scholarly journals An Approximation to Inclusive Language in LMOOCs Based on Appraisal Theory

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 38-67
Author(s):  
Elena Barcena ◽  
Timothy Read ◽  
Beatriz Sedano
Keyword(s):  
Online Courses ◽  
Verbal Communication ◽  
Appraisal Theory ◽  
Design Element ◽  
Linguistic Resources ◽  
Inclusive Language ◽  
First Approximation ◽  
Individual Discrimination ◽  
Displaced People

AbstractThis article explores inclusive language as a form of verbal communication in an open online language course for refugees and migrants. Firstly, the existing evidence of the benefits of using inclusive language in education is analyzed. Secondly, the specific need to use this type of language in the context of online courses for displaced people is discussed. Thirdly, a first approximation towards the identification of linguistic resources that may impact both group inclusion and individual discrimination is attempted, based on principles and categories from Appraisal Theory. Fourthly, the presence and effects of these linguistic resources are analyzed in the materials and forums of a highly successful LMOOC of elementary Spanish for refugees and migrants. Fifthly and finally, conclusions are drawn on the convenience of incorporating inclusive language as a design element in LMOOCs for displaced people, enhance its use in forums, and train facilitators accordingly.

The discoursal construction of candidates in the tenth Iranian presidential elections

2013 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 537-557 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ali R. Abasi ◽  
Nahal Akbari
Keyword(s):  
Presidential Elections ◽  
Qualitative Case Study ◽  
Legal Framework ◽  
Appraisal Theory ◽  
The Political ◽  
Political Actors ◽  
Linguistic Resources ◽  
News Discourse ◽  
Sociopolitical Context

This qualitative case study investigates dissent in the news discourse of a major pro-reform newspaper covering the Iranian presidential election debates that took place in June 2009. Drawing on appraisal theory as its analytical lens, the article examines the evaluation of the three major candidates in the paper’s coverage of the debates. The article begins with the broader sociopolitical context situating the watershed debates and a description of the legal framework within which the Iranian press operate. The analysis next details the function of attitudinal resources in the discursive representation of the political actors. As central to an ideologically invested strategy, evaluative linguistic resources are found to sharply dichotomize the political actors along a range of positive and negative value positions that dissent from those advanced in the narratives of the dominant power.

scholarly journals LMOOC para la integración de personas desplazadas

2021 ◽  
pp. 463-477
Author(s):  
Mercedes Sanz Gil
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Information And Communication Technologies ◽  
Online Courses ◽  
Foreign Language Learning ◽  
Massive Open Online Courses ◽  
Cultural Barriers ◽  
Massive Open Online ◽  
Language And Culture ◽  
Displaced People

Uno de los principales retos a los que se enfrentan las personas desplazadas es hacer frente a las barreras lingüísticas y culturales que supone el desconocimiento, en la mayoría de los casos, de la lengua y de la cultura del país de destino. Actualmente, y gracias a las Tecnologías de la Información y la Comunicación, existen numerosos recursos y aplicaciones que pueden ayudar a paliar dichas carencias, antes o durante el periodo en el que se desarrolla la movilidad. En este artículo presentamos algunos de ellos. En concreto nos centramos en el formato MOOC (Cursos masivos abiertos en línea, por sus siglas en inglés) para el aprendizaje de lenguas extranjeras (LMOOC). Analizaremos dos LMOOC de aprendizaje del Español como Lengua Extranjera (ELE) destinado principalmente al colectivo de personas inmigrantes y refugiadas y tres de aprendizaje del Francés como Lengua Extranjera (FLE) destinado principalmente a personas desplazadas por motivos laborales o educativos. One of the main challenges faced by displaced people is dealing with the linguistic and cultural barriers that arise from the lack of knowledge, in most cases, of the language and culture of the destination country. At present, thanks to Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs), there are numerous resources and applications that can help to alleviate these deficiencies, before, or during the period in which mobility develops. In this article we present some of them. More specifically, this article focuses on the MOOC (Massive Open Online Courses) format for foreign language learning (LMOOC). We will analyze two LMOOCs for learning Spanish as a Foreign Language (SFL) aimed mainly at migrants and refugees; and three for learning French as a Foreign Language (FFL) aimed mainly at people displaced for work or educational reasons. L'un des principaux défis auxquels les personnes déplacées sont confrontées est celui de faire face aux barrières linguistiques et culturelles qui découlent du manque de connaissance, dans la plupart des cas, de la langue et de la culture du pays de destination. De nos jours, et grâce aux Technologies de l'Information et de la Communication (TIC), il existe de nombreuses ressources et applications qui peuvent contribuer à pallier ces lacunes, avant, ou pendant la période de mobilité. Dans cet article, nous en présentons quelques-unes. Nous nous concentrons en particulier sur le format MOOC (Massive Open Online Courses) pour l'apprentissage des langues étrangères (LMOOC). Nous analyserons deux LMOOC pour l'apprentissage de l'Espagnol comme Langue Étrangère (ELE) destinés principalement à des personnes migrantes et réfugiées et trois pour l'apprentissage du Français comme Langue Étrangère (FLE) destinés principalement aux personnes en déplacement pour des raisons professionnelles ou éducatives.

scholarly journals The representation of mental health sufferers in administrative and legal discourse

2016 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
pp. 42-59 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mariana Marchese ◽  
Claudia Celerier
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Critical Discourse Analysis ◽  
Buenos Aires ◽  
The Other ◽  
Critical Discourse ◽  
Appraisal Theory ◽  
Buenos Aires Province ◽  
Analysis Framework ◽  
Linguistic Resources ◽  
Social Judgement

This article examines the records of mental incompetence cases filed at a court of the first instance in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. Using a Critical Discourse Analysis framework and qualitative methods, we explore the ways in which mental health sufferers are represented. Applying Tone Theory and Appraisal Theory (attitude/judgement subsystem) to our data, we distinguish two discursive zones. In one of them, subjects are constructed with linguistic resources that amount to inscribed expressions of negative social judgement on their capacity. A discursive dichotomy is created whereby people are either competent or incompetent. In the other zone, these negative dichotomous judgements are largely softened by explicitly positive ones, without disappearing altogether. We suggest that mental incompetence, far from being a dichotomous concept, might be gradual.

‘Stealing Money’ OR ‘Embezzling Public Funds’: Construing sleaze in the Ugandan press via legalese

Journalism ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 146488492096541
Author(s):  
Levis Mugumya
Keyword(s):  
Appraisal Theory ◽  
Public Funds ◽  
Material Wealth ◽  
Rhetorical Strategy ◽  
State Laws ◽  
News Stories ◽  
Linguistic Resources ◽  
News Reports ◽  
Commissions Of Inquiry ◽  
Court Proceedings

This study examines the construction of news reportage relating to normative breach. It analyses news stories on major corruption incidents involving embezzlement and the misuse of public funds by government officials in Uganda. The study employs a discourse analysis to explore how corruption is constructed and construed in the print media. It invokes Appraisal Theory to analyse hard news reports recounting corruption occurrences, proceedings or findings of commissions of inquiry into corruption incidents and arrests of suspects, public hearings and court proceedings of suspected corrupt persons across two daily newspapers published in English. The study explicates the nature of linguistic evaluative resources that news writers invoke to map feelings, and to evaluate news actors, processes and phenomena. The analysis reveals that news reporters heavily rely on external texts and voices to recount corruption stories. These sources are couched in legal language (legalese), which in turn impinges on the linguistic resources employed to evaluate news actors. Whereas this rhetorical strategy enables the news report to achieve ‘objectivity’, it appears to protect the journalist against defamation or slander. Appraisal analysis reveals dominant instances of negative inscriptions of the social sanction of propriety, namely overt negative evaluations of non-compliance with the civic responsibilities and state laws. The news reportage exhibits positive attributes of corrupt persons in relation to their material wealth and social capital. Finally, the study also reveals the journalistic stance towards corruption, which is covertly shown via modes of meaning intensification.

scholarly journals Open Online Courses and the Democratization of Knowledge for Vulnerable Groups

2021 ◽  
pp. 322-331
Author(s):  
Elena Barcena ◽  
Timothy Read ◽  
Monica Vilhelm
Keyword(s):  
Social Inclusion ◽  
Online Courses ◽  
Vulnerable Groups ◽  
Online Course ◽  
Access To Information ◽  
Design Development ◽  
Massive Open Online ◽  
Massive Open Online Course ◽  
Inclusive Language ◽  
Key Characteristics

This article builds on a body of literature (e.g., Daniel, 2012; Portmess, 2013; O’Mahony Salmon, 2014) where the potential of MOOCs for the democratization of knowledge has been claimed. The authors highlight four key characteristics that have been seen to be essential in the design, development and deployment of open online courses for vulnerable groups, in order to maximise student participation, interaction, and learning in such educational scenarios. These characteristics are instructional design for social inclusion, three degrees of accessibility, inclusive language, and Activeness. They will be analysed from a practical and experiential perspective in the context of a Language MOOC (massive open online course) developed by the authors’ research group, although they are relevant for any other type of open online course. They will be argued to facilitate any future access to information in general, once the course has finished, and as such, represent a catalyst for the democratization of knowledge.

scholarly journals Assessing the Mixed or Generic Feminine as an Inclusive Language Strategy

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mat Pires
Keyword(s):  
Spoken Language ◽  
Grammatical Gender ◽  
Language Practices ◽  
General Acceptance ◽  
Linguistic Resources ◽  
Inclusive Language ◽  
Linguistic System ◽  
The Feminine ◽  
Gender Neutral ◽  
Neutral Language

Proposed grammatical gender-neutral language practices employing rephrasing, binomials, or abbreviated double forms are unlikely to achieve general acceptance or durably modify the linguistic system given their unusual graphical features, variable treatment of speech and writing, heavy processing requirements, increased volume, and overall complexity. In contrast, use of the feminine for mixed reference is well established for female-dominated professions such as nurse, draws on established linguistic resources, and preserves correspondance between written and spoken language. We provide examples of this strategy in several languages and discuss its advantages and shortcomings.

scholarly journals Evaluation and engagement in journalistic commentary and news reportage

2006 ◽  
pp. 225 ◽  
Author(s):  
Juana Isabel Marín Arrese ◽  
Begoña Núñez Perucha
Keyword(s):  
Appraisal Theory ◽  
Evaluative Dimension ◽  
Linguistic Resources

This paper explores the expression of evaluation and the treatment of 'the same event' in news reportage and journalistic commentary in two languages (English, Spanish). In our analysis of the evaluative dimension, we draw on the framework of Appraisal Theory (Martin 2000; Martin and White 2005; White 2003, White 2004, inter alia), and elaborate on the analysis of the categories of evaluation, subsumed under the notion of Engagement, in relation to writer stance and to the dimension of subjectivity and intersubjectivity. The paper reveals the presence and patterning of the various linguistic resources for the expression of evaluation in these subgenres of journalistic discourse, and establishes comparisons across languages.

scholarly journals Inclusive Language MOOCs

2021 ◽  
Vol 27 (5) ◽  
pp. 437-449
Author(s):  
Timothy Read ◽  
Beatriz Sedano ◽  
Elena Barcena
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Labour Market ◽  
Mobile Devices ◽  
Research Group ◽  
Social Inclusion ◽  
Needs Analysis ◽  
Inclusive Language ◽  
Displaced People ◽  
The Way

This article discusses the application of MOOCs for refugees and migrants in order to help these groups of people develop the language competences and transverse skills which they require to improve their level of social inclusion and possibilities in the labour market, and/or access higher education in the country in which they find themselves or plan to go. Specifically, this research focuses on the way in which Language MOOCs (or LMOOCs [Martín-Monje, Barcena, 2014]) deploy on mobile devices [Read, Barcena 2015] can effectively and advantageously be used by displaced people. The study reported here outlines the design of two LMOOCs of Spanish for immediate needs, based on a previous needs analysis, developed by the ATLAS research group in collaboration with NGOs and refugee support associations in Spain.

Walmart and its employee relations: organizational stance-taking and legitimacy

2015 ◽  
Vol 23 (4) ◽  
pp. 374-386 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zeynep Cihan Koca-Helvaci
Keyword(s):  
Corporate Image ◽  
Employee Relations ◽  
Appraisal Theory ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Linguistic Resources ◽  
Search Terms ◽  
Self Image ◽  
Evaluative Language ◽  
Corporate Social ◽  
Corporate Social Responsibility Reports

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to analyse how appraisal resources and legitimation strategies, concerning “associates” and “suppliers” in Walmart’s Corporate Social Responsibility reports from 2011 to 2013, contribute to the representation of a positive corporate image. Design/methodology/approach – This paper draws upon Appraisal Theory (Martin and White, 2005) and Legitimation Theory (van Leeuwen, 2007) to explore the link between evaluative language and legitimacy concerning abovementioned search terms. Findings – Walmart’s representations of its stance towards “associates” and “suppliers” differ greatly, although the corporation communicates a positive self-image through both of them. Walmart portrays its relationship with its “associates” as cooperative and mutually beneficial. On the other hand, the corporation presents the image of a philanthropist organisation that has been trying to improve the poor working conditions of its “suppliers” through strict regulations. Research limitations/implications – Only a small amount of data could be analysed manually due to the special nature of evaluative language and legitimation. Originality/value – This paper fulfils an identified need in studying social reporting in terms of linguistic resources.

Parent Education in Studies With Nonverbal and Minimally Verbal Participants With Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Systematic Review

2020 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
pp. 890-902
Author(s):  
Lynn Kern Koegel ◽  
Katherine M. Bryan ◽  
Pumpki Lei Su ◽  
Mohini Vaidya ◽  
Stephen Camarata
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Parent Education ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Verbal Communication ◽  
Fidelity Of Implementation ◽  
Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Education Programs ◽  
Minimally Verbal ◽  
Parent Education Programs

Purpose The purpose of this systematic review was to identify parent education procedures implemented in intervention studies focused on expressive verbal communication for nonverbal (NV) or minimally verbal (MV) children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Parent education has been shown to be an essential component in the habilitation of individuals with ASD. Parents of individuals with ASD who are NV or MV may particularly benefit from parent education in order to provide opportunities for communication and to support their children across the life span. Method ProQuest databases were searched between the years of 1960 and 2018 to identify articles that targeted verbal communication in MV and NV individuals with ASD. A total of 1,231 were evaluated to assess whether parent education was implemented. We found 36 studies that included a parent education component. These were reviewed with regard to (a) the number of participants and participants' ages, (b) the parent education program provided, (c) the format of the parent education, (d) the duration of the parent education, (e) the measurement of parent education, and (f) the parent fidelity of implementation scores. Results The results of this analysis showed that very few studies have included a parent education component, descriptions of the parent education programs are unclear in most studies, and few studies have scored the parents' implementation of the intervention. Conclusions Currently, there is great variability in parent education programs in regard to participant age, hours provided, fidelity of implementation, format of parent education, and type of treatment used. Suggestions are made to provide both a more comprehensive description and consistent measurement of parent education programs.

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