Papers by Rosa María Jiménez Catalán
RLA. Revista de lingüística teórica y aplicada, 2016
In this study we identify the number and the characteristics of the words used in letters by Prim... more In this study we identify the number and the characteristics of the words used in letters by Primary and Secondary school EFL learners at the end of Spanish compulsory educational stages. The compositions were submitted to WordSmith Tools (Version 6.0) so as to classify the words according to alphabetic order, word frequency, statistical lists and collocation patterns in each of the courses under examination. We completed this quantitative analysis by means of a qualitative analysis of the top 50 word types for each course. Results revealed an increase in the means of words used in each educational stage, although the increase was lower than expected and practically based on substantives rather than on verbs, adjectives or adverbs. From a qualitatively perspective, we found similarities in the vocabulary used in the two courses. Nevertheless, we also observed differences that suggest the existence of idiosyncratic features at the end of each educational stage.
Este estudio analiza el lexico disponible en ingles de adolescentes espanoles de 2o de Bachillera... more Este estudio analiza el lexico disponible en ingles de adolescentes espanoles de 2o de Bachillerato. Combina un analisis cuantitativo y cualitativo de las palabras producidas por los chicos y las chicas en una tarea de disponibilidad lexica en ingles. La investigacion tiene un doble objetivo. En primer lugar, identificar el numero de palabras producida por cada grupo en respuesta a nueve centros de interes relacionados con la vida cotidiana de los participantes, tales como: ‘Alimentos y bebidas‘, ‘la Ropa’, ‘la Escuela’ o ‘Pasatiempos’. En segundo lugar, se analizan las palabras mas frecuentes producidas por los chicos y las chicas para determinar si se observan patrones de variacion de genero. En general, los resultados muestran mas similitudes que diferencias entre los grupos. Un analisis mas detallado de los resultados apunta a la ausencia de diferencias significativas en el numero de palabras producidas por los estudiantes, tanto en la prueba en su conjunto como para cada centro...
espanolVocabulary plays an essential role in successful foreign language learning as shown in a g... more espanolVocabulary plays an essential role in successful foreign language learning as shown in a great number of vocabulary studies. Likewise, the importance of food in the shaping of culture and language has been acknowledged in sociolinguistics. In this paper we look at the vocabulary implemented by EFL learners in a writing task. Our results show the recurrent, though unprompted, presence of food-related vocabulary. Participants have produced vocabulary pertaining to a number of different lexical fields, yet from no other topic has been elicited a greater variety of types than from that related to food. A comparison of the figures by gender suggests that females use more terms related to food than their male counterparts. A qualitative analysis of lexical units reveals that food vocabulary is becoming increasingly more �foreign� in EFL learners EnglishEl vocabulario es esencial en el exito del aprendizaje de una lengua extranjera como demuestran un gran numero de estudios. Asimism...
Didactica Lengua Y Literatura, 2007
In this paper, framed in a research project carried out at the University of La Rioja, Spain, we ... more In this paper, framed in a research project carried out at the University of La Rioja, Spain, we have analyzed a corpus of 271 compositions written by the same number of students of about 10 years of age. Our goal has been to determine what words children of the fourth year in elementary school use when writing in a second language, and specifically to detect any disparities between male and female performance. The analysis of our corpus has contributed data which allows us to draw conclusions of crucial importance for ESL teaching and learning. Differences are slight but palpable, and, contrary to the hypothesis of Jespersen and others, females use both more types and more tokens than their male counterparts and the words used by the former are also slightly longer, suggesting a higher capacity for remembering on the part of girls. Also, we have observed some interesting aspects such as a clear propensity towards a «masculination» of the girls' language and a tendency to create humorous situations used exclusively by boys.
Didáctica. Lengua y Literatura, 2014
well as adverbs serving conjunctive functions in the sentence. Connectors are very important for ... more well as adverbs serving conjunctive functions in the sentence. Connectors are very important for language teachers and learners, as they structure texts in discourse and, as a result, they have considerable influence on learners' success or failure in communication in a target language. However, they have been traditionally neglected in ELT coursebooks, particularly in beginners and intermediate levels; this may explain the many difficulties learners encounter when writing texts as reported in
System, 2020
Lexical availability studies have a great potential to explore and contribute to a better underst... more Lexical availability studies have a great potential to explore and contribute to a better understanding of productive vocabulary knowledge in a second or foreign language. The present study compared the lexical availability output of two groups of EFL learners in order to ascertain whether the different prompts used in the lexical availability task or the different amount of English exposure had any quantitative or qualitative effect on learners’ lexical availability output. The study also aimed at determining if there was a relationship between receptive vocabulary knowledge and lexical availability output. A sample of 85 EFL learners, distributed into incoming and outgoing groups, completed a lexical availability task and the New Vocabulary Levels Test (NVLT). Results showed that the prompt and the amount of English instruction influenced the number and quality of learners’ word responses. There was also a positive, although moderate, correlation between the scores on lexical avai...
First, we aim to find out whether lexical availability studies are based on the review of results... more First, we aim to find out whether lexical availability studies are based on the review of results obtained by previous research. Secondly, we look at the samples of informants to determine on the one hand if there is uniformity in the size of samples and, on the other, in order to ascertain whether information on variables related to lexical retrieval and production such as sex or linguistic profile is included in the studies. Thirdly, we focus on data collection instruments in order to determine if in addition to the availability test, other tests related to the level of proficiency in the language or knowledge of vocabulary by the informants are included. Finally, the centers of interest are revised as to ascertain the degree of convergence and divergence among the studies under examination and those of previous research.
Educational Linguistics, 2014
The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this p... more The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specifi c statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. While the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication, neither the authors nor the editors nor the publisher can accept any legal responsibility for any errors or omissions that may be made. The publisher makes no warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein.
The Journal of English Studies, 2015
The present paper looks at lexical availability in two teaching programmes (EOI and EFL) in the l... more The present paper looks at lexical availability in two teaching programmes (EOI and EFL) in the last year of Spanish secondary education (4th ESO). Our main aim is to ascertain whether there are quantitative and qualitative differences in the available lexicon of the two groups of informants. Thus, we have analysed the words retrieved by the two groups in a lexical availability task comprising three traditional and three new prompts (centros de interes). Results show that there are significant quantitative differences between the two groups of informants, in favour of the EOI group. However, we have not found qualitative differences in the first words retrieved by the two groups of informants in response to each prompt in terms of internal frequency, semantic category and word type. Nevertheless, there are important qualitative differences between the traditional and the new prompts as far as semantic category and word type are concerned.
Porta Linguarum, 2010
The correlation between the level of lexical competence of an individual and his/her academic suc... more The correlation between the level of lexical competence of an individual and his/her academic success has long been established, hence the importance of selecting the vocabulary input presented to language learners. The sex/ gender variable may affect the way a learner acquires new words. With an eye on these factors the present paper analyses the vocabulary production of a sample of 204 EFL learners (102 males and 102 females) when writing school compositions at two stages of their learning process, 4 th year of primary school and 1 st year of ESO. The data obtained, we believe, may help designing classroom materials.
Miscelánea: A Journal of English and American Studies
This study explores the conceptualization of ‘School’ in the English lexicon of EFL learners, and... more This study explores the conceptualization of ‘School’ in the English lexicon of EFL learners, and compares this lexicon to the meanings attributed to the entry School in English dictionaries. Our first objective aimed at identifying the most frequent content words retrieved by Spanish EFL learners in response to the cue-word SCHOOL in a lexical availability/association task, and comparing them with the meanings attributed by dictionaries. Our second objective aimed at ascertaining whether there were gender similarities or differences in the lexical production and the actual words retrieved by males and females. The quantitative analyses applied to the data revealed a common structure in male and female EFL learners’ available lexicon as well as a high correspondence to the meanings attributed to School in dictionaries. However, the qualitative analysis also uncovered typical patterns related to adolescent school life not present in dictionaries as well as vocabulary not shared by ma...
This study intends to contribute to L2 emotion vocabulary research by looking at the words that p... more This study intends to contribute to L2 emotion vocabulary research by looking at the words that primary school EFL learners produce in response to prompts in a lexical availability task. Specifically, it aims to ascertain whether emotion prompts (Love, Hate, Happy and Sad) generate a greater number of words than non-emotion prompts (School and Animals). It also seeks to identify the words learners associate with each semantic category to determine whether the words produced in response to emotion prompts differ from non-emotion words. The results showed a significant difference in the number of words generated across prompts. Most words were produced for the prompt School, followed by Animals, Happy, Love, Hate and Sad. Non-emotion prompts elicited a higher number of words than emotion prompts, and within the latter, a significant effect of valence was observed as learners retrieved a higher number of words in response to positive emotion prompts than to negative prompts. Overall, learners' lexical availability output in each of the six prompts showed the predominance of nouns over other word classes. However, slightly different patterns were also observed for the top 10 responses to Happy, Hate and Sad, and together with nouns, other word classes appeared as well.
… perspectives on vocabulary in foreign and …, 2010
Content and language …, 2009
... Unpublished PhD thesis, Victoria University of Wellington. Jiménez Catalán, RM and Terrazas, ... more ... Unpublished PhD thesis, Victoria University of Wellington. Jiménez Catalán, RM and Terrazas, M.(in press) The receptive vocabulary of English foreign language young learners. ... English Department Monograph IKIP Kristen Satya Watjana: Salatiga. ...
Miscelánea: A Journal of English and …, 1996
VIAL, Vigo international …, 2005
Acceso de usuarios registrados. Acceso de usuarios registrados Usuario Contraseña. ...
Journal of pragmatics, 2003
In this paper we present a contrastive cognitive analysis of metaphorical usages of the word pair... more In this paper we present a contrastive cognitive analysis of metaphorical usages of the word pairs fox/vixen and bull/cow, together with their Spanish counterparts zorro/zorra and toro/ vaca. We have four specific aims. Firstly, we wish to find out whether these examples of Animal Metaphor are equally conceptualized in English and Spanish. Secondly, we investigate whether the two paired examples within each language are used in semantic derogation, understood as the use of a word to convey negative connotations and stereotypes, here interpreted specifically with respect to the two sexes. Thirdly, if there is indeed semantic derogation, we wish to ascertain whether it applies equally to male and female terms. Finally, we would like to know whether the same degree and kind of semantic derogation is observed in the two languages, on the bases of the examples analyzed. Our analysis shows that first, the words in these particular animal pairs are indeed metaphorically applied to persons in both English and Spanish, though we noted subtle but remarkable differences between the two languages; second, some kind of semantic derogation appears in both languages; third, overall it is observed that the main metaphorical meanings of the female terms connote worse qualities than those connoted by the metaphors of the male terms; and fourth, there are differences in the degree and kind of semantic derogation found in the two languages. #
... A esto hay que sumar el hecho de que la memoria semántica se ocupa por un lado, del conocimie... more ... A esto hay que sumar el hecho de que la memoria semántica se ocupa por un lado, del conocimiento del len-guaje y por otro, del almacenamiento de las palabras a través ... Oxford: OUR Faerch, C, Haastrup, К & R, Phillipson (1984): Learner Language and Language Learning. ...
VIEWZ Á Vienna English Working …, 2006
Estudios de lingüística aplicada, 1997
Uploads
Papers by Rosa María Jiménez Catalán