First call for proposals (03/16/2018)

DIPROling Congress 2018

Distance / proximity and representations about language learning: facilities, obstacles, motivation and intercomprehension

Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (Belo Horizonte, Brazil) – Faculdade de Letras

October 3rd to 5th, 2018

 Abstract submission deadline has been extended to May 7

Keywords: transference, interference, representations, intercomprehension, distance, proximity, linguistic kinship, attitudes, reflexivity

This Congress is organized by the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG – Belo Horizonte, Brazil) with the support of its French and Brazilian partners^[1] of the DIPROlinguas project (CAPES-COFECUB program) and the French Teachers Association of Minas Gerais (APFMG)^[2] .

Objective: encourage research on the concepts and approaches to which this project is related during its first year and present the first results.

Public: although it is part of the activities of the DIPROlinguas project, this call contemplates the whole community of researchers and teachers in Brazil, Latin America, Europe, and worldwide who are interested in the topics addressed by it.

The DIPROlinguas ​​project aims to study the impact of a teaching based on the relations of linguistic kinship on the expansion of the capacity of reflection on the language, languages ​​of education and other languages, belonging to the Romance family or not, present in the students' surroundings as heritage languages, substrate languages (indigenous, regional), sign languages (Libras, LSF, ASL and others), migrant languages and other foreign languages. Indeed, placing linguistic kinship at the center of the didactic process means focusing on the relations of distance and proximity between the languages-cultures involved in this process, as well as the perception of these relations by the students before, during and at the end of the most diverse types of pedagogical exposition, such as didactic sequences, disciplines, courses, tests, among others.

After all, the perceptions of analogies and differences that teachers and students have while making comparisons actualize representations of distances and closeness between languages and cultures and can vary widely (Degache and Depover, 2010) depending on contexts, audiences, and, above all, pedagogical choices, that is, teaching methodology.

Such perceptions can be effective and occur at five levels:

1. Linguistic: the perception of the distance between linguistic codes, their operative value - the psycho-typology -, that is, the way in which an apprentice considers the linguistic proximity (Kellerman, 1979 ; Bardel, 2006 ; Diaz-Ferrero, 2017: 17-18).
2. Spatial: the perception of the physical distance between the community(s) that speak a certain language and the territory(ies) where such language is spoken.
3. Sociocultural: the perception of social and cultural distance between the learner's own environment (values, practices, rites, etc.) and the representation they build of the values, practices and rites of the community of speakers of a certain additional language.
4. Interactional: the perception of proximity variations among speakers during an interaction or a conversation, the degree of formality or informality depending on the situation, the interlocutors, and the issues in question.
5. Transactional (Moore, 1993 apud Jézégou, 2007): the degree of proximity or socio-affective distance between the student and the teacher(s) and / or other students and / or speakers of the other languages.

Therefore, the question addressed by this congress is: to which extent the representations in these five levels about distances and proximities, verified at the beginning, during and at the end of a pedagogical formation / action, besides its observation and description, can influence the development of competencies, the conception of alterity, motivation and the sense of efficiency of students, teachers and trainers? (Bandura apud Puozzo-Capron, 2012; Depover, 2016).

All the publics and the contexts of teaching / learning (formal, informal, face-to-face, semi-online, online ...) can be contemplated.

When submitting the proposal to the congress, each author should indicate in which of the following three axes their research is affiliated with:

1. Representations: descriptive approach to representations and attitudes (affective factors, preconceived ideas, beliefs… Lasagabaster, 2006) and their variation:
   • on the language(s) and their appropriation: about ease / difficulty; anxiety and fears (of interference, of false analogies, of confusion ...); confidence (for example valuing own knowledge) and distrust (or overconfidence, overvaluation); idea of a quick and intuitive learning (Diaz-Ferrero, 2017) (without having to study without distinction between processes of understanding and production),
   • on speakers of this(these) language(s) and their language practices and other practices,
   • on the territories where this(these) language(s) is(are) spoken,
   • on the cultures associated with this(these) language(s).

2. Incidences (observed effects on learning processes)
   • Rapid development of the understanding capacities, differences and / or imbalance in the development of capacities (e.g.: of comprehension versus production, written dimension versus oral dimension ...), especially in relation to the evaluation processes.
   • Development of the ability to compare languages and reflect on language (metalinguistic activity).
   • Intercultural openness, discovery of the other and alterity relations.
   • Motivation development and the sense of efficiency of students, teachers and trainers (self-esteem).

3. Scenarios and materials (although axes 1 and 2 must present the associated teaching practices, in this section the presentation should be problematized and more detailed).
   • Presentations of pedagogical experiments (scenario, device, test, etc.) and their results.
   • Presentations of didactic materials (finished or in phase of designing and planning, including materials for learner assessment).

Submission of communication proposals: diproling2018.cc@gmail.com

Deadline:  May 7th, 2018

Limitation: one page, that is, a summary of 200 to 400 words plus the references used in the text.

The proposals should indicate in which of the three proposed axes (representations, incidences, scenarios and materials) they are affiliated with, and explain their relations with the issues discussed by the congress.

Languages: communication proposals can be written, as well as presented in Portuguese, French, English, Spanish, Italian or Sign language as long as during each speech a written visual support in Portuguese or Spanish (PowerPoint alike) is provided, or, regarding sign language, an interpreter.

Instructions to submit your proposal: see template in download area besides or clicking here

Enrollment: beginning on April 10th, 2018

Method of divulgation and expected publication: online, for communications received before October 20, 2018, with the possibility of publication in a journal (to be confirmed).

Scientific Committee’s email address for submitting proposals: diproling2018.cc@gmail.com

Organizing Committee’s email address: diprolinguas@gmail.com

Congress website: http://www.letras.ufmg.br/diproling2018

Partnerships (in process)

 

References

Degache, Christian & Depover, Christian (Ed.) (2010). La distance dans l’enseignement des langues. Frein ou levier ? Distances et savoirs. Paris: CNED/Lavoisier, Vol.8, n°3.

Depover, Christian (dir.) (2016). MOOC "Apprendre et faire apprendre", année académique 2016+2017, AUFIFIC, Université de Mons, support capsule 6.3, "Enseignement par imitation et approches affectives de l’apprentissage", p. 2, Online http://mooc.auf.org/

Díaz Ferrero, Ana María (2017). Percepción de distancia lingüística en la adquisición de la lengua portuguesa por hispanohablantes. Horizontes de Linguística Aplicada, ano 16, n. 1, http://periodicos.unb.br/index.php/horizontesla/article/download/21230/18675

Jezegou, Annie (2007). La distance en formation. Premier jalon pour une opérationnalisation de la théorie de la distance transactionnelle. Distances et savoirs 2007/3 (Vol. 5), 2007, p. 341-366. https://www.cairn.info/revue-distances-et-savoirs-2007-3-page-341.htm

Kellerman, Eric (1979). Giving learners a break: native language intuitions as a source of predictions about transferability. Working Papers on Bilingualism, 15, p. 37-57.

Lasagabaster, D. (2006). Les attitudes linguistiques : un état des lieux. Ela. Études de linguistique appliquée, 144,(4), 393-406. https://www.cairn.info/revue-ela-2006-4-page-393.htm

Puozzo-Capron, Isabelle (2012). Le sentiment d’efficacité personnelle et l’apprentissage des langues. In Les Cahiers de l'Acedle, volume 9, numéro 1. Recherches en didactique des langues et cultures, p. 75-94. https://acedle.org/old/spip.php?article3364

 

^[1] The DIPROlinguas project (2018-2021) counts on the partnership of nine universities: Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG, Belo Horizonte, Brazil, coord.), State University of Campinas (UNICAMP, Brazil), Federal University of Paraná (UFPR, Curitiba, Brazil), Université Grenoble Alpes (UGA, France), Université Lumière Lyon 2 (ULL2, France), Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte (UFRN, Natal, Brazil), University of São Paulo (USP, Brazil), Federal University of Ouro Preto (UFOP, Brazil), Federal University of Uberlândia (UFU, Brazil).

^[2] This congress is organized with the support of CAPES, Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel - Brazil, under the CAPES / Cofecub Program.