Authors:Esther Nieto Pages: 7 - 26 Abstract: In the last two decades, CLIL (content and language integrated learning) programmes, in which school subjects such as history, geography or mathematics are taught by means of an additional language, have rapidly spread over all the world, since CLIL has been deemed to be an innovative and effective approach for second language learning. Therefore, research on CLIL has precisely focused on the acquisition of the L2, while other aspects, such as the assimilation of the content taught by means of the second language or the impact of CLIL programmes on the mother tongue have received less attention. In this sense, this paper examines how CLIL programmes affect the development of reading comprehension in the mother tongue. To do so, the outcomes in a test of reading comprehension of CLIL (n = 1,119) and non-CLIL students (= 15,984) enrolled in the 2nd year of secondary education (13-14 years-old) were compared. The results indicated that the acquisition of literal reading comprehension and inferential reading comprehension in the mother tongue significantly benefit from CLIL, whereas no significant differences have been detected in critical reading comprehension. The reading skills most benefited by CLIL were global comprehension, lexical comprehension, understanding of space-time relationships, integration of extra-textual information, and identification of extra-textual relations. These data are explained by the critical importance of reading strategies to succeed in CLIL settings, and by the transfer of these strategies between L1 and L2 and vice versa. This hypothesis is supported by previous research on immersion programmes. PubDate: 2017-07-31
Authors:Inmaculada Clotilde Santos Díaz Pages: 36 - 54 Abstract: The aim of this study is to evaluate the curricular development and educational resources of the school libraries in Málaga. The provincial coordination of the Educational Local Office has carried out- since the academic course 2008/2009- an annual evaluation focused on five dimensions related to the actions of the Provincial Network of School Libraries. This Network is formed by the public schools of Primary and Secondary Education of the province. This article presents the most relevant results of the evaluation questionnaire for the 2014/2015 academic year in which 430 educational centres participated, offering a comparison according to the educational centre (pre-school, primary school or secondary school) and the school year. In general, there is progress in school libraries due to its normative regulation, the involvement of teachers in charge of libraries in collegiate bodies, the use of digital tools and social networks. However, there is a need to expand the opening hours of the library, to reinforce the collaboration of teachers who coordinate educational projects and to improve the sections and links of the web portals of libraries. On the one hand, these conclusions are intended to serve as a self-assessment to help school librarians to reflect and identify their strengths and weaknesses. On the other hand, they show the development of the key actions of school libraries, both their progress and their deficiencies, in relation to the standards established at national and international level. PubDate: 2017-05-03
Authors:Miguel Barboza-Palomino, José Luis Ventura-León Pages: 49 - 59 Abstract: The effect of a program to improve reading speed and comprehension was assessed in students from a private peruvian university, for which a quasi-experimental design of longitudinal pretest-postest type was developed and using a protocol based on a methodology of reading program fast, study and memory, was selected for a total sample of 1181 college freshmen from Universidad Privada del Norte (UPN) who were studying on the 2014-II academic semester. Results show a statistically significant increase on reading speed, but not in reading comprehension; furthermore, the practical effect of the program is moderate. It is concluded that the program had a positive moderate effect on reading speed; however, it was not an effective proposal to improve reading comprehension. PubDate: 2017-07-31
Authors:Yolanda Álvarez-Sánchez, Santiago Fabregat-Barrios Pages: 60 - 78 Abstract: This article presents an exploratory study into the assumptions, habits of composition and principal difficulties that university students in the study declare to have in regard to the composition of written texts. It is a qualitative study elaborated from a series of semi-structured interviews used as a method of data collection. Once the analysis and categorisation of the data is complete, we present the system of beliefs of the participants regarding professional and academic writing. We identified their most relevant difficulties and make clear what must be taken into consideration when proposing actions which objective is to improve writing competencies in the area of Tertiary Education. PubDate: 2017-07-31
Authors:Elena Jiménez Pérez Pages: 79 - 90 Abstract: Reading has emerged as one of the fundamental pillars of education in recent years, gaining a notorious relevance in consideration with other materials. Thus, the reading habit or reading skills are two of the most studied in recent decades and its social projection elements inevitably passes through the general education laws. In the present study, a comparative analysis of all the laws that emerged in Spain in the era of democracy, a spectrum that occupies nearly fifty years of history of the country, intending to trace how it is treated is made the subject of reading, reading habits and reading skills from the legal basis of education. For this purpose, a thorough search of the most important to narrow that field and tracking the results in terms of appointments to the chosen terms are analyzed keywords is performed. The findings are compelling because, for example, the keyword "read" not even once appear in any of the texts consulted, nor the term "reading literacy" that although it is more recent, and it was used from the 2000, so that from 2002 to LOCE (although not enter into force because it was not his approach and results evaluated) and the following laws could have been raised. Perhaps if the legal basis from which the rights and duties of society are consolidated argument fails on the field of reading is normal, systematically, the Spanish students rate below average in international tests PISA and PIRLS. PubDate: 2017-07-31
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