Voiculescu, focusing on the search of the Absolute from the linguistic point of view, namely the cognitive stylistics approach. Mention should be made of the fact that the analysed metaphors of the Absolute are taken from all stages of creation.

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Revisiting the Principles of the Adult Learning Theory

Author(s): Roxana Bîrsanu ,Ilda Kanani / Language(s): English / Issue: 1/2019

Keywords: adult learners; teaching strategies; andragogy; adult learning;

In the last decade, adult learning has been a constant topic of education research, particularly in the context of the impetus of instruction targeted at adults brought about by rapid technical advancements, increasing intercultural interactions and a constant changing work environment, all of which compel professionals to embrace lifelong learning as a constant coordinate of their active life. In this light, this paper revisits the andragogical model proposed by American researcher Malcolm Knowles from the perspective of its applications in adult learning classrooms. Moreover, it touches upon a number of obstacles encountered in the instruction process addressing adults, analysing their impact upon adults’ decision to enrol in and commit to instruction programs.

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Towards Flexible Foreign Language Learning through Digitalisation and Cooperation across University Borders in Finland

Author(s): Antti Petteri Kurhinen,Anu Mustonen,Marja Oksanen,Tapani Mottonen / Language(s): English / Issue: 1/2019

Keywords: L2 teaching and learning; digitalization; integration; flexibility; differentiation;

Finland has faced increasing immigration during the past years. Simultaneously, the aging of population has made Finland increasingly dependent on linguistically competent foreign workforce. To overcome this challenge, the Ministry of Education has started several national projects to promote the digitalization in education, including DIGIJOUJOU (2017–2019), whose main aim is to develop digital materials for teaching Finnish and Swedish. We will outline the work done in one sub-project of DIGIJOUJOU. In this sub-project, eight university level teachers have developed flexible working life oriented digital study modules for free use. We discuss the project in terms of both practical material production and the development of teachers’ digi-pedagogical competence.

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Teaching Gender Stereotypes by Resort to Fiction: Mike Gayle’s His ‘n’ Hers

Author(s): Alexandra Roxana MĂRGINEAN / Language(s): English / Issue: 1/2019

Keywords: teaching; stereotypes; identity; gender; types;

and teaching them to university students as part of interculturalism. The study starts from an observation made by the teacher based on her experience in the actual didactic process, namely the idea that, when it comes to gender stereotypes, a different method is needed for a successful debate than that of eliciting information through brainstorming. More precisely, a more palpable supporting material is required, in order to help students, overcome various blockages that may arise given the sensitivity of the topic, and for them to order and produce data on the subject. The basis for discussion is provided by short excerpts from relevant fiction, in our case the example being Mike Gayle’s novel His ‘n’ Hers. The conclusions bear, on the one hand, on the usefulness of using quotes as icebreakers for a discussion of gender stereotypes. On the other hand, we notice the transformations that people’s/students’ mindsets suffer in the contemporary world as far as their perspective on, and awareness of, gender stereotypes. We deem that gender stereotypes may produce a more relevant discussion in other cultures than the western (and) European one(s). Also, we need to concern ourselves with how we influence young minds with this topic and avoid inoculating them with labeling that they may have overcome or never been conscious of against the background of a more liberal, open-minded world than the one a generation or two older.

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