UNIVERSIDAD DE CALDAS

LANGUAGE LEARNING RESOURCESINSTRUCTOR: M.A. DIEGO FERNANDO MACIAS

MAESTRIA EN DIDACTICA DEL

INGLES

LANGUAGE LEARNING RESOURCES

EDGAR ALIRIO INSUASTY

TASK DESIGN PROJECT

OBJECTIVES

 To design a task aimed at making a macro-linguistic and micro-linguistic contrastive analysis between English and Spanish

To adapt authentic materials for grammar instruction

RATIONALE

Comparative and Contrastive Grammar is a content-based course intended to provide the Foreign Language Program students with the basic theoretical principles and practical tools to make a contrastive analysis between the English and Spanish grammar systems. Despite having been engaged students in the macro-linguistic and micro-linguistic contrastive analysis of sample English and Spanish texts, most of them failed to put into practice in their presentations what was discussed in class. This fact can be seen at http://edalin2008.wikispaces.com/Presentations. Therefore, this task design project is intended as an opportunity to encourage learners to approach texts from a macro-linguistic (discourse and socio-linguistic perspectives) prior to focusing on the analysis of micro-linguistic aspects.

PROFILE OF LEARNERS

Most students enrolled in the Comparative and Contrastive Grammar course come from the seventh semester of the Foreign Language Program. In terms of English proficiency, they can be classified at an intermediate level after having taken approximately 768 English class hours throughout the previous six semesters of their course of studies. In their curriculum, they do not have English grammar as a core subject. Instead, they have been to some extent exposed to English grammar throughout their English courses. Moreover, most of them are taking Spanish grammar simultaneously with Comparative and Contrastive Grammar.

METHODOLOGY

The Task “Using Parallel Texts” has been designed by allowing for the task components proposed by Nunan (1991):

Goal Input Activities Learner´s role and teacher´s role Setting.

TASK

USING

PARALLEL

TEXTS

GOAL

To make contrastive analysis between English and Spanish adjectives based on a parallel text

INPUT

1.  Both the Spanish and English versions of the article:

“Inversión chilena estrecha relaciones con Estados Unidos “

“Chile's Investment Deepening Ties to U.S.” written by Marcela Sánchez on Friday, June 6, 2008; 12:00 AM, in the Washington Post.

English version

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/06/05/AR2008060501030.html

Spanish version

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/06/05/AR2008060501216.html

 

ACTIVITIES

     

1. Macro-linguistic analysis of the texts (See students´ handout and the answer key)

2. Micro-linguistic analysis of the texts (See the students´ handout and the answer key)

ROLES

1. TEACHER’S ROLE: Task designer and facilitator

2. LEARNER’S ROLE: Reader and task performer

SETTING

1. LOCKSTEP WORK: All the students are to read the same texts on an individual basis, at the same time.

2. GROUP WORK: Students are to discuss the questions posed in activity one.

ACTIVITY ONE

Based on the insights given in class, make a macro-linguistic analysis of the English and Spanish version of the text “Inversión chilena estrecha relaciones con Estados Unidos”. To the effect, read both texts and answer the following questions:

What do you think is the author´s main intentionality in this article?____________________________________________________________________________

What kind of audience is this article addressed?____________________________________________________________________________ What source has this text been taken from?____________________________________________________________________________ In what ways is Chile seeking to deepen its economic ties with the United States?____________________________________________________________________________ How important is an academic partnership between Chile and U.S for both countries?____________________________________________________________________________ How far do you consider Colombia is from investing in a knowledge-based economy?___________________________________________________________________________

ACTIVITY TWOBased on the presentation about the structural and functional characteristics of the adjective in

English and Spanish (http://www.slideshare.net/Edalin2008/adjective), explain the type of concordance between nouns and adjectives with respect to number and gender, and placement of

adjectives in the sentence.

Chile's Investment Deepening Ties to U.S.By Marcela Sanchez

Special to washingtonpost.com Friday, June 6, 2008; 12:00 AM

WASHINGTON -- In recent years, a newfound -- and welcome -- autonomy in Latin America has been too often accompanied by the belief that the United States has little to offer the region anymore. As Juan Gabriel Tokatlian, an Argentine professor of foreign relations, noted in a newspaper column titled "Goodbye Washington," "there is an unusual proliferation of initiatives conceived without U.S. participation."

Not in Chile, however. The economic dynamo of South America is seeking to deepen its ties with the United States, already a free trade partner. The latest sign of this growing engagement will take place next week in Sacramento, Calif., when Chilean President Michelle Bachelet and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger launch a new partnership between Chile and the U.S.' most populous state.

Inversión chilena estrecha relaciones con Estados Unidos

Por Marcela Sanchez

Especial por washingtonpost.com Friday, June 6, 2008; 12:00 AM

En los últimos años la nueva -- y bienvenida -- autonomía de América Latina ha sido acompañada con demasiada frecuencia por la convicción de que Estados Unidos tiene ya poco que ofrecerle a la región. Tal como escribió el profesor de relaciones exteriores, Juan Gabriel Tokatlian, en una columna titulada "Adiós a Washington" en el diario La Nación de Argentina la semana pasada, "hay una inusual proliferación de iniciativas concebidas sin la participación de Estados Unidos".

Una importante excepción, sin embargo, es Chile. La fuerza económica sudamericana está buscando profundizar sus lazos con Estados Unidos, con el que tiene ya un tratado de libre comercio. La última muestra de este creciente acercamiento ocurrirá la próxima semana en Sacramento, California, cuando la Presidenta chilena Michelle Bachelet y el Gobernador Arnold Schwarzenegger lancen una nueva asociación entre

Chile y el estado más poblado de Estados Unidos.

ANSWER KEY (Activity One)

What do you think is the author´s main intentionality in this article?

To inform readers about a new economic pact between Chile and U.S based on an academic partnership between Chile and the State of California

_____________________________________________________________________

What kind of audience is this article addressed?

General audience, especially the readers of the on-line or printed versions of the Washington Post.

______________________________________________________________________

What source has this text been taken from?

The text has been taken from WashingtonPost.com (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/06/05/AR2008060501030.html and http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/06/05/AR2008060501216.html)

______________________________________________________________________

In what ways is Chile seeking to deepen its economic ties with the United States?

Through an academic partnership between Chile and the State of California, by virtue of which Chile- funded students can have access to higher education programs being offered in this State.

______________________________________________________________________

How important is an academic partnership between Chile and U.S for both countries?

For Chile, it is a step forward in its purpose to build “human capacity” to diversify into a knowledge-based economy.

For the United States, these academic initiatives constitute a soft power which can be used to generate new trust and increase areas of shared interests in inter-American relations.

How far do you consider Colombia is from investing in a knowledge-based economy?

Answers will vary.

Answer Key (Activity Two)

The Spanish adjective “últimos” keeps concordance with the noun “años” in number and gender. However, the English adjective “recent” does not harmonize with the noun “years” in this respect.

 The Spanish adjective “exteriores” is plural like the noun “relaciones” it modifies. But its English equivalent “foreign” does not concur with the noun “relations” likewise. Another difference is that the English adjective precedes the English noun “foreign relations”, whereas the Spanish adjective follows the Spanish noun “relaciones exteriores”

 In the case of “una inusual proliferación” and “an unusual proliferation”, the distinction in gender depends on the article which precedes the adjective. In Spanish, una is feminine, but “an” is neutral.

REFERENCES

Nunan, David. 1991. Designing tasks for the communicative classroom. Oxford University Press.

James, Carl. Contrastive analysis. Longman.

Stockwell, Robert et al. 1985. The grammatical structures of English and Spanish. The University of Chicago Press.

http://edalin2008.wikispaces.com

http://www.slideshare.net/Edalin2008

www.washingtonpost.com