Education - Language, Literacy and Composition

For a tonal language such as Mandarin Chinese, accurate pronunciation of tones is critical to meaning, and research suggests that computer-based programs that allow for visualization of pitch contours are helpful for improving learners’
pronunciation (Chun, 1998; Hardison, 2004; Levis & Pickering, 2004). This paper reports on a pilot study using speech analysis software (Praat), which allowed L2 Chinese learners first to hear a native speaker of Mandarin say words and phrases while seeing a visual display of the native speaker’s pitch curves, then to record
themselves reading the same words and phrases, and later to compare their own pitch contours to those of the native speaker. Students in first-year Chinese were recorded reading words and phrases before and after two computer-based training sessions. Native speakers rated the words and phrases for accuracy of tones. Results indicate a ceiling effect for the pronunciation of mono- and disyllabic word tones, with 83.39% of tones produced correctly in the pre-test. Of the 16.41% of tones that were incorrect in the pre-test, almost 50% of them were pronounced correctly in the post-test. Students indicated in a post-study survey that seeing the pitch curves of both the native speakers and their own helped them improve their word tones.

Los estudios sobre lectura y escritura en educación superior cuentan con al menos dos décadas de desarrollo en Latinoamérica. Sin embargo, aún son escasas las investigaciones sistemáticas sobre la configuración de este espacio disciplinar. Con el propósito de llenar este vacío, el presente artículo identifica continuidades y contrastes locales e históricos a partir de un conjunto de variables (autores, idiomas, focos, temas, orientaciones, niveles, áreas, géneros y tipos). Para ello, un equipo internacional analizó cualitativa y cuantitativamente 81 artículos sobre el tema aparecidos en los últimos 15 años en cuatro revistas de Argentina, Brasil, Chile y Colombia consideradas líderes por la propia comunidad experta. Los resultados muestran una mayoría de artículos (...)

This paper aims to understand the initial milestones, causes, academic activities, theoretical foundations and disciplines involved in the scholarly development of Higher Education reading and writing studies in Latin America. Eight academic leaders from Argentina, Chile, Colombia, and México were interviewed in order to learn their perspectives on this development. Findings reveal that the main founding milestones are conferences starting by the 2000's decade; the UNESCO Chair is the current main academic network that congregates scholars interested in this topic; the reasons for the ield's emergence are related to the increasing growth in college enrolments. Overall, a growing interdisciplinary ield can be observed, but its disciplinary identity is still difuse, given the ongoing jurisdictional disputes.