Publications
6 results found
González Becerra I, Del Río Alcalá B, 2022, Lessons from a distanced stage: embedding a Zoom-mediated drama workshop in a language classroom, L2 Journal, Vol: 14
Gonzalez-Becerra I, 2020, Something Good? the value of foreign language learning in a STEM context
Set within the context of a much-reported foreign language crisis, institution-wide language programmes (IWLPs) are thriving in the UK, attracting an increasing number of undergraduates from different disciplines to the study of foreign languages (FLL). This thesis explores the value of FLL and how it is attributed by science and technology (STEM) undergraduates studying languages other than English (LOTEs) within an IWLP in a specialised higher education institution. Based on a thematic analysis of undergraduate interviews and using value theory and related concepts from the motivation literature as interpretive tools, this thesis provides a complex and interactional model of FLL value which represents learners’ multi-layered relationship with FLL and the impact of surrounding value discourses. Findings demonstrate how prevalent utilitarian discourses are challenged and reappraised by learners, influenced by the impact of English as Global language for STEM. They also show the importance of considering the academic and the identity dimensions of value as learners highlight the multiple educational and affective benefits gained from their investment in LOTEs. FLL emerges as a means for students to redesign their curriculum and avoid hyper- specialisation, adding a social dimension to their STEM education. The impact of FLL in self-construction, enabling more powerful positions, is also established, however, in a context where undergraduates’ investment in a non-STEM subject is questioned and FLL holds contradictory value, learners also have to find strategies to legitimise their choice and the capital accrued through FLL, and to counteract external pressures to divest. This study identifies the need to reappraise extant value discourses and to provide a space in the curriculum for learners to critically engage with their educational choices. It also highlights the tensions which characterise an investment in FLL and in broadening in this context. With it
Gonzalez-Becerra I, 2019, Language learning among STEM students: motivational profile and attitudes of undergraduates in a UK institution, LANGUAGE LEARNING JOURNAL, Vol: 47, Pages: 385-401, ISSN: 0957-1736
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Gonzalez-Becerra I, Porcel M, 2018, Destino UK: consejos prácticos para el (futuro) profesional de ELE en el Reino Unido [Destination UK: practical advice for the (future) ELE professional in the United Kingdom], FLECOS. II Congreso Internacional de la Lengua, la Cultura y el Ocio, Publisher: Universidad De Granada, Pages: 155-170
This paper aims at offering an overview of the FLECOS2016 round table discussion on employability in the UK and at appraising the profile of the ELE professional in this country. A description of the situation of language learning in the UK and the general educational context is offered first, followed by a set of practical recommendations on job seeking and work expectations. We conclude with a personal evaluation of the impact that choosing a career in the UK may have.
González y Becerra I, 2011, Recursos multimedia para la creación de materiales de español científico-técnico, MarcoELE : Revista de Didáctica, Vol: 13, Pages: 50-62, ISSN: 1885-2211
Teacher-designed materials are a great way to complement an ELE (Spanish as a Foreign Language) class, making it possible to adapt the syllabus to the needs of a specific group and to update the cultural contents of texbooks. In some EFE (Spanish for Specific Purposes) environments, due to the lack of published resources, material preparation becomes a central task for the teacher, rather than a complementary one. This article presents a list of useful resources for the ‘Spanish for Science and Technology’ class; introduces a practical example of the use of these resources, and reflects on the situation of Spanish teaching in this area.
Gonzalez-Becerra I, 2006, Nation, culture and self: readings of Andrew Boorde's "Fyrst Boke of the Introduction of Knowledge"
This thesis addresses the relevance of Andrew Boorde's Fyrst Boke of the Introduction of Knowledge, complementing the scarce literature on the author with a more detailed survey of the literary strategies of his text. Nation and otherness, authority and self, are some of the themes developed using colonial and cultural materialist approaches. The narrative is paralleled to a map where colonial impulses are explained and boundaries drawn between cultures, disclosing the fragmentation of Europe and promoting the supremacy of England. The relationship of fashion with politics and religion as part of the text's political agenda is also addressed, as well as Boorde's own self-fashioning as national subject and authoritative self. Questions on the generic evolution of travel literature, the debates surrounding our systems of evaluation of the literary text and our historical perceptions, are raised throughout, concluding with a short discussion on the reception of the text as an entity independent from its author and a survey on the influence it had on later writers.
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