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[ES] Este estudio forma parte de una investigación en curso centrada en analizar el papel de la cultura y el género en cómo se moldea la participación en la comunicación electrónica. El objetivo de este artículo es determinar en qué medida participantes femeninos y masculinos en grupos de ayuda en línea para hombres y mujeres adaptan su comportamiento lingüístico a los demás miembros de la comunidad buscando aprobación social, gustar a los demás e integración. En un corpus formado por interacciones de adultos en grupos de ayuda se observa acomodación lingüística a nivel estructural. Además, un análisis del discurso comparando interacciones en español peninsular e inglés tratará de determinar si esta acomodación, un fenómeno bien documentado en inglés, es una práctica común en español peninsular, donde no se han realizado investigaciones sistemáticas en este campo. Los resultados muestran que, en general, las mujeres convergen más que los hombres en la estructura del foro de discusión. Sin embargo, existen diferencias interculturales en cuanto a la acomodación. Los participantes en español, tanto hombres como mujeres, convergen más destacadamente en los elementos estructurales que en inglés. El estudio sobre acomodación lingüística se complementa con un análisis del discurso que resalta el estilo íntimo, personal y emocionalmente expresivo de los mensajes escritos por mujeres y que favorece las buenas relaciones en lugar del mero intercambio de información, tendencia ya identificada por Tannen (1991) en las conversaciones cara a cara entre mujeres., [EN] This study forms part of an ongoing line of research that aims to contribute to our understanding of the role of culture and gender in shaping participation in computer-mediated communication (CMC) environments. The objective of this paper is to determine to what extent female and male participants in online support groups for men and women adapt their linguistic behaviour to that of the other members of the community in their desire for social approval, attractiveness, and integration. By focusing on a diverse sample of adult users of online support groups, we investigate linguistic accommodation at the structural level. Moreover, a comparative discourse analysis between interactions in English and Peninsular Spanish will seek to determine whether this accommodation behaviour, a well-documented phenomenon in English, is common practice in Spanish, where research in the field has not yet been systematically undertaken. In general, the findings show that women converge more to the structure of the forum than men. However, there exist cross-cultural differences in accommodation. The participants writing in Spanish, both men and women, converge more overtly in their use of structural elements than those writing in English. The study on accommodation is complemented by a comparative discourse analysis which reveals that messages posted in women's fora present an intimate, personal, and emotionally expressive linguistic style which favours 'rapport' rather than 'report', a tendency already identified by Tannen (1991) in women's face-to-face conversation.

Readers or their institutions do not pay for access. Users can read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full texts of these articles., [EN] Emerging communication practices in digitally mediated professional settings have changed the paradigm of current workforce requirements. This paper presents the results of a survey on the way people communicate virtually in the workplace and the specific needs that have been detected concerning virtual communication practices. The survey itself was carried out within the context of CoMoViWo, a European Erasmus Project which involves the participation of five European countries. Specifically, the current study carries out a contrastive analysis of the results of the needs analysis of Spanish and Finnish users of digital communication tools. The data obtained from the study highlights the differences found with regard to the communicative strategies preferred by the virtual workers of both countries. Although they all need to communicate formally on most online tools, Spanish workers prefer more informal registers in emails and social networking than Finnish virtual workers. Also, Spanish speakers manifest a greater need than the Finnish interviewees for improving strategies involving greetings, virtual presentations and negotiating. On the other hand, Finnish speakers perceive they only need to develop strategies in managing and/or hosting virtual group interactions. The results reflect the particular identity of both cultures and highlight the importance of understanding multiculturalism in international communication. The study, which has relevant implications, will contribute to the development of learning modules to train future employees to communicate successfully in an increasingly globalized world that is engaged daily in virtual communication.

[EN] The aim of this study was to identify which media is chosen for Computed-mediated Communication (CMC) in multicultural business interactions when the main language of communication is English as a lingua franca. The second aim was to determine how the results of this study should be taken into consideration at Higher Educational Institutions (HEIs) in curriculum development. The analyses employed in this survey followed Media synchronicity theory (MST), originally proposed by Dennis/Valacich (1997) and later refined by Dennis et al. (2008). This study was conducted using a mixed method approach with data from a quantitative survey regarding media usage of 274 respondents and qualitative theme interviews of five working life representatives. The findings indicate that the choice of media varies between different countries and is dependent on the different capabilities and synchronicity of the media. The team structure, communication processes, choice of language, cultural diversity and ethical rules of the company play an important role in communication and are meaningful when choosing the media for communication. The main conclusion is that the ability to choose the media that is suitable for varying communicative situations in working life has become essential and therefore needs to be developed as part of curriculum development work at HEIs.

[ES] El proyecto consiste en la implementación de una plataforma de aprendizaje online de idiomas con cursos de español orientados a extranjeros. Para lograr este objetivo se ha llevado a cabo un estudio del proyecto, sus características y las diferentes plataformas disponibles en el mercado que permitan su implementación. Finalmente se ha instalado y configurado la plataforma, y se han incluido los contenidos del curso., [EN] The project consists of the implementation of an online platform devoted to learning Spanish as a second language. To this end, we start with a comprehensive review of the research driven literature on the different online platforms available in the market for language learning, their characteristics and their implementation procedures. Finally, the chosen platform has been installed and configured to include the course contents correctly.

[EN] The literacy demands of work are changing in the face of current global communication networks. This paper focuses on the methodology adopted in a university degree to practise workplace interaction in English, the lingua franca in professional settings. In the present study, the authors have observed the effect of the incorporation of computer-mediated communication combined with simulation-type methodology to improve students workplace writing and motivation. Students worked in groups and blogged pseudo-professionally with other groups. The analysis of the results shows high motivation on the part of the students. The writing for a purpose has permitted more and better language, which indicates that blogs are a potential tool for the development of linguistic skills.

[EN] The pragmalinguistic study that has been carried out compares the discoursive strategies used in the three areas of the study and analyzes the degree of formality / informality in electronic communication in these online communities, [ES] El estudio pragmalingüístico llevado a cabo compara las estrategias discursivas utilizadas en los tres ámbitos del estudio y analiza el grado de formalidad/informalidad en la comunicación electrónica que estas tres comunidades presentan

This study investigates to what extent certain lexical differences can be attributed to factors such as register. To this end, the paper addresses the empirical domain of a word-creation process by means of initial combining forms (ICFs) of neoclassical origin. The research undertaken is based on the use of ICFs in the Corpus of Contemporary American English, a corpus compiled from texts drawn from spoken, fiction, magazine, newspaper and academic sources. The study focuses on the variation of neoclassical elements across registers, and questions their morphological status and currency. The findings confirm the hypotheses of the higher presence of initial combining forms in science and technology domains n magazine and academic journals, and the lower use in spoken registers. It also confirms that nowadays some initial combining forms have developed into free morphemes, a fact which contradicts the essence of the bound nature of combining forms. The study highlights that neoclassical forms are a salient resource in the lexical expansion of terminology and claims their pedagogical implications in ESP word-formation processes.

This paper reports the process and outcomes of an instructional project to familiarise postgraduate students with research. The study presents Mobile-Var, a project which complies with the philosophy of the Bologna Declaration regarding students acquisition of research competences. By studying language variations in WhatsApp text interactions, participantswere encouraged to develop innovative ideas to make a tangible contribution to the field of language and Computer-mediated Communication. Specifically, the research undertaken consisted in analysing new trends in digital communication by observing if the language used in WhatsApp text interactions constituteda new language variety. Authentic messages in Catalan, English and Spanish were studied from the perspective of the strategies of oralised written texts addressed by Yus (2011) and other scholars. The debriefing session revealed that age is a determining factor in the pervasive use of non-standard language. From an educational perspective, students involvement in a project for research purposes allowed them to develop the strategies needed to carry out research in tertiary education, such as critical thinking, data collection and interpretation, and collaboration with others. Consequently, the relevance of the study is twofold: on the one hand, it increased the competence of postgraduate students in discourse studies research; on the other hand, it connects with Baron s (2013) proposal regarding the fundamental role of mobile communication in the way written and spoken language is used today, given the current profusion of mobile communication technologies.

The traditional classroom paradigm has been lately experiencing innovative changes with the advent of new technologies. This paper reports on the results of an exploratory study that puts into practice a blended learning approach in a university English course which favoured face-to-face as well as online meetings. Within this learning paradigm, the objective of this treatment was to analyse how the use of Twitter, a microblogging tool could help to increase students confidence in English. This would imply a novelty in the field of language learning through computers, as it incorporated social networking to an explicit structured vocabulary task of ESL learning, which allowed peer revision of tweets and feedback from the instructor. Results showed that students largely preferred to recast rather than to carry out metalinguistic prompts as a feedback. Conclusions suggested that this blended learning approach contributed to internalize students own target form errors through corrections to and from their peers. Using Twitter in the language class was an informal, easier and less intimidating way of starting to use new vocabulary in the target language.

It is necessary to contact the publisher for permission to re-use or reprint the material in any form., [EN] The study draws on a diverse sample of adult users of online support groups to investigate how men and women engage in written conversations, and how these interactions are carried out in English and in Spanish contrastively. We will see to what extent female and male communicators in online support groups display similar power behaviours since some authors believe that these fora seem to provide a context where factors such as power and status are neutralised. In general, the detailed quantitative analysis suggests that women use powerless markers far more frequently than men. Therefore the findings support the contention that gender-based differences persist on the Internet, an arena which was initially believed to be free of built-in bias. On the other hand, the inter- and cross-cultural comparison indicates that the discourse practices in English include more powerless markers than those in Spanish. Interestingly, the abundant use of occurrences of formal addresses and polite forms displayed by men in Spanish may suggest that, in online support groups, men may be adopting communicative strategies traditionally associated with women s discourse., [ES] El estudio se basa en una muestra diversa de usuarios adultos de grupos de ayuda online que sirve de base para investigar cómo hombres y mujeres entablan conversaciones escritas, y cómo estas interacciones se llevan a cabo en español e inglés contrastivamente. Veremos en qué medida las comunicaciones de hombres y mujeres presentan estrategias de poder similares, dado que algunos autores afirman que estos foros ofrecen un contexto en el que factores como el estatus y el poder están neutralizados. El análisis cuantitativo detallado del corpus sugiere que, en general, las mujeres usan estos marcadores de atenuación de poder mucho más frecuentemente que los hombres. Así pues, los resultados darían pie a afirmar que las diferencias de género existen en la comunicación por Internet, un campo que inicialmente estaba considerado libre de prejuicios de sexo. Por otra parte, el análisis intercultural indica que las prácticas discursivas en inglés incluyen más marcadores de atenuación que en español. Resultado sorprendente es el hecho de que en español los hombres utilizan muchos marcadores de cortesía, lo que podría indicar que hay ciertos indicios de que los hombres adoptan estrategias de comunicación tradicionalmente femeninas en grupos online de ayuda.

[EN] This paper reports on the results of an innovative study that applied a social networking tool to a task explicitly designed to practise specialised vocabulary. The exploratory study, framed within a blended learning approach, examined whether the use of Twitter, a microblogging tool, can help increase students’ confidence in using ESP vocabulary. The research questions addressed the role of Twitter in enhancing vocabulary acquisition, in providing peer and teacher feedback, and promoting communication skills. The paper comes to the conclusion that ESP students do not frequently experience problems using vocabulary specific to their specialised field of study. In terms of peer feedback, often students simply approved their peers’ Tweets, were unable to detect errors, and preferred feedback from their teacher. A significantly positive outcome is the role of Twitter in enhancing student participation. Additionally, regarding communication skills, a particularly important finding was the effectiveness of this blended approach in involving the learners in the classroom and beyond, creating the sense of a learning community., [ES] Este artículo se centra en los resultados de un estudio innovador que incorpora una red social a una tarea explícitamente diseñada para la práctica de vocabulario especializado. El estudio exploratorio, enmarcado en un enfoque de enseñanza semipresencial, examina si Twitter, herramienta de microblogging, puede contribuir a promover la confianza de los alumnos en el vocabulario de IFE. Las preguntas de investigación planteadas fueron el papel de Twitter en el fomento de la adquisición de vocabulario, la retroalimentación entre pares y por el profesor, y el papel de Twitter en la mejora de las habilidades comunicativas. La conclusión del artículo subraya que los alumnos de IFE no experimentan problemas frecuentes de vocabulario en su campo de especialidad. En relación a la retroalimentación entre pares, con frecuencia simplemente aprobaban los Tweets de sus compañeros, eran incapaces de detectar errores y preferían la retroalimentación de su profesor. Los resultados subrayan el papel de Twitter en el aumento de la participación. Además, respecto a las habilidades comunicativas, un resultado de especial relevancia fue la eficacia del método semipresencial en la implicación de los alumnos en la clase y fuera de ella, y la creación de una comunidad de aprendizaje.

Despite the vast body of research on the linguistic peculiarities of Instant Messaging and Short Messaging Service, little is known about the language used in Mobile Instant Messaging in a cross-generational and cross-cultural context. To fill in this gap, the cross-linguistic study addressed here is an attempt to approach age-specific variation from a blended ethnography approach. The current research is grounded on an analysis of a naturally-occurring dataset of WhatsApp messages from the point of view of oralisation and deviations from standard forms. Two distinct generations of English and Spanish texters provide empirical data on the parameters of the oralised written discourse suggested by Yus (2011): emoticons, orthographic mistakes, phonetic orthography, abbreviations, acronyms and clippings, and the use of words in other languages. Subsequently, an analysis of the interviews held with the writers approaches the factors that may determine language variation in the messages. The conclusions drawn highlight the persistent use of deviations from standard language of English and Spanish teenagers. The study confirms a higher frequency of a conversational style in Spanish than in English. Not only brevity and speed reasons but also familiarity, playfulness and intimacy with the addressee are behind the intentional variations used.

The market economy, which is the driving force behind recent changes in the working dynamics of businesses and institutions, is compelling stakeholders in education to facilitate the acquisition of communicative competency in a second or foreign language as a means of preparing the workforce for mobile or virtual work. The CoMoViWo project, financed by the European Union s Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA), aims to improve the employability of graduates by developing literacy training for virtual communication. The innovative aspect of this project is the fusion of communication, technology and multiculturality in association with business enterprises. The present study focuses on the first phase of the project, whose aim is to obtain information concerning the real needs detected in mobility and virtual communication in the workplace. After a preliminary study of the literature it was found that one of the most common instruments for carrying out needs analyses was the questionnaire. Therefore, the questionnaire was taken as a tool for the present study. As a result of the fieldwork carried out in the elaboration and filtering of the items in the questionnaire, the validity of the instrument was verified. The questionnaires were then piloted in the different companies involved in the project. Analysis of the results provided the necessary feedback for the design of the prototype of intensive modules to improve the use of a foreign language in a virtual and mobile context in the workplace, which is the ultimate objective of the present project.

This article will set the theoretical background on which CoMoViWo, an ongoing European project, is based. First, the article critically analyses the concept of workplace language teaching and learning and the trends followed by current workplace language programs. A second focus of research analyses the changes that affect the literacy practices required in the new working context, which imply new ways of writing, speaking, and communicating through different media. A final consideration of the article addresses the role of English as a Lingua Franca, that is, English as a language currently used as a means of communication and interaction by speakers of different first languages. © 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license.

This article presents CoMoViWo, an ongoing European project that aims at modernizing education at Higher Education Institutions (HEIs), vocational institutions and enterprises in order to meet the needs of virtual and mobile work. The innovative character of this project is embedded in the combination of mobile and virtual communication, new technologies, multiculturalism and collaboration of and with enterprises. The difference phases of the project will undertake a review on communication literacy, the design of the virtual training modules, their piloting and their revision. The project results and outcomes will benefit the various actors dealing with virtual and mobile communication in multicultural environments and will also contribute to improve the employability needs of students and the success of enterprises in the global market. © 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Lid. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license.

[EN] Centred on studies on language and gender, this article presents the results of a discourse analysis that examines the discourse practices of some of the most representative EFL textbooks published in the last decades in Spain. The analysis shows that women were subrepresented in the textbooks published in the last decades of the 20th century. On the contrary, a very different situation occurs in the materials of the corpus calibrated to The Common European Framework of Reference for Languages since they reveal a balanced representation of sexes1, favouring, in some cases, a positive discrimination approach towards women., [ES] Centrado en los estudios sobre lenguaje y género, este artículo presenta los resultados de un análisis del discurso que examina las prácticas discursivas de los libros de texto más representativos de las últimas décadas usados en las clases de inglés en España. El análisis señala que las mujeres han sido discriminadas en los libros de texto publicados en las últimas décadas del siglo XX. Por el contrario, los materiales del corpus que siguen el Marco Común Europeo de Referencia para las Lenguas muestran una situación muy diferente dado que representan a ambos sexos de forma igualitaria, favoreciendo, en algunos casos, una discriminación positiva hacia las mujeres.

This paper reports the process and outcomes of an instructional project to familiarise postgraduate students with research. The study presents MobileVar, a project which complies with the philosophy of the Bologna Declaration regarding students’ acquisition of research competences. By studying language variations in WhatsApp text interactions, participants were encouraged to develop innovative ideas to make a tangible contribution to the field of language and Computer-mediated Communication. Specifically, the research undertaken consisted in analysing new trends in digital communication by observing if the language used in WhatsApp text interactions constituted a new language variety. Authentic messages in Catalan, English and Spanish were studied from the perspective of the strategies of ‘oralised’ written texts addressed by Yus (2011) and other scholars. The debriefing session revealed that age is a determining factor in the pervasive use of non-standard language. From an educational perspective, students’ involvement in a project for research purposes allowed them to develop the strategies needed to carry out research in tertiary education, such as critical thinking, data collection and interpretation, and collaboration with others. Consequently, the relevance of the study is twofold: on the one hand, it increased the competence of postgraduate students in discourse studies research; on the other hand, it connects with Baron’s (2013) proposal regarding the fundamental role of mobile communication in the way written and spoken language is used today, given the current profusion of mobile communication technologies.

Centred on studies on language and gender, this article presents the results of a discourse analysis that examines the discourse practices of some of the most representative EFL textbooks published in the last decades in Spain. The analysis shows that women were subrepresented in the textbooks published in the last decades of the 20th century. On the contrary, a very different situation occurs in the materials of the corpus calibrated to The Common European Framework of Reference for Languages since they reveal a balanced representation of sexes1 , favouring, in some cases, a positive discrimination approach towards women. Keywords: discourse analysis, EFL, gender bias, Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR)., Centrado en los estudios sobre lenguaje y género, este artículo presenta los resultados de un análisis del discurso que examina las prácticas discursivas de los libros de texto más representativos de las últimas décadas usados en las clases de inglés en España. El análisis señala que las mujeres han sido discriminadas en los libros de texto publicados en las últimas décadas del siglo XX. Por el contrario, los materiales del corpus que siguen el Marco Común Europeo de Referencia para las Lenguas muestran una situación muy diferente dado que representan a ambos sexos de forma igualitaria, favoreciendo, en algunos casos, una discriminación positiva hacia las mujeres.

This paper reports on the results of an innovative study that applied a social networking tool to a task explicitly designed to practise specialised vocabulary. The exploratory study, framed within a blended learning approach, examined whether the use of Twitter, a microblogging tool, can help increase students’ confidence in using ESP vocabulary. The research questions addressed the role of Twitter in enhancing vocabulary acquisition, in providing peer and teacher feedback, and promoting communication skills. The paper comes to the conclusion that ESP students do not frequently experience problems using vocabulary specific to their specialised field of study. In terms of peer feedback, often students simply approved their peers’ Tweets, were unable to detect errors, and preferred feedback from their teacher. A significantly positive outcome is the role of Twitter in enhancing student participation. Additionally, regarding communication skills, a particularly important finding was the effectiveness of this blended approach in involving the learners in the classroom and beyond, creating the sense of a learning community, Este artículo se centra en los resultados de un estudio innovador que incorpora una red social a una tarea explícitamente diseñada para la práctica de vocabulario especializado. El estudio exploratorio, enmarcado en un enfoque de enseñanza semipresencial, examina si Twitter, herramienta de microblogging, puede contribuir a promover la confianza de los alumnos en el vocabulario de IFE. Las preguntas de investigación planteadas fueron el papel de Twitter en el fomento de la adquisición de vocabulario, la retroalimentación entre pares y por el profesor, y el papel de Twitter en la mejora de las habilidades comunicativas. La conclusión del artículo subraya que los alumnos de IFE no experimentan problemas frecuentes de vocabulario en su campo de especialidad. En relación a la retroalimentación entre pares, con frecuencia simplemente aprobaban los Tweets de sus compañeros, eran incapaces de detectar errores y preferían la retroalimentación de su profesor. Los resultados subrayan el papel de Twitter en el aumento de la participación. Además, respecto a las habilidades comunicativas, un resultado de especial relevancia fue la eficacia del método semipresencial en la implicación de los alumnos en la clase y fuera de ella, y la creación de una comunidad de aprendizaje

[EN] Researchers nowadays claim that educators must accommodate the learning styles of digital natives . Thus, many new and challenging educational experiences have tried to cater for the singularity of digital natives. These studies have focused on facilitating the communication between teachers and students using the students own language and style. In this context, we analyse the use of a Web 2.0 application in higher education integrated in a traditional language course. The paper questions the technical expertise of digital natives and observes the contribution of Web 2.0 to promote construction of knowledge while developing a proficiency in English. The conclusions signal the rewarding benefits of Wikis to construct knowledge collaboratively and the positive effects on the improvement of linguistic skills. Additionally, the study suggests that the incorporation of new online projects into traditional higher education requires careful planning with consideration given to sound pedagogy so as to lead to effective learning.

In this paper we present an innovative treatment which involved students’ participation in online blogs in a university course of English for Specific Purposes (ESP). Mediation of teacher-learner through the university e-learning platform (PoliformaT) was used to guide students through social networking etiquette as well as to provide online tuition to reinforce language contents and resources. By means of an integrated analysis which included qualitative and quantitative research, we see the influence of a Computer-Mediated Communication genre on motivation and learning. Questionnaires administered to the students and interviews provided insightful data to the research about the students’ perception of the treatment. Our results suggest that the approach promoted learner engagement and achievement resulting in high quality learning. Additionally, the research shows the effectiveness of the use of the university virtual tool to enhance teacher-student communication and guidance. © 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license.

Following one of the new challenges suggested by the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages, a treatment was developed to enhance pragmatic ompetence, since this competence is not easy to acquire by non-native speakers. Within this context, we focused on pragmatic awareness in the workplace, an area of expertise in growing demand today. Specifically, we centred on the power variable and the distinction between powerful and powerless speech styles through negotiation, co-planning and goal-oriented interactions. Powerful speech has been envisaged as the language of success; however, the positive implications of powerless speech in the workplace have been recently posited. After an instruction phase, the results confirmed that powerless markers were prone to be used adequately in writing, while in oral interactions non-native speakers were not able to employ them fluently or, at least, naturally. The treatment encouraged the critical engagement of students in the process of learning new ways of communicating at work.

The study we present forms part of an ongoing study on the introduction of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) in tertiary education. Our research aims at promoting the adequate use of workplace language by analysing the ability of non-native speakers of English to differentiate speech styles. Special attention has been devoted to the adequate use of powerful and powerless language in mock job interviews. © 2013 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. Open access under CC BY-NC-ND license. Selection and/or peer-review under responsibility of Academic World Education and Research Center.

[EN] Recent research on gender issues has highlighted the scarcity of women in technology education. The need to close the gender gap in these university studies has been addressed by administrations and professionals in the field. In this line, this article presents the results of a project carried out in two learning environments: a university ESP course and a general English language class in secondary education. First, in order to observe gender bias, a discourse analysis of textbooks for English as a Foreign Language (EFL) was undertaken, focusing on the specific topics of science and technology to observe the representation of women and sexist language in written discourse. Then, as a speaking exercise, some simulation activities were devised and carried out in the English class aiming at helping students to be aware of gender imbalance in the field of technology. These activities gave rise to a discussion on gender stereotypes in the media as well. The article concludes with theeducational value of these learning strategies and their implications for society. The debriefing sessions carried out suggest that the project has served to motivate learners of English and has promoted gender bias awareness in different branches of engineering. The novelty of the project consists in interacting language skills, mainly speaking, with strategies developed to promote the incorporation of females in higher technological education, both in an ESP university course and in secondary education.

Scholarly research on computer-mediated communication discourse has mainly centred uponnthe linguistic characteristics of emails, focusing on the formal and informal features and the orality involved in this form of communication. This paper presents a new insight into the study of computer-mediated communication (CMC) by analysing a fairly recent genre of computer-mediated communication, comments posted on the new social networking websites. The research undertaken examines the comments published on the official Facebook sites of some universities to observe the level of formality/informality of online communication in English. The distinction between online writings by native and non-native speakers of English has been considered as well. The study focuses on the formulae of etiquette and protocol used for salutation, opening, pre-closing and closing as an indicator of the degree of orality and informality in online writing. Data reveal that, in the specific context of the university, the use of Facebook is not conventionalised, as the comments posted on Facebook present important stylistic variations. Moreover, in most instances non-native speakers of English display more formal traits than native speakers when communicating electronically on social networking sites in the academic world.

This paper shows the results of a pioneer study on how technology is used to complement face-to face teaching in universities following the directives of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFRL). The paper examines the students¿ and teachers¿ perception of the effectiveness of autonomous language practice. Findings reveal that while teachers value the incorporation of autonomous learning in traditional university classrooms, students don¿t seem to agree unanimously on the positive benefits of autonomous learning as an add-on to face-to-face teaching. The role of teachers in technological environments is also a controversial issue discussed in this paper.

The application of new technologies and media has changed the concept of teaching and learning, offering effective and attractive possibilities to the educational system, particularly to the learning of languages in specific contexts. Educators in general will agree on the importance of motivation as a key to success in language acquisition as it is both a condition and a result of effective in-struction. However, although research has recognized the positive effect of intrinsic motivation on learning and academic achievement, little is known about the impact of different technology-supported learning activities on students¿ intrinsic motivation, the most critical factor for success in language teaching through computers according to some scholars. In this paper we present a university course project carried out in the English class in a degree of Library and Information Management. By means of an integrated analysis which includes qualita-tive and quantitative research, we see the influence of a CMC (Computer-mediated Communica-tion) genre, that of weblogs, in learning, and the way this new learning environment enhances motivation. In the project we present, students were asked to participate in blogs dealing with top-ics of their field of studies, a fact that constitutes the authentic learning environment suggested by some scholars in the field of education. Blogging was the key activity of their writing course. Students¿ participation in blogs implied exchanging posts, making comments, agreeing and dis-agreeing on what was discussed in the posts, asking for clarification, etc., always with the hope of raising the interest of other bloggers and starting a discussion. Questionnaires administered to the students and interviews have provided insightful data to the research about the students¿ perception of the experience, in other words, their levels of involve-ment in learning, their engagement in efficient and creative thinking processes, and their use of problem-s

En los últimos años, el uso de la correspondencia electrónica está reemplazando la carta tradicional. Este estudio analiza las implicaciones lingüísticas y estilísticas que esto supone teniendo como objetivo observar las características de los nuevos cibergéneros que equivaldrían a la carta tradicional. El corpus de esta investigación está formado por correos electrónicos intercambiados en entornos académicos y comentarios enviados al sitio de redes sociales Facebook, plataforma de gran impacto en el mundo académico en la actualidad. Los postulados de que el correo electrónico y toda comunicación por Internet conllevan estrategias discursivas encaminadas a un texto eminentemente oral e informal serán cuestionados con los datos del análisis del corpus

The present research, based on constructivist learning paradigms, describes the outcomes of a project which complies with real life projection into the professional world: a Wiki-based approach is devised to construct knowledge, manage own learning and develop communication and linguistic skills in English. The paper aims to analyze the process and product of students¿ contribution to group work. A qualitative analysis reveals the students¿ positive and negative feedback. The study complies with the shift of current learning paradigms in the focus of learning: from gaining knowledge to producing knowledge

[ES] El presente estudio trata un género electrónico de reciente creación: el comentario deportivo en línea. Este género forma parte de la prensa tradicional, donde cuenta con una larga historia y convenciones bien definidas. En anteriores estudios hemos comprobado que en la comunicación electrónica en inglés hay más rasgos asociados con el discurso oral que en las lenguas románicas. Sin embargo, esta afirmación necesita ser matizada cuando se trata de un género periodístico. El uso de la puntuación y las mayúsculas, el estudio del léxico, la longitud de la frase y el comentario, las oraciones fragmentarias y la relación tipo/ocurrencia contribuirá a definir su vinculación con la modalidad oral o escrita., [EN] The present study deals with a new electronic genre: online sports commentaries. This genre forms part of the traditional press that has a long history and very well defined conventions. In previous studies, we have established that electronic communication in English presents more traits associated with oral discourse than Romance languages. However, this statement needs some clarification in the case of journalistic genres. The use of punctuation and capital letters, the study of lexis, sentence length and the extension of the commentary, fragmentary sentences and type/token relation will contribute to define its oral or written modality.

[EN] Many recent studies on computer-mediated communication (CMC) have addressed the question of orality and literacy. This article examines a relatively recent subgenre of CMC, that of written online sports commentary, that provides us with written CMC that is clearly based on firmly established oral genres, those of radio and television sports commentary. The examples analyzed are from two English, two French, and two Spanish online football (soccer) commentaries. The purpose of the study is to examine oral traits and genre mixing in online football commentaries in the three languages and carryover from the spoken genres of radio and television commentaries to this developing genre, following Ferguson. Special attention is paid to Web page design. The study reveals that form and content of online football commentaries are strongly affected by the style of the online newspaper.