núm. 6 (2013)

AbstractThe purpose of this article is to provide an overview about cooperative learning as another way of learning together in the English classes. Also, as a qualitative study (action participative research), it focused on learning by means of the practice in terms of exploring how cooperative learning helps improve the English speaking skill of students in their English classes, showing it as one more way for raising students’ interest in English learning in a scholarly environment.Key words: cooperative learning, work in small groups, speaking skill.

AbstractThis literature review aims at dealing with some issues to be considered at the momentof thinking about the incorporation of critical pedagogy in the EFL classroom. In suchway, it explores different points of view given by several authors who have been workingdeeply on this topic. Thus, it compiles and discusses the most relevant issues in relation to the definition of critical pedagogy, education as reproduction, English language and critical pedagogy, critical pedagogy into practice, the role of the teacher, and the incorporation of critical pedagogy in the classroom. Finally, critical pedagogy is tackled in this document taking into account that it is necessary to look for teaching  approaches which go against the conventional language classrooms and the traditional teaching and learning processes that do not have a transformational effect on learners.Key words: critical pedagogy, education as reproduction, role of the teacher, Englishforeign language classroom.

AbstractThis article proposes a reflection of the author about the traditional and the alternative as two trends in the field of language teacher education. Such reflection revolves around the question In what lies the gap between traditional and alternative the training of language educators? With this question in mind, the author adopts a favoring attitude of a humanist and criticalapproach to explain a vision of education as a social practice as crucial in teaching and language learning. Furthermore, the author gives an account of his construction of a vision informed by some tenets of Critical Pedagogy and his experience in the education of English language teachers. Keywords: critical pedagogy, language teacher education, humanistic education, language as social practice

RésuméL´une des façons qui fait que la réalité de la langue se manifeste est à travers lesexpressions utilisées par les personnes natives pour décrire des situationsparticulières au sein d’un même contexte. Dans ce sens, le langage familier seconvertit, non seulement en un environnement culturel, sinon également en un échantillon des capacités innovatrices et créatives de l’être humain, en tant qu’auteur de formes du langage. Dans cet article, j’expliquerai la méthodologie utilisée par un professeur natif avec une classe de français de quatrième semestre de Licence en Langues Etrangères, afin d’illustrer la réalitéde sa langue maternelle, à travers l’utilisation de ressources écrites (telles queles fables et le journal) et audiovisuelles (la télévision).Mots clés: Langage familier, registre de langue soutenu, registre de langue familier et courant.

AbstractBeing a teacher today embraces new challenges and possibilities for pre-service and in-service teachers as well as for prospective teachers and their contexts in order to enrich and/ or transform educational practices. Some of these challenges deal with: the need to have a knowledge base of the subject and specifically a high level of Communicative Competencein the foreign language, a general and specific pedagogical knowledge, an understanding about the conception and execution of the curriculum and an appropriation of the teaching-learning theory. The mentioned aspects constitute a base in theirprofessional development. Pedagogical and Research Projects in the Languages School at Universidad Pedagógica y Tecnológica de Colombia (UPTC) incorporate these aspects in their syllabus in order to face the prospective teachers to the realities they will handle as future ones. The aim of this article is to reflect upon the challenges, knowledge and policies around teaching a foreign language nowadays and discuss what prospective teachers can understand around pedagogy and research as the bridge to link what they study and reflect in classes and the realities they have to face as future Foreign Languages teachers.Key words: Pedagogical and Research Projects, Knowledge base, future teachers‘challenges.

AbstractIn this article we share the process and results of an a priori study that focused onmaterials design throughout the implementation of some curricular units based on the development of intercultural dimensions. The curricular units were designed and developed upon the GANAG model, with the purpose of working on intercultural competence dimensions following Byram´s model (2003). In this pedagogical experience, conducted in two private schools in Tunja, our aim was to integrate intercultural dimensions in somecurricular units in order for students to compare and understand their own culture  with those of others. Data was gathered through the use of semi structured interviews, field notes and students’ artifacts. The results revealed that by means of the different curricular units guided by the stages proposed by the GANAG model, learners were able to move toward saviors (Knowledge) and Savoir etre (attitudes) proposed by Byram (2003) in the intercultural competence, where the values, beliefs and behaviors of a community or a social group were understood as individual and unique.Key words: Intercultural competence, curricular units, GANAG, Byram’s model, 

AbstractThis article reports a study, carried out at a private school in Tunja, with ten first gradestudents. The aim was to explore and analyze the characteristics of first graders language awareness. In order to achieve this objective, a case study was developed. Thus, a description was made of the way students experience the process of learning English and identifying the features of their language awareness process. Observations and interviews were used for data collection. The main findings suggest first graders features of language awareness are: mothertongue as well as foreign language, peer correction and motivation to contribute to language awareness. Key words: young learners, language awareness, English language learning process,

AbstractThis paper reports on the findings of a small - scale research project carried out in apublic school in Tunja, Boyacá, Colombia. It aims at analyzing how students’ Englishwriting was developed through dialogue journals. Data collection instrumentsincluded students’ journals, interviews and teachers´ observation formats. Findingsrevealed that students developed English writing by following models and using codeswitching as a communicative strategy. Key words: Dialogue journals, writing, strategiesResumenEste documento reporta los resultados de un proyecto de investigación a menorescala, llevado a cabo en un colegio público en Tunja, Boyacá, Colombia. Losinstrumentos que se utilizaron para recolectar información incluyeron diarios delos estudiantes, una entrevista y formatos de observación. Los resultados mostraronque la escritura en inglés de los estudiantes se desarrolló a través de seguir modelos yutilizar el cambio de código como estrategia comunicativa.Palabras clave: Diarios de dialogo, escritura, estrategias 

AbstractThis article provides some general considerations about language death . The paper first presents a definition of this interesting phenomenon, it discloses some of the ways of disappearing languages, then the article proposes information about causes of language death, later, it shows some general aspects of endangered languages extinction, and the resurrection of languages. Finally, the article concludes with some general ideas on the topicsaddressed.Key words: Sociology of language, language death, causes, to resurrect.

AbstractThis article reports a small scale study that revealed the perceptions students have inTechnology and Industrial Administration major programs. The main objective of thisstudy was to reveal the perceptions of these students about their English learning and itsuse for specific purposes. This study was carried out with students who are takingEnglish as a foreign language at the Languages Institute at Universidad Pedagógica y Tecnológica de Colombia, Duitama branch. The paper also presents the analysis of insights in the process of  students when connecting their knowledge of English with activities and materials in Telematics and Circuits subject class. Key words: perceptions, Language Learning, Specific Purposes.

Welcome to the sixth edition of our Journal. As it is known, ENLETAWA Journal is a space where pre-service and in-service teachers as well as researchers and novice researchers share their pedagogical, research and reflective experiences in regards to English, French and Spanish teaching and learning concerns. These issues have been the center of their wondering in different Colombian Contexts.