International projects
Pragmatic competence from a multilingual perspective
| Code |
Science |
Field |
Subfield |
| 6.05.01 |
Humanities |
Linguistics |
Languages - research |
| 6.05.02 |
Humanities |
Linguistics |
Theoretical and applied linguistics |
| Code |
Science |
Field |
| H350 |
Humanities |
Linguistics |
| H360 |
Humanities |
Applied linguistics, foreign languages teaching, sociolinguistics |
| H490 |
Humanities |
Spanish and Portuguese language and literature |
Researchers (4)
Organisations (1)
Abstract
The PRACOMUL project aims to create an accessible, innovative digital platform which will enable language students to acquire and practice pragmatic and intercultural competences in Spanish as a second language from a multilingual perspective. The platform will be based upon a collaborative learning process in an international environment. First, language learners with different linguistic backgrounds and from different countries will engage in online discussions arranged via the platform. This collection of short dialogues will be analysed to understand different learners’ needs and based on the results the virtual teaching modules will be elaborated. After this first step, all participants will pass through the virtual teaching tutorials, which will provide explanations on how discourse is used, on how discourse is interpreted and which particular discourse markers contribute to cohesive and appropriate discourse and how they do so. These online video tutorials will also provide examples of oral discourse by native speakers. Then, in the post-instruction phase, the same learners will participate again and do a similar online discussion activity. The results of the pre-teaching and post-teaching recordings will be analysed and reported on in international conferences and publications.
Furthermore, the platform will contribute to the creation of virtual international environment which will enable innovative ways for language teaching taking into account, so called, virtual mobility. The platform does not only target students, L2 language learners, but will also be addressed to language teachers who will be invited to incorporate the platform activities in their lessons. For the language learners, participation in this project means practising their pragmalinguistic skills, and, next to this, extending their intercultural knowledge and digital skills. For the language teachers interested in bringing the platform to the classroom practice, it means involving their students in an innovative learning environment opening up the classroom walls towards the world. With the teachers’ guidelines they will receive suggestions on how to maximise benefits for their students. Finally, the platform will offer a rich database on oral productions of second language learners, thus researchers will also be allowed (upon simple registration) to use the database for their research. Concerning the languages in the project, we explicitly did not focus on English, because of its overall presence in existing language tools and research studies. Another, also frequently learnt L2, Spanish, has been chosen as target language. Next to this, we also wanted to focus on the multilingual perspective and work with students with different mother tongues. In the piloting phase, we will start with students whose mother tongues are Dutch, Italian and Slovene, so three European languages from a different language category (Germanic, Romance and Slavic). Nevertheless, we intend to develop a universal innovative digital practice and learning methodology which will be available for students with other native languages and can be broadened to other second languages in a further stage (French, German, English, etc.). By the end of the project, the platform will be launched open access, increasing the impact and providing sustainability at an international level. So, the platform will be open to all second language learners. Important for the visibility of the project will be the communication via the multiplier events (the international workshop on e-Learning, the summer school, and finally the international conference on “The acquisition of pragmatic competence from a multilingual perspective”) and many other channels (conference presentations, international peer-reviewed publications, reports and presentations with a didactic audience, social media, etc.), targeting not only the language learners, but also the teachers and the scientific community.
