Ciclón en 1956, asevera:
El hogar es, por lo general, “la agencia psíquica” de
la sociedad y al adaptarse el infante a su familia ad-
Freud es un gran artista en tanto que intérprete de la
quiere el carácter que después le permitirá adaptarse
oscura vida psíquica del hombre […] Y aquí no hace
a la sociedad. El niño, en este aprendizaje, adquiere
al caso que Freud tenga o no razón, y su interpreta-
aquel carácter que le hace desear hacer lo que debe
ción sea o no la verdadera y única. Lo que importa
hacer y cuyo núcleo comparte con la mayoría de los
es que la estatua por él modelada resulta más inquie-
miembros de la misma clase social. (Fromm, 1969,
tante, extraña y misteriosa que el modelo; la misma
p. 69).
nos sume en los vericuetos de un doble sueño, y fa-
talmente nos llevará a otros sueños, a otras inquietu-
El mito de Edipo es remitido a los orígenes de
des, a otros misterios. (Piñera, 1994, pp. 277-278).
determinada circunstancia; en este caso, se transvaloriza
para reflexionar sobre la familia, génesis de la sociedad:
Se ha privilegiado la relación desde el psicoanálisis, por-
la familia nuclear Atrida es la personificación de
que el germen de la farsa se nutre de múltiples recursos
actitudes fundamentales de la burguesía cubana, incluso,
vinculados con esta disciplina: la catarsis, los elementos
de la humanidad. Así lo plantea el género fársico a través
30
Revista Comunicación. Volumen 32, año 43, número 2, julio-diciembre, 2022 (pp. 28-34) del mecanismo de sustitución: en la farsa, únicamente
A un nivel profundo de lectura, desde el psicoanálisis,
emergen patrones elementales, el aspecto individual se
Electra y Orestes se encuentran simbólicamente en una
diluye.
etapa de transición al inicio del drama: el proceso de in-
dividuación. Este inicia cuando se da el nacimiento: el
En el hipotexto griego se establecían elementos funda-
recién nacido es separado biológicamente de la madre,
mentales de la tradición cultural de la época; su funcio-
pues se han quebrantado las conexiones sustentadoras
nalidad antropológica era la fijación y transmisión de
del binomio progenitora-hijo como un solo ser; por con-
pautas culturales, legitimaba determinada normatividad
siguiente, el pequeño se transforma en un ente biológico
ética y moral. En el caso de Electra Garrigó, el producto
en apariencia aparte, porque desde un enfoque funcional
estético denuncia cierto comportamiento social y descri-
seguirá unido a su madre por un espacio de tiempo no-
be sus consecuencias. Por tanto, desde el psicoanálisis,
table.
las consideraciones deben asimilarse desde lo simbólico,
referidas a todo un sistema de cultura: la farsa trágica
La permanencia de Orestes y Electra bajo el amparo
Electra Garrigó, por medio de elementos temáticos dra-
de sus progenitores se interpretará como si todavía es-
máticos provenientes de la tragedia, exhibe las formas de
tuviesen unidos a la placenta por medio de un cordón
sometimiento psicológico y el proceso de atomización;
umbilical. Este figurativamente los mantiene alejados
asimismo, explora sus diversos efectos en los estratos de
del mundo exterior: ambos se encuentran en la isla ca-
la sociedad cubana. La elección de un subgénero dramá-
ribeña circundada por el mar, una presencia simbólica
tico no realista como la farsa produce en el espectador
asociada al útero materno. La seguridad y un sentimien-
un cierto distanciamiento del drama, con la finalidad de
to de pertenencia son proporcionados por esa ligadura
provocar una reflexión en torno a lo representado y su
figurada al hogar, al vientre materno nutritivo y seguro.
incidencia en la sociedad.
Los vínculos primarios descritos se disuelven durante el
proceso de individuación, fase específica del desarrollo
Desde el inicio del acto primero de Electra Garrigó, se
humano conducente al surgimiento de la plena libertad
plantea el progresivo resquebrajamiento del particular
del individuo.
sistema de relaciones establecido entre los integrantes
de la familia Atrida. Las conversaciones familiares giran
Un aspecto del proceso de la individuación es la inci-
en torno a las posibles transformaciones en las vidas de
piente sensación de soledad. El individuo como entidad
Orestes y Electra: se discute si Orestes partirá de casa
separada deberá enfrentarse al mundo exterior, el cual
y si Electra aceptará desposar a su pretendiente. Ambas
es percibido como amenazador, poderoso y peligroso.
posibilidades provocan en Agamenón y Clitemnestra
Esto, a su vez, generará un sentimiento de angustia y de
sentimientos tanto de desesperación cuando se anuncia
impotencia. Indudablemente, el sistema económico im-
la partida del hijo de sexo opuesto, como de mofa y re-
perante contribuirá a la germinación de los sentimientos
chazo ante la idea de la permanencia del hijo del mismo
de desesperación, aislamiento e impotencia. Desde esta
sexo. Los siguientes diálogos del drama lo ejemplifican:
óptica, el catalizador del drama será la fractura del siste-
ma de relaciones familiares por parte de Electra, quien
Agamenón. (Burlonamente) ¿Lo oyes, Electra Ga-
deberá confrontar el mundo exterior por sí misma. Ella
rrigó? ¿Oyes a tu hermano? Rechaza una posición
se encuentra en la disyuntiva de elegir la vía mediante la
brillante en aras de la tranquilidad de su madre.
cual superará el insoportable estado de soledad y la falta
Clitemnestra. Escucha, Agamenón Garrigó: tú ves
de potencia vital derivados del proceso de individuación
la paja en el ojo ajeno, pero no ves la viga en el
aludido a su posible abandono de la casa/vientre Atri-
tuyo… Me recriminas por mi temor ante la partida
da. Dos son sus alternativas: lograr una libertad capaz
de Orestes, ¿y tú? ¿Podrías soportar que Electra se
de facultarla a nivel emocional, intelectual y sensitivo
casara con el pretendiente?
para la realización plena de su propio yo o retroceder
para intentar reducir su sentimiento de soledad median-
Agamenón. No lo soportaría. Ese pretendiente no es
te la supresión de su individualidad y de su integridad
digno de la mano de Electra. (Piñera,1960, p. 44).
humana. La segunda opción es la dinámica operativa
inicial de la familia Atrida, sistema de relaciones del
cual Electra redimirá a Orestes y se emancipará. Elina
31
Revista Comunicación. Volumen 32, año 43, número 2, julio-diciembre, 2022 (pp. 28-34) Miranda Cancela (1991, p. 208) ha observado que: “La
Agamenón Garrigó y Clitemnestra Plá revelan un estado
Electra de Piñera, como su ilustre antecesora sofoclea,
de dependencia en relación con Electra y Orestes, res-
es la única conturbada y consciente de que la necesidad
pectivamente, para lograr una sensación de bienestar: se
de resistencia frente al ambiente familiar que coacta su
observará a menudo, especialmente en las relaciones de
desarrollo pleno como individuo y amenaza con ahogar
los padres con sus hijos, la dominación encubierta detrás
su personalidad”.
de una aparente preocupación natural o un sentimien-
to de protección lógico. Esto se ilustra a cabalidad con
Del mismo modo que el niño jamás retornará físicamen-
las relaciones entre padres e hijos Atridas: “Vamos…El
te al vientre materno protector, tampoco se podrá invertir
pretendiente es sólo un recurso retórico de que te vales,
el proceso de individuación desde el punto de vista psí-
Agamenón Garrigó. Lo cierto es que temes la partida de
quico: los intentos de reversión adquieren un carácter de
Electra tanto como yo la de Orestes”, afirma el personaje
sometimiento. El siguiente diálogo de la farsa clarificará
Clitemnestra Plá (Piñera, 1960, p. 44).
la naturaleza de la relación familiar Atrida:
Ambos progenitores evidencian una alternancia de ras-
Agamenón. En efecto, no quiero que te rapte; no
gos de carácter sádicos y masoquistas, se entrevé una
quiero que se case contigo.
constante oscilación entre el rol activo y pasivo del
Electra. Si no quieres que me case, si no quieres que
complejo simbiótico. Mientras persiste el vínculo entre
me rapten, dime: ¿qué quieres entonces para mí?
Clitemnestra Plá y su hijo, binomio recíprocamente de-
pendiente, la madre siempre asume el rol dominante en
Agamenón. Quiero tu felicidad, Electra Garrigó.
función de Orestes; la esencia de sus impulsos sádicos es
lograr el dominio total sobre otro ser, con la intención de
Electra. No, Agamenón Garrigó, quieres tu seguri-
transformarlo en un sujeto pasivo:
dad. (Pausa) Además, sería muy divertido que me
raptaran. (Ríe).
Clitemnestra: ¡Calla, pájaro agorero, calla! Orestes
es mi hijo, exclusivamente mío. (Pausa) ¡Oh, Dios
Agamenón. Te quiero demasiado para perderte,
mío!, ¿Qué me sucedería si una mañana me levan-
Electra Garrigó.
tase con la infausta noticia de la partida de Orestes?
Electra. Me quiero demasiado para perderme. Te
Electra: Te clavarías un puñal.
opones: te aparto, Agamenón Garrigó. Es cosa muy
simple. […] El tema de la libertad no es un asunto
Orestes: En ese caso no me iría. No debo atormentar
doméstico. (Piñera, 1960, p. 39).
a Clitemnestra Plá. (Piñera, 1960, p. 43).
El primer mecanismo de evasión de la libertad consis-
Invariablemente, ante la posibilidad del viaje de Orestes
te en la tendencia a abandonar la independencia del yo
a un sitio remoto, la reacción de su madre, además de
individual propio para amalgamarse con algo o alguien
externar su deseo de control sobre él, evidencia impulsos
exterior a uno mismo, para adquirir la fuerza carente del
masoquistas tales como un sentimiento de desamparo y
yo individual. Fromm esclarece este sistema de relacio-
un sufrimiento abrumador, jocosamente agónico desde
nes con la descripción de la operatividad del indisoluble
el procedimiento fársico. Así, aquellas acciones risibles
vínculo entre el sádico y el objeto de su sadismo:
para el público son infortunios de los personajes y vi-
ceversa; la comicidad de ciertas acciones del drama es
Tanto los impulsos masoquistas como los sádicos
una burla directa hacia el espectador, quien no la asume
tienden a ayudar al individuo a evadirse de su inso-
sonriente, sino con cierto pesar por reconocerse en seme-
portable sensación de soledad e impotencia. […] El
jante circunstancia.
sádico necesita de la persona sobre la cual domina
y la necesita imprescindiblemente, puesto que sus
De forma incesante, ambos padres vislumbran su muerte
propios sentimientos de fuerza se arraigan en el he-
ante la partida de sus hijos. Electra enuncia el posible
cho de que él es el dominador de alguien. (Fromm,
suicidio de su madre; esto se identifica con otra de las
1989, pp. 154, 149).
manifestaciones de los impulsos masoquistas. La fantasía
en torno al suicidio, asevera Fromm, se constituye como
32
Revista Comunicación. Volumen 32, año 43, número 2, julio-diciembre, 2022 (pp. 28-34) la única esperanza cuando todos los demás medios
más que dependencia masoquista. (Fromm, 1989, p.
no hayan logrado solventar la carga de la soledad.
162).
Asimismo, Jorge Ibarra (1994), doctor en Ciencias
Históricas en la Universidad de La Habana, atiende el
Incluso, la propia actitud tiránica de la madre es percibi-
fenómeno del suicidio en Cuba y sus detonantes:
da por Orestes como un reflejo de su amor: él acata sus
mandatos, los cuales son justificados por Clitemnestra
El desmesurado aumento de las tendencias autodes-
Plá como acciones encaminadas al bienestar de su hijo
tructivas en la pequeña isla neocolonizada sólo pue-
bajo el aspecto amoroso, pero el factor esencial de estas
de ser explicado en virtud del creciente sentimiento
es el goce derivado del ejercicio de dominio. Las accio-
de fracaso individual y colectivo del cubano. La
nes de Orestes podrían convertirse en las desgracias de
frustración social y nacional de los más caros an-
su madre. Si el destino es una acción, cualquiera que sea
helos del pueblo, había dado lugar a un proceso de
se deberá elegir y se requiere de conocimiento. En Elec-
desintegración social y psíquica, caracterizada por
tra Garrigó, la visión es sustancial para elegir con volun-
el malestar, la inconformidad, el descreimiento y la
tad la acción. Por ello, es notable la cuestión planteada
creciente desilusión con respecto a las instituciones,
por Electra a su madre: “¿Ignoras, Clitemnestra Plá, que
los hombres y los fundamentos éticos sobre los que
lo único que puede tu hijo es pescar ciegamente su pez?”
originalmente había descansado la república. (p.
(Piñera, 1960, p. 44). Lo anterior significa que el destino
240).
de Orestes es una decisión llena de ignorancia y caren-
te de libertad, vacía de voluntad. Al morir Clitemnestra,
En la relación entre Orestes y su madre, un aspecto de
Orestes parte sin rumbo.
los impulsos masoquistas se vislumbra en el intento de
convertirse en parte integrante de una entidad superior
Por su parte, Agamenón Garrigó evidencia un carácter
a la persona ─entidad encarnada en el drama en el bi-
sádico, pues a menudo procura el sometimiento de los
nomio madre-hijo─, acción que exime de la necesidad
demás miembros de la familia: “Pero en sentido psico-
de decidir, de asumir la responsabilidad por el destino
lógico, el deseo de poder no se arraiga en la fuerza, sino
del yo y las dudas colaterales a las decisiones. Los vín-
en la debilidad” (Fromm, 1989, p. 163). Su intención es
culos masoquistas entre Clitemnestra y Orestes atenúan
detentar una forma tan ilimitada y absoluta de poder, que
las incertidumbres en torno al sentido de la vida y los
reduce a los subordinados al papel de instrumentos sin
cuestionamientos sobre la propia identidad por medio
capacidades volitivas. Así enfrenta Electra a su padre:
de la pérdida de la integridad del yo de ambos. Los fe-
“Además, llamas familia a tu propia persona multipli-
nómenos masoquistas, en particular, se perciben como
cada. Somos parte de tu mecanismo, debemos funcio-
expresiones de amor. Orestes entabla una relación pasiva
nar según tus movimientos” (Piñera, 1960, p. 39). Los
y obediente, su dependencia de tipo masoquista es con-
impulsos sádicos del padre son directamente propor-
cebida por él mismo como amor y lealtad, dice Agame-
cionales a su mayor carencia: el Agamenón presentado
nón: “¿Lo oyes, Electra Garrigó? ¿Oyes a tu hermano?
en el hipotexto, paradigma del guerrero cuyo rasgo de
Rechaza una posición brillante en aras de la tranquilidad
carácter es la determinación de sus acciones, difiere del
de su madre” (Piñera, 1960, p. 44).
harapiento gallo viejo en Electra Garrigó, su atributo se
vincula con la vejez, la pasividad y la incapacidad para
En tanto el binomio sigue constituido, exterioriza una
gobernar.
actitud de completa autonegación a favor de los deseos
de su madre y permite un trato infantil. Orestes declina
El matrimonio Atrida se vislumbra desintegrado en su
en sus pretensiones y derechos en vías de materializar su
totalidad. En el comentario sobre la novela Las honra-
patológico gran amor por Clitemnestra Plá:
das (1917) de Miguel de Carrión, Ibarra (1994, p. 126)
comenta: “El desorden o la entropía de la sociedad bur-
Parecería que no existe mejor prueba de “amor que
guesa neocolonial terminaba desquiciando a los mismos
el sacrificio y la disposición a perderse por el bien de
portadores de la ideología y los valores burgueses. La
la otra persona […] El amor se funda en la igualdad
armonía y la felicidad conyugal eran otro mito de la so-
y la libertad. Si se basara en la subordinación y la
ciedad burguesa”.
pérdida de la integridad de una de las partes, no sería
33
Revista Comunicación. Volumen 32, año 43, número 2, julio-diciembre, 2022 (pp. 28-34) El padre es concebido por los demás integrantes de la fa-anterior se sostiene mediante las observaciones de Jorge
milia Atrida como viejo e insignificante, pero fastidioso
Ibarra en torno a la producción literaria de la época. Sin
para Clitemnestra Plá y Electra porque es el obstáculo
embargo, subyacente a ese primer estrato de significa-
para la ejecución de sus planes. Nadie siente por él afec-
ción, el drama fársico Electra Garrigó manifiesta la psi-
to; aunque al inicio Electra establece con él una dinámi-
cología y la mentalidad derivadas de la constitución tan-
ca recíproca de dependencia, de inmediato se disuelve.
to económica como sociopolítica de su propio contexto
Erich Fromm emplea el término impotencia no solo con
de producción, y, de manera subyacente, como texto ple-
respecto a la esfera sexual, sino que también lo asocia a
namente simbólico trasluce una serie de preocupaciones
todos los sectores de las facultades humanas. Por consi-
inherentes a la existencia humana, una de ellas es la que
guiente, en la medida en que Agamenón fuese potente
gira en torno al tema de la libertad.
como el personaje de Esquilo, capaz de actualizar sus
facultades en los cimientos de la libertad y la integridad
REFERENCIAS BIBLIOGRÁFICAS
del yo, no requerirá dominar a alguien más, estaría libe-
rado del ansia compulsiva de poder.
Bentley, E. (1985). La vida del drama. México: Paidós.
Los impulsos sádicos de Agamenón Garrigó responden
Carrió, R. (1988). Los dramaturgos de transición: una resisten-
a su falta de potencia vital: “He querido oscuramente
cia fundadora. Escenarios de dos mundos. Inventario tea-
una vida heroica, y soy sólo un burgués bien alimentado.
tral de Iberoamérica. Madrid: Centro de Documentación
(Suplicante) ¡Pero, decidme, os suplico, decidme! ¿cuál
Teatral.
es mi tragedia?” (Piñera, 1960, p. 57). Esa es la tragedia
Fromm, E. (1969). Ética y psicoanálisis. México: FCE.
del padre: la imposibilidad de acceder al conocimiento;
él ignora su situación, la cual es la invisibilidad a cau-
Fromm, E. (1989). El miedo a la libertad. México: Paidós.
sa de su impotencia humana, aunada al desamparo total
Hernández, L. J. (1997). Beckett. Sentido y método de dos
generado por su incapacidad de establecer una relación
obras. México: UNAM, Facultad de Filosofía y Letras.
evasiva con alguno de los miembros de su familia, la
cual le permita mitigar su incapacidad de afrontar su yo
Ibarra, J. (1994). Un análisis psicosocial del cubano: 1898-
íntegro al mundo por medio de la libertad.
1925. La Habana: Editorial de Ciencias Sociales.
Finalmente, en el paratexto “Piñera teatral”, el autor de-
Knowles, J. K. (1980). Luisa Josefina Hernández: teoría y
linea el contexto de producción de su drama:
práctica del drama. México: UNAM.
En cambio, yo escribí Electra en 1941. En dicho
Leal, R. (1988). 1902-1958: La República. En O. Harmony
año estábamos bien metidos en la frustración, nada
(Ed.), Escenarios de dos mundos. Inventario teatral de Ibe-
anunciaba la gesta revolucionaria. En ese año Fidel
roamérica (pp. 17-26). Madrid: Ministerio de Cultura de
España.
tenía quince, Batista era presidente, y la malversa-
ción, material y moral, daba su “re” sobreagudo.
Miranda Cancela, E. (1991). Electra en Piñera, Clássica.
(Piñera, 1960, p. 11).
Revista Brasileira de Estudos Clássicos, 4, 203-213. Recuperado de https://revista.classica.org.br/classica/article/
Por otra parte, algunos registros sobre la recepción de
la obra también reconocen la expresión de las preocu-
paciones sociales derivadas de la neocolonia cubana.
Pavis, P. (1984). Diccionario del teatro. México: Paidós.
Por ejemplo, Raquel Carrió, dramaturga y estudiosa del
Piñera, V. (1960). Teatro completo. La Habana: Ediciones R.
teatro cubano, asevera que esta obra es una metáfora
dramática. Explica que se distingue un intento serio por
Piñera, V. (1994). Freud y Freud. En Consejo Nacional para
examinar los problemas inherentes a los procesos colo-
la Cultura y las Artes (Ed.), Poesía y crítica (pp. 277-279).
nizadores a través del trinomio familia-casa-nación, es
México: CNCA.
decir, presenta a la familia Garrigó como una parte del
todo que exhibe nítidamente las contradicciones y las
características de Cuba en ese momento histórico, afir-
mación con la que concuerdo plenamente. Además, lo
34
Revista Comunicación. Volumen 32, año 43, número 2, julio-diciembre, 2022 (pp. 35-50) Undergraduates’ Critical Thinking
Skills Development Through the
Use of Short Animated Videos
during the COVID-19 pandemic
Por: Cecilia Cisterna-Zenteno1, Universidad de
Cecilia Cisterna-Zenteno, Yasmina
Contreras-Soto, Sergio Molina Barrera,
Concepción, Chile, ORCID: 0000-0001-9707-154X
Cristian Ceballos Muñoz, Diego Alveal
Navarrete. Undergraduates’ Critical Thinking
Yasmina Contreras-Soto2, Universidad de Concepción,
Skills Development Through the Use of
Chile, ORCID: 0000-0002-6516-0887
Short Animated Videos during the COVID-19
pandemic. Revista Comunicación. Año 43,
Sergio Molina Barrera3, Universidad de Concepción,
volumen 32, número 2, julio-diciembre, 2022.
Instituto Tecnológico de Costa Rica. ISSN:
Chile, ORCID: 0000-0003-0757-6478
0379-3974/e-ISSN1659-3820
Cristian Ceballos Muñoz4, Universidad de Concepción,
Chile, ORCID: 0000-0001-5026-7692
Diego Alveal Navarrete5, Universidad de Concepción,
Chile, ORCID: 0000-0002-9774-0616
Recibido: 27 de enero, 2022
Aceptado: 31 de agosto, 2022
1
Cecilia Cisterna-Zenteno es profesora de inglés, licenciada en Educación de la Universidad de Concepción; profesora de Educación General Básica y también Magíster en Educación de la Universidad de Concepción. Profesora Asociada en el Departamento de Idiomas Extranjeros, Facultad de Humanidades y Arte Chile. Contacto: cecisterna@udec.cl
2
Yasmina Contreras-Soto es profesora de inglés y licenciada en Educación de la Universidad de Concepción; también es Magíster en Educación por la Universidad de Concepción.
Trabaja como docente en la Facultad de Humanidades y Arte de la Universidad de Concep-
ción, Chile. Contacto: ycontreras@udec.cl
PALABRAS CLAVE:
habilidades de pensamiento crítico,
3
Sergio Molina Barrera es profesor de inglés recientemente titulado por la Universidad de habilidad productiva oral, habilidad
Concepción, Chile. Estudió Pedagogía en Inglés en la Facultad de Educación. Contacto: productiva escrita, enseñanza del inglés,
sergiopablomoina1998@gmail.com
videos cortos animados, estudiantes de
pregrado, COVID-19.
4
Cristian Ceballos Muñoz es profesor de inglés recientemente titulado por la Universidad de KEY WORDS:
Concepción, Chile. Estudió Pedagogía en Inglés en la Facultad de Educación. Contacto:
cristianceballos2017@gmail.com
critical thinking skills, speaking skill,
writing skill, English language teaching,
5
Diego Alveal Navarrete es profesor de inglés recientemente titulado por la Universidad de short animated videos, undergraduates,
Concepción, Chile. Estudió Pedagogía en Inglés en la Facultad de Educación. Contac-COVID-19.
35
Revista Comunicación. Volumen 32, año 43, número 2, julio-diciembre, 2022 (pp. 35-50) Abstract
Desarrollo de las Habilidades de Pensamiento Crítico
en Estudiantes de Pregrado Mediante el Uso de
Critical thinking skills are undoubtedly the 21st-century Videos Animados Cortos durante la pandemia de skills that people use in their daily lives. In this context,
COVID-19
this action research had as its main objective to evaluate
the contribution of the use of short animated videos to
Resumen
improve higher-order thinking skills (analyze, create and
evaluate) of first-year undergraduate students, both in
Las habilidades del pensamiento crítico son, sin duda, las
oral production tasks as well as in written tasks in English,
habilidades del siglo XXI que las personas utilizan en su
during the COVID-19 pandemic. Furthermore, it explored
vida diaria. En este contexto, la presente investigación-
students’ perceptions in relation to their improvement in
acción tuvo como objetivo principal evaluar la contribución
their own critical thinking skills. The data obtained were
del uso de videos animados cortos en la mejora de las
analyzed using descriptive statistics, specifically, measures
habilidades de pensamiento de orden superior (analizar,
of central tendency. Additionally, the non-parametric crear y evaluar) en un grupo de estudiantes universitarios Wilcoxon test was used in the measurements that were
de primer año, tanto en tareas de producción oral como en
made in the writing ability to verify if the change observed
tareas de producción escrita en inglés durante la pandemia
in the participants’ development of critical thinking skill
de COVID-19. A su vez, buscó explorar las percepciones
was statistically significant. The results obtained revealed
del grupo de aprendientes en relación con el progreso
that after the intervention, an improvement was observed
de sus propias habilidades de pensamiento crítico. Los
in the development of the undergraduates’ critical thinking
datos obtenidos fueron analizados mediante estadística
skills (analysis, evaluation, creation) in both language skills
descriptiva, específicamente, medidas de tendencia
(writing and speaking). In a more exhaustive statistical
central. Adicionalmente, se utilizó la prueba no paramétrica
analysis through the non-parametric Wilcoxon test applied
de Wilcoxon en las mediciones que se hicieron en la
to the writing tests’ measurements, an increase among
habilidad de escritura para verificar si el cambio observado
undergraduates’ critical thinking skills was observed. The
en el desarrollo del pensamiento crítico de los participantes
results of the tasks developed correlated positively with the
era estadísticamente significativo. Los resultados obtenidos
students’ perceptions, which was collected through a Likert
revelaron que, tras la intervención, se observó un progreso
scale. In conclusion, the study showed that the use of short,
en el desarrollo del pensamiento crítico de los estudiantes
animated videos effectively helped first-year undergraduate
en ambas habilidades del idioma inglés (escritura y
students improve their higher-order critical thinking skills,
producción oral) y éstos se correlacionaron positivamente
during the COVID-19 crisis.
con las percepciones de los y las aprendices medidas a
través de una escala Likert. El estudio demostró que el uso
de vídeos animados cortos efectivamente ayudó a los y
las estudiantes de primer año a mejorar sus habilidades
de pensamiento crítico de orden superior durante la crisis
sanitaria de COVID-19.
INTRODUCTION
analysis, evaluation, inference, explanation, and self-
regulation.
The most general meaning of the term critical thinking
refers to a higher process of thinking, in which the
Critical thinking skills should be taught from an early
individual analyzes the information gathered in a logical
age as they help in life to make wise decisions, be better
and reasonable way to achieve a reflective conclusion,
prepared to express thoughts and opinions, and generate
belief, or action (Bezanilla et al., 2021; Koleñáková et
novel ideas to solve problems efficiently. Critical-
al., 2020; Saulius & Malinauskas, 2021). This skill is
thinking education needs to be promoted all along
reported to be one of the most important intellectual skills
with the teaching and learning processes. In college
which contributes to students’ academic and professional
undergraduates and postgraduate students are required
success (Liu, et al., 2014). Similarly, this idea of critical
when doing research to analyze, question, and reflect on
thinking is closely tied to the higher-order thinking skills
the information they are presented with. Accordingly,
(analyze, evaluate, and create) found in the revised
Erdogan (2019), argues that there is a close connection
Bloom’s taxonomy (Conklin, 2005). Regarding the
between communication and critical thinking skills
specific areas of the skill, Facione (2011) states that the
because critical thinking allows students to assess the
core critical thinking skills correspond to interpretation,
relevance and accuracy of the information they are
36
Revista Comunicación. Volumen 32, año 43, número 2, julio-diciembre, 2022 (pp. 35-50) presented with, they also analyze and evaluate different
or limited access from home were important problems
sources of information, make rational and well-informed
students faced during the pandemic context, which had
decisions, and take determined action.
notorious effects upon their level of engagement clearly
evidenced in the lack of attendance, participation, and
In an English Teaching Program study plan from
low levels of autonomy for working on asynchronous
a Chilean higher education institution, it is clearly
assignments.
stated in the English Language I course for first-year
undergraduate students that they should be able to carry
To solve this problem, the following action research
out speaking tasks which involve discussion and a
aimed at using a series of short, animated videos to
direct exchange of information on familiar and routine
improve first-year university students’ critical thinking
matters using grammatical structures and vocabulary
skills development in both writing and speaking skills.
appropriate to a A2 level, according to the CEFR
The videos selected were used as a meaningful input to
(Council of Europe, 2001). Pratiwi (2018) claims that
make undergraduates reflect, analyze, and evaluate the
those students who have good critical thinking tend to
situations presented. This initiative was supported by the
exhibit good speaking skills in class. Rameezani et al.
funds provided by the university to carry out projects
(2016) agree with this idea and state that students’ ability
(Proyecto Inicia 2019064) focused on improving
to speak improves significantly when they increase their
students’ competences.
critical thinking skills. Additionally, in the same course
program, it is expected from students to be able to write a
LITERATURE REVIEW
text in both formal and informal register and to precisely
DEFINITION OF CRITICAL THINKING SKILLS
integrate lexical-semantic, grammatical, and phonetic-
phonological elements into spontaneous interactions.
The oldest concepts related to this term were developed
These tasks demand from students the development of
by Socrates. He thought that an individual could
higher order critical thinking skills as they are required
achieve a higher and deeper thinking process if asked
to go beyond rote memorization. They should be able
the correct questions, and thus form an opinion based
to categorize, infer, connect ideas, analyze, and evaluate
on solid evidence and extensive reasoning (Paul et al.,
situations.
1997). Questioning is at the core of critical thinking
as information needs to be examined objectively and
Although the English Language I course includes opinions must be substantiated by evidence. Critical different tasks aimed at developing communicative
thinkers are open-minded and willing to restructure
competence among first-year undergraduate students;
their own views and opinions after careful evaluation
the academic team of professors in charge of this course
of the evidence; hence, their thoughts are in continuous
have identified an important deficiency among students’
improvement due to this systematic analysis. Individuals
critical thinking skills, which is evidenced in their low
who develop these capabilities are in a better position to
level of oral and written production; namely, insufficient
make sound judgments and informed decisions. (Eales-
vocabulary, simple oral and written messages, and
Reynolds et al., 2013).
ultimately, superficial reasoning to produce opinions and
judgements, which do not meet the standards set in the
Scriven and Paul (2007, p.1 as cited in Koleñáková et
Common European Framework of References (Council
al., 2020) explained the idea of critical thinking as a
of Europe, 2001). This issue has become a major concern
procedure that incorporates several mental processes,
since critical thinking skills development is one of the
such as conceptualizing, analyzing, applying, and
most important learning outcomes to be developed
evaluating information gathered. In this task, higher
at the end of the year. This problem worsened in the
mental processes are involved, including making
context of the pandemic as teaching was undertaken
decisions, solving problems, and making a judgment.
remotely, and lessons were taught online by using
Furthermore, critical thinking has been regarded as the
platforms like Canvas and Teams. As a result, the level
opposite of spontaneously generated judgements of a
of interaction between teachers and students diminished
situation (Saulius & Malinauskas, 2021). Accordingly,
and a reduction of opportunities for learners to practice
when learners are encouraged to use background
the language was perceived. Slow internet connection
knowledge, interpret, analyze, and manipulate
37
Revista Comunicación. Volumen 32, año 43, número 2, julio-diciembre, 2022 (pp. 35-50) information in order to solve a problem, their critical
improvement of metacognition and self-responsibility
thinking increases (Amin & Adian- syah, 2018).
(Athanassiou et al., 2003; Bissell & Lemons, 2006)
and the recognition of strengths and weaknesses, as
Critical thinking skills are developed naturally through
well as evaluating their peers (Nentl & Zietlow, 2008).
life, parallel to the growth of the individual, but this
Nevertheless, the application of Bloom’s taxonomy
development can be affected by external factors has not been recommended to be applied in certain that prevent the individual from using these skills
areas that concern arts and creativity, such as English
(Gilmanshina et al., 2021). In this regard, experts have
literature (Rahman & Manaf, 2017). It should be noted
come to the conclusions that academic and nonacademic
that for the purpose of this study, Blooms’ taxonomy
experiences together determine critical thinking was used because during the Course Language I, first-
(Terenzini et al.,1995). Nonetheless, Jean Piaget claimed
year undergraduate students are progressively moving
that it would be impossible to “teach” critical thinking
towards the upper levels of the taxonomy in question.
from scratch (Halonen, 1995). Further research also
adds that critical thinking can even be enhanced through
exercise and practice, especially during school days
CRITICAL THINKING SKILLS IN WRITING
(Ketabi et al, 2013).
Regarding the connection that there exists between
Among the benefits of developing critical thinking skills,
critical thinking skills and writing, Rahmat (2020) stated
it is found that it facilitates learning and boosts creativity,
that thinking critically is embedded within the process of
contributes to problem-solving, and decision making,
academic writing, since the production of a text involves
among other competences of this modern era (Bezanilla
problem-solving, decision-making, discerning and
et al., 2021). Additionally, students would become more
selecting information, and assessing the final product.
independent through the improvement of their critical
Similarly, concerning strategies to develop critical
thinking skills and vice versa (Kopzhassarova et al.,
thinking skills in writing, Peirce (2005) suggested
2016).
that an effective way is teaching students note-taking
strategies and engaging them in informal writing tasks.
Moreover, students can improve higher-order skills
BLOOM’S TAXONOMY AND CRITICAL THINKING
with concept mapping, especially, by freely creating the
Bloom’s taxonomy consists of six hierarchical categories
map themselves using the concepts of their knowledge
of cognitive processes in which students are classified
(Tseng, 2019).
according to their observable behavior (Athanassiou
Furthermore, non-traditional writing tasks also have
et al, 2003). The taxonomy was revised in 2001 and
shown to be greatly valuable to be used and to improve
categories were reorganized as follows: remembering,
not only the students’ set of critical thinking skills but
understanding, applying, analyzing, evaluating, and also to improve their writing skills (Sinaga & Feranie, creating (Anderson & Krathwohl, 2001). In the case
2017). Non-traditional writing refers to the idea of using
of the three latter, they are regarded as the “high-order
a variety of audiences for the student to create a text,
thinking skills”, and they are closely tied to the concept
which makes the individual think and consider how
of critical thinking (Conklin, 2005). Furthermore, this
to explain the text differently, in contrast to traditional
revision labels knowledge in 4 dimensions: factual,
writing, which is the student-teacher type of writing
conceptual, procedural, and metacognitive (Adams, (Kingir, 2013). Additionally, in the research conducted 2015). For example, in the metacognitive knowledge
by Çavdar and Doe (2012) attention was drawn to the
dimension, the learning objectives correspond to the
concept of scaffolding through the usage of “feedback
higher-order thinking skills analyzing, evaluating, and
loops” between students and teachers throughout the
creating.
process of writing. Finally, Watanabe-Crockett (2016) in
In several research projects, both Bloom’s taxonomy and
his workbook called “The Critical Thinking Workbook”
critical thinking have been implemented successfully
suggests a series of interesting activities which can be
together in varied educational settings, emphasizing
implemented in the EFL classroom. Some of these
the different benefits they bring to learners such as the
activities are the following: Fact or Opinion, What
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Revista Comunicación. Volumen 32, año 43, número 2, julio-diciembre, 2022 (pp. 35-50) Would happen? You Know the Rules, You Name it, and
or attitudes expressed by the characters. Students are
The Worst-Case Scenario.
invited to evaluate the decisions or arguments made and
establish relationships between behaviors and outcomes.
CRITICAL THINKING SKILLS IN SPEAKING
Activities that appeal to emotions tend to trigger
reasoning, lead to more discussion, and encourage
The development of critical thinking skills has a positive
students to rethink and revise their own arguments on
impact on EFL speaking skills or vice versa. In this
the issues presented.
regard, in a study conducted by Rahmawati (2018),
conversational skills positively correlated with high
In a study carried out by Guhde (2010), it was observed
levels of critical thinking. Accordingly, it has been
that participants reflected on their own learning
demonstrated that the explicit instruction of such skills
process and as a result increased their awareness about
has a positive impact on EFL learners’ oral performance
assessment. Furthermore, it was found that instruction
(Malmir & Shoorcheh, 2012) and speaking proficiency
based on videos had a significant positive impact on
(Sanavi & Tarighat, 2014). Furthermore, these higher-
critical thinking skills (Budiarti et al., 2020). In addition,
order thinking skills help learners to raise awareness of
Ritonga et al., (2020) concluded that the use of problem-
academic debate by bringing information to discuss and
based videos is effective in improving critical thinking
question in the classroom (Muhammadiyeva et al., 2020).
skills compared to using non-animated videos. More
An approach to teaching this ability of critical thinking
specifically, the well-known video platform “YouTube”
is one based on Socratic questioning, which involves the
has been demonstrated to be a stimulating teaching tool
usage of a series of questions of increasing complexity to
that improves students’ engagement, participation, and
explore ideas regarding a specific subject. In this sense,
critical thinking skills (June et al., 2014; June et al.,
it has been proved that Socratic questioning did not only
2014).
improve the student’s speaking skills, but also improved
their critical thinking (Manurung & Siregar, 2018).
Atayeva et al. (2019), in their research, used short videos
to develop Indonesian Junior high school students’
Another useful technique to promote this competency
critical thinking skills. The results of the study revealed
in speaking is Digital Storytelling, which is one of the
that students’ critical thinking skills had not improved
Web 2.0 tools that promotes creativity in writing. When
significantly, nonetheless, they had an excellent
this method is used, different aspects of the writing
performance regarding their collaborative skills. Some
skills are developed simultaneously, as the task involves
other strategies teachers can use to monitor how students
arranging the main ideas and exploring new ways of
develop their critical thinking skills are the following:
thinking differently; moreover, learners have fun in
providing students with rich feedback, deep questioning,
the process (Saputro, 2013). Similarly, Syafryadin and formative assessment where students can clearly see (2019) discovered that the implementation of Digital
expected learning outcomes (Gunawardena & Wilson,
Storytelling significantly enhances students’ speaking
2021).
ability, as well as assists them to become more critical,
creative, and confident as a digital generation. Moreover,
CRITICAL THINKING SKILLS IN THE CHILEAN EFL
Watanabe-Crockett (2016) in The Critical Thinking
CLASSROOM: NATIONAL GUIDELINES
Workbook suggests four speaking activities to develop
their cognitive and communicative skills: Debate, Facts
In 2014, the Ministry of Education in Chile (MINEDUC)
or Opinions, Coffee House Chat, Alien Travel Guide,
commissioned the elaboration of specific standards
and Case Study.
for all graduates of English teaching programs in the
country. The main purpose of these standards was to
provide guidelines for higher education institutions
CRITICAL THINKING SKILLS USING VIDEOS
regarding essential skills and knowledge graduates
The use of audiovisual material to enhance critical
were expected to achieve at the end of the program to
thinking skills has been a widely used strategy. Hakes
deliver an effective lesson in the Chilean classroom.
(2008) offers some suggestions on how to use scenes from
These standards are divided into two main areas, namely
movies to make students analyze different conversations
disciplinary standards, and pedagogical standards. The
39
Revista Comunicación. Volumen 32, año 43, número 2, julio-diciembre, 2022 (pp. 35-50) latter subdivided into two: pedagogical standards for
RESEARCH DESIGN
elementary education and pedagogical standards for
secondary education (MINEDUC, 2014). Furthermore,
TYPE OF STUDY
some of the standards are directly connected with
The following study corresponds to an action research
teaching and developing students ‘critical thinking study. Ferrance (2000) defines action research as a type skills. So, teachers should design and plan activities that
of research carried out in the context of the teachers’
promote students’ critical and creative thinking as well
environment where they examine their own educational
as analyze the national educational policies, their issues,
practices carefully and systematically utilizing the
and advances in the English teaching-learning field
techniques of research to gather data and improve areas.
(MINEDUC, 2014). Therefore, graduates inherently
Altrichter et al. (2007) add that this research is a cyclical
require the development and practice of critical thinking
process in which researchers collect data, interpret the
skills during their learning process in higher education.
information, arrive at ideas for action, then take actions,
and the cycle continues.
CRITICAL THINKING SKILLS IN THE CHILEAN
EDUCATIONAL CONTEXT
GENERAL OBJECTIVE
In the Chilean educational system, the curriculum
To assess the effectiveness of short, animated videos
has been criticized since it does not emphasize the
to improve first-year undergraduate students’ critical
importance of critical thinking skills. This can be
thinking skills in speaking and writing skills.
evidenced in Porter’s (2018) comment when he states
that the dominant pedagogical approach of the Chilean
SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES
educational system is a “banking type” of education,
1.To compare first-year undergraduates’ critical thinking
in which students are depositories of information, who
skills development in the categories of analysis,
are detached from their reality and solely oriented to the
evaluation and creation in the writing and speaking
preparation of standardized tests. Consequently, after
skills at the end of the intervention.
attending school for many years, students would leave
school without scarce critical thinking skills, creativity,
2. To explore first-year undergraduates’perceptions
transformation, or knowledge and turn into passive
regarding their critical thinking skills development
citizens who lack critical consciousness (Freire, 2004).
in writing and speaking skills in the categories of
analysis, evaluation, and creation.
The Chilean scenario of higher education seems not to
be different. Betancourth-Zambrano et al. (2017) carried
PARTICIPANTS
out a study that sought to evaluate problem-solving skills
among 141 undergraduate law students in a Chilean
The action research was conducted in a Chilean higher
university. The results demonstrated that, in general, the
education institution. Among the degrees this university
participants presented a low level of critical thinking
offers are the English language Teaching degree.
development. Moreover, in a study carried out by Ossa-
The sample chosen for this research corresponds to
Cornejo et al. (2018), among 141 students from 4 different
a convenience sample. This sampling method uses
teaching programs at Universidad del Bio-Bío revealed
examinees who are “convenient” to the researchers and
that the level of critical thinking in scientific reasoning
there is not a pattern to recruit them (Kempf-Leonard
presented by the students was moderately developed.
(2004). The participants were a group of first-year
According to Gunawardena and Wilson (2021), the
undergraduate students in an age range of 18 to 22
reason behind the low levels of critical thinking was the
years old. They were enrolled in the English Language
students’ lack of motivation, unclear goals, and their poor
I Course. They were all expected to achieve a pre-
preparation for university, particularly regarding critical
intermediate level of English (A2) at the end of the course
reading and general knowledge about their subject areas.
(Council of Europe, 2001). The researchers were the two
professors in charge of conducting the intervention in the
Language I Course during the first academic term. The
original sample was made up of 22 students; however,
40
Revista Comunicación. Volumen 32, año 43, número 2, julio-diciembre, 2022 (pp. 35-50) due to the pandemic context and the connectivity issues
a) SPEAKING TASKS: four speaking tasks were
that emerged, not all students were able to successfully
planned during the whole intervention and two of
complete the writing and speaking tasks assigned. In the
them were assessed with an analytic rubric to check
writing tasks, 16 students finished the two tasks which
students’ improvement in their higher-order critical
were assessed, and in the speaking tasks, 8 students
thinking skills: analysis, evaluation, and creation.
completed both oral assignments. All classes were
The first speaking task assessed was based on the
undertaken remotely on Canvas and TEAMS platforms
video “An experiment of gratitude” (https://youtu.be/
where they uploaded their assignments and joined the
Y3cpV_dnN_I). Students discussed orally the main
live sessions.
theme of the video, analyzed the character’s change
of attitude, and evaluated it by giving reasons for
ACTION RESEARCH INTERVENTION PLAN
this change. As a final product, they had to prepare
The intervention plan developed in this study comprised
a 3-minute talk on gratitude in which they had to
nine 90-minute online sessions in all and the sessions
devise at least two ways in which they could express
took place once a week on the LMS Canvas and the
gratitude. The second speaking task was based on the
communication platform Teams provided by the
short video “Boundin” (https://www.youtube.com/
university. It was developed in the Language I Course
watch?v=7WyR4AqRweY). Students discussed, of the study plan, and it was conducted during the first
analyzed, and evaluated the moral from the video.
semester of 2021, during the COVID-19 crisis. From
Each student was required to create a video on
these nine sessions, four of them were planned to
Flipgrid, where they extrapolated the moral to their
develop critical thinking skills in speaking. In the same
own lives and to our own society.
way, the remaining five sessions aimed at developing
b) WRITING TASKS: five writing tasks were planned
critical thinking skills in writing. All sessions were under
in the intervention and two of them were assessed to
the responsibility of the two professors who shared the
analyze students’ improvement in their higher-order
same English language I course.
critical thinking skills. The first written activity assessed
The writing activities required students to watch a short,
was based on the video “The Other Pair” (https://
animated video, analyze the situations presented, evaluate
www.youtube.com/watch?v=XYWnSWvpj_c&ab_
the characters’ behaviors, check the new vocabulary, and
channel=Let%27sPrepare). Students watched the end up with a writing assignment (a personal reflection,
video and analyzed the topic. They had to choose one
a piece of advice, a description, etc.). In the case of the
of the characters from the video, speculate about his
speaking tasks, students were presented with a short,
personality, background, family, etc. and they had to
animated video, they had to discuss the content, analyze
write a description in the first part of the activity and in
the different situations, and create a motto, prepare a
the second part, they had to simulate they were reporters
3-minute talk, or create a Flipgrid activity, among others.
and create questions to be asked to the character chosen.
Besides, some ICT tools such as Nearpod, Flipgrid,
For the second written assessment activity, students
Genially and Jamboard were incorporated in some of
watched the video “My School Memories” https://
the sessions to engage students in their learning and
www.youtube.com/watch?v=5cVpxzy72uU&ab_
allow them to take part in collaborative work. From all
channel=SimplySoumojit) and they analyzed the
the activities developed by students in both writing and
situations related to school lives, evaluated the
speaking, only two formative tasks from each language
experiences, wrote a personal reflection based on
skill were assessed according to the higher-order critical
specific aspects, and finished it with a famous quote.
thinking skills selected: analyze, evaluate, and create.
c) ANALYTIC RUBRICS: To assess students’ critical
thinking skills development in the speaking and writing
DATA COLLECTION TECHNIQUES
tasks, two analytic rubrics were created. Both rubrics
were designed taking into consideration Bloom’s
The data gathered from the intervention were analyzed
taxonomy’s high order thinking skills: analysis,
using the following instruments:
evaluation, and creation. The rubric descriptors
provided specific information about what students
41
Revista Comunicación. Volumen 32, año 43, número 2, julio-diciembre, 2022 (pp. 35-50) were expected to meet on each level of performance,
Figure 1: Critical Thinking Skill
ranging from the minimum score corresponding to the
Results in Writing: Analysis.
emerging descriptor (1 point) to the maximum score,
which corresponded to mastering descriptor (5 points).
d) A LIKERT SCALE survey: this online survey
(https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSf3
LCEMoZcMMmrAfEctKRd0oRh5f6SdGEWS_
Source: own elaboration
C2Km2XlRQkqLw/viewform) was used to assess students’ perceptions about their critical thinking
skills’ improvement in both writing and speaking
WILCOXON SIGNED-RANK TEST ANALYSIS
skills. It consisted of twelve statements and the
possible answers for each statement ranged from
The non-parametric Wilcoxon test was used to
Strongly Disagree (1) to Strongly Agree (5).
corroborate if the observed improvement in this
category (Analysis) was statistically significant. The
results indicated that the p-value=0.047 was lower than
DATA ANALYSIS TECHNIQUES
alpha value (α=0,05), thus, the increase was statistically
The data gathered was analyzed by using a free significant.
software for statistical computing and graphics called
Figure 2: Wilcoxon Signed Test in
R (version 3.6.3). The data techniques used to analyze
the Writing Skill: Analysis
the information were was descriptive statistics, more
specifically, measures of central tendency, particularly,
mean, and median values and the data is displayed in
graphs and charts. Furthermore, the non-parametric
Wilcoxson test was also applied in the writing skill
analysis to seek whether the data collected was
statistically significant or not.
Source: own elaboration.
RESULTS
The results analysis is divided into three main aspects:
students’ critical thinking skill development in writing,
CRITICAL THINKING SKILL ASSESSED IN
in speaking and students’ perceptions about the
WRITING: EVALUATE
intervention. Furthermore, writing and speaking skills
Figure 3 shows the measures of central tendency in the
results were subdivided into four main categories which
writing skill in the category Evaluate. According to the
corresponded to the three higher-order critical thinking
data presented in the following table, an increase was
skills assessed: analyze, evaluate, and create. Besides, a
observed in both the mean and the median results in the
global analysis for each productive skill is provided.
second writing task, as well as in both the maximum and the
minimum scores of the results in the second writing task.
RESULTS ANALYSIS IN WRITING SKILL
Figure 3: Critical Thinking Skill
CRITICAL THINKING SKILL ASSESSED IN
Results in Writing: Evaluate
WRITING: ANALYSIS
Figure 1 shows the measures of central tendency in the
writing skill in the category Analysis. It can be observed
that there was no change in the median, but there was
an increase in the mean values between the first and the
second writing task. Similarly, there was an increase in
Source: own elaboration
the maximum of the results of the second writing task.
42
Revista Comunicación. Volumen 32, año 43, número 2, julio-diciembre, 2022 (pp. 35-50) WILCOXON SIGNED-RANK TEST ANALYSIS IN THE
Figure 6: Wilcoxon Signed Test in
WRITING SKILL: EVALUATE
the Writing Skill: Create
The Wilcoxon test showed that the improvement in the
category Evaluate was statistically significant, as the
p-value= 0.027 was lower than the alpha value (α =
0.05).
Figure 4: Wilcoxon Signed Test in
the Writing Skill: Evaluate
Source: own elaboration
GLOBAL ANALYSIS OF THE THREE CRITICAL
THINKING SKILLS ASSESSED IN WRITING
According to the data presented in Figure 7, an increase
Source: own elaboration
can be observed in the mean values in the three
categories assessed (Analysis, Evaluate and Create) in
writing. Concurrently, the median remained the same in
CRITICAL THINKING SKILL ASSESSED IN
the second writing task in the category of Analysis and
WRITING: CREATE
Create.
Figure 5 shows the measures of central tendency and a
Figure 7: Global analysis of Means and Median Scores
slight increase can be observed in the mean scores, while
in the Three Critical Thinking Skills Assessed in Writing
the median remained the same. Although the maximum
score increased, there was a new minimum score in the
second writing task as well.
Figure 5: Critical Thinking Skill
Results in Writing: Create
Source: own elaboration.
Source: own elaboration.
WILCOXON SIGNED TEST IN THE WRITING SKILL:
CREATE
WILCOXON SIGNED-RANK TEST GLOBAL
ANALYSIS
In contrast to the previous categories Analysis and
Evaluate, the Wilcoxon test indicated in this category a
In this case, the Wilcoxon test showed a p=0.0415, being
p=0.48, being a value higher than alpha value (α=0,05).
a value lower than the alpha value (α=0.05), which
As a result, the increase observed in the writing task 2
indicates that the increase observed in writing task 2
was not statistically significant.
compared to writing task 1 was statistically significant.
43
Revista Comunicación. Volumen 32, año 43, número 2, julio-diciembre, 2022 (pp. 35-50) Figure 8: Wilcoxon Signed-Rank Test - Writing Skills
maximum and the minimum scores of the results of the
second speaking task remained the same.
Figure 10: Critical Thinking Skill
Results in Speaking: Evaluate
Source: own elaboration
Source: own elaboration
SPEAKING SKILL RESULTS ANALYSIS
Since the number of students who submitted
CRITICAL THINKING SKILL ASSESSED: CREATE
both speaking tasks assessed was small, the tests’
Figure 11 shows the measures of central tendency in the
measurements collected were insufficient to be analyzed
speaking skill for the category Create. It can be observed
with the non-parametric Wilcoxon test. Therefore,
that there was a remarkable increase in the median. In
the results obtained were not statistically significant.
addition, it is observed that there is an important increase
Nonetheless, it was possible to see an increase in the
in the mean results in the second Speaking Task in
measures of central tendency, specifically in the mean
relation to the first speaking task. The maximum of the
values.
results of the second speaking task did not change.
CRITICAL THINKING SKILL ASSESSED IN
Figure 11: Critical Thinking Skill
SPEAKING: ANALYSIS
Results in Speaking: Create
Figure 9 shows that there was no change in the median.
In addition, there is a slight increase in the mean values
in the second speaking task. The maximum score of
the second speaking task remained the same, and the
minimum scores improved.
Source: own elaboration
Figure 9: Critical Thinking Skill
Results in Speaking: Analysis
GLOBAL ANALYSIS OF THE THREE CRITICAL
THINKING SKILLS ASSESSED IN SPEAKING
According to the data presented in Figure 12, it can be
noticed that there was an observable increase in all the
mean values of the three categories (Analysis, Evaluate
Source: own elaboration
and Create) in the second speaking task with regard to
the first speaking task.
CRITICAL THINKING SKILL ASSESSED IN
SPEAKING: EVALUATE
Figure 10 shows the measures of central tendency in
the speaking skill for the category Evaluate. It can be
observed that there was no change in the median. In
addition, it is observed that there was a slight increase
in the mean results in the second speaking task. The
44
Revista Comunicación. Volumen 32, año 43, número 2, julio-diciembre, 2022 (pp. 35-50) Figure 12: Global Analysis of Means
based activities”, it is interesting to observe that a
and Median Scores in the Three Critical
significant percentage of students chose the option
Thinking Skills Assessed in Speaking
“undecided” (38%).
Regarding the Likert scale statements that focused
on speaking, the highest concentration of responses
expressing agreement in this regard was found in
statements 10: “I was able to analyze more critically
the situations presented in the videos and develop more
elaborate ideas in my speaking tasks.” (94%), statement
8: “The speaking activities based on the videos used in
class contributed to improve my pronunciation in my
speaking skill.” (88%), and statement 9: “The speaking
activities based on the videos used in class helped me to
Source: own elaboration
improve my speaking fluency” (81%).
LIKERT SCALE RESULTS ANALYSIS
On the other hand, the highest number of responses
indicating disagreement with the statement was found
The students’ perceptions about the intervention itself
in statement 11: “The videos used in class helped me to
regarding critical thinking skills in writing and speaking
make connections with real-life situations” (19%), and
were measured through a Likert scale survey applied at
statement 12: “I improved my creativity in my speaking
the end of the process, whose results were divided into
tasks after watching the videos.” (12%). In addition,
two subdivisions: speaking and writing. The data was
the same statement had the highest percentage of
collected through Google Forms and analyzed by using
“Undecided” responses (31%).
the R software (version 3.6.3) using the R Likert pack.
The Likert scale ranged from 1 = Strongly Disagree to
Figure 13: Critical Thinking Skills Assessed in
5 = Strongly Agree. From the data, a divergent bar chart
Writing and Speaking: Students’ Perceptions
was created.
STUDENTS’ PERCEPTIONS ABOUT CRITICAL
THINKING SKILL IN WRITING AND SPEAKING
In relation to the Likert scale statements focusing
on writing, the highest concentration of responses
that expressed agreement in this regard was found in
statement 6 : “My level of comprehension increased after
discussing the content of videos and I was able to present
more elaborate writing tasks” (94% ) and statement
4: “I was able to compare and evaluate the situations
presented
On the other hand, the number of responses that
indicated disagreement were found in statement 1:
Source: own elaboration.
“Short videos used in class helped me to improve my
level of vocabulary in my writing skill” (12%), and
statement 2: “My creativity in my writing tasks improved
The students’ perceptions described a positive view
after watching the videos.” (12%).
about the intervention and their improvement on the
participants’ critical thinking skills in both speaking and
Regarding statement 5: “I noticed that my grammar
writing. According to the results obtained, it is possible
structures in my writing tasks improved with the video-
to identify a degree of association between the results
45
Revista Comunicación. Volumen 32, año 43, número 2, julio-diciembre, 2022 (pp. 35-50) of both measurements in the tests and the students’
cause a behaviour to occur, in a well-developed, logical
perceptions, expressed in the answers to the statements
way, providing supporting ideas.
in the Likert scale.
In relation to students’ perceptions about the
improvement observed in their critical thinking skills
DISCUSSION
in their writing skills after the intervention, most of the
In this study an intervention to promote the development
participants considered that this had mainly positive
of critical thinking skills using short, animated videos
effects, as observed in the results derived from the
in first-year undergraduate students was implemented.
Likert scale. There were two statements that positively
The data gathered indicated that the use of this resource
correlated with the results observed in the writing
can help learners develop higher-order thinking skills
tasks measurements for the categories Analysis and
if activities are systematically implemented in class.
Evaluate, since a high concentration of responses (94%)
As a result, their writing and oral performance can be
expressed agreement in statements 6 and 4 ( “My level of
strengthened as they are motivated by these short films.
comprehension increased after discussing the content of
As stated by Kieran Donaghy (2013), short, animated
videos and I was able to present more elaborate writing
videos are fantastic prompts for oral and written tasks” and “I was able to compare and evaluate the communication. Regarding the writing skill, the results
situations presented on the videos to better organize
achieved in the three higher-order critical thinking
my writing tasks” ). Similarly, it can be argued that the
skills, the category Evaluate exhibited the greatest
results for the Create category, which had no statistical
improvement. Students were able to consciously assess
significance, were coherent with students’ perceptions
certain behaviors and situations presented in the short
regarding statement 2 ( “My creativity in my writing tasks
animated videos and make judgments based on careful
improved after watching the videos.” values as 31,25%
considerations of the different elements being observed
of the responses were in the “undecided” and “disagree”
rather than just giving opinions (Bloom et al., 1956).
area. Another aspect that stands out from students’
However, the increase in the mean values in the Create
perceptions is the significant percentage (37,5%) of
category was not regarded as statistically significant.
“undecided” responses in statement 5 ( “I noticed that
This was reflected in the assessment of the final writing
my grammar structures in my writing tasks improved
assignment submitted where it was expected learners
with the video-based activities” ). This may indicate that
could produce more elaborate, well-developed and a group of learners were not aware of the intentional use strongly supported ideas. Besides, students’ ability to
of applying certain structures of increasing complexity in
use elements from the animated videos to reorganize,
their writing tasks. These findings about some students
plan or hypothesize (Anderson & Krathwohl, 2001) was
not knowing whether their grammar improved or not
narrowly reflected in the language they used.
after the intervention are not surprising as learners may
be acquiring the language subconsciously (Krashen,
Concerning the speaking skill, the results obtained
1981); hence, their “undecided” responses. This implies
were not statistically significant, as fewer participants
that it is necessary to raise students’ awareness about the
completed the tasks planned. However, it is relevant to
importance of using complex grammatical structures
mention that all mean values showed an increment (from
that will help them express well-grounded opinions and
12,5 points in Task 1 to 14,38 points in Task 2) in the
supporting arguments.
higher-order critical thinking skills assessed, which were
higher than the writing tasks’ mean values. Additionally,
Regarding students’ perceptions about their critical
unlike the writing task results, the Create category in
thinking skills in speaking, the highest concentration of
speaking showed the greatest increase, from 3,4 points in
responses expressing agreement was found in statement
Task 1 to 4,9 points in Task 2. Students were successful
10 and 8, 94% and 88% respectively ( “I was able to
at “putting elements together to form a coherent or
analyze more critically the situations presented in the
functional whole” (Anderson & Krathwohl, 2001) videos and develop more elaborate ideas in my speaking as they devised ways in which they could effectively
tasks” and “The speaking activities based on the videos transmit a message to raise awareness on a given topic or
used in class contributed to improve my pronunciation
in my speaking skill” ). Students become aware that
46
Revista Comunicación. Volumen 32, año 43, número 2, julio-diciembre, 2022 (pp. 35-50) their analysis was more robust and reasoned at the end
Gunawardena & Wilson (2021) found that one of the
of the intervention, which, consequently, boosted their
most common teaching strategies utilized by teachers to
ability to generate more interesting, organized ideas.
develop their students’ critical thinking skills in speaking
They also saw a connection between these activities
corresponded to the use of interactive strategies through
and their perceived improvement in pronunciation. It
the use of stimulus-response videos. That is, students
can be concluded that instructors need to offer more
watched videos on a specific topic, and then they reacted
opportunities in the EFL classroom for learners to
to the content of the recordings.
develop critical reasoning as this can positively influence
other subskills, such as pronunciation. This intervention
CONCLUSIONS
allowed for systematicity in the way the tasks were
carried out and all students were encouraged to work on
The relevance of developing critical thinking skills lies
the speaking tasks. These systematic formative instances
in the fact that they are used in everyday life to make
(Darcy, 2018) to produce oral messages had a quite
decisions, argue, analyze, evaluate, express ideas, share
positive impact on students’ perceptions of their oral
opinions, solve problems, among others. As these higher-
skills improvement.
order thinking skills require a deeper level of cognitive
processing, it is essential to plan and implement different
Another interesting finding in the speaking skill was
types of activities to develop these competencies. In the
students’ perception about their creativity improvement
case of higher-education students, they are expected to
(statement 12), with 31,25% of undecided responses and
think critically by providing well-supported reasons and
12,5% expressing disagreement, which was not reflected
grounded opinions, especially at the time of achieving
in the tests’ measurements where the category Create
competence in a foreign language.
had the highest increment. Students may have thought
of creativity in a more artistic way, instead of their ability
The set of elements included in the intervention seemed
to integrate or reorganize some elements to devise a new
to be effective in promoting higher-order thinking
product (Anderson & Krathwohl, 2001), such as a motto
skills: (1) short animated videos as the main input; (2)
design.
communicative activities based on the short videos,
such as group discussions and collaborative tasks
With regard to previous studies about the use of short
among others; and (3) the incorporation of interactive
videos to develop students’ critical thinking skills,
ICT tools to engage students and foster active learning
Atayeva et al. (2019) concluded in their study that
in virtual classes (Crisol-Moya et al., 2020). This is an
Indonesian Junior high school students’ critical thinking
indicator that activities and methodologies make use of
skills did not improve significantly after watching the
the different teaching and digital resources available to
videos in an attempt to improve their critical thinking
allow students to play an active role and engage them in
skills. The methodology used in the said study, although
their learning process.
similar to the present study, relied on the use of a
different rubric based on the works of Fascione (2011),
To summarize, the participants showed an improvement
which yielded negative results on students’ critical
in the level of higher-order thinking skills, especially in
thinking skills. On the contrary, the results previously
the categories of analysis and evaluation. Learners need
discussed in this action research study demonstrated
to be offered tools and resources to develop thinking
that first-year university students’ critical thinking
skills; they need to be exposed to engaging learning
skills did improve in writing and speaking skills after
situations to foster speaking and writing with significant
the intervention. Moreover, these improvements were
meaning. More opportunities should be provided to
effectively perceived and highlighted by participants.
produce deeper, more developed, supporting ideas. This
Muhammadiyeva et al. (2020) also indicate that one of
intervention, based on the use of short, animated videos
the techniques which helped students to develop their
to increase critical thinking offered learners, in the
critical thinking in speaking English corresponded context of the pandemic, a digital space and engaging to the use of short, animated videos. The use of video
opportunities to produce more elaborate thoughts and
recordings can serve as authentic real-world content to
ideas in English.
immerse students in their learning process. Similarly,
47
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50
Revista Comunicación. Volumen 32, año 43, número 2, julio-diciembre, 2022 (pp. 51-60) The Benefits of Pedagogical
Translation on Learning the
personal a in Spanish
Por: Vicente Iranzo1, Telitha E. Lindquist College of Arts and
Vicente Iranzo. The Benefits of Pedagogical
Translation on Learning the personal a in
Humanities, Weber State University, ORCID: 0000-0003-0948-047X
Spanish. Revista Comunicación. Año 43,
Recibido: 9 de noviembre, 2021
volumen 32, número 2, julio-diciembre, 2022.
Instituto Tecnológico de Costa Rica. ISSN:
Aceptado: 26 de agosto, 2022
0379-3974/e-ISSN1659-3820
Abstract
Over the last few years, educators have been witnessing how pedagogical translation is being reincorporated into the language classroom (Carreres et al., 2018; Pintado Gutiérrez, 2020). The present study examines the effects of pedagogical translation on learning the personal a in Spanish, also known as Differential Object Marker (DOM), a grammatical property that posits a challenge for English-speaking learners of Spanish (Bowles & Montrul, 2009), even among speakers who have resided in a Spanish-speaking community for an extended period of time. To this end, 10 anglophone advanced learners of Spanish, enrolled at a public university in Utah, completed a pretest, an immediate posttest, and a delayed posttest that examined their knowledge of the personal a in Spanish. Quantitative analyses revealed that the advanced second language learners clearly benefited from the use of pedagogical translation (English>Spanish) in the classroom. Our findings are in line with those of Gasca Jiménez (2017) and Barbasán Ortuño et al. (2018) and contribute to the existing literature on pedagogical translation that highlights the benefits of translation in language learning and unreservedly advocates for the use of translation in the language classroom.
PALABRAS CLAVE:
aprendizaje del idioma, traducción,
morfología, sintaxis, aprendizaje de una
segunda lengua.
1
Vicente Iranzo es profesor de traducción y español en el departamento de lenguas extranjeras KEY WORDS:
de la Universidad Estatal de Weber en Utah (Estados Unidos). Es licenciado en traducción language learning; language instruction;
e interpretación por la Universidad de Valencia (España) e ingeniero civil por la Universidad translation; morphology; syntax; second
Politécnica de Valencia (España). Además, es doctor en lingüística española por la Universidad Texas Tech (Estados Unidos). Entre sus intereses de investigación y docencia figuran la language instruction.
traducción pedagógica, las ideologías lingüísticas, la adquisición de segundas lenguas y la morfosintaxis de la lengua valenciana. Contacto: vicenteiranzo@weber.edu
51
Revista Comunicación. Volumen 32, año 43, número 2, julio-diciembre, 2022 (pp. 51-60) Los beneficios de la traducción pedagógica en el aprendizaje de la «a personal» en español Resumen
En los últimos años, los docentes han sido testigos de la reincorporación de la traducción pedagógica en el aula de idiomas (Carreres et al., 2018; Pintado Gutiérrez, 2020). El presente estudio examina los efectos de la traducción pedagógica en el aprendizaje de la «a personal» en español, también conocida como marcador de objeto directo diferencial (DOM, por sus siglas en inglés), una propiedad gramatical que supone un reto para los aprendices anglófonos de español (Bowles y Montrul, 2009), incluso entre aquellos que han residido en una comunidad hispanohablante durante un largo periodo. Con este objetivo, 10 estudiantes anglófonos de español de nivel avanzado, matriculados en una universidad pública de Utah, completaron un pretest, un postest inmediato y un postest diferido que examinaba su conocimiento de la «a personal» en español. El análisis cuantitativo mostró que los estudiantes avanzados se beneficiaron notablemente del uso de la traducción pedagógica (inglés>español) en el aula. Los resultados coinciden con los de Gasca Jiménez (2017) y Barbasán Ortuño et al. (2018) y contribuyen a la literatura existente sobre traducción pedagógica que destaca los beneficios de la traducción en el aprendizaje de idiomas y aboga, sin reservas, por el uso de la traducción en el aula de idiomas.
INTRODUCTION
Spanish is a linguistic property that is particularly dif-
ficult to learn for English-speaking learners of Spanish,
Translation as an activity for learning a second language
as shown by previous studies (Montrul, 2004; Montrul
(L2) dates back centuries (Carreres & Noriega-Sanchez,
& Sanchez Walker, 2013).
2021; García Benito, 2019; Källkvist, 2004; Lerma
Sanchís, 2020). Nevertheless, translation disappeared
1.
Veo a los estudiantes en la universidad.
(at least theoretically) from language classrooms ow-
I see DOM the students at the university.
ing to its connection to the grammar-translation method
“I see the students at the university.”
(Carreres et al. 2018; Gasca Jiménez, 2017), a method in
which the target language is exclusively taught through
This paper is structured as follows. Section 2 exam-
explicit instruction and in the students’ native language
ines previous research on pedagogical translation and
(L1). Later, the direct method gained popularity. This
describes the linguistic property under study. Section
method emphasized the use of oral communication and
3 presents the research questions and the methodology
had no place for students’ L1 (Benati, 2020); further, the
employed. Section 4 reports the results of the tasks and
use of translation was frequently stigmatized or even
their statistical analysis performed in this study. Finally,
forbidden.
Section 5 discusses the results and concludes the study
as well as presents its limitations and scope for future
However, in recent years, language educators have wit-
studies.
nessed a revived interest in translation not only at the
professional level but also in the classroom (Carreres
LITERATURE REVIEW
& Noriega Sánchez, 2021; García Benito, 2019; Pin-
THE DIFFERENTIAL OBJECT
tado Gutiérrez, 2020). The connection between peda-
MARKER IN SPANISH
gogical translation and the grammar-translation method
seems to have been severed. Nevertheless, only few
The DOM (Bossong, 1991) is a linguistic property
studies have investigated the use of translation in the
instantiated in a diverse group of languages such as
classroom (Cook, 2010) and, in particular, to improve
Spanish, Hindi, and Romanian (Bossong, 1985). The
students’ morphosyntactic accuracy in the target lan-
DOM refers to the overt case marking of a direct object.
guage (Gasca Jiménez, 2017). To bridge this research
Whether a direct object is marked depends on several
gap, this study investigates the effects of pedagogical
factors; for example, Aissen (2003) proposed two scales
translation on learning the personal a (see sentence 1)
to explain DOM usage based on the lexical semantic
in Spanish, where the preposition “a” is required when
properties of animacy and definiteness:
the direct object is animate and specific. This personal
A. Animacy hierarchy: Human > Animate > Inani-
a, also known as differential object marker (DOM), in
mate.
52
Revista Comunicación. Volumen 32, año 43, número 2, julio-diciembre, 2022 (pp. 51-60) B. Definiteness hierarchy: Personal pronoun > Proper
Leonardi, 2010; Gasca Jiménez, 2017). Specifically,
noun > Definite NP > Indefinite NP > Non-Specific
the use of translation by students in the classroom is “a
NP
means to help acquire, develop, and further strengthen
their knowledge and competence in a foreign language”
The scales proposed by Aissen (2003) are applicable
(Leonardi, 2010, p. 17).
to Spanish (Hur, 2020), as a direct object that is both
animate and specific is marked with the preposition “a”
Despite doubts about its effectiveness, translation has
(Example 2a). However, the direct object is not marked
made its way back into the language classroom: this
when the direct object is neither animate nor specific
fact is difficult to ignore (Carreres & Noriega-Sánchez,
(nor both) (Examples 2b, 2c, and 2d, respectively). The
2021). In the past, the strong association between trans-
personal a is marked in bold in Example 2a.
lation and the grammar-translation method—involving
teaching strategies that lack interpersonal communica-
2a.
Manuela visitó a la mujer.
tion as well as speaking and listening practice—caused
Manuela visited DOM the woman.
pedagogues to hesitate to include any form of transla-
“Manuela visited the woman.”
tion in their curricula. However, several scholars have
La mujer: [+ animate + specific]
pointed out that this association between translation and
the grammar-translation method has weakened in re-
2b.
Manuela visitó la galería.
cent years (Cook, 2010; Källvist, 2008). This paradigm
“Manuela visited the gallery.”
shift from the outright rejection to the reintroduction of
translation into the language classroom may partly be
La galería: [− animate + specific]
attributable to the proposals of the Common European
2c.
Manuela visitó una mujer
Framework of Reference (CEFR) (Carreres & Noriega-
“Manuela visited a woman.”
Sánchez, 2021). Although the 2001 edition of the CEFR
did not provide detailed descriptors of mediation activi-
Una mujer: [+ animate - specific]
ties (that include translation), the 2018 edition incorpo-
rated such activities and now offers valuable guidance
2d.
Manuela visitó una galería.
for educators who wish to integrate translation activities
“Manuela visited a gallery.”
in the curricula. This acceptance of translation activities
Una galería: [- animate - specific]
has prompted several scholars to look into the benefits
of its use (García Benito, 2019); recently, Carreres and
The acquisition of DOM takes place at an early age for
Noriega-Sánchez (2021) listed the following possible
native speakers of Spanish (Rodríguez-Mondoñedo,
benefits of incorporating translation in language learn-
2008) but is late and difficult in both second and heri-
ing:
tage language contexts (Guijarro Fuentes & Marinis,
2009; Montrul, 2011; Montrul & Bowles, 2009), even
• Develop their plurilingual and multilingual compe-
among those who have resided in a Spanish-speaking
tences;
country for an extended period of time and who show a
• Enhance their contrastive awareness of both the
solid command of Spanish (Nediger et al., 2016). Ow-
source and target language;
ing to the complexity of learning the DOM in Spanish
for non-native speakers of Spanish, it may be beneficial
• Engage with a variety of media;
to explore approaches to teaching the DOM in academ-
ic contexts. Among the different existing teaching ap-
• Develop awareness of genre and text type;
proaches, pedagogical translation stands as a potential
• Sharpen their understanding of grammar;
candidate.
• Broaden their lexical knowledge;
2.2 Pedagogical Translation
• Develop stylistic awareness;
Several scholars have highlighted the role of transla-
tion in the field of second language acquisition (e.g.,
• Develop dictionary and documentation skills;
53
Revista Comunicación. Volumen 32, año 43, número 2, julio-diciembre, 2022 (pp. 51-60)
• Acquire know-how in the use of translation technolo-
1964). For example, Gasca Jiménez (2017) stated two
gies;
classic arguments against the use of translation by refer-
encing the works of Lado (1964) and Gatenby (1967).
• Enhance creativity, critical thinking, and problem
The former considered that incorporating translation
solving; and
activities promotes the use of literal translation. The lat-
• Gain autonomy as learners.
ter believed that translation is an artificial process that
should be avoided in language teaching. Finally, García
Relevant to this study, several authors have pointed out
Medall (2001) compiled the following unfavorable ar-
the use of translation in the classroom for improving
guments that have been associated with the use of trans-
morphosyntactic accuracy (Cook, 2010; Gasca Jimé-
lation:
nez, 2017; Guerrero García, 2020; Källvist, 2004; Bar-
basán Ortuño et al., 2018; Snell-Hornby, 1985); how-
• Translation is an activity that involves only two
ever, as Gasca Jiménez (2017) noted, only few studies
skills—reading and writing.
have explored this topic. For example, Gasca Jiménez
• Translation is not a communicative activity because it
(2017) examined the effect of pedagogical translation
lacks oral interaction.
on morphosyntactic accuracy through a 4-week study
with six learners of Spanish during a study abroad pro-
• Translation is inadequate as a classroom exercise, as
gram in Spain. In this study, two translations from Eng-
students should be expected to write their texts by
lish into Spanish served as pretest and posttest at the
themselves.
beginning and at the end of the program, respectively.
Results revealed a decrease in morphosyntactic errors
• Translation has been practiced in a non-systematic,
(e.g., agreement between noun and adjective) for the
eventual, and unplanned way.
two translations in only four weeks, which validates
• Translation is associated with literary and scientific
the use of pedagogical translation for this purpose. This
texts, which do not fit the communicative needs of the
work is in line with previous studies that call for the
students (Viqueira, 1992:76).
introduction of pedagogical translation activities (Cook,
2010; González Davies, 2002).
Before concluding this section, it is essential to high-
light the difference between pedagogical and profes-
Similar results were found by Barbasán Ortuño et al.
sional translation (Lo, 2021; Pintado Gutiérrez, 2012).
(2018), who investigated the use of pedagogical transla-
In this article, pedagogical translation refers to the use
tion for learning grammar and vocabulary in language
of translation in language teaching (translation activities
courses designed for specific purposes. Two groups
are employed to learn a language), and the aim is not
of university students enrolled at a Spanish institution
to teach the skills required by translators via translation
participated in this study: 60 Spanish-speaking stu-
theory or Computer Assisted Translation tools. Howev-
dents learning English as L2 and 25 English-speaking
er, note that some researchers have suggested collabora-
students studying Spanish as L2. The students took a
tion between pedagogical and professional translation
written test at the beginning of the course and another
to explore common ground (Carreres & Noriega, 2012;
test that included a translation exercise at the end of
De Arriba García, 1996; Pérez de Obanos Romero,
the course. In addition, pedagogical translation exer-
2018), and this represents an area of inquiry that de-
cises were incorporated into each of the course units.
serves further attention.
The results demonstrated improvements in the mastery
of the grammatical properties studied in both groups.
In short, despite the reintroduction of translation, few
This study aligns with previous studies that consider
studies have evaluated its effectiveness in the language
the benefits of pedagogical translation in the language
classroom. The present study attempts to fill this re-
classroom (Calis & Dikilitas, 2012; Fernandez-Guerra,
search gap by assessing the effects of pedagogical trans-
2014).
lation on learning the personal a in Spanish by advanced
English-speaking learners of Spanish.
However, arguments against using translation in the
language classroom also exist (Gatenby, 1967; Lado,
54
Revista Comunicación. Volumen 32, año 43, número 2, julio-diciembre, 2022 (pp. 51-60) METHODOLOGY
is not intended for students who have reached a third-
year class level by taking classes at the lower level.
The present quantitative study used a pretest, immedi-
ate posttest, and delayed posttest design to examine the
The participants’ linguistic level, especially their oral
learning of the “personal a” in Spanish by incorporating
competency, was advanced, as they learned Spanish
pedagogical translation activities (in this case, written
mainly through an immersion process. Of the fourteen
translations from English into Spanish) into an L2 class-
participants, four were excluded: three because they did
room during nine weeks of a regular semester. The field
not participate in all sessions and one because she was
of pedagogical translation lacks quantitative studies
a native speaker of Spanish who grew up in Spain and
(Gasca Jimenez, 2017) that can assess the relationship
did not start learning English until she was 11. The par-
between pedagogical translation and morphosyntactic
ticipants’ mean age was 22.1 (SD = 3.21). To provide
accuracy and that can be used for future comparisons
a more complete picture of their bilingualism, the par-
with other studies.
ticipants also completed the Bilingual Language Profile
(BLP) (Birdsong et al., 2012). The BLP collects data re-
RESEARCH QUESTION
garding biographical information, language history, lan-
guage use, and language proficiency. The questionnaire
Building on previous research, this study sought to an-
comprises 19 questions to be answered using a Likert
swer the following research question: Will second lan-
scale, and it provides a numerical score of language
guage learners benefit from the incorporation of peda-
dominance. The results of the questionnaire fall in the
gogical translation activities in learning the personal a
range [−218, +218], where zero indicates balanced bi-
in Spanish?
lingualism. Positive scores indicate that the participant
is dominant in English, and negative scores indicate that
3.2 Participants
the participant is dominant in Spanish. Table 1 summa-
Fourteen students participated in this study and were re-
rizes the results from the BLP and shows that all par-
cruited from a university-level third-year Spanish class.
ticipants have resided in a Spanish-speaking country
The class met only once a week for three hours (with a
except participant 7. In addition, all participants were
20-min break). The students enrolled in the course were
comfortable using Spanish at the time of testing except
atypical students, as this course is specifically designed
participant 9. Regarding the overall BLP results, all
for students who are native speakers of Spanish or who
participants were dominant in English, with the group
serve religious missions in a Spanish-speaking commu-
mean being 105.6 points (SD = 12.28).
nity abroad or within the US. In other words, this course
Table 1: Characteristics of the participants
Years spent
Comfortable
Participant
Gender Acquisition of Acquisition of in a Spanish-
with
English (Age) Spanish (Age)
speaking
BLP Spanish (Age)
country
1
M
0
13
1
112
19
2
M
0
13
2
106
19
3
M
0
18
2
105
19
4
F
0
19
1
103
19
5
F
0
12
2
91
19
6
F
0
14
1
111
19
7
M
0
20
0
110
20
8
M
0
15
1
112
20
9
M
0
16
1
126
Not yet
10
F
0
7
5
112
9
55
Revista Comunicación. Volumen 32, año 43, número 2, julio-diciembre, 2022 (pp. 51-60) INSTRUMENTS: PEDAGOGICAL
groups; however, only pedagogical translation exercises
TRANSLATION ACTIVITIES
were employed to practice and explain the personal a in
As classroom activities, the participants completed
Spanish.
three tasks that served as a pretest, an immediate post-
From week 4 to week 8, pedagogical translation was
test, and a delayed posttest. These activities were com-
used to teach other course content, such as passive
pleted in weeks 2, 3, and 9 of the course. In addition, the
sentences, gerunds and infinitives, the future, the con-
participants completed the BLP in week 9. Figure 1 lists
ditional, and the subjunctive every week. The text for
the tasks included in this study.
translation ranged from sentences to short paragraphs.
Figure 1: List of tasks completed by participants
The instructor did not ask the participants to complete
translation exercises outside the classroom as home-
work. Moreover, the exercises were rarely performed
individually; the participants generally translated in
pairs or groups, compared their translations, and dis-
cussed possible solutions. In class, the possibility of
having more than one correct translation in terms of
word choice or syntax was emphasized. For example,
discussions about language variation were common, as
most of the participants have lived and learned Spanish
in different countries and were aware of subtle linguistic
In week 2, the participants performed an in-class exer-
differences.
cise (pretest): they translated 12 sentences from English
to Spanish. The sentences contained past tense verbs
In week 9, a translation exercise that included sentenc-
in English to elicit the use of the preterit or imperfect
es covering the personal a (delayed posttest) was per-
tense forms in Spanish. Because the exercise was time-
formed. To prevent the participants from recognizing
limited, it only included twelve sentences, six of which
the exercise, new personal a sentences were mixed to-
had inanimate and definite direct objects, such as in the
gether with other structures covered in the course (e.g.,
sentence “The dog bit the bone it found,” ( mordió el
passive and subjunctive). The exercise comprised 20
hueso) and the other six had animate and definite direct
sentences, of which 10 dealt with the personal a. During
objects that require the use of the personal a, such as
the exercise, the personal a was not referred to. Again,
in the sentence “The dog bit the boy yesterday while
this exercise was completed at the end of class, and after
he was playing.” ( mordió al chico) The personal a was this activity, the participants left the classroom.
not mentioned in class, and the participants were not
alerted to pay attention to the direct objects. The activ-
IV. RESULTS
ity was performed at the end of the class, after practic-
ing past tense verbs both individually and in groups via
Before reporting on the statistical analysis, the descrip-
written and oral activities. At the end of the activity, the
tive statistics of the pretest, immediate posttest, and
participants left the classroom and did not receive any
delayed posttest are presented. Table 2 shows both the
feedback on the activity from the instructor during that
average and the individual results for the accuracy of
week.
using the personal a in Spanish. Figure 2 displays the
group average of each exercise. Sentences with animate
In week 3, the class focused on the direct object in
and inanimate direct objects are shown separately. As
Spanish, and the personal a was explained using Eng-
mentioned above, all direct objects were definite; how-
lish > Spanish translation exercises. At the end of the
ever, some direct objects were +animate and others
lecture, the participants were given an assignment (im-
were −animate. Pretest results showed that the partici-
mediate posttest) containing precisely the same sen-
pants, despite being exposed to the Spanish language in
tences as those in the activity in week 2. Similar to the
an immersion context and having advanced oral skills,
previous week, the participants practiced direct object
did not use the personal a in obligatory contexts: their
pronouns via oral and written exercises in pairs and in
mean accuracy for animate direct objects was 21.6%
56
Revista Comunicación. Volumen 32, año 43, número 2, julio-diciembre, 2022 (pp. 51-60) (SD = 35.1%). Six of the ten participants did not use the
pants achieved 100% accuracy except for one student
preposition “a” on any occasion. In addition, only one
who made one error in using the personal a. In the de-
participant (participant 1) correctly used the personal a
layed posttest, the accuracy was higher than that in the
in all sentences; however, this participant used the per-
pretest (M = 77.5%, SD = 27.5); the increase in accu-
sonal a in all contexts regardless of the type of object
racy from the pretest to the delayed posttest was 55.9%.
(animate or inanimate), so their score on sentences in-
Half of the participants did not make any error in the
cluding inanimate direct objects was zero.
use of the personal a, and nine participants answered at
least half of the items correctly. Moreover, although the
The immediate posttest results showed a notable in-
participant whose L1 was Spanish was excluded from
crease in accuracy (M = 98.3%, SD = 5.2). All partici-
the analysis, note that she achieved 100% accuracy in
Table 2: Accuracy on the pretest, immediate posttest, and delayed posttest Participant
Pretest
Immediate posttest
Delayed posttest
Animate
Inanimate
Animate
Inanimate
Animate
Inanimate
1
100
0
100
100
100
100
2
0
100
100
100
50
100
3
0
100
100
100
75
100
4
0
100
83.3
100
100
100
5
16.6
100
100
100
100
100
6
0
100
100
100
100
100
7
33.3
100
100
100
50
100
8
66.6
100
100
100
75
100
9
0
100
100
100
25
100
10
0
100
100
100
100
100
M
21.6
90
98.3
100
77.5
100
SD
35.1
31.6
5.2
0
27.5
0
Figure 2: Accuracy on the pretest, immediate posttest, and delayed posttest 57
Revista Comunicación. Volumen 32, año 43, número 2, julio-diciembre, 2022 (pp. 51-60) the use of the personal a on the pretest, immediate posttive was to determine whether students’ understanding
test, and delayed posttest. These results may serve as
of the personal a in Spanish is improved by the incor-
evidence that the tests were adequate for eliciting the
poration of pedagogical translation activities (English
use of the personal a.
> Spanish) in the classroom. The average accuracy of
using the personal a increased by 76.7%, from 21.6%
To address the research question, Wilcoxon tests were
to 98.3%, between the pretest and the immediate post-
used and the accuracies of the results of the pretest,
test, which is statistically significant. Furthermore, the
posttest, and delayed posttest were compared. A signifi-
difference between the accuracy of the results for the
cant difference in the accuracies of the results for sen-
pretest and delayed posttest was 55.9%, which is also
tences including animate direct objects was observed
statistically significant. These results suggest that in-
between the pretest (M = 21.6, SD = 35.1) and the im-
corporating translation as a pedagogical technique was
mediate posttest (M = 98.3, SD = 5.2); W = 0, p = .008.
beneficial for the participants in learning the personal
A significant difference in the accuracies of the results
a in Spanish, a linguistic property that the participants
for sentences including animate direct objects was also
did not master despite being advanced students of Span-
observed between the pretest (M = 21.6, SD = 35.1)
ish who learned the language in an immersion context.
and the delayed posttest (M = 77.5, SD = 27.5); W =
Note that one participant (participant 9) did not show
0, p = .008. Table 3 presents the statistical analysis; the
considerable improvement between the pretest and the
statistically significant differences are marked with an
delayed posttest. This student indicated in the BLP that
asterisk (*). Table 3 does not show the contrast between
he was not yet comfortable with Spanish. Thus, the
the results of the posttest and the delayed posttest for
benefits of pedagogical translation may be correlated
sentences with inanimate direct object because the re-
with the competence of the interlocutor and/or the con-
sults are identical.
fidence in the interlocutor’s use of Spanish. This is a
question worthy of future research.