Browsing by Author "Szczepaniak-Kozak, Anna"

Now showing 1 - 13 of 13
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    Criteria for coursebook evaluation in view of effective development of Intercultural Communicative Competence
    (PWSZ Piła, 2013) Szczepaniak-Kozak, Anna; Wąsikiewicz-Firlej, Emilia; Lankiewicz, Hadrian
    This paper deals with the design and evaluation of materials for foreign language instruction, with special attention paid to commercial coursebooks for learning English. The author focuses particularly on the effective development of Intercultural Communicative Competence, viewed as a more encompassing concept than an acceptable, communicative use of linguistic resources, but also including a certain psychological stance to others, e.g. motivation to interact with a foreigner, open-mindedness, and some intuitive or trained knowledge of shared cultural assumptions, common themes, values, norms of interaction characteristic of the culture the foreigner interlocutor represents. She proceeds from the theoretical ruminations on the nature of the title competence to an overview of existing criteria for material assessment in view of this competence to finally summarize the paper with her own evaluation checklist.
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    Culture in translation: A comparative analysis of English originals and Polish dubbed versions of computer-animated film productions
    (Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht Verlage, 2020) Surdyk, Augustyn; Adamczak-Krysztofowicz, Sylwia; Szczepaniak-Kozak, Anna; Rybszleger, Paweł
    The aim of the research presented in this chapter was to indicate the multiplicity of culture-related references in audio-visual English-Polish translation on the example of a longer form, which is a computer animated film containing humorous elements. The film selected for the analysis is the Polish dubbed version of the American blockbuster from 2004 Shrek 2. The culture-related fragments detected and analysed have been divided into four categories and marked out as: 1) linguistic references (quotations or paraphrases from popular Polish books, films and songs); 2) cultural references (expressions or proper names known and characteristic exclusively of Polish culture); 3) everyday language (popular, colloquial and slang sayings, idiomatic expressions, proverbs, language styled to be archaic and elements of regional dialects); 4) personal references to well known Poles, celebrities and fictional characters. As a result of the analysis undertaken, 90 culture-related film script fragments were detected. Moreover, having been confronted with the original version, in many cases they seem to be much funnier than the original phrases.
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    Developmental trends in requests rendered by EFL speakers in Poland
    (Państwowa Wyższa Szkoła Zawodowa w Koninie, 2017-03-20) Szczepaniak-Kozak, Anna
    The primary concern in this paper is with developmental issues in EFL learners’ interlanguage (acquisitional) pragmatics (ILP) in Poland, operationalized as rendering requests. It discusses selected findings of a longitudinal study lasting for three years and relying on data collected among 57 EFL learners by means of a written discourse completion task of an open response format. The data collected in the third year (Y3) of the study indicate that even if these EFL students make correct judgments of sociopragmatic factors involved in a particular scenario, selecting appropriate pragmalinguistic forms remains problematic to them. This is hypothesized to be a result of transfer from their mother tongue and/or lack of corrective instruction. However, positive developments towards the target language pragmatic competence were also observed, that is a greater diversification of the requestive strategies used, fewer grounders and a higher frequency of certain internal mitigation features.
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    Impoliteness in interlanguage requests of EFL learners in Poland
    (Instytut Języka Polskiego, Uniwersytet im. Mikołaja Kopernika w Toruniu, 2017-06-15) Szczepaniak-Kozak, Anna
    This study intends to expand the range of studies on the acquisition of pragmatic competence in English as a foreign language, with special attention paid to impoliteness. It examines the development of one component of learner interlanguage pragmatics, i.e., requests, and looks for acquisitional patterns in modifying their impositive force in advanced Polish learners of English. A sample of linguistic written data was collected in a longitudinal study by means of a discourse completion task (DCT). The author seeks evidence of impoliteness by examining alerters, external moves, internal mitigation, together with strategies for expressing the directness of requests. On this basis, conclusions about noticeable impoliteness in the interlanguage pragmatic competence of the participants are drawn.
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    Insights into Teacher Language Awareness with Reference to the Concept of Self-Marginalization and Empowerment in the Use of a Foreign Language
    (Uniwersytet w Granadzie, 2016-01-15) Lankiewicz, Hadrian; Wąsikiewicz-Firlej, Emilia; Szczepaniak-Kozak, Anna
    The concept of self-marginalization and empowerment in applied linguistics can be derived from the so-called critical school, whose sociolinguistic findings pertain to power (Fairclough 1989, 1992) and hegemony (Gramsci, 1971/1991). It offers new perspectives for the perception of a second/foreign language acquisition process. Thereby, with reference to the notions of multicompetence (Cook, 1991), plurilingualism and multilingualism (Kramsch, 2008), metrolingualism (Otsuji & Pennycook, 2010; Pennycook, 2010), the concept of English as a Lingua Franca (Jenkins, 2007), translingual practice (Canagajarah, 2013), and particularly the ecological metaphor in language acquisition (Kramsch, 2002a) and learning (van Lier, 2004), which demystify linguistic normativity, we offer a survey study into the teacher language awareness pertaining to their self-perception as language users. The article concludes with implications for foreign language teacher education in the era of globalization and autonomization of the language learning process.
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    Interlanguage pragmatics: A study into the acquisition of pragmatic competence in English as a foreign language context
    (Peter Lang, 2014) Szczepaniak-Kozak, Anna; Adamczak-Krysztofowicz, Sylwia; Szczepaniak-Kozak, Anna
    In this chapter the acquisition of pragmatic competence in English among advanced Polish learners of English is investigated. A sample of linguistic written data was collected in a discourse completion task of an open response format, planned as the first stage of a longitudinal study on acquisitional pragmatics. The responses provided are analyzed in terms of their structure, taking into account not only the directness of the speech act itself but also the external and internal mitigation used. On this basis, conclusions about the interlanguage pragmatic competence of the participants are drawn. Also, selected aspects of L2 pragmatics which may require further instruction are discussed.
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    Language learning and identity: Positioning oneself as a language learner and user in the multilingual milieu
    (The Spanish Society for the Study of Popular Culture SELICUP, 2014-01) Lankiewicz, Hadrian; Szczepaniak-Kozak, Anna; Wąsikiewicz-Firlej, Emilia
    Identity of a language learner has recently achieved an importance of its own in academic considerations regarding the nature of language and its learning. The success of the notion in the field of language education has been triggered by poststructural or postmodern achievements in language studies on the one hand, and constructive or constructionist approaches to human learning on the other. Additionally, critical socio-cultural studies, such as the ecological approach, “assassinated” the native speaker envisaging the agency of the learner in process of personal meaning making. Concurrent language pedagogy, subsumed under the umbrella term of autonomy, tries to meet the linguistics and psychological advances, yet, as we try to demonstrate it in the present article, students find it difficult to assume new identities for themselves as legitimate users of a foreign language. A discursive analysis of an interview with students completing a semester-long sojourn in a multilingual and multicultural milieu allows us to pursue their identities pertaining to the roles of a language learner and user. Discourse as a method helps us define the normative pedagogical discourse as a dominating ideological construct positioning students’ linguistic identities and exhibiting underlying language awareness.
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    Pragmatic accent: Sociolinguistic and pragmalinguistic examples
    (Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2020-12-15) Szczepaniak-Kozak, Anna; Adamczak-Krysztofowicz, Sylwia; Szczepaniak-Kozak, Anna; Rybszleger, Paweł
    In this chapter, it is postulated that foreign language users develop a pragmatic accent, which refers to the systematic occurrence of selected pragmatic features in their performance of communication functions in the target language. In the specification of this term, I refer to two related conceptualizations, one by Scarcella (1992) and the other by Yule (1996). I apply the expression coined by Yule to refer to a phenomenon which is parallel to Scarcella’s discourse accent. In order to substantiate this concept, in later sections of this chapter, first, a summary of the interlanguage pragmatic competence research which I conducted is presented. This empirical endeavour showed that even advanced Polish EFL speakers do not fully approximate the native speaker model and instead retain in their pragmatic output a set of pragmatic features which enables their easy identification as nonnative users. In the subsequent sections, the title concept is further exemplified by means of evidence coming from research reports offered by other researchers or coming from other languages.
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    Pragmatic competence of teachers: a contrastive case study of native and non-native teachers of English
    (Uniewersytet Warszawski, Instytut Lingwistyki Stosowanej, 2018-01-09) Szczepaniak-Kozak, Anna; Wąsikiewicz-Firlej, Emilia
    The existing studies on pragmatic competence of English teachers, e.g., J. Majer and Ł. Salski (2004), E. Krawczyk-Neifar (2004), M. Savič (2016), A. Szczepaniak-Kozak and E. Wąsikiewicz-Firlej (in press), indicate that it is not varied and requires improvement in certain areas. These deficiencies might be interpreted as a result of not only the absence of pragmatic competence (PC) modules in teacher-training education but also a relatively low frequency of English teachers’ contact with native speakers (NS) of English (A. Szczepaniak-Kozak 2010). Nevertheless, we know very little what shape teacher PC takes, including the way it differs from that represented by NSs. Additionally, to the best of our knowledge, there are no studies based on data collected in naturalistic settings (lessons of English). Consequently, this paper attempts to fill in this gap in research by presenting the methodology and conduct of a case study, based on classroom observation of teachers’ pragmatic performance, to investigate whether there are differences in the PC represented by non-native teachers (NNTs) and native teachers (NTs) of English. The findings indicate that NTs do not hold the upper hand in this regard and that a demonstrable linguistic and pragmatic competence, along with appropriate professional training, are better indicators of diverse pragmatic input. On this basis, we propose that some degree of proficiency in pragmatics and its teaching should be a requirement for a certificate or diploma for future foreign language teachers.
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    Rozwijanie kompetencji medialnej wśród przyszłych nauczycieli języków obcych w ramach pracy w tandemie elektronicznym. Projekt polsko-niemiecki
    (2015) Adamczak-Krysztofowicz, Sylwia; Szczepaniak-Kozak, Anna; Andrzejewska, Ewa
    Kompetencja medialna jest od dawna uznawana za podstawowy element warsztatu glottodydaktyka, a w dzisiejszych czasach nabiera szczególnego znaczenia ze względu na wszechobecność mediów w dydaktyce i życiu codziennym. Nowoczesna glottodydaktyka zwraca się ku mediom nie tylko dlatego, iż zwiększają możliwości nauczania i uczenia się języków, ale również dlatego, że autonomizują ucznia, często stymulując jego kreatywność i umiejętności afektywne (soft skills). Mając to na uwadze, autorki prezentacji w ujęciu teoretycznym i praktycznym rozważają rozwijanie kompetencji medialnej wśród przyszłych nauczycieli języków obcych, ze szczególnym odniesieniem do przyszłych nauczycieli języka niemieckiego i angielskiego. W części praktycznej autorki prezentują krótki opis, cele, etapy i najważniejsze wyniki polsko-niemieckiego kursu tandemu elektronicznego, w którym brali udział studenci Instytutu Lingwistyki Stosowanej UAM w Poznaniu i Uniwersytetu Technicznego w Darmstadt. Projekt ten obejmował zajęcia językowe prowadzone w czasie rzeczywistym, których celem było wspólne stworzenie wideocastów pt. „Wirtualny spacer po mieście“. W tym celu studenci wykorzystywali platformę Moodle 2.3 i program Adobe Connect. W oparciu o produkty końcowe wypracowane w tandemach przez studentów i dane z ankiet ewaluacyjnych, autorki omawiają pozytywne i negatywne doświadczenia uczestników projektu w obsłudze mediów i pracy w mediowanym środowisku. Na tej podstawie próbują odpowiedzieć na pytanie, w jakim stopniu i w których obszarach taka forma pracy ze studentami rozwija ich kompetencję medialną jako przyszłych nauczycieli, oraz jakie inne powiązane kompetencje może rozwinąć kurs tandemu elektronicznego.
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    The narrative approach: The individual perspective in intercultural meetings
    (PWSZ Piła, 2012) Szczepaniak-Kozak, Anna; Lorenzo-Modia, Maria Jesus; Szczepaniak-Kozak, Anna
    This chapter presents the cross-cultural experience and its meaning making as studied by applying a narrative approach to the study of two expatriates’ stories. This research can be called ethnographic in nature as its intention is to provide a deep description and analysis of the daily cross-cultural experience that the two students from the Netherlands led for the period of three months in an Italian city located in Umbria, central Italy.
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    Translation didactics: A proposal for teaching consecutive interpreting
    (UAM Poznań, 2018-06-30) Woodward-Smith, Elizabeth; Lankiewicz, Hadrian; Szczepaniak-Kozak, Anna
    The current article presents an example of a consecutive interpreting activity, which draws on the concept of autonomy in language learning. With regard to the “applied” component of translation studies, as formulated by Holmes (1988), the authors intend to demonstrate the need for enhancing foreign language competence in translator education, accentuating its role in the conceptualization of the discipline. Considering the context of this type of education, which is offered frequently to undergraduate students, they posit the need to concomitantly develop the command of a foreign language. They propose to compensate teaching practices derived from translation studies with the use of foreign language methodology for developing translating and interpreting skills.
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    Wybrane aspekty mowy nienawiści w Polsce
    (Instytut Komunikacji Specjalistycznej i Interkulturowej, Uniewersytet Warszawski, 2017-02-08) Szczepaniak-Kozak, Anna; Lankiewicz, Hadrian
    The recent political and social events that took place in Europe made us all re-visit some of the basic assumptions of intercultural communication studies. According to the authors of this paper, most theoretical and empirical studies concerning intercultural communication seem to neglect the fact that some interlocutors are intentionally impolite and motivated by their racist and/or xenophobic views, which becomes visible in contact with representatives of other cultures, nationalities or countries. Such behaviour may take the form of physical attacks while linguistic performance may include verbal/nonverbal signs of interlocutors’ prejudiced attitudes. Poland is no exception here. It is our conviction that: 1) there is a dire need to define what hate speech motivated by racism and/or xenophobic attitudes is and what its features are and that 2) linguistic research on this phenomenon can offer a considerable step forward in this area. Since there are apparently no clear and precise criteria what constitutes an act of verbal and nonverbal violence in Polish, the authors of this paper aim at portraying its characteristic features on the basis of semi-formal interviews carried out with migrants living in Poland. The research took place within the RADAR project (Regulating Anti-Discrimination and Anti-Racism), co-funded by the European Commission, and conducted in six of the European Union countries.