Enforcement Plurilingual Cuban: Once Gaze Towards for the Integracion Linguistc Volume 4 - Issue 5

C Edenia Reyes Herrera*, C Ernestina Paredes Castañeda and Lic Yudeisi Maceo Gil

• Assistant Professor, Department of Spanish, University of Holguín, Cuba

Received:July 20, 2021   Published: July 27, 2021

Corresponding author:C Edenia Reyes Herrera, Assistant Professor, Department of Spanish, University of Holguín, Cuba

DOI: 10.32474/JAAS.2021.04.000196

Abstract PDF

The teaching of foreign languages is essential today in theCuban Higher Education and constantly needs new technologies. However, the teaching tools that make it viable are based onthe teaching - learning of isolated languages, but not orientedtowards a multilingual competence, according to the CEFR. Considering thecurrent percentage of the implementation of Android devices, itwas considered necessary to design an application or Software,as a didactic tool to favor multilingual teaching-learning and torespond in a timely manner to calls from the UNO and UNESCO. Expressed in the interactive Androidmobile application, was designed from the plurilingual approachand the linguistic mediation. The application is a great help for both: the foreign languageteacher and the student or user of these integrated languages,since you can find more variety of devices in the market, usingthis platform as Tablets and Smartphones, which favors moreoptions when it comes to investing in technology. The tool ismaterialized from the Institutional Project: Theoretical and Practical Study of the Languages and Communications of the UHoand favors the thematic line: Didactics of Spanish, English as aForeign Language. It has an exercise system, based on a functionalcommunicative typology [1].

Summary

The teaching of foreign languages is latent today in Cuban higher education and constantly needs new technologies; however, the didactic tools that make it possible, to date, are based on the teaching - learning of isolated languages, but not oriented towards a multilingual competence, according to CEFR (Common European Framework of Reference)When taking into account the current percentage of the implementation of Android devices, it was considered necessary, the design of an application or Sofwear , as a didactic tool to promote multilingual teaching-learning and give timely response, to calls from the UN and UNESCO to break down the barriers of languages, from universities. The didactic tool expressed in the interactive mobile application was designed from the multilingual approach and linguistic mediation; for its design from the Computer Sciences, the native programming language of this platform and the development methodology of the XP software engineering were used [2]. This tool is materialized from the National Project of Theoretical and Practical Study of Languages and Communications, of the UHo and favors the thematic line: Didactics of Spanish and English as a Foreign Language.

Keywords:Application; Multilingual; Teaching; Learning; LE

The teaching of foreign languages in Cuba and specifically at the University of Holguín has reached a high degree of connotation, because every year it says a very high yes to mutual knowledge and the worthy task of breaking these barriers. From the outside, dissimilar courses are requested that revolve around learning these. From the didactics of foreign languages, positions of various authors have been analyzed, about feasible competences, to integrate different languages. Methodologies and tools adaptable to what is proposed as its name coexist today: Multilingual Teaching-Learning Process in Cuba. From the communicative competence that makes use of linguistic mediation as explained in the Common European Framework of Reference, for the teaching of foreign languages (CEFR) [3]. Among the feasible tools for this process, the proposal made serves from the Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), which are developed in great strides at a global level; which influences society, and Cuban higher education with the teaching of foreign languages is not alien to the use of these communicative tools. The mass use of personal computers, smartphones, tablets and internet access has favored the emergence of various applications and platforms to support the study of foreign languages. According to Milton and Garbi: These systems range from interactive web pages to large communities of users of different nationalities who exchange knowledge. Therefore, this article provides an answer to the following question: How to promote multilingual teaching and learning through communicative tools from the new computer technologies?

As regards the acquisition of integrated foreign languages, this proposal thoroughly investigates the multilingual approach as a way of achieving this integration. It is supported by the legislation of the CEFR, mentioned above and consists of: conceiving classes by skills, to achieve effective communication and develop intercultural communicative competence; with the purpose of establishing a fruitful relationship where speakers of different cultures and languages interact in the same environment. The Cuban Multilingual Application(APCU),is an application for Smartphones and Tablets with Operating Systems(OS) Android 4.1 or higher. It makes the E-A process [4] of integrated foreign languages more affordable. For the teacher, on the other hand, it is an easily accessible tool, it allows to monitor and evaluate the process, for the student it is favorable for the management of their learning. He can even self-assess himself, he can ask himself questions and answer the one in it. The app is native, so the connections are fast and the interface is simplified for use on the phone. The functions of the application are: to be able to create a user to register, to display the lists of topics by sublevel of learning according to the CEFR,to see lists of phrases translated into 5 languages: Spanish, English, French, Italian and Portuguese, to show statistics of application utilization per user, to show lists of exercises for each topic, graphic statistics of user evaluation, to show recommendations of topics to be studied. The communicative tool not only presents the words or phrases necessary, in this case, for a level A1, according to the CEFR and the exercises for this level. She is free to design the other levels, according to the demands of each one. It will continue to be redesigned each course in such a way that it is perfected and constitutes a material of high national and international value. Its design takes into account the different foreign languages, which will also be integrated, has a system of exercises, based on a functional communicative typology [5,6].

The results obtained in this research lead to:

a. The design of the Communicative Tool takes into account the different foreign languages, which will be integrated, through the Multilingual Teaching Project.

b. The methods and technologies applied to respond to the research problem and the achievement of the objective set, have taken into account the novel theories and the various computer tools, achieving an adequate and sustainable software design.

The use of the Android platform in the development of this application, as a communicative tool, is of great help both for the teacher of foreign languages and for the student or user of these integrated languages.

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