Editorial (ENG)
How to cite this
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APA Reyes, J. (2018). Editorial. Matices
en Lenguas Extranjeras, 0(12).
MLA Reyes, Javier. "Editorial." Matices
en Lenguas Extranjeras [En línea], 0.12 (2018): s. p. Web. 27 ene.
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CBE Reyes, J.
2018 ene 28. Editorial. Matices en Lenguas Extranjeras. [En
línea] 0:12.
A review of the studies
in teaching and learning of foreign languages in recent years inevitably
identifies an interdisciplinary dialog naturally arising. It is clear that
there is an innate relationship between history and linguistics, in particular
applied linguistics in the field of pedagogy of foreign languages.
First, history provides
theoretical principles useful for understanding the evolution of linguistics as
a science. In recent years, the growth of linguistics, both in the number of
researchers and in the spectrum of the research field, has led to an increase
in linguists' interest in the development of their own discipline, in this
case, a history of linguistics, which shows "a sign of the maturity of
linguistics as an academic discipline" (Robins, 2001, p. viii).
Second, the two sciences
have identified common issues and objects of study. From this relationship
emerges, for example, historical linguistics, which describes the ways in which
languages change or maintain its structures over a period of time.
The relationship
between history and linguistics also identifies problems in the field of
linguistics and applied linguistics in particular, especially for the
understanding of the teaching-learning and acquisition of foreign languages
processes. A clear example of this relationship is the emergence of corpus
linguistics as a methodological tool for understanding the evolutionary
processes of languages, for the identification of new perspectives in the field
of diachronic linguistics and for the development of new approaches in the pedagogy
of foreign languages, especially in the training of future language teachers. (Biber,
Conrad, & Reppen, 1998).
In this relationship, technology emerges as an integrating
element between the two disciplines. The substantial changes in technology in
recent years have affected the teaching, evaluation, acquisition and pedagogy
of foreign languages, especially in the training of future foreign language
teachers. However, as Chapelle (2003) states, while technology has significantly changed
professional practices, many of the questions related to technology in
pedagogical processes remain the same. How do technology and educational
practices relate to improve learning processes? How can research in second
language acquisition have an impact on the design of technology-based learning
models? How can language learning be evaluated through the use of technology?
These three, history,
pedagogy and technology, are the focus of this issue of Matices en Lenguas
Extranjeras.
The focus on history can
be clearly seen in the articles by Louis-Jean Calvet, Hermogenes Perdiguero
Villarreal and Priy Bharti. Calvet looks at the contemporary policy of Romance
languages and masterfully relates it to the interests of globalization at a
cultural and economic level. The author proposes "a viable solution from
an educational point of view in order to improve the future of Romance
linguistic geopolitics. Hermogenes Perdiguero Villarreal analyzes notary
documents of the 17th-century Livorno (Italy) Hebrew community in order to
identify interference from other languages in texts written in Spanish. The
study brings together the historical contextual elements — the exodus of
Spanish and Portuguese Jews — with a specific case of language contact between
Spanish and Portuguese. Finally, Priy Bharti presents the current state and
perspectives of teaching and research in the field of Spanish as a Foreign
Language in the context of India. This presentation is a historical review of
"the beginning, the development and the current and future situation of
Spanish.
The focus on pedagogy
in foreign languages specifically addresses the training of future teachers in
this field. María Elena Llaven Nucamendi
and Ismael Ignacio Chuc Piña look at autonomy in the context of learning a
language in an English teacher training program at a Mexican public university.
Their article describes a research project that explores aspects of student
motivation, feelings of competence and personal relationships in the context of
learning a language. Again, in the context of training future English teachers,
but this time at a Colombian university, Jennifer Jaramillo Delgado and Erika
Marcela Restrepo Bolívar demonstrate the relationship between the grammatical
awareness of future English teachers and its impact on production of academic
texts. "This research informs language teacher education and calls for action
in order to enable future English teachers to develop grammatical awareness as
part of their training in these programs to successfully attain academic
writing." A final study in this focus on history demonstrates that the
management of didactic discourse is one of the fundamental aspects in the
training of future French teachers in a Mexican university. María
Eugenia Olivos Pérez, Stéphanie Marie Brigitte Voisin and Carlos Alfredo Pazos
Romero highlight that didactic discourse entails not only the scholarly
knowledge necessary to legitimize teaching "but also some fundamental aspects
such as the construction of interpersonal harmonic relations for the learning
of the language and in consequence, motivation."
In the
focus on technology, articles by Charles Elkabas and Damien Le Gal look at some
questions outlined above. Elkabas highlights the inevitable and profound impact
of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), particularly the use of
screens in the reader's brain and draws attention to the pedagogical
implications for teaching and learning foreign languages. And Le Gal looks at
technology more broadly and examines technological input in the current
construction of the state of teaching English as a foreign language in
Colombia. The author concludes that it is important to change current policies
from a private to public orientation, from a "top-down" to "bottom-up"
approach, to implement an approach to English as a foreign language based on
the Colombian local context.
We hope
that readers of this issue of Matices en Lenguas Extranjeras enjoy the articles
and that these studies continue to open new dimensions of research for the
development of this field in which the history and pedagogy of foreign
languages are linked through technology.
Javier Hernando Reyes-Rincón
Professor, Pontificia Universidad Javeriana
Bogotá
Invited Editor
Member of the Scientific
Committee of Matices en Lenguas Extranjeras
References
Biber, D., Conrad, S.,
& Reppen, R. (1998). Corpus linguistics: Investigating language
structure and use. Cambridge ; New York: Cambridge
University Press.
Chapelle, C. A. (2003).
English language learning and technology: Lectures on applied linguistics in
the age of information and communication technology. Amsterdam: Benjamins.
Robins, R. H. (2001). A
short history of linguistics (4. ed., [Nachdr.]). London: Longman.