Open Access
Interacción. Nuevas propuestas para mejorar el aprendizaje
(Colegio Oficial de Doctores y Licenciados en Filosofía y Letras y en Ciencias de la Comunicación de Madrid, 2016) Hidalgo Gordo, María Ángeles; Filología y Didáctica de la Lengua; Filologia eta Hizkuntzaren Didaktika
Se destacan las evidencias que apoyan el resultado positivo de relacionar la interacción y el aprendizaje de lenguas extranjeras por parte de jóvenes.
Open Access
A cross-sectional study on task type and negotiation of meaning in CLIL child-child interaction
(Universidad de Granada, 2021) Hidalgo Gordo, María Ángeles; Azpilicueta Martínez, Raúl; Ciencias Humanas y de la Educación; Giza eta Hezkuntza Zientziak
Diferentes tipos de tarea afectan al tipo y cantidad de la Negociación de Significado (NdS) generada en interacciones aprendiz-aprendiz. Sin embargo, el número de estudios que abordan el impacto de la variable tarea en la NdS en interacciones entre niños en contextos de aprendizaje de inglés es prácticamente inexistente. Este estudio analiza la cantidad y tipología de NdS operacionalizada en forma de los ajustes conversacionales (ACs) presentes en las interacciones de jóvenes aprendices de inglés (L1 castellano) en educación primaria durante dos tareas diferentes. Los sujetos eran 40 alumnos y alumnas de ocho años de edad cursando un programa de inmersión parcial de Aprendizaje Integrado de Contenidos y Lenguas Extranjeras (AICLE). Diez parejas participaron en una tarea bidireccional de colocación de imágenes; las otras diez realizaron una tarea unidireccional de colocación de imágenes integrada en una historia. Los resultados apuntan a que el impacto de la tarea en el tipo y cantidad de ACs producido por los participantes tiene un alcance mucho mayor de lo esperado, revelando una cantidad significativamente mayor de ACs en la tarea unidireccional. Este hallazgo sitúa al tipo de tarea como una variable central en la lista de factores con un impacto directo en la NdS.
Open Access
Procedural repetition in task-based interaction among young EFL learners: does it make a difference?
(John Benjamins Publishing, 2017-12-30) Lázaro Ibarrola, Amparo; Hidalgo Gordo, María Ángeles; Filología y Didáctica de la Lengua; Filologia eta Hizkuntzaren Didaktika; Institute for Advanced Social Research - ICOMMUNITAS
Interactive tasks are valuable tools for L2 learners and have long made their way into language lessons. Among the different task conditions, only few studies have dealt with procedural repetition, which consists of repeating the same task type with different contents and which is frequently used in schools. In this study we explore the effects of procedural repetition on the oral interactions of ten pairs of English learners (age 11) who had to repeat a task three times. Their negotiation strategies and general performance (accuracy, fluency and complexity) were analysed. Results show that, in the third repetition, the amount of confirmation checks and repetitions decreased significantly and accuracy timidly improved. All other aspects remained unaffected. The pedagogical implications of these results are also discussed.
Open Access
Collaborative writing among young EFL learners in a school context: product and process
(Taylor and Francis, 2022) Lázaro Ibarrola, Amparo; Hidalgo Gordo, María Ángeles; Institute for Advanced Social Research - ICOMMUNITAS
The recent surge in studies on collaborative writing (CW) has providedvaluable insights into the product and process of writing. When writingtogether, adults tend to produce better texts and generate and resolvea large number of language-related episodes (LREs). Also, analyses ofthe dialogues of collaborative writers show that learners are able toco-construct knowledge and mainly focus their attention on thegeneration of ideas. As for young learners (YLs), the very few studiescomparing jointly and individually written texts have not identified anyadvantages in the use of collaboratively written drafts.Furthermore,while YLs also produce and resolve LREs in CW tasks, no study to datehas provided a thorough analysis of their dialogues. To address thesegaps, this study compares the products of primary school learners ofEnglish as a foreign language (EFL) aged 11–12 writing in pairs (n= 20)and individually (n= 19) and provides a thorough analysis of pair talk(process). Results suggest that collaborative writers produced moreaccurate texts and focused most of their efforts on the generation ofideas and on the discussion and successful resolution of LREs. In light ofthese results the implementation of CW with YLs is encouraged.
Open Access
Talking to write: insights into the oral interactions of young EFL writers repeating a collaborative task
(De Gruyter Brill, 2025) Hidalgo Gordo, María Ángeles; Lázaro Ibarrola, Amparo; Ciencias humanas y de la educación; Giza eta Hezkuntza Zientziak
Writing and speaking, being considered the productive skills, have been traditionally studied in isolation in second language acquisition research. However, these two skills are interwoven in collaborative writing (CW) tasks. In CW, the process of writing a text, which had been traditionally considered a solitary task (Lázaro-Ibarrola, 2023; Storch, 2005), is carried out in collaboration, with two or more learners talking to each other to decide what to write and how to write it. Thus, CW tasks enable the very desirable integration of skills, in this case of writing and speaking, for teaching and research purposes (Hirvela & Belcher, 2016; Lázaro-Ibarrola, 2023).
Open Access
Tracking the dynamic nature of learner individual differences: initial results from a longitudinal study
(Adam Mickiewicz University Press, 2020) Jung, Daniel; Dibartolomeo, Megan; Melero García, Fernando; Giacomino, Lindsay; Gurzynski Weiss, Laura; Henderson, Carly; Hidalgo Gordo, María Ángeles; Ciencias Humanas y de la Educación; Giza eta Hezkuntza Zientziak
Individual differences (IDs) have long been considered one of the most important factors explaining variable rates and outcomes in second language acquisition (Dewaele, 2013). While traditional operationalizations of IDs have, explicitly or im-plicitly, assumed that IDs are static traits that are stable through time, more recent research inspired by complex dynamic systems theory (Larsen-Freeman, 1997, 2020) demonstrates that many IDs are dynamic and variable through time and across contexts, a theme echoed throughout the current issue. This study reports the initial semester of a diachronic project investigating the dynamicity of four learner IDs: motivation, personality, learning and cognitive styles, and working memory. In the initial semester, data from 323 participants in their first year of university-level Spanish were collected and analyzed to determine what type of variability may be present across learners with respect to the four IDs studied at one time point and to discern possible learner profiles in the data or patterns via which the data may be otherwise meaningfully described. The results revealed four types of learner profiles present in the dataset.
Open Access
Intensity matters in CLIL: evidence from primary school learners' receptive skills
(Pergamon Press, 2024-07-16) Hidalgo Gordo, María Ángeles; Villarreal Olaizola, Izaskun; Institute for Advanced Social Research - ICOMMUNITAS; Universidad Pública de Navarra / Nafarroako Unibertsitate Publikoa, PJUPNA05-2022
The implementation of L2-medium education, exemplified by Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL), is becoming increasingly popular in primary schools (García Mayo, 2021). While previous research highlights CLIL's positive impact on linguistic competence (Jiménez-Catalán & Ruiz de Zarobe, 2009), differences in linguistic achievement are often associated with varying exposure hours (Pladevall-Ballester & Vallbona, 2016). Despite CLIL's growing popularity, studies examining linguistic achievement in varying-intensity CLIL programs remain scant. We address this gap by comparing low and high-intensity CLIL programs, alongside a standard English as a foreign language (EFL) program in primary schools. Focused on 11-year-olds' receptive skills, our results show that high-intensity programs significantly enhance proficiency in listening and reading when compared to their lower-intensity counterparts. Distinctions between low-intensity and EFL programs are non-significant. These findings underscore the critical role of the intensity of exposure in shaping the effectiveness of CLIL programs and contribute insights for refining CLIL program design guidelines.
Open Access
Should EFL teachers present vocabulary in semantically related sets?
(Universidad de Granada, 2015) Lázaro Ibarrola, Amparo; Hidalgo Gordo, María Ángeles; Filología y Didáctica de la Lengua; Filologia eta Hizkuntzaren Didaktika
La enseñanza de vocabulario agrupado en campos semánticos es práctica habitual en el aula de inglés como lengua extranjera. En este estudio se compara esta técnica con su contraria, la presentación de vocabulario no relacionado, con dos grupos de alumnos de un instituto. Tras presentar las palabras con ambas técnicas los alumnos completaron un post-test. Los resultados muestran la efectividad de ambas técnicas pero con una ligera ventaja para la enseñanza de vocabulario no relacionado semánticamente.
Open Access
Task repetition and collaborative writing by EFL children: beyond CAF measures
(Adam Mickiewicz University Press, 2020) Hidalgo Gordo, María Ángeles; Lázaro Ibarrola, Amparo; Ciencias Humanas y de la Educación; Giza eta Hezkuntza Zientziak
Research into the potential of collaborative writing is relatively new. Similarly, task repetition (TR), which has been claimed to be a valuable tool for language learning, has been rarely explored in the context of writing. Therefore, little is known about the potential of combining TR and collaborative writing, and even less if we focus on young learners (YLs), who constitute a generally under-researched population. With these research gaps in mind, the present study examines the compositions of 10 pairs of learners of English as a foreign language (EFL) (aged 12) who write the same text in response to the same picture prompt three times over a three-week period. Our analysis includes the language-related episodes (LREs) that learners generate while writing collaboratively and, also, a thorough analysis of the three drafts that students produce, including quantitative (com-plexity, accuracy and fluency (CAF)) and holistic measures. Results show that learners' compositions improve with repetition when measured by holistic ratings although CAF measures fail to grasp this improvement. As for the LREs, a great amount was found, most of the episodes were focused on form, most were successfully resolved and their amount declined with TR. In light of these results we argue in favor of the inclusion of holistic measures when analyzing students' productions and discuss the positive effects of collaborative writing in the context of TR with YLs.
Open Access
The influence of task repetition type on young EFL learners' attention to form
(SAGE, 2019-08-23) Hidalgo Gordo, María Ángeles; García Mayo, María del Pilar; Ciencias humanas y de la educación; Giza eta Hezkuntza Zientziak; Institute for Advanced Social Research - ICOMMUNITAS
Task repetition (TR) is a valuable tool to direct learners' attention from meaning to language form. The first time learners perform a task their focus is on conveying meaning, whereas during the second enactment they tend to focus on the form of their message. Collaborative writing also promotes learners' focus on form, allowing extra time to pay attention to language use, and providing multiple opportunities for learners to pool their linguistic resources and co-construct meaning. Despite the increasing body of research on young learners' (YLs) second language acquisition process, few studies have addressed the effect of the repetition of collaborative writing tasks on this population's output. The present study aims to fill this gap by analysing the impact of TR on YLs' (age 11-12) attention to form, operationalized as language-related episodes (LREs). Forty (n = 40) beginner learners of English as a foreign language (EFL) worked with two types of TR: exact TR (ETR), where the participants repeated exactly the same task, and procedural TR (PTR), where the participants repeated task type but with different content. Contrary to most previous research, most LREs were form-focused, and resolved target-like in both groups. The results also revealed a statistically significant decrease in the number of LREs at time 3 in the ETR group, whereas the LREs in the PTR group remained stable. Pedagogical implications of these findings will be discussed.