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

view/586

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.

to: diegoalveal1998@gmail.com

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

38

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.