Guia para Elemental y Medio Libres 2021

Guía Didáctica para la
preparación de exámenes
libres de inglés de
Nivel Elemental y Medio
María Susana González (Compiladora)
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2
Índice
Palabras preliminares 5
Capítulo 1: Algunos temas a tener en cuenta 7

María Susana González
Los desafíos del Nivel Elemental

Objetivos del Nivel Elemental 11
María Susana González
Capítulo 2: Introducción 13
Patricia Insirillo
Capítulo 3: Manos a la obra (aspectos administrativos) 17

Patricia Insirillo
Capítulo 4: Text 1 19
Patricia Insirillo Hasta el capítulo 7
inclusive pertenece
Capítulo 5: Text 2 al nivel 39
Laura Roseti ELEMENTAL
Laura Roseti
Laura Roseti
Capítulo 8: Las tesis y los argumentos 63

Objetivos del Nivel Medio
María Susana González A partir del capítulo
8 pertenece al nivel
Capítulo 9: Introducción MEDIO 65
Ana María Otero

Alicia Nerguizian

Alicia Nerguizian

Ana María Otero
NOTA: Los alumnos que rinden el Nivel Elemental pueden leer solo los
priemeros 7 capítulos. Los alumnos que rinden el Nivel Medio deben
leer todo ya que el Nivel Medio comprende tambien los contenidos del
Nivel Elemental.
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4
Este tipo de
ejercicios de
seleccion son los
Palabras preliminares que se toman en la
virtualidad.
En este documento, los estudiantes que deseen rendir el examen

libre de inglés pueden encontrar textos o fragmentos que han sido
utilizados en diferentes turnos de exámenes libres. Incluimos
ejemplos para los niveles Elemental y Medio con textos completos
o fragmentos y ejercicios de lectocomprensión. Para cada nivel se
eligió un texto con ejercicios con distintas posibilidades de
respuestas algunas correctas y otras incorrectas para que los
estudiantes seleccionen la que consideren correcta.
Esperamos que este documento sea útil para todos los

estudiantes que deseen rendir el examen libre de inglés. Nuestro
objetivo es que puedan prepararse en forma autónoma y si tienen
dificultades para concurrir a las tutorías que ofrecemos a los
interesados.
Les recordamos que la información sobre el Departamento de

Lenguas Modernas pueden encontrarla en la página de la Facultad
y en las siguientes páginas:
https://www.facebook.com/lenguasmodernas.fyluba
http://lenguasmodernas.blog.com
5
6
Capítulo 1 Son similares pero
en vez de
Algunos temas a tener en cuenta producción son de
selección múltiple
en la virtualidad.
Los exámenes libres se rinden en las fechas regulares establecidas por la Facultad de
Filosofía y Letras en los siguientes llamados: febrero, mayo, julio, septiembre, diciembre.
Los alumnos se inscriben en las fechas de inscripción establecidas por la Facultad y
pueden rendir uno o dos niveles por fecha de examen. El alumno determina el/los
niveles que rendirá y deben ser siempre correlativos. Si el/la alumno/a está preparado/a
para rendir el nivel superior, puede rendir sólo éste o puede rendir el superior y medio
en una misma fecha de examen. Si el/la alumno/a está preparado/a para rendir el nivel
medio, puede rendir sólo éste o el medio y el elemental o el medio y el superior. De la
misma manera el/la alumno/a puede rendir sólo el nivel elemental.
Estos exámenes se llevan a cabo con textos y ejercicios similares a los publicados en los
cuadernillos para cada nivel. El/la alumno/a debe prepararse para rendir un examen de
la materia teniendo en cuenta las actividades de evaluación de los tres momentos que
se utilizan en los cursos regulares.
El objetivo principal de la Cátedra de Inglés - Lectocomprensión se focaliza en el logro

de la comprensión de textos académicos de publicación reciente propios del campo de
las carreras que se dictan en la Facultad de Filosofía y Letras. Por textos académicos
entendemos a aquellas producciones que se realizan dentro del ámbito de las
universidades y de la ciencia cuya función social es la de aportar nuevos conocimientos
y hacer circular esta información dentro de la comunidad académica y científica.
El propósito del lector al enfrentarse a este tipo de textos en este contexto es leer para
aprender. Esta lectura implica el acceso a bibliografía actualizada en la cual es necesario
buscar ideas centrales, subideas, postura del autor y argumentación con la ayuda de
estrategias de lectura adecuadas. Para lograr la comprensión, necesitamos desarrollar y
aplicar técnicas de síntesis, de reformulación y de jerarquización de conceptos. La
comprensión de textos incluye un trabajo a nivel global y a nivel proposicional.
Resulta imprescindible señalar que en la lectura podemos distinguir tres momentos:

anticipación o pre-lectura, verificación o lectura, e internalización o poslectura. La
anticipación implica todo aquel estudio previo a la lectura en sí que ayude a captar las
ideas centrales y secundarias del texto con la ayuda del paratexto lingüístico y gráfico
-títulos, subtítulos, copetes, abstracts, resúmenes, gráficos, fotografías, palabras o
frases claves, palabras o frases en negrita o en bastardilla. Un rápido paneo permite
distinguir cognados y conectores que sean significativos en la organización del texto.
Además de esta visión panorámica del texto, los conocimientos que los alumnos
posean de su especialidad y de la organización retórica de los diferentes tipos de
textos serán de importancia en la formulación de hipótesis sobre los significados que
habrán de abstraer de cada texto.
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En el segundo momento, la verificación, se comprueba la veracidad de las hipótesis
mientras se realiza la lectura proposicional. A lo largo de esta etapa, el lector detecta
ideas principales y secundarias, establece las relaciones entre ellas y comienza a
construir la idea principal u oración síntesis de lo leído.
A estos dos pasos es necesario agregar la etapa de internalización o reformulación

personal de los textos. En esta etapa se requerirá la presentación de la idea central de
cada texto en todos los niveles; en el segundo nivel se pedirá además paráfrasis,
conceptualización por párrafos, síntesis, definición de conceptos; y en el tercer nivel,
además de los requisitos para los niveles elemental y medio, se pedirá una red
conceptual en la cual se indique la postura del autor, la jerarquización de conceptos, la
relación entre ideas principales y secundarias y entre las secundarias, los contrastes y
comparaciones además de una clausura o cierre del texto.
La selección de textos para cada nivel tendrá una complejidad conceptual y lingüística
progresiva. Resulta difícil categorizar exactamente cada etapa pero, en general, se
incluirán textos cortos descriptivos y narrativos en el primer nivel, textos expositivos y
argumentativos no refutativos de mayor longitud en el segundo, y textos
argumentativos refutativos completos en el tercero y último.
La longitud de los textos varía según los niveles. En el Nivel Elemental, los estudiantes
tendrán que leer un fragmento de alrededor de 1500-1700 palabras y resolver los
ejercicios en dos horas, en el Nivel Medio leen un fragmento de 2500 a 3000 y lo
resuelven en tres horas mientras que en el Nivel Superior el texto es de alrededor de
4500 palabras y se resuelve en alrededor de cuatro horas.
En la presencialidad son cuatro horas porque el

el estudiante debe producir.
En la virtualidad son 2 :30 hs porque el examen
es de selección múltiple por lo cual no es el
mismo tiempo que lleva la redacción de
respuestas.
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Objetivos generales de la Cátedra
1- Comprensión de textos académicos descriptivos, narrativos,

expositivos/explicativos y argumentativos (justificativos y refutativos) escritos en
inglés.
2- Lectura global a través del uso de estrategias para acelerar el proceso de lectura en
lengua extranjera y evitar la lectura lineal (decodificación palabra por palabra).
3- Abstracción de ideas principales, subideas y material de soporte (Ejemplos)
4- Reconstrucción personal en lengua materna del texto leído.
Por lo tanto, para cumplir con estos objetivos se necesitará reconocer los siguientes
aspectos de la organización de los textos durante la lectura:
 Introducción y conclusión
 Presentación de hipótesis y/o tesis
 Argumentos que justifiquen la tesis
 Estructura de párrafos
 Oración tópica o foco
 Interpretación de diagramas, gráficos, cuadros, etc.
A la gramática tradicional no se la descarta en absoluto, pero tampoco es el foco de

atención. No se requerirá producción de ninguna expresión gramatical o ejercicio
gramatical. Se trabaja una gramática textual y el reconocimiento de estructuras que
ayuden a la comprensión de texto.
En el abordaje de la lectura se requiere el conocimiento de los siguientes elementos

lingüísticos:
 Léxico académico general y específico
 Marcadores de cohesión (conectores, articuladores, etc)
 Marcadores de opinión (negación sintáctica, negativos, pseudonegativos,
léxico con connotación positiva)
 Cohesión
 Modalidad
 Ordenamiento de modificadores y sustantivos en la construcción sustantiva
 Morfemas -prefijos y sufijos, con especial atención a aquellos que se consideran
“productivos” (i.e. -like, -wise).
 Palabras compuestas
 Construcción paralela
 Puntuación
 Alteración del orden lógico en la oración
Los elementos lingüísticos que se listan se encuentran en el Diccionario de

Gramática Funcional ( DGF). Es decir, cualquier elemento lingüístico presente
en el DGF puede ser evaluado.
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Bibliografía útil para preparar el examen
Diccionario de Gramática Funcional - Inglés 2009.

Publicado por la Oficina de Publicaciones de la Facultad de Filosofía y Letras.
Documento Inicial - La construcción de sentido en la lectura en lengua extranjera.

Buenos Aires: Facultad de Filosofía y Letras, 2009.
Estos materiales están disponibles para su compra en la Oficina de Publicaciones de la

Facultad en la Planta Baja y regularmente agregamos algunos más.
EL ESTUDIANTE DEBE LEER PARA EL EXAMEN LIBRE : LOS

DOS DUMENTOS MENCIONADOS Y SABER APLICAR ESOS
CONTENIDOS A LA LECTURA DE UN TEXTO.
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Los desafíos del Nivel Elemental
Objetivos del Nivel Elemental
A continuación enumeramos los objetivos del Nivel Elemental
1- Lectura comprensiva de textos descriptivos, narrativos y expositivos de 150

líneas aproximadamente.
2- Desarrollo de estrategias para los tres momentos de lectura: anticipación o pre-
lectura, verificación o lectura proposicional e internalización o pos-lectura.
a- Anticipación o pre-lectura:
 Introducción al abordaje de la lectura estratégica
 Uso de información paratextual
 Uso de inferencia de significados por cotexto en el paratexto y la
primera y última oración de cada párrafo salteando palabras
desconocidas.
 Lectura del primer y último párrafo.
b- Verificación o lectura:
 Búsqueda y focalización en las oraciones tópico de cada párrafo
 Definición de conceptos
 Selección de cuatro o cinco conceptos claves del texto
 Identificación de conectores y articuladores
 Reconocimiento de párrafos de resumen y conclusiones
c- Internalización o pos-lectura:
 Conceptualización de párrafos claves
 Abstracción de la idea principal del texto en una oración que
contenga la información más relevante. La lectura de esta
oración nos permite conocer de qué trata el texto
específicamente.
3- Lectura proposicional:
 Focalización de construcciones sustantivas
 Focalización de conectores como recursos cohesivos
 Focalización de relaciones anafóricas (categorizadores,
deícticos, etc.)
 Focalización de unidades léxicas negativas y pseudonegativas y
de léxico con carga positiva para descubrir la posición del autor.
También puede incluir cualquier otro elemento lingüístico

presente en el Diccionario de Gramática Funcional: ejemplo
sufijos y prefijos, pseudonegativos, conectores , funciones
lógicas, etc.
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Capítulo 2
Introducción
Muchos de los alumnos que se presentan a rendir el examen libre suelen tener la
concepción de que el examen es una prueba tradicional de nivel de idioma. Este
concepto es incorrecto porque el examen libre comprende los contenidos que se cubren
dentro del curso regular y el tipo de actividades requeridas es la misma que se trabaja
en las clases correspondientes al nivel. El objetivo básico de esta prueba es la evaluación
de la comprensión lectora de textos académicos en inglés.
Por todo lo dicho, a continuación realizamos una serie de recomendaciones para estar
correctamente preparado para rendir dicho examen:
1. Leer los objetivos de la materia
2. Leer el Documento Inicial
3. Leer las consignas de los textos para Nivel Elemental que aparecen en este
cuadernillo porque el tipo de ejercitación que van a encontrar en el examen es
similar a la que se encuentra en este cuadernillo.
4. Realizar prácticas de lectura antes del examen, utilizando el Diccionario de

Gramática Funcional en el cual encontrarán la explicación de mucha de la
terminología empleada en las consignas.
5. Tener presente que lo que se evalúa es la comprensión de un artículo académico

auténtico y no el conocimiento gramatical o de lengua inglesa. (Por ejemplo
todos hablamos español y no siempre comprendemos los textos que leemos)
6. Leer cuidadosamente este material, en el cual se encontrarán explicaciones y

ejercicios que permitirán al alumno comprender las características del examen
libre.
Antes de comenzar, nos gustaría mencionar errores comunes que llevan a los alumnos
a desaprobar en términos generales:
1. Desconocimiento del proceso de lectura y objetivos del curso. (por ejemplo no
saben qué es una hipótesis general, su diferencia con una específica, momentos
de la lectura, qué es una idea central o la función de un conector, por mencionar
algunos) Este desconocimiento los lleva a respuestas incorrectas.
2. Respuestas que no responden a la consigna: por ejemplo, en la internalización

se pide la redacción de una idea central en una oración. Los alumnos tienden a
escribir más de una oración. Es decir, pierden puntaje en la evaluación por el solo
hecho de no prestar atención a lo que se está pidiendo.
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3. Una mala administración del tiempo del examen. Los textos que se utilizan en
el examen libre del Nivel Elemental son de 150 líneas aproximadamente. El lector
tiende a realizar una lectura detallada de palabra por palabra recurriendo cada
vez que no entiende una de ellas al diccionario. Esto demanda un tiempo
adicional que no le permite al alumno terminar el examen. Se debe recordar que
hay un proceso de lectura involucrado y que haciendo una correcta anticipación
textual permite acelerar el tiempo de lectura ya que la misma garantiza la
detección de partes importantes del texto. También existen estrategias como
por ejemplo la inferencia de vocabulario por contexto que también facilita la
lectura.
¿Cómo están organizadas las consignas del examen?

Las consignas se presentan en tres secciones que respetan el proceso de lectura:
 ANTICIPATE: PRE- LECTURA
En esta sección las consignas guiarán al alumno a realizar una anticipación del contenido
del texto antes de abordar la lectura detenida. Dentro de esta sección el alumno debe
redactar la hipótesis general y la hipótesis específica de lectura. Hay diferentes
estrategias o pasos para realizar dependiendo siempre del texto. A continuación
mencionamos algunos pasos posibles:
Prestar atención a:
1. Bibliografía: Autor, lugar de publicación, tema, campo.
2. Título, subtítulos, apartados etc.
3. Paratexto, gráficos, negrilla, notas a pie de página, palabras entre comillas, fechas,
nombres propios, cosas que nos llaman la atención.
Con la información obtenida de los pasos previos procedemos a la:
4. REDACCIÓN DE UNA HIPÓTESIS GENERAL: Tomando los datos que rescatamos de

los pasos anteriores nos aventuramos a arriesgar lo que esperamos encontrar
desarrollado en el texto, es decir, anticipamos el contenido del texto.
Luego de la hipótesis general podemos seguir profundizando nuestra anticipación

mediante:
5. Palabras/ frases claves: Escaneamos el texto para detectar palabras/ frases claves
relacionadas con nuestra hipótesis, con los datos que ya tenemos. Salteando partes,
dejando de lado lo que no entendemos. Nos centramos en transparencias, luego
interrelacionamos las palabras/ frases claves tratando de elaborar una posible
relación conceptual entre ellas.
6. Lectura de primera oración de cada párrafo: tratando de identificar párrafos
importantes, postura, conclusión del autor, ejemplificaciones, citas. Esta estrategia
nos permite detectar la organización semántica del texto. Muchas veces esto no es
suficiente y debemos recurrir a la última oración de cada párrafo.
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7. Lectura del primer y último párrafo si el texto es más extenso: esta estrategia nos
permite ver el punto de arranque del fragmento y el último párrafo es el que se utiliza
para el cierre.
8. Detección conectores importantes que generalmente se encuentran a principio de
párrafos. Esta estrategia nos ayuda también a detectar la estructura semántica del
texto puesto que podemos anticipar que el texto va a desarrollar contrastes,
relaciones de causa/consecuencia, concesiones, etc.
Con la información obtenida de los pasos previos (no necesariamente se aplican todos)
podemos realizar la:
9. REDACCIÓN DE LA HIPÓTESIS ESPECÍFICA DE LECTURA: Después de haber realizado

todos estos pasos, nuevamente relacionamos, interrelacionamos, inferimos,
uniendo todo lo anticipado. Redactamos una hipótesis específica de lectura. Es
específica porque ya tenemos más datos.
10. AHORA SÍ LEEMOS más detenidamente con el propósito de verificar o rechazar
nuestras hipótesis de lectura.
 VERIFY: DURANTE LA LECTURA
Durante la lectura o luego de haber leído el texto podemos realizar los ejercicios de
esta sección. Los mismos tienen la finalidad de focalizar en ciertas partes importantes
del texto. Pueden comprender al contenido o aspectos lingüísticos o gramaticales que
se encuentran como objetivos del curso. Las consignas de esta sección buscan evaluar
la comprensión de conceptos importantes. Los ejercicios más frecuentes que se
encuentran aquí son:
1. Preguntas de contenido
2. Definición de conceptos
3. Jerarquización conceptual
4. Llenado de cuadros con información del texto en donde se requiere

explicación / definición o conceptualización
5. Detección de funciones de conectores y conceptualización de

conceptos unidos por el conector.
6. Detección de referentes
 INTERNALIZE: POST LECTURA
Esta es la última parte del examen, y la que mayor puntaje tiene. ¿Por qué? Porque en
esta sección se evalúa la comprensión del texto y la capacidad del alumnos de
internalizar los conceptos relevantes presentes en el texto. La respuesta dada refleja si
el alumno puede organizar jerárquicamente los conceptos relevantes y establecer una
relación conceptual correcta. En el nivel elemental se requiere en esta sección la
redacción de una idea central en una sola oración.
15
Recomendaciones:
La idea central
- Debe contener los conceptos relevantes/ fundamentales del texto

jerarquizados
- Debe ser específica y no general
- No debe ser descriptiva: ejemplo el texto trata primero de … para

luego seguir explicando .. Esto no es una conceptualización, es una
descripción no requerida, es decir no respeta a la consigna.
- No es un resumen
- No es presentación del tema
- Debe ser una sola oración: Se recomienda realizar una oración

compleja con conectores que faciliten el establecimiento de relaciones
entre las ideas.
Todos los contenidos anteriormente mencionados en la virtualidad

son evaluados con ejercicios de selección múltiple.
Ejemplo: en vez de producir la idea central con todas las
características y requisitos anteriormente mencionados se pide ,
por dar un ejemplo, el reconocimiento de una idea central
adecuada al texto leído y que cumpla con dichos requisitos.
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Capítulo 3
¡Manos a la obra! Veamos todo esto en acción.
Comenzamos por aspectos administrativos importantes

El examen tiene el siguiente encabezado:
NOMBRE: Nº DE ORDEN: 1
All answers should be written in SPANISH2. This is a READING test in English (not an
English Language test) based on the course that is taught at this Faculty. You have TWO
hours to complete the test3. You may start the anticipation as you receive the exam.
After 20 minutes approximately we will collect the anticipation answers. Follow
directions4; any answers that do not respond to the question asked or the request made,
will NOT receive the percentage assigned. You must reach 70%5 in order to pass the
exam as established by the regulations of the Facultad de Filosofía y Letras. Make sure
that your name is on all the sheets you turn in and please sign your name when you
complete the exam. You may use a dictionary and the Grammar Dictionary6.
NOMBRE: …………………………… CARRERA: ...................................
Nº de Libreta: …………………………
e-mail:…………………………………
Año de ingreso a la Universidad:
Nº de materias cursadas:.............. Nº de materias aprobadas: ........................
¿Cómo se preparó para este examen?
................................................................................................................
Conocimientos/estudios previos de inglés: Primaria........Secundaria............ Colegio
bilingüe........... Instituto privado......... Años cursados............ Exámenes
internacionales............ ¿Cuáles?............ Otros............. ............. 7.
1
El Nº de orden es el número en el que figura en el acta del examen. Es muy importante para nosotros
tener este dato.
2
Las respuestas a todas las consignas son en español
3
El tiempo que tienen para la realización del examen del nivel elemental es de dos horas.
4
Este comentario advierte que los que no responden la consigna pierden el porcentaje asignado a dicha
respuesta.
5
La nota de aprobación mínima es de 75/100
6
En el examen se puede tener cualquier diccionario en formato papel y también se puede usar el
Diccionario de gramática Funcional.
7
Por favor no olvidarse de responder a todos estos datos. Los mismos nos permiten orientarlos y tener
un perfil del alumno al momento de evaluar.
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Capítulo 4
TEXTO 1
Pasemos al examen ahora. Vamos a examinarlo para tener una idea de cada una de
sus partes. Luego retomaremos con el mismo para trabajar con las consignas.
DO NOT READ THE TEXT IN DETAIL YET! FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS!8
Sil, S. (2007). Parent-school partnerships: Forked roads to college access. The School
Community Journal, 17(1), 113-128.9
ANTICIPATE (OPTIONAL ACTIVITY / NOT GRADED)10
1. Read the bibliographical data, title of the article and subtitles.

2. Think about what you know of the concept “Social Capital” and how you can relate
it to a school environment 11 Debe leerse escribir o reconocer
3. Write a General hypothesis relating the concepts present in the titles and subtitles.
4. Scan the text for important connectors/ articulators.
5. Scan the last section for the purpose of the article or for the author’s voice. Read
the lines.
6. Read the first two lines of the opening paragraph of each section.
7. Write a more specific hypothesis with the information you have till now.
En las consignas 4, 5 y 6 se requiere el uso de dos estrategias de lectura diferentes
para detectar la estructura semántica y partes importantes del texto
8
Como se observa, la consigna se les pide que no comiencen con una lectura lineal aun.
9
Si prestamos atención a los pasos a seguir detallados en la sección de anticipación anteriormente
explicada, lo primero que tenemos que tener en cuenta es de dónde fue extraído el fragmento a leer
para poder hacer una correcta anticipación.
10
Comienza el examen con la sección llamada ANTICIPATE. Recuerden que estamos en el momento de
PRE- LECTURA. Recomendamos fuertemente su realización para poder efectuar una buena lectura del
fragmento y para optimizar tiempos.
11
Esta consigna invita a activar el conocimiento previo sobre el tema.
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Todas las consignas guían a través de la utilización de distintas estrategias para llegar a
la redacción tanto de la hipótesis general (punto 3) como a la especifica (punto 7)
Debe leerse escribir o reconocer
NOW READ THE TEXT IN DETAIL.12
Sil, S.(2007). Parent-school partnerships: Forked roads to college access. The School
Community Journal, 17 (1), 113-128.
0
A Social Capital Perspective on Parent-School Partnerships 0
0
0
Coleman’s (1988) extensive study of the social structure of parental ties 0
and their influence on the creation of human capital gives us insight into the 1
ways social capital is formed and benefits the actors. Coleman defines social
capital by its function, whereby individuals form social relationships that give
them access to various resources that were previously not at their disposal. He
emphasizes the deliberate process of building social networks through changes 5
in relations among persons that benefits those who participate in the process.
Coleman identifies three forms of social capital. The first is based on obli-
gations, expectations, and trustworthiness of social structures where a benefit
accrued by the first actor on the second builds up an obligation for the latter to
return the favor to the former and simultaneously builds up a recurring expec- 10
tation on the part of the first actor for the same. The success of this exchange is
based on the trustworthiness of the social environment and the actual extent
of obligations held, a higher level of obligation implying a greater amount of
social capital. In a school environment, this kind of social capital can be observed
within the organizations of parents where the parents have strong links with 15
one another, forming a cohesive group, and also when parents and teachers
share a high level trust that can benefit the school. Bryk and Schneider (2002)
use Coleman’s framework of social capital to draw our attention toward the
social relationships at work in the school communities and how the nature of
social exchanges between the principal, teachers, students, and parents can 20
enhance the school’s capacity to improve. Instead of affecting student learning
directly, relational trust between the various stakeholders supports a set of con-
ditions – some structural and some psychosocial – to make the environment
more conducive to learning, ultimately leading to improved school productivity.
Schools that have well-lubricated communication patterns between and among 25
12
Recién, ahora se procede a la lectura del texto.
20
parental groups and teachers have higher relational trust, and this can act as
social capital for the school (Bryk & Schneider).
The second form of social capital that Coleman (1988) identifies inheres
in the information channels provided by a social network, that is, the use of 30
social relations to access information that otherwise could be quite costly to
access and share. Strong relationships between parents and school personnel
can provide this kind of informational capital as they effectively share ideas
about students that, in turn, can enhance their abilities to make decisions in the
best interest of the students. By providing information to parents about the 35
choice of curricula that their children should select, such social relationships can
improve students’ chances of future college access. These social ties can be of
immense benefit, especially to those parents who have never been to college
themselves and therefore lack the necessary information and expertise to aid
their children in making effective curricular choices. Within the parental groups, 40
members can share information about course offerings and the effectiveness of
various teachers, thereby promoting college access for their children.
The third form of social capital inheres in the norms and effective sanc-
tions adopted by members of a social network. Coleman (1988) emphasizes the
use of some social norms, either internalized or rewarded, that can enhance 45
certain actions. While acknowledging the importance of all types of social rela-
tions and social structures in facilitating social capital, Coleman identifies an
important characteristic of social structure that facilitates social capital in the
form of closure of social networks, or the level of interconnectedness of actors,
which makes norms and sanctions effective. Coleman gives an example of 50
intergenerational closure, wherein close ties between parents ensure effective
monitoring of the children across several families. In addition, closure creates
trustworthiness in the social structure (Coleman; Portes, 1998). One can
therefore defend the effectiveness of this kind of social structure in cohesive
parent groups that can benefit students. Applying the theory of social capital to 55
schools, we can assume that stronger parental community participation can aid
in human capital formation as intergenerational closure acts to maintain disci-
pline and discourages deviant behavior among students, thus reducing dropout
rates and improving the chances of college access, as Coleman’s study on high
schools reveals.
The Dark Side of Social Capital
60
While social relationships within parent groups and between parents
and schools have ostensible advantages as discussed above, there are
somewhat under-recognized but equally germane drawbacks that need to be
considered for developing a coherent understanding of parental social capital.
This section builds on cases where strong community ties have, in fact, reduced 65
the autonomy of schools to undertake reforms. (…)
Studies by Lareau (1987) and Lareau and Horvat (1999) on parental par-
ticipation in schools provide interesting insights into the role played by social
21
stratifications in parental participation and help us understand why some
groups of parents are more vocal than others. Although these studies 70
emphasize differences in cultural capital for different socioeconomic classes,
one can discern a parallel set of differences in the operation of the social capital
of these various groups as well. In these studies, we see that even though the
school teachers encouraged parental participation especially in reinforcing and
monitoring the learning efforts of their children, participation by upper-middle- 75
class parents was found to be higher both in terms of quality and quantity,
whereas the working-class parents showed signs of discomfort in interacting
with the same teachers. Furthermore, the working-class parents were also
unfamiliar with the school’s curriculum and the specific educational problems
of their children. This difference in parents’ participation could be attributed to 80
differing educational capabilities and to differences in information about
schooling. Most of the upper-middle-class parents had college degrees and
considered themselves no less qualified than the teachers in handling the
educational requirements of their children, even to the extent of criticizing and
monitoring the teachers. Furthermore, they had more disposable income and 85
flexible work schedules that constituted better material resources to have
effective parent-school partnerships. On the other hand, most of the working-
class parents were either high school graduates with no college experience or
high school dropouts, and many had problems in school as children themselves.
They had more faith in the teachers’ abilities to guide their children, as they 90
were not confident about their own abilities. Additionally, the upper-middle-
class parents displayed strong intergenerational closure as these parents
socialized a lot with other parents in the school community. As a result, they
had extensive information about the classroom and school life of their children.
Quite in contrast were the working-class parents who had close ties only with 95
their own relatives in the area and almost no contact with other parents of the
same school. Lareau’s study clearly indicates the link between social class and
parental participation. It also suggests that the kind of family-school
relationship promoted by the schools currently benefits the richer families while
devaluing the family-school relationships that the working class finds more 100
comfortable.
Lareau and Horvat’s (1999) case study of parental participation of Black
parents in school activities shows a similar class-based effect whereby middle-
class parents’ cultural and social resources help the parents to comply with the
dominant standards in school interaction, while types of parental participation 105
that the teachers do not approve of are discouraged. Blacks, irrespective of so-
cial class, however, suffer from an additional lack of the valued cultural capital
that Whites enjoy, resulting in better performance of White children in schools
(Lareau & Horvat). These studies are in the tradition of Bourdieu, trying to ex-
plain unequal academic achievement and reproduction of social relationships 110
(Bourdieu, 1985).
Another perspective is provided by Post’s (1992) case study based in
Joshua Gap, a small California town. Even though this study does not directly
pertain to college access, it provides a good example of a situation where strong
groups of parents have acted in unison to go against a school’s policy. In this 115
22
case the local school board’s attempt to adopt a multicultural reading series was
met with protests from a group of parents who demanded removal of the
books. This community of parents sharing common interests felt that the series
was against their perception of traditional family values and unpatriotic as the
books were international in flavor. It was thus a concept of community con- 120
structed by some members who shared perceptions of what is right and what is
wrong. On the other side of the conflict were the teachers and another set of
parents who supported the introduction of the series. Both sets of parents,
however, were from similar racial and socioeconomic backgrounds and were
equally vocal in their demands. In this case, we observe how strong community 125
ties may attempt to reduce the autonomy of the schools in the selection of
curriculum, since the community did not perceive the change in the curriculum
as appropriate. Parents may use their social capital to curb innovative efforts on
the part of the school.
Post’s (1992) case study is distinct and revealing compared with the 130
earlier cases of detracking and class-based parental participation. In the
detracking case reported by Oakes et al. (1997), one set of parents was more
vocal than the others, while in the class-based parental participation studies
done by Lareau (1987; Lareau & Horvat 1999), the upper-class parents were
clearly in an advantageous situation as far as teachers’ perceptions of parental 135
participation were concerned. However, in Post’s study, the two sets of parents
with opposing views are equally vocal in their views. This is, in fact, an example
of healthy parent-school partnerships; not only were all groups of parents
equally active, but also their discordant voices were given equal importance by
the school. 140
Illuminating the Dark Side of Social Capital: Setting an Informed

Agenda for Schools
The studies discussed above bring forth certain contradictions to the 145
traditional wisdom that strong parental social capital can lead to positive
outcomes for all students. Coleman’s theory provides a functionalist approach
towards viewing the positive outcomes of social capital, inhering from strong
parental links with the schools. When he defines social capital, one of his basic
assumptions is that “social capital is productive, making possible the 150
achievement of certain ends that in its absence would not be possible”
(Coleman, 1988, p. S98). The various studies discussed in the previous sections
raise doubts about this basic assumption. There is no doubt that Coleman’s
ideas about social capital have certainly been seminal in the understanding of
parent-school dynamics. This article, while acknowledging the positive 155
outcomes of social capital, tries to extend Coleman’s work by developing
boundary conditions to his theory whereby outcomes of social capital may not
be positive for all stakeholders.
The next section examines how schools can play a role in facilitating the
acquisition and control of scarce resources, such as higher track classes that lead 160
23
to college access, and in enhancing the power to define and control the
appropriate outcomes or function of schools. In view of a conflict approach to
the social capital aspect of parental participation in schools, whereby the ends
that different groups of parents are trying to achieve through strong social net-
works are not necessarily the same, I posit that schools need to be careful about 165
the differential outcomes and should therefore take measures to improve the
chances of college access for students of lower socioeconomic status.
Las preguntas o ejercicios de selección múltiple

abarcan el contenido. Ejemplo en vez de explicar
los conceptos contrastados como en el punto 1. se
les da diversos conceptos contrastados y eligen la
opción correcta según el texto.
VERIFY (55 %)13

Las preguntas 1 y 2 se refieren al contenido del artículo. Se requiere la focalización en
conceptos importantes del texto.
1. Explain the two concepts / ideas that are being contrasted in the article. (20%)
2. What is the author’s opinion on Coleman’s social capital perspective? (20%)
3. What type of relation/ function does therefore (line 166) indicate? What ideas
En este caso se evaluó la función de un conector. El
does this word join? (15%) examen puede abarcar cualquier contenido presente en el
Diccionario de Gramática Funcional.
Function:…………………………….. (Se solicita que se indique la FUNCIÓN, es decir
qué tipo de relación se establece entre las ideas)
Idea1:…………………………………………………………………………………………
Idea 2:…………………………………………………………………………………………
INTERNALIZE (45%) Esta es la consigna que mayor valor tiene. Por tal motivo hay que
ser muy cuidadoso, entender bien qué es una idea central y respetar el pedido de UNA
SOLA ORACIÓN.
Write the main idea of the excerpt in ONE, WELL – WRITTEN SENTENCE.
NOTE: The sentence can be a long complex sentence with connectors but it should only
be ONE SENTENCE. It should contain the relevant concepts present in the text and clearly
show the relationship between them.
13
Toda la sección tiene este puntaje. Al lado de cada consigna verán el puntaje que se otorga para cada
respuesta correcta
24
Activities: Answer Sheet
Luego de haber visto en forma general cómo es un examen libre del nivel elemental, lo
invitamos a realizar las distintas tareas que presentamos a continuación para poder
entender qué se espera en una respuesta correcta. Realice cuidadosamente todas las
actividades propuestas que le permitirán entender los errores comunes que
frecuentemente encontramos al momento de corregir.
Ahora, pasaremos a comunicarnos en inglés para practicar la comprensión de

instrucciones.
Anticipate (Before reading)

You have 30 minutes to do this section in which you are requested to write a general
and specific hypothesis.
General Hypothesis: If you examine the tasks required in the anticipation section, tasks
1 and 2 guide you to get the information necessary to write the general hypothesis
through the following steps:
a- Read the bibliographical data, title of the article and subtitles Advance a
general reading hypothesis.
b- Think about what you know of the concept “Social Capital” and how you can
relate it to a school environment. ( activation of background knowledge)
ACTIVITY 1: Which of these general hypotheses do you consider is more adequate to

anticipate the ideas that will appear in the article? Why?
Este es el tipo de ejercicio de
reconocimiento es requerido
a) General hypotheses: en los libres virtuales.
1. El texto tratará de la teoría del capital social, de sus ventajas y desventajas en el

contexto escolar.
2. El texto hablará de la participación de los padres en la escuela y como dicha

participación facilita el ingreso a la facultad.
3. Bajo la perspectiva del capital social, la participación de los padres en las

escuelas tienen ventajas y desventajas. Las escuelas pueden ofrecer
alternativas que superen las desventajas.
4. El texto habla sobre el capital social en las escuelas.
25
5. Mientras las relaciones sociales entre los grupos de padres y entre los padres y
la escuela tienen ventajas ostensibles, las comunidades educativas reducen su
autonomía para llevar a cabo reformas.
b) Specific Hypothesis:
1. Study tasks 4, 5 and 6 from the anticipation section, which strategies are
being resorted to in order to guide the reader to build a specific hypothesis?
Choose the correct answer from the list below.
a- Reading the first and last paragraphs Este es el tipo de ejercicio de

b- Reading the first sentence of each paragraph
en los libres virtuales.
c- Scanning the text for key words.
d- Reading the first and last sentence of each paragraph
e- Scanning the text for important connectors to identify text structure.
f- Identifying important parts of the text.
g- Reading the first lines or sentences of each text section
h- Scanning the text to identify author’s stance or voice.
i- Reading identified important lines of the text.
Now study the following specific reading hypotheses. Which one do you think is a
correct answer? Why?
a. Existen contradicciones con respecto al capital social parental. Por lo tanto la

escuela debe estar atenta y proponer medidas al respecto.
b. Según Coleman la participación de los padres en el contexto escolar permite

incrementar el capital social, este capital social favorecería a todos los actores en
especial facilita el acceso a la universidad de los estudiantes sin embargo esta
participación podría traer desventajas especialmente para clases sociales bajas por
lo cual la escuela debe estar atenta y promover medidas que garanticen un acceso
a la universidad para los grupos en desventaja.
c. La participación de los padres en el contexto escolar favorece el acceso de los

alumnos a la universidad. Dicha participación incrementa el capital social a través
del establecimiento de obligaciones y confianza entre sus miembros que permite
el mejoramiento de la escuela. Favorece canales de información y la adecuada
adopción de normas y sanciones.
26
VERIFY (55 %) (While- reading)
Exam task: Explain the two concepts / ideas that are being contrasted in the article.
(20%)
ACTIVITY 2:
Study the answers given by different students to this exam task. None of the
answers got full mark. Why?
a. Mientras las relaciones sociales entre los grupos de padres y entre los padres y
la escuela tiene ventajas ostensibles, las comunidades duras reducen la
autonomía de las escuelas para llevar a cabo reformas.
b. Por un lado el autor expone algunos estudios en el que se muestra que en las
escuelas donde se llevaron a cabo ideas de capital social de Coleman por medio
de grupos de padres, estas escuelas terminaban perdiendo autonomía. Pero a la
vez el autor sostiene que se debe a una mala interpretación del concepto de
Coleman. Por lo cual el autor sostiene que las ideas de Coleman pueden llevar al
ascenso social en alumnos de bajos recursos.
c. Contrasta a las ideas que el capital social. No siempre es positivo en todos los
casos o en todas las clases de la misma manera. La primera idea es la idea de
capital social como ventaja (Postura de Coleman). Aquí se plantea que un fuerte
capital social de padres va a generar resultados positivos tanto en el estudio de
sus hijos como en la institución educativa en su mejoramiento en general. Pero
por el otro lado, se presenta o contrasta la idea negativa del capital social.
Exam task: What is the author’s opinion on Coleman’s social capital perspective?
(20%)
ACTIVITY 3:
Identify the best answer. Justify your choice. en los libres virtuales.
a- Según el autor, la perspectiva sobre el capital social que presenta Coleman

permite analizar el origen y l formación del capital social, así como también los
beneficios que supone para sus actores. Pone énfasis en el proceso de construcción de
redes sociales, así como también en la aplicabilidad de la misma en relaciones entre
familia y la escuela, con el objetivo de mantener una disciplina y una relación que
beneficie a ambas partes.
27
b- La opinión del autor sobre la perspectiva de Coleman sobre el capital social es
que identifica tres formas de capital social. El primero se basa en obligaciones, la
segunda identifica el canal de información de red y el acceso a la información. Y la
tercera habla sobre las normas y efectiva sanción a adoptar entre los miembros de una
red social.
c- El autor considera que la teoría de Coleman sobre el capital social es incompleta

ya que hay que considerar las posibles desventajas. Es decir la teoría para el autor es
insuficiente. Hay factores no reconocidos por Coleman que son necesarios para lograr
una comprensión más completa del capital social. Para ello, retoma los estudios de
Lareau y Horvat para remarcar las diferencias en el capital cultural de las diferentes
clases socio- económicas y demostrar las conexiones que existen entre la clase social y
la participación de la familia en las escuelas. Sil también ejemplifica la influencia que
posee pertenecer a una familia de población negra o blanca y remarca la desventaja en
términos de capital cultural de la población negra en comparación con la población
blanca. También Sil demuestra como grupos de parentesco fuertes pueden oponerse a
una innovación escolar reduciendo así la autonomía de la escuela en la selección de la
curricular. A través de todos estos casos, Sil demuestra que la teoría de capital social de
Coleman también tiene desventajas que deben ser cuidadosamente tenidas en cuenta.
El autor caracteriza al enfoque de Coleman como funcionalista en tanto se basa en el

supuesto de que el capital social siempre tendrá efectos positivos. Sin embargo
cuestiona esta mirada excesivamente optimista ya que hay estudios que demuestran
que no en todos los casos hay efectos positivos, que un fuerte capital social puede llegar
hasta limitar la autonomía de una escuela, por lo que propone analizar de una manera
más compleja y más profunda la participación de las familias en las escuelas.
Exam task: What type of relation/ function does “therefore” (line 166) indicate? What
ideas does this word join? (15%)
Function:……………………………..
Idea1:…………………………………………………………………………………………
Idea 2:…………………………………………………………………………………………
28
ACTIVITY 4:
Classify the answers given by the students following the following categories:
CORRECT ANSWER/ INCORRECT ANSWER / PARTIALLY CORRECT
a) Function: Consecuencia
Idea 1: cuidado/ atención de las escuelas ante la posibilidad de diferentes resultados

producto de la participación de los padres y el capital social.
Idea 2: necesidad de medidas por parte de las escuelas para posibilitar el acceso a la
universidad a alumnos pertenecientes a un nivel socioeconómico bajo.

b) Function: Por lo tanto reconocimiento es requerido en los
libres virtuales.
Idea 1: las escuelas deben tener cuidado con los diferentes resultados producto de la
intervención de los padres
Idea 2: deben garantizar el acceso a la escuela de estudiantes con bajos recursos

económicos.
c) Function: Contraposición de ideas
Idea1: las escuelas deben ser cuidadosa de los resultados diferentes.
Idea 2: deben incrementar oportunidades para las clases sociales bajas.

Este es el tipo de ejercicio de reconocimiento es
requerido en los libres virtuales. Identificar errores en una
idea central o identificar la correcta.
INTERNALIZE: (Post reading) 45%
Exam task : Write the main idea of the excerpt in ONE, WELL – WRITTEN SENTENCE.
ACTIVITY 5:
a) The following main ideas are incorrect or partially correct. What is the problem with
each of them?
a- El capital social de los padres en relación a los resultados de sus hijos en la
escuela: cómo influye, distintos puntos de vista y cómo la escuela debe
adaptarse a las distintas clases sociales. El concepto de capital social trabajado
por Coleman plantea tres formas que incluye la idea de que los padres de
alumnos participen activamente en beneficio de la escuela (de forma cuidadosa
para que la misma no pierda autonomía) y en pos de mejorar las posibilidades
de igualación social entre alumnos de diferentes clases sociales.
b- El texto comienza señalando la teoría de capital social investigada por Coleman

que se basa en la idea que la participación de los padres en la institución escolar
29
beneficia la formación y el crecimiento escolar de los estudiantes, sin embargo
esta teoría no sería vista tan positiva ya que eliminaría la autonomía de la
institución escolar y dificultaría demás reformas.
b) Write your own main idea trying not to make the mistakes you identified above.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………
Todo el resto de práctica ofrecida a continuación en el presente documento debe

ser tenida en cuenta en funcion de los comentarios realizados en rojo aplicados en
el texto anterior.
30
ANSWER KEY
Text 1:
ACTIVITY 1: Which of these general hypotheses do you consider is more adequate to

anticipate the ideas that will appear in the article? Why?
a) General hypothesis:
1. El texto tratará de la teoría del capital social, de sus ventajas y desventajas en el

contexto escolar. ( Aceptable/ adecuada)
2. El texto hablará de la participación de los padres en la escuela y como dicha

participación facilita el ingreso a la facultad. ( Aceptable/ adecuada)
3. Bajo la perspectiva del capital social, la participación de los padres en las escuelas
tienen ventajas y desventajas. Las escuelas pueden ofrecer alternativas que superen
las desventajas. (Aceptable/ adecuada)
4. El texto habla sobre el capital social en las escuelas. ( muy pobre/ no aceptable)
5. Mientras las relaciones sociales entre los grupos de padres y entre los padres y la
escuela tienen ventajas ostensibles, las comunidades educativas reducen su
autonomía para llevar a cabo reformas. ( No aceptable)
Justificación:
Las respuestas 1, 2 y 3 son adecuadas para una hipótesis general de lectura. La 4 es muy
pobre ya que denota que el alumno no leyó todos los subtítulos. La respuesta 5 es
inadecuada ya que el alumno, no anticipó el texto. El alumno leyó el artículo entero. No
realizó un proceso anticipatorio. Si bien las tres primeras respuestas son aceptables, la
número tres es la mejor debido a que el alumno ya está tratando de conceptualizar en vez
en la 1 y la 2 el alumno las introduce con una frase “ el texto hablará/ tratará” que lo llevan
a una descripción del texto.
b) Specific Hypothesis:
2. Study tasks 4, 5 and 6 from the anticipation section, which strategies are being
resorted to in order to guide the reader to build a specific hypothesis? Choose the
correct answer from the list below.
j- Reading the first and last paragraphs
k- Reading the first sentence of each paragraph
l- Scanning the text for key words.
31
m- Reading the first and last sentence of each paragraph
n- Scanning the text for important connectors to identify text structure.
o- Identifying important parts of the text.
p- Reading the first lines or sentences of each text section
q- Scanning the text to identify author’s stance or voice.
r- Reading identified important lines of the text.
Como se puede observar, todas son estrategias que permiten anticipar un texto pero en
este caso solo se han utilizado las indicadas por . Cada texto puede ser factible de
permitir el uso de distintas estrategias. Siempre es conveniente el uso de más de una.
3. Now study the following specific reading hypotheses. Which one do you think is a
correct answer? Why?
a) Existen contradicciones con respecto al capital social parental. Por lo tanto la escuela
debe estar atenta y proponer medidas al respecto.
HIPOTESIS PARCIALMENTE CORRECTA. Esta hipótesis es muy general si bien menciona dos
conceptos claves del texto (Capital social parental y desventajas del mismo) no pudo
advertir cuál es la desventaja ni mencionar el concepto de ventaja. No presenta demasiado
avance con respecto a la hipótesis general de lectura.
b) Según Coleman la participación de los padres en el contexto escolar permite
incrementar el capital social, este capital social favorecería a todos los actores en
especial facilita el acceso a la universidad de los estudiantes sin embargo esta
participación podría traer desventajas especialmente para clases sociales bajas por
lo cual la escuela debe estar atenta y promover medidas que garanticen un acceso a
la universidad para los grupos en desventaja.
HIPOTESIS CORRECTA. Todos los conceptos detectados siguiendo los pasos previos de
anticipación se encuentran presentes en la hipótesis. Hay conceptualización, y avance con
respecto a la hipótesis general previa. No involucra esta la hipótesis una lectura detallada y
total del texto.
32
c) La participación de los padres en el contexto escolar favorece el acceso de los alumnos
a la universidad. Dicha participación incrementa el capital social a través del
establecimiento de obligaciones y confianza entre sus miembros que permite el
mejoramiento de la escuela. Favorece canales de información y la adecuada adopción
de normas y sanciones.
HIPOTESIS INCORRECTA: Si bien los conceptos presentes en esta hipótesis son correctos y
se ajustan al contenido del texto fuente, esta hipótesis no es una verdadera hipótesis, es
decir se puede ver claramente que el alumno no aplicó estrategias de lectura anticipatorias
sino que leyó el texto detenidamente. Se focalizó en una lectura lineal y detallada de la
primera sección del texto, no anticipó contenido y omitió otras secciones del artículo.
Recomendación:
 Seguir las consignas en el momento anticipatorio
 Tener presente cuáles son las estrategias

anticipatorias
 Realizar hipótesis que se ajusten a las estrategias

utilizadas
VERIFY (55 %) (While- reading)
Exam task: Explain the two concepts / ideas that are being contrasted in the article.
(20%)
ACTIVITY 2:
Study the answers given by different students to this exam task. None of the answers
got full mark. Why?
a) Mientras las relaciones sociales entre los grupos de padres y entre los padres y la
escuela tiene ventajas ostensibles, las comunidades duras reducen la autonomía de
las escuelas para llevar a cabo reformas. INCOMPLETA
33
RESPUESTA PARCIAL: No explica cuál es la ventaja, si menciona una sola desventaja.
Respuesta que es parcial. No explica que hay dos posturas, una positiva con respecto al
capital social y sus ventajas, mientras que hay una postura negativa que presenta las
desventajas. La respuesta es incompleta.
b) Por un lado el autor expone algunos estudios en el que se muestra que en las escuelas
donde se llevaron a cabo ideas de capital social de Coleman por medio de grupos de
padres, estas escuelas terminaban perdiendo autonomía. Pero a la vez el autor
sostiene que se debe a una mala interpretación del concepto de Coleman. Por lo cual
el autor sostiene que las ideas de Coleman pueden llevar al ascenso social en
alumnos de bajos recursos
RESPUESTA INCORRECTA. Hay errores de comprensión y conceptos que no se ajustan a lo

expresado en el texto. Ejemplo: “ideas de Coleman pueden llevar al ascenso social en
alumnos de bajos recursos”. Justamente el autor del texto sostiene que es una de las
desventajas puede ser el riesgo de no acceso a la universidad o de poca participación de
los sectores / actores con bajos recursos.
c) Contrasta a las ideas que el capital social. No siempre es positivo en todos los casos
o en todas las clases de la misma manera. La primera idea es la idea de capital social
como ventaja (Postura de Coleman). Aquí se plantea que un fuerte capital social de
padres va a generar resultados positivos tanto en el estudio de sus hijos como en la
institución educativa en su mejoramiento en general. Pero por el otro lado, se
presenta o contrasta la idea negativa del capital social.
RESPUESTA PARCIAL/ INCOMPLETA. Hasta aquí los conceptos son correctos y se ajustan
al texto pero no explica cuál es la postura negativa. En la primera postura detalla el por
qué es positivo en la segunda idea solo menciona el concepto negativo.
Exam task: What is the author’s opinion on Coleman’s social capital perspective? (20%)
ACTIVITY 3:
Identify the best answer justify your choice.
c- Según el autor, la perspectiva sobre el capital social que presenta Coleman permite
analizar el origen y la formación del capital social, así como también los beneficios
que supone para sus actores. Pone énfasis en el proceso de construcción de redes
sociales, así como también en la aplicabilidad de la misma en relaciones entre familia
y la escuela, con el objetivo de mantener una disciplina y una relación que beneficie
a ambas partes.
34
Respuesta que no especifica si el autor está a favor o en contra. No aclara las objeciones.
Además utiliza términos muy generales que no permiten evaluar si el alumno
verdaderamente comprende las ventajas. (Ver lo subrayado, cuáles son los beneficios, la
respuesta carece de especificidad y no responde a la pregunta de cuál es la opinión del
autor, es decir ¿el autor está a favor o en contra, la acepta o tiene objeciones?) Respuesta
no aceptada como correcta.
d- La opinión del autor sobre la perspectiva de Coleman sobre el capital social es que
identifica tres formas de capital social. El primero se basa en obligaciones, la
segunda identifica el canal de información de red y el acceso a la información. Y la
tercera habla sobre las normas y efectiva sanción a adoptar entre los miembros de
una red social.
Respuesta que no es aceptada por no responder a la consigna y contener errores de

comprensión. Es decir se nota claramente que intenta explicar las tres formas de capital
social pero no lo hace correctamente.
e- El autor considera que la teoría de Coleman sobre el capital social es incompleta ya

que hay que considerar las posibles desventajas. Es decir la teoría para el autor es
insuficiente. Hay factores no reconocidos por Coleman que son necesarios para
lograr una comprensión más completa del capital social. Para ello, retoma los
estudios de Lareau y Horvat para remarcar las diferencias en el capital cultural de
las diferentes clases socio- económicas y demostrar las conexiones que existen entre
la clase social y la participación de la familia en las escuelas. Sil también ejemplifica
la influencia que posee pertenecer a una familia de población negra o blanca y
remarca la desventaja en términos de capital cultural de la población negra en
comparación con la población blanca. También Sil demuestra como grupos de de
parentesco fuertes pueden oponerse a una innovación escolar reduciendo así la
autonomía de la escuela en la selección de la curricular. A través de todos estos casos
, Sil demuestra que la teoría de capital social de Coleman también tiene desventajas
que deben ser cuidadosamente tenidas en cuenta.
f- El autor caracteriza al enfoque de Coleman como funcionalista en tanto se basa en

el supuesto de que el capital social siempre tendrá efectos positivos. Sin embargo
cuestiona esta mirada excesivamente optimista ya que hay estudios que demuestran
que no en todos los casos hay efectos positivos, que un fuerte capital social puede
llegar hasta limitar la autonomía de una escuela, por lo que propone analizar de una
manera más compleja, más profunda la participación de las familias en las escuelas.
Respuesta C y D ambas son correctas. En este caso es interesante ver como la respuesta D
es mucho más clara aún que la C y cómo conceptualiza claramente la idea en pocas palabras.
No es necesario parafrasear todo para lograr dar una buena respuesta.
35
Exam task: What type of relation/ function does “therefore” (line 147) indicate? What
ideas does this word join? (15%)
Function:……………………………..
Idea1:…………………………………………………………………………………………
Idea 2:…………………………………………………………………………………………
ACTIVITY 4:
Classify the answers given by the students following the following categories: CORRECT
ANSWER/ INCORRECT ANSWER / PARTIALY CORRECT
a) CORRECT ANSWER
b) PARTIALLY CORRECT : En la función el alumno traduce el conector en vez de

expresar la relación del mismo en el texto. (consecutivo). En la segunda idea hay un
error de comprensión producto de la inadecuada comprensión del término
“collage”. El texto se refiere al ingreso a la universidad y el alumno interpreta que se
está mencionando la escuela.
c) INCORRECT ANSWER: la relación lógica del conector es incorrecta. En la idea 1 no
específica con qué se relaciona los diferentes resultados. Es decir, es una respuesta
tan general que no da cuenta si el alumno comprende o no. Lo mismo sucede en la
segunda idea ¿a qué oportunidades se refiere? El evaluador no puede distinguir si el
alumno comprende que las oportunidades se refieren a la posibilidad de ingresar a
la universidad.
INTERNALIZE: (Post reading) 45%

Exam task : Write the main idea of the excerpt in ONE, WELL – WRITTEN SENTENCE.
ACTIVITY 5:
a) The following main ideas are incorrect or partially correct. What is the problem with
each of them?
1. INCORRECTA: Si bien no hay errores conceptuales, la respuesta no responde a la

consigna. Es una frase con ideas / conceptos tan generales que no especifica a qué se
refieren. En realidad el alumno solo presenta el tema pero no explica conceptos.
36
2. INCORRECTA: El capital social como es planteado por el alumno solo beneficia a la
escuela. Parece que es Coleman quien dice que la participación debe ser cuidadosa. Esta
participación no es para mejorar las posibilidades de igualación social entre alumnos en
la escuela, sino de dar oportunidades a todos los alumnos para un ingreso a la
universidad. Hay en esta idea central errores de comprensión textual. Responde a la
consigna en cuanto que es una oración pero conceptualmente es incorrecta.
3 PARCIALMENTE CORRECTA: Esta idea central describe el texto y no especifica

conceptos. No menciona el ingreso a la universidad ni tampoco qué sucede con las
diferentes clases sociales. En cuanto a sus beneficios también es general, a ¿qué
beneficios se refiere?
b) Write your own main idea trying not to make the mistakes you identified above.
37
38
Capítulo 5
TEXT 2
Bonet, LL. & Négrier, E. (2011): ‘The end(s) of national cultures? Cultural policy in the face
of diversity’ in International Journal of Cultural Policy. Vol. 17, Nº 5, 574-589.
Sobre la anticipación, prelectura o etapa predictiva de elaboración de hipótesis:
Como ya dijimos, la anticipación implica todo aquel estudio previo a la lectura proposicional
para captar las ideas centrales y secundarias del texto con ayuda del paratexto y de palabras
o frases claves que encontramos en la primera y última oración de cada párrafo. Vamos a
ponerlo en práctica:
ANTICIPATE:
1. Strategies towards a general reading hypothesis.
Choose the best alternative and justify your choice:
a. Have a look at the text, study the source and read titles and subtitles.
b. Read the last sentence of each paragraph and circle important connectors.
c. Read the title of the fragment and establish connections with previous
knowledge
2. A general reading hypothesis.
Which is a possible correct general reading hypothesis? Explain why.
a. Se pone en duda o se cuestiona que las culturas nacionales se estén

extinguiendo ya que la diversidad cultural presente y las políticas llevadas a
cabo no reflejan la historia verdadera de cada pueblo.
b. Si se toma el concepto de diversidad cultural y se lo relaciona con la cultura

o culturas nacionales, se podría poner en peligro a las mismas, ya que la
diversidad atenta contra una cultura nacional.
3. Strategies towards a specific reading hypothesis.
Choose the best alternative and justify your choice:
a. Read the first and last paragraphs. Scan the rest of the text and circle key
words.
39
b. Read the first sentence of each paragraph and choose two that you consider
important. Read them at this point.
c. Read the first sentence and last sentence of each paragraph.
d. A combination of two of the above.
4. A specific reading hypothesis.
Which is a possible correct specific reading hypothesis? Explain why.
a- Tanto el concepto de diversidad cultural como el de cultura(s) nacional(es) son

polisémicos y, sumado esto a las deferentes historias culturales y de conformación de
los estados-nación modernos, especialmente en países occidentales como EEUU y
Gran Bretaña, se impone un análisis que contemple las diferentes políticas culturales
como ámbitos muy complejos de intervenciones del Estado.
b- Si los diferentes estados, especialmente los de Europa Occidental y EEUU dan cabida
a diferentes políticas culturales públicas que contemplen la gran diversidad cultural de
las minorías y de la conformación socio-histórica, se corre el riesgo de que desaparezca
la cultura nacional como una construcción homogénea y a la vez hegemónica, por lo
cual, la intervención del Estado en sus políticas públicas debe apuntar a neutralizarlas.
40
1 Does cultural diversity imply the end of national cultures? And if such is the case,
would this in turn imply a radical transformation of national political cultures? A
simplistic approach of these two questions is that diversity is a threat toward
national cultures. This idea faces two obstacles: cultural diversity is very difficult to
define, because of its polysemy, or measure (Farchy and Ranaivoson 2004); and the
idea of a stable, coherent, and unique national culture is contradicted by its growing
internal plurality and permanent process of change (Audet and Saint-Pierre 2009).
Beyond the polysemous character of both terms, an analysis of several recent
contributions on the relationship between political culture and diversity in the
10 western countries shows the response to be complex (Bonet and Négrier 2008).
The questioning of national particularities has been more significant than one might
think. The majority of countries are today perplexed by these questions. The British
melting pot, which has been so often seen as on the cutting edge for its active
acceptance of multiculturalism and its practice of the devolution of powers, is
facing the dilemmas raised by intervention in the public sphere when confronted
with the rhetoric of diversity (Matarasso 2008). These dilemmas can take on a tragic
dimension, as has been shown recently by the manipulation of cultural differences
in the Balkans and, more generally, a European history in which cycles of
destruction and liberation succeed one another (Sassoon 2006).
20 In the USA, European-rooted culture has historically dealt with a tension between
its hegemony and its recognition of marginalized communities. This tension has
evolved in a non-linear fashion over the course of the last few decades, having been
shaped by the competing pressures of neo-conservatives and interculturalists
(Gagnon and Tully 2000). The case of Latin America, though less known, is much
more complex. The westernization of these countries has been less pronounced.
Taken globally or on a nation-by-nation basis, the register of cultural diversity has
allowed Latin Americans to fall back on a (false) national homogeneity, while
highlighting the cultural hybridizations which historically have marked the
personality of the continent and continue to condition its future (Hopenhayn 2008).
30 In Western Europe, cultural diversity has not only allowed a return to an alleged
homogeneity of national constructions of cultural roots and traditions, well
understood by 30 anthropologists (Hannerz 1997), but also a pronounced
regionalism within certain countries, such as Spain. It also requires us to seriously
think about the most contemporary aspects of public policy. Cultural diversity is not
only the business of ethnologists or historians; it has become an important
consideration for urban planners, social workers, and artistic directors. It is also one
of the axes of reflection that Tony Bennett has applied to the relationships between
culture and differences (Bennett 2001). Even today, successive waves of
immigration which are more or less rapid, more or less identical, lead cities to
40 rethink their policies, indeed, their cultural life. Here it is not essentially about
charity, generosity, or condescension toward the underprivileged. It is a question
41
of cultural and artistic innovation within the great tradition of what has historically
constituted the European urban phenomenon.
In appearance, these countries have been approaching these questions of cultural

diversity with principles that have been historically forged over the course of their
long relationship with alterity. France and its tradition of integration, the UK and its
multiculturalism rooted in an initially colonial framework, Spain and its historic
difficulties with national constructs – all these trajectories have produced different
perceptions as well as contradictory responses and proposals for government
50 action, at least in appearance. In reality, there are significant gaps between the
principles they advertise and the concrete actions undertaken by the state. Thus,
the pluralistic English model functions on the basis of common rules which
reintroduce a little integration into what is in principle a multicultural model
(Moreno Fuentes 2004). Likewise, in the French model of integration by
assimilation, one can find an entire range of techniques for managing groups, from
a pragmatic respect for certain ‘local cultures’ to taking into account the ethnic
specificities of a particular population (Négrier 2006). Spain finds itself in the
paradoxical position of having to manage a considerable influx of immigration after
having been one of the most significant sources of emigration. Thus, the differences
60 in practice among these countries as to the ways of affirming cultural diversity are
neither stable nor absolute but relative. They do not allow us to affirm the
continuation of ‘national cultures’ that are hermetically sealed or without common
denominator. This is why the question of cultural diversity is one that affects all
these countries, whether individually (within their specific problematic) or
collectively (through the emergence of a shared problem).
For cultural policies, the recognition of these relative differences and the
emergence of a shared problem is of importance since these policies have a
particular historical link with the rise of national identities (and cultures). The crisis
of these national cultures should logically condemn the policies which are attached
70 to them. This reasoning is, however, too simplistic, notably because there are at
least two ways to conceive of the end of national cultures.
The first is that of ‘end as conclusion.’ It corresponds to the hypothesis of the

fulfillment of an historical cycle, that of nation-states at the terminal point of their
development (Jessop 2000), whose cultural policies would now be overwhelmed
from above (Europeanization, globalization) and from below (federalization,
decentralization, localization) by the emergence of new axes of intervention. This
hypothesis of multilevel substitutions is simplistic. It does not take into account the
reality of the relationships between the different levels of governance for which the
real question not one of transfers between levels but one of new points of juncture
80 between them. In the first part of this paper, we will thus show how cultural
diversity is inscribed in the long-term evolution of the modes of intervening in
culture.
42
The second is that of ‘end as purpose.’ It concerns the purposes of intervention in
the public sphere in the broadest sense of the word. This debate, which we will
examine in the second part, is promising. It addresses the emergence of new
paradigms of public policy (Radaelli and Schmidt 2004) to which cultural diversity
becomes a challenge (Schmitter Heisler 1992). The critiques that are now applied
to cultural diversity are diverse, and its juridical coherence, political consistency,
practical value, and sociological signification will be considered in this part of the
90 paper. […]
1. Cultural diversity and the history of cultural policies
A brief presentation of the history of cultural policy in the West tends to show a
linear evolution which would run a course from the first monarchs as patrons of the
arts to state intervention in art and culture (Cummings and Katz 1987). This
evolution, which has been fairly rapid and coherent in developed countries the
prince’s individual patronage of an artist to the institutionalization of this
relationship in a collective form. The driving force behind this history would be the
progressive recognition of a particular status accorded to culture. It would not be
until the second half of the twentieth century that the extrinsic purposes of cultural
policies would emerge, prompted by social, economic, and diplomatic factors (Gray
100 1996), even if political instrumentalization has a long history.
It is from this particular reading of history that the notion of cultural diversity seems
to be faithful to recent evolutions, while at the same time contradicting what some
consider as the very foundation of intervention in the public sphere: the defense of
culture for its own sake. According to this thesis, the alternative would only lead to
a manipulation of culture for the pursuit of respectable goals which are, however,
of questionable or no legitimacy (Royseng 2008). The world of cultural policies
would thus have to confront two important categories of goals: intrinsic and
extrinsic. The first would target public support of culture for its own sake:
institutionalization, professionalization, and democratization. The second would,
110 on the contrary, pursue larger goals with culture as its means: economic
development, diplomacy, and social integration. Cultural diversity would be the
latest register of this evolving legitimization. The latter set of goals are often
critically received: historically more recent, these extrinsic objectives would
threaten the pursuit of the more noble goals of cultural policy (Gibson 2008).
Our reading of history is different. It suggests that cultural policies have not always
been justified only through larger goals. This phenomenon can be explained by the
political dimension of cultural policies. Their need to be legitimized (with respect to
the private sphere and the market in particular) presupposes the elaboration of
equivalence, in discourse as well as in action, between cultural intervention and
43
120 political projects. This is what analyses have deduced from the new importance of
paradigms (Hall 1993) and from the referential framework of public policy (Giraud
and Warin 2008): the justification of intervention in the public sphere has always
dialectically associated, on the one hand, professional norms and, on the other, a
global system of references based on governmental objectives. To be legitimate, a
cultural policy must link its economic rationale to the dynamics of society as a
whole, a linkage which has always aroused lively debate. It has evolved over the
course of time, adding new professional domains and policy objectives without
abandoning those of its previous policies.
1556 words
Sobre la verificación de las hipótesis, lectura analítica o etapa de microprocesamiento:
La verificación se dará (a través de una lectura más pausada, más detallada) al comprobar
la veracidad de las hipótesis con la lectura misma, incluyendo la detección de ideas
secundarias, las relaciones entre ellas y el comienzo de la construcción de la idea principal.
Esta etapa del proceso de lectura estratégica conlleva la focalización en aquellas secciones
detectadas como importantes y la lectura exhaustiva (en más detalle) de las mismas, como
por ejemplo el análisis de conectores, para lograr caracterizar, definir y conceptualizar
aquellos conceptos específicos más relevantes.
Vamos a ponerlo en práctica:
VERIFY:
1. Summarize diversity in the following regions/countries using your own words. There is
an example to help you:
REGION/COUNTRY EXPLANATION
La tensión entre la hegemonía, sostenida por los

neoconservadores, y el reconocimiento de las minorías
USA
marginales, impulsado por los interculturalistas, ha
caracterizado la cultura de raíces europea de ese país.
Latin America
Western Europe
44
2. Explain the following concepts using your own words. Abstract and conceptualize.
Translation word by word is not our objective. There is an example to help you:
CONCEPT EXPLANATION
Modelo que propone la integración a través de reglas comunes y

pluralistas sobre la base de ideas de multiculturalidad y
Multicultural model alteridad. Los países europeos, como Francia, España y Gran
Bretaña, han tenido muchas dificultades para ponerlos en
práctica a través de políticas adecuadas.
The end of national
cultures
Diversity in cultural
policy
3. Concentrate on on the one hand and on the other in the last paragraph and explain
why these answers are incorrect:
a. Type of connection established: Une dos o más conceptos, actúa como

enlace.
b. Concept 1: La primera de las ideas que se conectan.
c. Concept 2: Es el contraste adversativo.
d. Importance of the connector: Los gobiernos implementan políticas
culturales a nivel local y global.
4. Provide the right answers for the previous activity.
5. Explain the following sentence using specific concepts from the text:
Our reading of history is different (line 115).
These answers are incorrect, explain why in each case:

 Existen diferencias en nuestra interpretación de la historia.
 Es la oración que introduce la posición del autor.
 Hay una relación entre políticas culturales, acciones gubernamentales y
política global.
45
Sobre la internalización, reconstrucción textual o etapa de reformulación del texto
paralelo:
En esta etapa de internalización o reformulación personal de los textos, se presenta la idea
central u oración síntesis. La misma debe contener la integración de los conceptos
específicos más importantes del texto y por lo tanto mostrar jerarquía conceptual y
coherencia.
Vamos a ponerlo en práctica:
INTERNALIZE:
1. Classify the following incorrect main ideas according to these categories (one sentence
may have more than one category):
CONCEPTUAL MISTAKE: se reformula mal un concepto porque no se lo comprendió
DESCRIPTIVE: se realiza una descripción lineal del texto prestando atención a la

estructura en lugar de sus significados
GENERAL: no incluye todos los conceptos
DOES NOT COMPLY WITH THE REQUIREMENTS: no cumple con los requisitos solicitados,
por ejemplo se utiliza más de una oración, no se establecen relaciones entre las ideas
por medio de una conjunción o conector sino que se las yuxtapone utilizando signos de
puntuación
INCOMPLETE: Se incluyen los conceptos relacionados con un aspecto desarrollado en el

texto pero se omite otro, por ejemplo en los textos que establecen comparaciones.
COHERENCE PROBLEM: en la oración síntesis hay contradicciones o definiciones

imprecisas de ciertos conceptos.
a. El texto trata sobre las culturas o la cultura nacional, la diversidad cultural o

multiculturalismo y la política cultural de cada país, sumado a las características
locales de cada Estado.
b. Como las definiciones y concepciones tanto de diversidad cultural como de cultura

nacional convergen en consensos más o menos aceptables, es posible afirmar que
cada Estado definirá su/s política/s culturales con una agenda que contemple tanto
el contexto global como acciones de gobierno tendientes cumplir con objetivos
gubernamentales, sin desatender la esfera económica
c. En primer término, el texto explica las dificultades en la polisemia de los conceptos

de culturas nacionales y diversidad cultural para luego proceder a brindar ejemplos
de países de Europa Occidental y de América Latina y explicar las dos maneras de
46
comprender el ‘fin de la cultura nacional’, para culminar con la definición de
diversidad y dar su punto de vista o posición específica al respecto.
d. La tensión entre la hegemonía, sostenida por los neoconservadores, y el

reconocimiento de las minorías marginales, impulsado por los interculturalistas, ha
caracterizado la cultura de raíces europea de ese país. Es por esto que se impone
legar a un entendimiento común de diversidad cultural.
e. Si bien es cierto que dicho concepto tiene dos posibilidades de ser interpretado, dicha
interpretación, por lo tanto, de ‘fin de las culturas’ es muy importante para que los
países pueden diseñar las políticas que, a pesar de las diversas interpretaciones de
dicho concepto, pueda tener éxito a nivel global y sea preservador de las
comunidades minoritarias marginadas.
2. Now, you write the main idea of the excerpt in ONE WELL – WRITTEN SENTENCE. This
sentence should summarize and combine the most important concepts of the text.
ANSWER KEY
ANTICIPATE:
1. Parte desde lo más general
2. En tanto predictivas, tentativas y factibles de ser verificadas, ampliadas o
rectificadas, ambas posibilidades son correctas.
3. Cualquiera de las posibilidades es aceptable para arribar a una hipótesis específica
de lectura.
4. Aunque la segunda versión se aleja de la propuestas de los autores, en tanto
hipótesis, ambas son correctas por su coherencia en la enunciación y por el alto nivel
de especificidad.
VERIFY:
Los ejercicios 1, 2 y 5 se trabajan en base a las respuestas elaboradas por los
estudiantes, según sigan los ejemplos dados.
4. On the one hand and on the other of the last paragraph:
a. Type of connection established: Contraste adversativo

b. Concept 1: las normas profesionales como primera justificación de la
intervención estatal en políticas públicas en la esfera pública.
c. Concept 2: Objetivos de gobierno con referencias a un marco global como
segunda justificación a la intervención en la esfera pública.
d. Importance of the connector: Refuerza la postura y propuesta académica
de los autores en la conclusión del fragmento.
47
INTERNALIZE:
1. Clasificación de ideas centrales incorrectas

a. General: no incluye todos los conceptos importantes
b. Error conceptual, no hay consenso
c. Descriptiva
d. Incompleta
e. No cumple con el requisito de ser enunciada en una sola oración
f. Incoherencia por uso inadecuado de los conectores y de correlación conceptual
2. Se trabaja en base a la producción hecha por cada estudiante.
48
Capítulo 6
TEXT 3
Doubleday, V. (2008): ‘Sounds of Power: An Overview of Musical Instruments and Gender
in Ethnomusicology Forum. Vol. 17, Nº 1, 3-39.
ANTICIPATE:
1- Read the bibliographical data, the title and the subtitle.
2- Analyze the figures and connect them to the general topic.
3- Write a general reading hypothesis.
4- Read the first sentence of each paragraph. Underline key words and/or key
phrases.
5- Choose two paragraphs that you consider very important and read them at this
point.
6- State your specific hypothesis.
7- Read the text in detail
1 Musical instruments are significant cultural artifacts invested with a wide range of
significant meanings and powers. Through their presence and through the sounds they
produce, they have a special ability to transform consciousness. To possess or play a
musical instrument is to wield power hence the title of this themed issue, “Sounds of
Power”. Around the world instrumental sounds are indispensable to many religious and
secular rituals, and in some situations instruments achieve iconic status.
Ellen Koskoff points out that ‘although all performance may be regarded as a locus of
power, performance on musical instruments is often bound up with cultural notions of
10 gender and control in ways that vocal performance is not’ (1996, 97). Why should this be
so? Instruments exist independently of the performer as tangible objects, with identities
49
and cultural capital of their own. As Arjun Appadurai has argued, the meanings of objects
(such as musical instruments) are ‘inscribed in their forms, their uses, their trajectories’
(1986, 5). As commodities, musical instruments lend themselves to contestation. Through
the agency of monopolies and taboos, one group may claim possession over an
instrument to the exclusion of another. Gender is one of the most important parameters
in human power relations, influencing most aspects of life, and the power play between
humans over musical instruments is often enacted along gender lines-although this is not
to say that vocal performance is not a gender issue; see Koskoff ’s discussion of the ‘kol
20 isha’ prohibitions relating to the female voice in Hasidic Judaism (2000a, chapter 8).
In their work on gender and material culture, Pat Kirkham and Judy Attfield make the
general point that power and meaning in physical objects are constructed as the product
of relationships between the objects and people (1996, 2). In instrumental performance,
a relationship is set up between the instrument and performer, creating a contested site
of meaning. Furthermore, as objects whose sounds have transformative power, musical
instruments are frequently endowed with personhood. It is common to find them treated
almost as magical ‘beings’ to be coveted, contested, protected, vaunted or demonised.
The anthropologist Alfred Gell’s theory of agency readily applies to musical instruments.
He argues that significant objects (such as dolls, cars or works of art) occupy positions as
30 social agents in human culture (Gell 1998, 7). They have a personhood of their own, and
they become ‘enmeshed in a texture of social relationships’ (ibid., 16_17). Gendered
meanings are part of an instrument’s personhood, and as such, they are fluid and
negotiable.
We already have a large ethnomusicological literature on music and gender, dealing with
numerous important aspects of the topic, but within it, musical instruments have not
been a major focus. As for scholarship on musical instruments, I agree with Kevin Dawe’s
statement that we have only just begun to piece together a satisfactory understanding of
the meaning of musical instruments in human cultures and societies (2005, 60).
In this overview, my starting point is what I shall call the ‘basic instrument-human
40 relationship’ (Figure 1). Gendered meanings are constructed within such relationships-
and within transformations and configurations based on these, as I shall discuss. The
human being most obviously connected with a musical instrument is its owner or
player*but many others could be implicated: a sculptor who is inspired by its form, say,
or an Afghan Taliban official who intends to destroy it. Both the instrument and human
may be gendered. Furthermore, other parameters (e.g. age, class, social status, ethnicity,
etc.) may intersect with gender in important ways. See, for example, Svanibor Pettan’s
comments on the intersection of gender with ethnicity, religion, and urban-rural and
regional-local divides in Kosovo (2003, 288).
When any class of people wishes to maintain control over a particular musical instrument,
50
50 an exclusive instrument-human relationship is developed, forbidding outsiders access. On
a general level, this pattern has been common among male professional instrumentalists,
as discussed in more detail below. Some professional monopolies are hereditary, and
even caste-related, with specialised knowledge being handed down from father or uncle
to son or nephew. Ideally at least, these musicians work within closed systems in which
masculine power and prestige can be maintained and guarded (see, for instance, Baily
1988; Charry 2000; Euba 1990; and Neuman 1980). The parameters of professionalism,
heredity and class or caste typically intersect with gender.
Exclusivity depends upon a relationship in which contact is ideally obstructed and

forbidden. I will call this a ‘negative instrument-human relationship’; see Figure 2. In many
60 different parts of the world, there are numerous instruments that girls and women are
expected not to touch or play, and female experience of these ‘negative relationships’ is
a logical outcome of instrumental monopolies. When exclusivity is firmly established, it is
common for women and other ‘outsiders’ to accept the negative relationship to an
instrument as almost ‘natural’.
When musical instruments are heavily invested with power, the exclusive relationship
may take on an almost ‘fetishistic’ intensity. The term ‘fetish’ was originally applied to
‘magic figures’ in Central Africa (see Mack 1995), and by ‘fetishistic’ I wish to convey the
idea of a strong attachment to a magically charged object. In some men’s cults, musical
instruments are treated in this way, being carefully tended and surrounded by protective
70 taboos. The bullroarers and paired flutes of the secret cults of manhood of Papua New
Guinea present a good example. Initiated men enforce strong taboos around them,
believing that they must be insulated from the power and danger of women’s bodies and
menstrual blood (Thomas 1995, 54). Through their ritual enactments, cult members
create a style of hegemonic masculinity, setting a dominant standard against which other
masculinities are defined, so uninitiated men are also rigorously excluded.
Beyond these ‘basic’, ‘exclusive’, ‘negative’ and even ‘fetishistic’ human-instrument

relationships, I will explore some other relationships in the course of this article: those
that include spirits, and those that are socially ‘suitable’, ‘acceptable’ or ‘strained’. I will
also examine the implications of ‘same-gender’ and ‘cross-gender’ relationships between
80 player and instrument. Another line of enquiry concerns how instruments are used in the
construction of human gendered identities; this includes variations in sexual orientation,
gender role-reversal, and ‘androgynous’ phenomena. But, before that, I need to highlight
some important features of gendered meaning in instruments themselves.
Gendered Meaning in Instruments
Gendered meanings may be applied to any artefact, and therefore to any musical
instrument. Dawe points out that musical instruments ‘are richly symbolic of our potential
to externalise physically and socially our needs, aspirations, allegiances and creative
51
energies’ (2005, 59). Some instruments are more acutely and obviously gendered than
others, and in some cases, gendered meanings are not immediately obvious, being covert
and esoteric. For instance, the image of a human hand painted on a Moroccan frame
90 drum is a religious symbol, the ‘hand of Fatima’, daughter of the Prophet Muhammad,
imprinting the instrument with female associations not evident to a cultural outsider; see
Figure 3a.
Gender is a relational phenomenon, so meanings are constantly subject to change, even

if they may appear as stable and fixed. In his analysis of metaphorical meaning in material
objects, Christopher Tilley stresses that it is the activity between ‘producers and their
products’ that creates meanings*which supports my general focus on instrument-human
relationships. Tilley also states that the activity between producers and products may
serve to gender the persons and artefacts (2002, 27). If we apply Tilley’s model to musical
instruments, we may ask who ‘the producers’ are. Instrumental performers activate
instruments and bring their sounds to life, but many other people are involved in creating
100 meaning in instruments: instrument makers, ritualists, visual artists, people in the music
industry, journalists, advertisers, novelists and poets, politicians, religious leaders,
moralists and campaigners.
In many traditions, spiritual beings are also significant agents in the construction of
meaning. Figure 4 shows a simple triangular relationship between a spiritual being,
instrumentalist and instrument; all three entities may be gendered. Theoretically, within
this schematic triangle various relationships may exist, each with potential to express
gendered meaning.
To take an example, Saraswati, the Hindu goddess of wisdom, learning and the arts, has
the Karnatic vina lute as her attribute and symbol. The image of this goddess as an
110 instrumentalist is explicitly mentioned in religious texts and depicted in the visual arts
(e.g. see Chaturvedi 1996; Ghosh 1984). In contemporary Hindu iconography Saraswati is
instantly recognisable because she holds and plays her sarasvati vina (so named to
distinguish it from other vina types; see Dick, Geekie, and Widdess 1984); see Figure 5.
This costly and prestigious instrument is pre-eminent in Karnatic classical instrumental
music, requires many years of training, and symbolizes ‘acoustic knowledge at the highest
level’ (Flora 2000, 325). Saraswati’s image supports the vina as a suitable instrument for
52
girls and women, lending them the aura of her particular feminine spiritual identity. In
South India, wealthy families, especially those of the Brahmin priestly caste, promote the
vina as a graceful adornment for girls to study (Lord 2003, 2). Female associations also
apply to the instrument’s physical form, through a creation legend that Lord Shiva
120 modelled it on the body of his wife, the goddess Parvati. The vina’s long neck represents
her slender figure, its two gourd resonators imitate her breasts, and the metal frets
resemble her bracelets (Buchner, 1971, 54)
1533 words
53
54
VERIFY:
8- Explain the following concepts in your own words in Spanish. BE SPECIFIC.
CONCEPT EXPLANATION
Gendered meanings
instrument and
performer, … a
contested site of
meaning (lines 24-25)
Gell’s theory of agency
(line 28)
‘basic instrument
human relationship’
(lines 39- 40)
‘fetishistic’ intensity
(line 66)
9- Consider connector although (line 18) and complete.
Type of connection established:

Concept 1:
_________________________________________________________________________
Concept 2:
Importance:
INTERNALIZE:
Write the main idea of the excerpt in ONE WELL – WRITTEN SENTENCE. This sentence
should summarize and combine the most important concepts of the text.
55
56
Capítulo 7
TEXTO 4
Mundy, M., Kupczynski, L. & Kee, R., (2012): “Teacher’s Perceptions of Technology
Use in the Schools” in SAGE Open published on line.
http://sgo.sagepub.com/content/early/2012/03/05/2158244012440813
Teacher’s Perceptions of Technology Use in the
Schools
Marie-Anne Mundy, Lori Kupczynski, and Rick Kee
Abstract
Although many schools are equipped with the latest instructional technologies, multiple studies have
indicated that more than half of the teachers equipped with computers only use them for administrative
functions, and only half of their students report using technology more than once a week. Many faculty
members lack the technological proficiency needed to take advantage of these new technologies, making
them unable to bring these technologies into the classroom and leading to many standing unused in the
classroom. This study analyzes teachers’ perceptions of technology use in the classroom by surveying
those who participated in the TeachUp! Technology empowerment program created and developed by
Digital Opportunity Trust USA, Inc. (DOT USA). The results show that teachers who were part of DOT
USA’s TeachUp! Program perceived a significant increase in the areas of student engagement, student
excitement, student acceleration of learning, and student proficiency with computer technology. The
analysis has indicated that faculty members need not only to learn how to use technology at a basic level
but also to learn how to integrate that technology into their curricula. In addition, newer teachers from digital
native generations must be taught how their acquired skills can be used to integrate technology into the
classroom curriculum to provide complex cognitive engagement for their students. It is essential that the
role of the teacher as a professional in the classroom not be discounted when evaluating classroom
curriculum development and strategy, including those that would integrate various technologies.
Keywords: digital natives, instructional technologies, curriculum, technological proficiency,

professional development
Technology in the classroom has come a long way since the 1980s. Today its usage extends well
beyond graphing calculators, interactive whiteboards, I-clickers, laptop computers, and iPods.
Prensky (2001) first coined the term “digital natives” to represent those younger generations that grew
up with technology integrated into their everyday lifestyles. Since then, research has focused solely
on digital natives as students (Lei, 2009; Stearns, 2006; Wood, 2006). Educators have noted that
digital natives use technology differently from their parents and teachers, especially those who are
members of nondigital native generations (Powell, 2007; Prensky, 2006). An abundance of research
focuses on these digital natives in the K-12 classroom, but many digital natives have actually entered
the workforce (Rainie, 2006) and have chosen the field of education—often as teachers or preservice
teachers (Dutt-Doner, Allen, & Corcoran, 2005). Lei (2009) noted that the current research trend is to
focus on digital natives as professionals pursuing careers in education.
This trend includes research aimed at understanding these teachers in the classrooms, their
perceptions, their use of technology, and their perceptions of the benefits for students who use
technology in the classroom. This then takes an additional step as teachers must find ways to teach
using technology, which provide complex cognitive engagement that in turn allows students to invest
themselves in the learning process (Warschauer, 2007). Central to these ideas is the concept of the
teacher as a professional in the classroom comparable with a lawyer in a law firm or a doctor in a
hospital. From there, one is able to value the perceptions and judgments of the teacher on technology
use in the classroom and learning.
57
Teachers as Professionals
In the modern United States, the role of the teacher as a professional has become ambiguous.
Professionalism is often discussed in terms of standards and performance (Rodd, 2006). Osgood
(2006) described the neoliberal constructions of professionalism as valuing male attributes, including
rationalism, competitiveness, and individualism. These same attributes from the consumer-centric
mentality were teachers. Thus, this marginalization reduced teachers to the role of a service provider,
rather than a professional.
In the United States, notions of professionalism are centered on accountability, whereas a popular
Italian concept—the Reggio Emilia context—of professionalism in early childhood education
describes professionalism in terms of trust. In the Reggio Emilia approach, the guiding principal is
that programs should reflect the beliefs and values of the community. Therefore, various programs
would differ based on the diverse communities practicing Reggio Emilia. In this approach, the
understanding of the teacher as a professional, by the community and parents, allows the teacher to
freely make autonomous and trustworthy decisions, as well as continue his or her professional
development, which stems from observation, conversation, debate, and reflection on his or her
personal work. Terzi and Cantarelli (2001) stressed that this reflection enriches the educator’s
knowledge and contributes to trustworthiness.
The professionalism of a teacher can also be compared with professionalism in other sectors such
as law or medicine. As with professionals in these sectors, teachers work in an environment where
their obligations are understood by tradition rather than specifically outlined in a job description
(Scriven, 1988). Scriven (1988) acknowledged that the same models of evaluation used in other
sectors should be applied to teaching because teaching is “best conceived of as a profession,
whatever the proportion of teachers that rise to or reject that conception” (p. 3). Griffin (1990) offered
four propositions to make teaching as attractive as other careers. These include perceiving teaching
as intellectual, understanding that teachers are central to decision making in schools, understanding
that the work of the teacher is determined and rewarded based on school needs and expectations as
well as individual professional choices, and, finally, understanding that teachers engage in
professional development to ensure that they maintain their understanding of their profession.
Teachers’ Perceptions of Technology Use
Computers have changed the way that many teachers approach teaching. Teachers are now able to
use computers to demonstrate dynamic processes in real time such as providing students with
simulations of how gases behave at different temperatures in science classes (Hurwitz, 1999) or
showing videos and movie clips of significant historical events, all of which allow the teacher to
provoke deeper thought processes. Several older digital natives who have used computers, both in
and out of the classroom, over the past two decades would recognize, as well as welcome, the
necessity for an informal and critical approach to the use of computers in education (Loveless, 1999).
Despite the enormous headway that computer technology has made, there is still a common
misconception that computers and the Internet are the only useful technologies for the field of
education (Lyle, 2009). However, education technology is actually spread throughout a broad
spectrum of different technologies including, but not limited to, those used in “design, making,
problem-solving, technological systems, resources and materials, criteria and constraints, processes,
controls, optimization and trade-offs, invention, and many other aspects dealing with human
innovation” (Lyle, 2009, p. 35).
There is a lot of research on the views of teacher’s about technology use in the classroom. According
to Cope and Ward (2002), experienced teachers who had little or no professional development in the
use of technology in the classroom were less likely to use it in the classroom and were less likely to
see the benefit of technology usage in the classroom. Royer (2002) found that the more teachers
58
were involved in actually setting up classroom technology the more likely they were to use that
technology for instruction (Royer, 2002). This is why it is important for teachers to receive technology
skill training. This is not to say that the advancement of technology use in the classroom changes the
role of the teacher. Wang (2002) found that teachers saw their roles as being more teacher centered
and less student centered in classrooms that did not have computers. However, teachers did not
think that they would teach differently or that their roles would be different in a classroom with
computers. Savery (2002) noticed that faculty felt comfortable using technology such as email,
overhead projectors, and videos. However, faculty felt that they used email more often for instruction
rather than for the students demonstrating a difference in the perceptions of the use of email (Savery,
2002). Wilson, Notar, and Yunker (2003) found that on the average, teachers used the computers 1.9
hr per week mainly to enter grades in elementary schools. Students spent even less time on the
computers—only 1.5 hr per week. A study in Taiwan demonstrated a strong relationship between
teacher training and the integration of technology into the curriculum. Hsu (2010) discovered that the
better trained the teacher was in the use of technology, the more likely he or she was to successfully
integrate it into classroom instruction. In a study of teacher perception of the values that are needed
to be an “exemplary” user of technology in the classroom, it was found that teachers believe that a
person has to be confident in his or her ability to use technology and committed to its use (Ertmer,
Ottenbreit-Leftwich, & York, 2007).
In addition, Warschauer (2007) found that schools with a higher socioeconomic status integrated
technology much more readily because teachers are confident that students have better access to
computers and/or technology at home and therefore can complete homework in which technology is
necessary for the completion. Schools with a lower socioeconomic status can compensate somewhat
for this difference by providing laptops for home use, keeping the computer lab open after school, or
using mobile labs more efficiently. Warschauer also stated that boys appear to use computers for
gaming whereas girls tend to use it for networking and communication. Schools need to develop
better strategies for incorporating technology into classroom instruction by using this information.
When middle school and secondary school teachers used web-based learning tools as part of their
lessons, they perceived that their students were more successful as it appeared to significantly
engage the students (Kay, Knaack, & Petrarca, 2009). Furthermore, the students also scored higher
on tests. This study also found that teachers felt the web-based learning tools were easy for the
students to use. The use of technology in the classroom allows students to engage in a more active
way of thinking, literally a hands-on learning experience in which they are able to practice executing
skills that would be impossible with a traditional book lesson.
1.600 words
ANTICIPATE:
1- Read the bibliographical data, titles and subtitles.
2- Read the first sentence of each paragraph and underline key words and/or key
phrases connected to the general topic.
3- Write a general reading hypothesis.
4- Read the abstract at this point and state your specific hypothesis.
59
5- Read the text in detail.
VERIFY:
1. Select five important concepts that are developed in the text. Use Spanish noun phrases
to express them. Conceptualize. List them according to importance.
a.-………………………………………………………………………
b.-………………………………………………………………………
c.-…………………………………………………………...................
d.-………………………………………………………………………
e.-………………………………………………………………………
2. Explain each of the five concepts listed in the previous exercise.
3. Consider connectors Despite and However (in bold type). Indicate type of connection
established, concepts linked, and text relevance (why we have selected them as important).
Connector Despite (line 58) Type of connection: …
Concept 1:
Concept 2:
Justify relevance/importance: …
60
Connector However (line 60) Type of connection: …
Concept 1:
Concept 2:
Justify relevance/importance: …
4. Explain the results and conclusions of the study in a short paragraph. It should not be
longer than 10 lines.
INTERNALIZE:
Write the main idea of the text in ONE WELL – WRITTEN SENTENCE. This sentence should
summarize and integrate the most important concepts.
61
62
Capítulo 8
Las tesis y los argumentos
Objetivos del Nivel Medio
1- Lectura comprensiva de textos expositivos y argumentativos de 100 a 280 líneas

aproximadamente.
2- Desarrollo de estrategias para los tres momentos de lectura: anticipación,
verificación e internalización.
a. Anticipación o pre-lectura:
 Uso de información paratextual
 Uso de la estrategia de scanning para detectar la organización del
texto mediante la focalización en títulos, subtítulos, resúmenes,
frases destacadas, etc.
 Uso de la estrategia de scanning para detectar párrafos claves.
b. Verificación o lectura:
 Búsqueda y lectura intensiva de párrafos claves.
 Búsqueda y definición de conceptos claves
 Jerarquización de conceptos claves
c. Internalización o pos-lectura:
 Conceptualización de párrafos claves
 Abstracción de la idea principal del texto en una oración que
contenga la información más relevante. La lectura de esta oración
nos permite conocer de qué trata el texto específicamente.
 Construcción de una red conceptual que muestre la interrelación de
ideas y subideas.
3- Lectura proposicional:
 Focalización de construcciones sustantivas
 Focalización de conectores como recursos cohesivos
 Focalización de relaciones anafóricas (categorizadores, deícticos,
etc.)
 Focalización de unidades léxicas negativas y pseudonegativas para
descubrir la posición del autor.
63
64
Capítulo 9
Introducción
En el Nivel Medio, las explicaciones sobre la metodología y las recomendaciones para la
resolución de las consignas del examen libre van a ser más breves, ya que sólo focalizaremos
los aspectos particulares de este nivel que se suman a los objetivos del Nivel Elemental. En
caso de elegir presentarse al Nivel Medio, es necesario leer todo lo pertinente al Nivel
Elemental.
La diferencia más importante entre el Nivel Elemental y el Medio es el tipo textual y su

extensión. En este nivel, en el examen de lectocomprensión se propone un texto expositivo
o un texto argumentativo.
Texto expositivo: Este tipo textual tiene como función fundamental informar, pero un texto
expositivo no solo proporciona datos sino que además agrega explicaciones, describe con
ejemplos y analogías, establece comparaciones, con el fin de facilitar la comprensión de
determinado tema.
Texto argumentativo: este tipo textual tiene como objetivo expresar opiniones o rebatirlas
con el fin de persuadir al lector acerca de su idea o tesis. Algunos ejemplos típicos de textos
argumentativos son los artículos de opinión de los periódicos o los artículos científicos
donde se intenta demostrar una determinada hipótesis.
Aunque el texto debe ser compuesto atendiendo a diversos criterios de orden, claridad,
precisión, etc., los textos argumentativos son más propensos a presentar dificultades de
comprensión que otros, ya que no se intenta reflejar objetivamente una realidad, sino que
lo que se busca es expresar una interpretación de la misma.
Los textos de Nivel Medio tienen una extensión de aproximadamente 250 o 300 líneas.
En segundo lugar, y para lograr los objetivos del nivel, las tareas de comprobación de
comprensión lectora que se introducen en el examen de Nivel Medio son:
 En el momento de prelectura se puede solicitar la detección de la organización
semántica del texto.
 En el momento de la verificación, se puede solicitar la conceptualización de
párrafos. Cuando se solicita conceptualizar algún/nos párrafos, éstos pueden ser
indicados en la consigna o pueden ser de elección del estudiante. Se requiere que a
nivel semántico, sean lo suficientemente específicos como para reflejar su
contenido. A nivel formal, deben expresarse como una construcción sustantiva, no
como una idea principal (oración bimembre).
 En el momento de la internalización, se solicita a los estudiantes la redacción de una
idea principal y la confección de una red conceptual de alguna sección del texto.
65
66
Capítulo 10
TEXT 1
Hilmes, Michele (2008). “Nailing Mercury. The Problem of Media Industry

Historiography”. Alisa Perren and Jennifer Hold (Eds.) Media Industries: History, Theory
and Methods, ed. Blackwell: London
ANTICIPATION
1. Check bibliography, title and subtitles.
2. Scan the introduction and answer briefly:
Field of study:
The problem with media industry for historians:
Author´s approach/proposal/purpose:
3. Read the first sentence of all the paragraphs and anticipate the semantic structure
of the text.
4. Advance 2 specific hypotheses
Nailing Mercury. The Problem of Media Industry Historiography

Michele Hilmes
1 Terminology is important, but like mercury, it’s slippery. The term “media industry”
covers a huge slice of territory ranging over print, sound, screen, and digital bits in
space, in venues as various as corporate communications, advertising, websites,
novels, films, recordings, and music being shared person to person on the Internet.
Its academic sites of study are just as various; media industry scholars can be found
in departments of journalism, mass communications, film, English, art, theater,
business, law, cultural studies, area and ethnic studies, music, anthropology, and
many more. But, in the United States, the most extended and well-established body
of work examining the function of the media industry in its most popular and widely
disseminated forms has arisen around the “sound 10and screen” media: radio,
television, and film, now extending to new digital venues such as the web, DVDs,
10
and digital production. This is a relatively new and indeterminate field marked more
by what it excludes (or by what has been excluded) than by grounded inclusions.
Typically it refers to those texts and practices that are not included in the study of
literature, art, music, and drama as they have been structured in the academy over
67
the last hundred years or so: namely, the Johnny-come-lately communicative arts,
until recently tainted by an association with both machines and the masses, which
by the humanities standards of an earlier time disqualified such pursuits as debased
and anti-individual, fodder for sociologists rather than critics or historians.
Over the last half of the twentieth century, however, the admission of these
technologically driven, industrially based, mass-produced expressive forms to the
purviews of academic study has called into being a radically different conception of
20
the entire process of creative production and reception. Scholarly study of media
industries required a re-theorization of the task of the humanities scholar and a
rethinking of the ways that we understand and analyze culture more generally in
the postmodern world. A media industries focus points directly to those aspects of
cultural production in the twentieth century and beyond that most trouble the
humanities oriented categories of coherence and analysis so central to our
understanding of culture itself: the author, the text, the reader. These categories,
exploded by Foucault and other postmodern theorists some 30 years ago, linger on
in our modes of analysis even as we recognize their extreme fragility in the way that
culture is produced and consumed.
30
The media of radio, popular music, television, and film refuse to conform to
comfortable analytical paradigms. They refute essentialization, require many
components and participants, blur creative lines, stretch the boundaries of
expressive forms, transgress aesthetic standards, cross over cultural borders, break
down disciplined reception, muddy meanings, pervade public and private spaces,
and generally make a mess of our accepted ways of doing scholarship.
For historians – and all analysts are historians in some way or another – the media
industries present particular problems. Where do we look for “authors” when
authorship is dispersed among a host of productive sites (writers, directors, actors,
technicians, marketers, advertisers, ratings companies, networks, studios,
regulators, national boards and bodies, etc.) and how do existing (and non-existing)
historiographical resources complicate this task? How do we approach “texts,”
40
when we are confronted by, to take one extreme example, a program that
originated in 1937 on daytime radio and still airs daily on television today, compiling
such an incredibly voluminous text that no one person could ever possibly “read” it
all in a single lifetime? (I refer, of course, to The Guiding Light, my candidate for the
world’s oldest continuously running serial drama). How do we understand
“readership” when its permutations are so infinitely various and incalculable?
By taking an industries approach to the critical study of media we are indicating a

perspective that is inherently contextual and interrelated. The concept of
“industry” implies the coming together of a host of interests and efforts around the
50 production of goods or 50.services; it also indicates commercial purposes, meaning
the distribution of goods or services in a marketplace for accumulation of profit,
68
though this is sometimes more figurative than literal. In media studies, to nominate
the industry as our focus of study indicates a concern for the creative forces of
production behind the range of communicative texts and objects that comprise our
field of analysis, a place held in more traditional humanistic studies by the author.
Thus industry study is the translation of authorship into a dispersed site marked by
multiple, intersecting agendas and interests, where individual authorship in the
traditional sense still most certainly takes place, but within a framework that robs
it, to a greater or lesser degree, of its putative autonomy – a deeply disturbing
displacement for many, and productive of much of the dystopian rhetoric that the
concept of “mass media” has inspired over the course of two centuries. But it is also
a vital enrichment of our understanding of cultural production and a necessary
60 corrective to the narrow categories of traditional scholarship.
In the following pages, I want to survey the field of media industry history, looking
at various approaches through a lens that situates them within intellectual
traditions forged in humanities scholarship. This will serve to indicate where the
study of media production diverges from that comfortable scholarly habitus. I wish
to link such approaches with the historiographic challenges they pose, from the
location and preservation of sources to the complexity of historical narratives that
they engender. In addition, I will examine the organizing frameworks these
approaches bump up against and consider some key ways that scholars have
organized their thinking on this complex subject: author, text, object, nation,
quality. I hope this will provide media industry historians with a useful way of
70 thinking through their task, as well as an overview of a rapidly developing field.
……………………………………………………………………………………
Structuring Paradigms
Important tensions within this field remain to be explored, and until we think them
through, media industry studies will remain a divided and contradictory area of
research, unable to cope with the challenges that face it in the twenty-first century.
I have referred in the pages above to three such determinate frameworks, which
always have worked behind our basic assumptions and understandings of what
media are and where we should look to examine them: the structuring paradigms
of object, nation, and quality. These terms refer to the problem of, first, defining
the object of study in a way that avoids the pitfalls of older paradigms and enables
fruitful study in an era of converging media forms and industries; second,
acknowledging the important role that media have played in the twentieth-century
80 preoccupation with nation-building and that nation-states have played in the
development of media; and third, recognizing the shift from a restricted, elitist, and
indeed nationalistic view of quality and cultural value to more open, populist, and
globally democratic perspectives. As we move away from the old era of analog
69
media and into the digital age and beyond, the basic organizing paradigms of an
earlier time need to be acknowledged and critiqued so that we can proceed.
The object
First, what is the media object? The lines that scholars have drawn between various
media have been blurred since the beginning, as industry practices clearly show but
academics have ignored or even resisted. Take the field best established in the
90
academy and most clear about its object of study: how can we defend the
paradigmatic object of “film” study – the stand-alone theatrical film – when it
represents a prominent but small subset of works actually produced on film and
seen on screens? Most television programs (to name just one excluded area) have
been shot on film since the 1960s, and more films are viewed on television sets
than in theaters, via cable, video-on-demand, videocassettes, or DVD. Television,
as referenced above, has never been as clearly demarcated in form or technology,
yet its boundaries grow ever looser: how do we define the parameters of
“television,” when an increasing segment of the population receives its “television”
programs online and views them on a computer, iPod, or cell phone screen? How
100 do we separate the study of radio broadcasting from the study of recorded music,
since that has been its primary content since the 1950s? It is a key characteristic of
media studies – and, by extension, media industry studies, that the field has been
broken up into segments nominated by technology as separate (film, radio,
television, video, recordings, DVDs, etc.) even as texts, production, and reception
circumstances inevitably violate all such arbitrary divisions. Convergence is not a
new phenomenon; it is the very hallmark of modern media.
Clearly, these objects we have designated as technologically determined separate

spheres always have converged, and in fact it is academic paradigms that have kept
them separate far longer than any logics of production or industrial framework
110
could justify. Further, the separation of these forms of mediated expression from
their counterparts in “non-industrialized” spheres such as literature, drama,
performance, and documentary remains arbitrary in the extreme, the product
more of hierarchical value structures than any inherent or logical distinction. This
has been obvious at the level of industrial production for over half a century, as
movie studios became radio and then television producers, expanded into recorded
music, vied with television and cable networks in film and music production, and
now intersect with the fields of new media and new modes of convergence (Jenkins
2006).
The advent of digital technology just has begun to shake apart the structures and
distinctions with which we have become comfortable, requiring a rethinking of our
120
approach to the object of study as well as our historiographic methods. As certain
forms of source material swirl past us in abundance on the web, archives are
digitized, and access to documents and industry information appears to be greater
70
than ever, preservation of traditional forms of text – memos, letters, reports, scripts
– ceases and in fact can become even scarcer in the age of instant duplication and
fears of lawsuits. Preserving traces of our digital past is a task that archivists and
historians are only now beginning to grapple with, a far more complex topic than
can be discussed here. As such, a constant interrogation of our categories of
analytical object must be a part of media study in the twenty first century.
The nation
130 The twentieth century, which saw the development of the sound and screen media,
also goes down in history as a century of struggle over the idea of the nation.
Hobsbawm (1992) calls the years between 1917 and 1950 “the apogee of
nationalism,” as colonized nations struggled for independence and two world wars
redrew national boundaries; the forces of globalization so prevalent since the 1950s
worked to highlight the role of the nation-state in both spreading and resisting
globalizing forces. The task of construction and preservation of national cultures
and identities became centrally bound up in the work of media, which came under
the direct supervision of the nation-state at many crucial junctures, particularly
during times of war – hot or cold. Even more than film, broadcasting appealed to
governments throughout the world as a natural venue for both state control over
a powerful domestic means of communication and an outward agent of
information and propaganda. As a result, broadcasting was regulated, supervised,
policed, and, in many cases, monopolized by the state to a greater degree than
140
other forms of modern communication. Even in the United States, where private
ownership and a looser regulatory structure reigned, broadcasting received a
greater degree of state guidance and concern than any other medium, out of very
similar concerns over national identity and cultural unity. In film, national cinemas
defined themselves around a model of auteurdriven noncommercial “quality”
production in contradistinction to the threat of Hollywood.
Another familiar dichotomy emerges: while media industries have consistently

seen their markets as both global and national, and while globalization – like
convergence – continuously plays a role in the history of media production,
150 scholarship has tended to reflect the agenda of the nation-state and focus
unreflectively on the national as the primary sphere of production. The majority of
analyses have chosen to concentrate (as has this one), without much in the way of
theorization, on activities defined within national boundaries, screening out those
traces of transnational activity and influence that are plainly there. This is not to
say that the national framework does not deserve attention – but that it must be
understood not as essential and pre-existing but as constructed within the context
of media industry transnationalism that in fact helped to inspire it. Flows of capital,
of creative personnel, of program forms, of creative concepts, and of cultural
experience, from nation to nation and across the globe, are as much a part of any
mediated expression as its national roots, and this factor needs to be recognized
71
and included in historical analyses. Resistance and opposition are strong forms of
transnational influence as well.
160
To give one small example, the soap opera, a culturally denigrated form associated
with both a passive/addicted female audience and an over-close relationship with
the economic imperatives of US commercial broadcasting, has a history that goes
far beyond this simple genealogy. Though serialized dramas produced by and for
women may have first emerged on American daytime radio in the early 1930s, by
the middle of that decade American scripts were being adapted into other national
languages and cultures, performed live over the air in Canada, Australia, Cuba,
Mexico, Argentina, Brazil, and many other venues – an early example of “format”
production.
170
Quality
As can be seen in the transnational history of the serial, the close relationship
between the nation and modern sound and screen media is deeply imbricated in
the place assigned them within hierarchies of cultural quality. The association of
such media with technologized production and a state-driven or market-based
reach toward the uneducated masses, as noted above, placed film, broadcasting,
and popular music in a sphere outside the more respectable arts. Yet the project of
constructing the modern nation-state mandated direct public intervention in the
production of such mass-directed culture, far more than for those media elevated
by the requirement for literacy or specialized appreciation into the purview of the
educated elite. Therefore considerations of quality became the consistent focus of
public policy and debate as successive new media emerged. Among the questions
180
that have occupied intellectuals and regulators over the nation-building decades of
the twentieth century are: how can we direct media production in certain ways and
discourage it in others? How can we best inculcate national cultural unity and fend
off disruptive forces? Concepts of “quality” in national media formed around
resistance to the denationalizing and “homogenizing” influence of transnational
popular culture, usually from “Hollywood.” Governments formed commissions,
instituted regulatory bodies, and imposed rewards and penalties on cultural
production in a systematic fashion never before possible, or considered necessary.
Modern sound and screen media were perceived as vitally necessary to address and
recruit into the national public sphere those audiences and elements that
challenged it, particularly the subnational (local and regional identities in tension
with the national), the pre-national (those social groups seen as requiring particular
assistance in being integrated into the model of national citizenship, such as
190 women, children and youth, the working class, and ethnic, religious, and racial
minorities), and the transnational (influences seen as “foreign” and
denationalizing).
72
Yet this “downwards address” also placed media industry production on the
degraded level of the popular; its violation of the norms of humanistic authorship
and textual unity made it unsuitable for academic analysis and respectability. The
“highbrow/ lowbrow” split that Levine (1988) traces began as the first mass-
produced media emerged – in print and photography, later in film, recorded music,
and radio – all of them challenging the distinctions and unities of the newly elevated
arts and setting a value on widespread accessibility over educated discernment.
Indeed, the elevation of high culture necessitated the debasement of popular
200
forms; the denigration of mass media enabled the elevation of the elite arts by
contrast and opposition. Only in the last decades of the twentieth century, as
globalization began to break down carefully nurtured nationalized categories of
quality and hierarchies of value, has the democratization of culture begun to bring
media into focus in scholarly analysis, in a broader movement to recontextualize
and complicate the study of cultural forms and their relationship to the societies
that produce them. In particular, the connection between market forces and
cultural production has emerged onto the central stage; as global capital drives
cultural recombination, boundaries of object, nation, and quality become
destabilized, and new approaches to cultural analysis become imperative.
210
Thus to propose the serious study of media industries is a bold and iconoclastic task,
but a necessary one, calling into question some of the dominant analytical
frameworks that have shaped not only media scholarship but notions central to
humanistic study generally. Now a second generation of media scholars has crossed
that Rubicon; this text and the many recent books appearing in this flourishing field
mark its increasing legitimacy. Humanities scholarship of the future should and, I
believe, will include media industry analysis at its heart. Mercury is, after all, the
messenger, the symbol of human communication; as a substance it is difficult to
pin down but very good at escaping from arbitrary restraints.
Quality
220
As can be seen in the transnational history of the serial, the close relationship
between the nation and modern sound and screen media is deeply imbricated in
the place assigned them within hierarchies of cultural quality. The association of
such media with technologized production and a state-driven or market-based
reach toward the uneducated masses, as noted above, placed film, broadcasting,
and popular music in a sphere outside the more respectable arts. Yet the project of
constructing the modern nation-state mandated direct public intervention in the
production of such mass-directed culture, far more than for those media elevated
by the requirement for literacy or specialized appreciation into the purview of the
educated elite. Therefore considerations of quality became the consistent focus of
public policy and debate as successive new media emerged. Among the questions
230 that have occupied intellectuals and regulators over the nation-building decades of
the twentieth century are: how can we direct media production in certain ways and
73
discourage it in others? How can we best inculcate national cultural unity and fend
off disruptive forces? Concepts of “quality” in national media formed around
resistance to the denationalizing and “homogenizing” influence of transnational
popular culture, usually from “Hollywood.” Governments formed commissions,
instituted regulatory bodies, and imposed rewards and penalties on cultural
production in a systematic fashion never before possible, or considered necessary.
Modern sound and screen media were perceived as vitally necessary to address and
recruit into the national public sphere those audiences and elements that
challenged it, particularly the subnational (local and regional identities in tension
with the national), the pre-national (those social groups seen as requiring particular
assistance in being integrated into the model of national citizenship, such as
women, children and youth, the working class, and ethnic, religious, and racial
240 minorities), and the transnational (influences seen as “foreign” and
denationalizing).
Yet this “downwards address” also placed media industry production on the
degraded level of the popular; its violation of the norms of humanistic authorship
and textual unity made it unsuitable for academic analysis and respectability. The
“highbrow/ lowbrow” split that Levine (1988) traces began as the first mass-
produced media emerged – in print and photography, later in film, recorded music,
and radio – all of them challenging the distinctions and unities of the newly elevated
arts and setting a value on widespread accessibility over educated discernment.
Indeed, the elevation of high culture necessitated the debasement of popular
250
forms; the denigration of mass media enabled the elevation of the elite arts by
contrast and opposition. Only in the last decades of the twentieth century, as
globalization began to break down carefully nurtured nationalized categories of
quality and hierarchies of value, has the democratization of culture begun to bring
media into focus in scholarly analysis, in a broader movement to recontextualize
and complicate the study of cultural forms and their relationship to the societies
that produce them. In particular, the connection between market forces and
cultural production has emerged onto the central stage; as global capital drives
cultural recombination, boundaries of object, nation, and quality become
260
destabilized, and new approaches to cultural analysis become imperative.
Thus to propose the serious study of media industries is a bold and iconoclastic task,
but a necessary one, calling into question some of the dominant analytical
frameworks that have shaped not only media scholarship but notions central to
humanistic study generally. Now a second generation of media scholars has crossed
that Rubicon; this text and the many recent books appearing in this flourishing field
mark its increasing legitimacy. Humanities scholarship of the future should and, I
believe, will include media industry analysis at its heart. Mercury is, after all, the
messenger, the symbol of human communication; as a substance it is difficult to
pin down but very good at escaping from arbitrary restraints.
74
VERIFICATION
1. Now, read the first paragraph of the text and make a list of the negatives and
pseudonegatives that appear there. What is their function? If you do not know the
difference between these two groups of lexical items, look for information in the
Diccionario de Gramática Funcional Inglesa.
2. Read lines 62 - 71 and indicate which of the three groups of words contain mainly
general academic vocabulary. Look for the definition of general academic vocabulary in
the Diccionario de Gramática Funcional Inglesa.
GROUP 1 GROUP 2 GROUP 3

SURVEY FOLLOWING SURVEY
FIELD INTELLECTUAL APPROACH
APPROACHES TRADITION SITUATE
SCHOLARSHIP HUMANITIES FORGE
POSE SCHOLARLY SCHOLARSHIP
SOURCES APPROACHES PRODUCTION
EXAMINE HISTORIOGRAPHIC CHALLENGE
FRAMEWORKS LOCATION SOURCES
KEY ORGANIZING FRAMEWORK
SUBJECT SUBJECT THINKING
TASK PROVIDE HISTORIAN
OVERVIEW MEDIA RAPIDLY
3. Read the text and explain briefly the difference/s between traditional humanistic
studies and the industries approach to the study of media.
75
4. Read the other sections and write a concept (noun phrase) for each of them.
Structuring
paradigms
The object
The nation
Quality
INTERNALIZATION
1. Write the man idea of the text in one well-written sentence. The main idea must include
all the relevant concepts and sub concepts that are developed in the text as well as the
comparisons, contrasts or restrictions that are expressed by the authors/s. Do not write a
linear summary. Organize the concept and sub concepts hierarchically. Remember to use
connectors when you write your main idea.
2. Outline the section of the text between lines 1-85. Indicate hierarchy of concepts, sub
concepts and establish relations between them. Use noun phrases, not complete sentences.
76
ANSWER SHEET
En esta sección van a aparecer los ejercicios resueltos de diferentes maneras, la propuesta
es analizarlas y elegir la mejor opción en cada caso.
ANTICIPATION
1- After checking the paratext and scanning the introduction, choose the best
option:
Field of study:
a. historiografía de los medios.
b. historiografía de la televisión.
The problem with media industry:

a. el problema es la terminología usada para hablar de los medios..
b. el problema es que se trata de un campo indeterminado, cuesta definirlo, ya que
supone procesos de creación y producción muy diferentes.
a. El autor propone considerar las fuerzas creativas de producción detrás del objeto
de estudio para enriquecer nuestra comprensión de los procesos de productos
culturales.
b. El autor propone analizar las categorías tradicionales de texto, autor y nación.
2. Which option best reflects the semantic organization of the text? Can you state the
reason? Why not the other?
a.
Introducción al tema y definición de términos.
Los medios y los paradigmas de investigación en el s XX y XXI
El objeto
La nación
La calidad
Conclusión del autor
b.
Se plantea un rechazo al paradigma dominante y se habla de tensiones.
77
El autor plantea un estudio crítico de los medios desde una perspectiva interrelacionada y
contextualizada.
Se necesita repensar, dadas las características de los medios en el sXXI, las categorías de
nación, texto y autor, ya que en la actualidad no responden a las caracterizaciones del sXX,
donde los límites eran más claros y menos contradictorios.
VERIFICATION
Tal cual se menciona en los objetivos del nivel, desde el punto de vista léxico, se focalizan
las palabras que contienen una connotación negativa y que de alguna manera, al no ser muy
fácilmente reconocibles, pueden despistar al lector. Los negativos, tienen alguna marca
morfológica que los hace más fáciles de detectar, pero los pseudonegativos, tanto cognados
como no cognados, pueden pasarse por alto, y de esa manera obstaculizar la comprensión.
Son palabras que el investigador selecciona para expresar sus opiniones o para disimular u
ocultar que está emitiendo su punto de vista.
1. Make a list of negatives and pseudonegatives: relatively / indeterminate /

excludes / not tainted / disqualified / debased / anti individual
What is their function in the introduction? Choose the best option
a. El uso de este vocabulario denota la crítica del autor hacia el trabajo de los
historiadores.
b. El uso de estos negativos y pseudonegativos, denota la crítica que el autor
le hace al estudio de la industrias de los medios tal cual están,
caracterizándola como indeterminada y excluyente, por lo que se asume, el
tipo de análisis que propone es superador.
studies and the industries approach to the study of media. Choose the best option.
a. Hay 2 paradigmas en el estudio de la industria de los medios, uno con una perspectiva
tradicional y el otro una perspectiva crítica, contextualizada e interrelacionada.
b. Es necesario pensar en un paradigma alternativo al tradicional, ya que el dominante no

responde a los nuevos procesos creativos y de producción. Este nuevo paradigma debe
complejizar el estudio de la industria de los medios y considerar las fuerzas del mercado y
su relación con las producciones culturales.
c. La aproximación al estudio de los medios pone en cuestión algunos principios básicos de

los estudios humanísticos clásicos, entre ellos las categorías de autor, texto y lector. Estas
parecen desdibujarse en el nuevo enfoque. El abordaje industrial es contextual e
78
interrelacional, y en consecuencia, la autoría individual, característica esencial de los
estudios clásicos, desaparece. Por otra parte el nuevo abordaje implica otros intereses
relacionados, por ejemplo, con objetivos comerciales.
d. Con el advenimiento de las nuevas tecnologías fueron perdiéndose o desdibujándose los

conceptos de lector, autoría y texto, y ganando espacio todo lo que tuviera que ver con las
ganancias económicas.
3. Las palabras del grupo 1 pertenecen al grupo de léxico académico, los otros 2 grupos
contienen, además, léxico general (indicado en negritas).
GROUP 1 GROUP 2 GROUP 3

SURVEY FOLLOWING SURVEY
FIELD INTELLECTUAL APPROACH
APPROACHES TRADITION SITUATE
SCHOLARSHIP HUMANITIES FORGE
POSE SCHOLARLY SCHOLARSHIP
SOURCES WISH PRODUCTION
EXAMINE HISTORIOGRAPHIC CHALLENGE
FRAMEWORKS LOCATION SOURCES
KEY ORGANIZING ADDITION
SUBJECT SUBJECT THINKING
TASK PROVIDE HISTORIAN
OVERVIEW MEDIA RAPIDLY
4. Which concept best summarizes the idea of the section . Put a cross next to the
correct option and support your opinion.
Structuring a. Redefinición del objeto de estudio y los conceptos de

paradigms nación y calidad para una mejor comprensión de qué
son los medios en la actualidad.
b. Desafíos del siglo XXI
79
The object a. La dificultad para delimitar las formas tradicionales que
los medios asumen.
b. La convergencia y los medios.
The nation a. La mayoría de los análisis no tienen en cuenta la

actividad transnacional.
b. El rol del estado en la construcción de la cultura
nacional y transnacional.
Quality a. La democratización de la cultura en tiempos donde las

categorías tradicionales de calidad y jerarquía ceden
ante las fuerzas del mercado y las nuevas producciones
culturales.
b. Descentralización de las categorías tradicionales de
calidad y jerarquía en tiempos de democratización de la
cultura.
REFORMULATION
MAIN IDEA
Choose the best option and support your opinion
1. Los estudios humanísticos tradicionales sobre los medios de comunicación,
centrados en las categorías de autor, lector y texto, son cuestionados frente a la
diversificación y masividad de medios desarrollados durante el siglo XX, por lo que
es necesario un análisis desde la perspectiva de la industria de la comunicación, que
focalice la naturaleza diversa del objeto, la construcción de la nación en base a la
calidad del producto y su relación con la democratización de la cultura, aspectos que
conviven en un ámbito industrializado y donde lo comercial pasa a tener un rol
central.
2. El estudio de la industria de los medios presenta una tarea compleja para el

historiador que se relaciona con el análisis y la creación de conceptos derivados del
nuevo modo en que se entiende la cultura y su masificación. La sistematización de
estas ideas conducirá al investigador en la formación de una historiografía de los
medios considerada necesaria, por ser parte fundamental de los estudios
humanísticos contemporáneos.
3. El cuestionamiento de los marcos tradicionales dominantes en el análisis de los

medios de parte de la historiografía actual.
80
4. El autor expone las características de los medios en la actualidad y el por qué de la
necesidad de repensar los marcos y categorías de análisis utilizadas por los
historiadores, ya que las categorías utilizadas hasta el momento ya no tienen
vigencia.
OUTLINE (RED CONCEPTUAL)
Al realizar una red como ejercicio de reformulación de un texto, lo que hacemos es ubicar
jerárquicamente los conceptos y subconceptos de distinto orden. En este proceso se
reorganiza toda la información y los nuevos conceptos se integran al conocimiento previo,
y todo se incorpora a la nueva red.
Siempre se parte de un concepto central disparador, se desarrollan los argumentos del
autor para avalar su tesis, se contraponen con aquellos que refuta o a los que se opone, en
caso que los mencionara. La red debe contener y expresar claramente la
postura/aporte//propuesta del autor.
Which of the following outlines best represents the arguments in the text you read?
81
82
2.
83
ANSWER KEY
ANTICIPATION
Field of study:
a. El texto habla de una variedad de medios, no se focaliza solo en la TV
b. Correcta
The problem with media industry for historians:

a. Incorrecta. Es solamente la primera palabra de la introducción, pero no tiene
demasiada relevancia; es una analogía que el autor decide utilizar.
b. Correcta. El problema es que se trata de un campo indeterminado, cuesta
definirlo, ya que supone procesos de creación y producción muy diferentes.
a. Correcta
b. No, justamente las cuestiona y dice que ya no son suficientes.
3. a. No es la organización semántica, se trata solamente de conceptos vacíos de

contenido y de la estructura del texto.
b. Es más correcta, ya que plantea el problema, caracteriza a la propuesta del autor y nos
da una idea de la crítica que le va a realizar al paradigma anterior.
VERIFICATION
1. Negatives and pseudonegatives
b. El uso de este léxico no indica crítica a los historiadores.

c. Está marcando el problema, la brecha que él denuncia, para así luego dar pie a su
propuesta. Las formas con carga negativa, refuerzan su postura.
studies and the industries approach to the study of media.
a. Muy general. ¿A qué se refiere cuando dice tradicional? ¿Qué quiere decir con
contextualizada e interrelacionada?
b. Es correcta, menciona a ambos, explicita porqué critica al paradigma tradicional y
menciona aspectos que el nuevo paradigma debe considerar.
c. Menciona ambos paradigmas y los caracteriza. Faltarían quizás algunas
características del nuevo abordaje en cuanto al foco en los procesos de creación,
producción y distribución, globalización, cultura popular, etc.
84
d. Menciona ambos paradigmas pero la caracterización de ambos es insuficiente para
comprender la diferencia entre ellos, además de poner demasiado énfasis en el aspecto
económico
2. (Resuelta en answer sheet)

3. Which concept best summarizes the idea of the section? Put a cross next to the
correct option and support your opinion
Structuring a. X
paradigms b. Demasiado general
The object a. X. Explica convergencia.

b. No es clara para el lector, no queda claro el concepto de
convergencia
The nation a. No está correctamente redactada, no es frase nominal.

b. X
Quality c. Nuevamente, el contenido es correcto, no así la forma

b. X
REFORMULATION
MAIN IDEA
1. Es correcta, ya que menciona el problema, la cuestión a superar, y la propuesta del
autor para hacerlo, en una sola oración.
2. Es general. Si bien, focaliza el aspecto que hace a la tarea del historiador, no
especifica cuál es el nuevo modo en que se entiende la cultura y de la creación de
qué conceptos habla. Además, está redactada en 2 oraciones.
3. La redacción es incorrecta. Es una frase nominal que podría funcionar como título
de este artículo, pero no sintetiza el análisis del autor.
4. Es descriptiva, ya que nos cuenta que el autor expone las características, pero no las
menciona, expone el porqué, y tampoco lo menciona. La idea queda vacía de
contenido específico.
85
REDES
1. Es correcta porque parte de un concepto central que explicita que existe un

problema planteado por el autor, propone repensar el abordaje que los estudiosos
deben asumir para entender los medios hoy en día. Además, enfrenta argumentos
de manera clara. Por último, ofrece el cierre del autor, aclarando cómo debe ser este
nuevo tipo de abordaje.
2. No es correcta porque desarrolla un solo paradigma, el propuesto por el autor. La
red no explicita el porqué de la necesidad del nuevo abordaje. Pareciera ser la red
de un texto explicativo, no de un texto argumentativo
86
Capítulo 11
TEXT 2
Abbink, John (2011) Religion in Public Spaces: Emerging Muslim-Christian polemics in
Ethiopia. African Affairs. Volume 110. Issue 439. Oxford Journals.
ANTICIPATION
1. Read the bibliographical information and subtitles. What is the text about?
2. Choose another anticipating strategy and advance 2 specific hypotheses
Strategy chosen: ___________________________________________________
Hypothesis 1: _____________________________________________________
Hypothesis 2: _____________________________________________________
VERIFICATION
1. Read the whole text and make a list of the 4 most important concepts you can find.
Remember concepts should be very specific noun phrases in Spanish.
a.
b.
c.
d.
2. Read the last section and make a list of the negatives and pseudonegatives included.
What is their function in the text?
REFORMULATION
1. Write the main idea of this article in one well-written sentence.
2. Design an outline for the introductory section of this text, showing hierarchy
between concepts, subconcepts, interrelations and closure.
87
RELIGION IN PUBLIC SPACES: EMERGING MUSLIM–CHRISTIAN
POLEMICS IN ETHIOPIA
John Abbink
Abstract
In Ethiopia, as in other parts of Africa, relations between Christians and Muslims show a new dynamic under
the impact of both state policies and global connections. Religious identities are becoming more dominant as
people's primary public identity, and more ideological. This development has ramifications for the ‘public
sphere’, where identities of a religious nature are currently presented and contested in a self-consciously
polemical fashion. This shared space of national political and civic identity may become more ‘fragmented’
and thus lend itself to conflict and ideological battle. This article examines recent developments in the
polemics of religion in Ethiopia, and the possible role of the state as custodian (or not) of an overarching civic
order beyond religion, as well as the emerging rivalries between communities of faith. A crucial question is
what social effects these polemics will have on communal relations and patterns of religious coexistence.
Polemics between believers have a long history in Ethiopia, but a new and potentially problematic dynamic
has emerged which may challenge mainstream believers, their inter-group social relations, and Ethiopian state
policy. Polemics in Ethiopia express hegemonic strategies and claims to power, and are rapidly evolving as an
ideological phenomenon expanding in public space. The secular state may need to reassert itself more
emphatically so as to contain its own erosion in the face of assertive religious challenges.
RELIGIOUS IDENTITIES HAVE RETURNED as vigorous constituent elements in communal and

political discourse in Africa, including in the Horn of Africa. The era of ‘socialist’ insurgencies and
state-building projects, from the 1970s until the early 1990s, ended in more or less failed projects of
national development in Somalia, Sudan, Eritrea, and Ethiopia. A gradual process of people reverting
to religion as a frame of reference and often as a direct ideology for political action has become quite
evident since. Ethiopia is formally a secular state with constitutionally enshrined freedom of worship,
but religion is very present in the public sphere and functions as a key framework for community life.
In a way religion also offers an alternative civic identity in a society where politics tends to be
monopolized and state repression has rendered it a risky domain of activity.
I address the issue of the growing relevance of religion in Ethiopia's public sphere via the case of
emerging religious polemics between Christians and Muslims. Religious polemics in Africa are
evident in many other countries – among them Nigeria, Mali, Kenya, and Tanzania – but are not well
studied. The often imposing, intimidating verbal strategies used impart social, political and scientific
relevance to polemical exchanges. My argument is that, in the past decade or so, religious polemics
in Ethiopia have expressed discursive battles about religious ‘truths’, communal identities, and power
claims that take on a ‘primordialist’ character and sharpen boundaries between faith communities and
thereby between citizens. Such polemics tend to establish antagonistic and hegemonic religious
discourses in Ethiopia's public space, marked increasingly by declining democratic-political debate.
In doing so, polemics not only fuel tensions but challenge the political domain – that is, the secular
state order itself.
Paradoxically, the initially more liberal political atmosphere in Ethiopia since the 1991 regime change
facilitated the public expression of religion. It also allowed local Christian and Muslim organizations
to reconnect to global trends – and organizations or preachers (both Muslim and Evangelical) aimed
to reform local religion and expand the faith globally. This ‘global reconnect’ – meaning relations
with powerful religious institutions and funding sources overseas and emphasizing more
‘fundamentalist’ forms of religion – has led to more doctrinaire positions and to symbolic power
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struggles in the public sphere in Ethiopia. Local religious elites and newly emerging and foreign-
supported groups (notably ‘reformist’-Muslim and Evangelical) see ways to enhance their influence,
aiming at expansion and hegemony. A first analysis of the new religious polemics shows that ideas
of mutual toleration and cooperation are changing, if not declining. This tendency may also generate
political problems in Ethiopia, all the more so because polemics have a mass appeal due to intensive
utilization of new media technologies and funding from global partners and financiers.
In Ethiopia, the side-effects of this emerging religious rivalry are not only debates about what kind
of national identity the country should or should not have, but also more competition over public
space, often in the most literal sense: when and where to build mosques, churches, or chapels; self-
presentation in the media; public celebrations; and religious ‘noise’ production by means of
loudspeakers.
Historically, Ethiopian society is marked by diversity and inter-religious co-existence, but has always
had some measure of religious polemics, occasionally drawing in the power holders (emperors,
nobles). A theoretical interpretation of today's polemics shows that they express hegemonic strategies
and claims to power, and are rapidly evolving as an ideological phenomenon, moving relatively
autonomously from material and socio-economic factors.
……………………………………………………………………………………………………
The post-1991 situation
In May 1991 the insurgent movement EPRDF took over government in Ethiopia and created new
space for political, economic, and religious action, including party formation, elections, an
independent press, and religious self-organization. Most of that space – especially in the political,
civic, and media domains – is closed again, especially since the highly controversial elections of 2005
and 2010 when a forceful re-establishing of EPRDF dominant-party rule occurred. Religious life was
relatively undisturbed, but seems to have taken on a dynamic of its own. The post-1991 resurgence
of religious discourse took many forms, from moderate and accommodative to radical and militant.
Many of my informants saw this as a new ‘democratic’ right, in the sense of ‘do as you want’ and
‘further your own cause as much as you can’. Most relevant are the renewed expansion of Islam in
its various forms (Salafism, Tabligh) and of Pentecostal-Evangelical churches. They are challenging
not only the traditional, more Sufist-oriented, Muslim faith and Orthodox Christianity, but also the
secular state that is Ethiopia. There may also be a resurgence of Orthodox-Christian belief – within
the Ethiopian Orthodox Church (EOC), for example via the Mahbere Qiddusan movement – although
this is largely reactive, bent on internal religious renewal and formulating an answer to Pentecostal-
Evangelical churches. In large part, this momentum of resurgence after 1991 reflects the genuine
search among both Muslims and Christians for spiritually fulfilling life and for community
(re)organization after years of oppressive socialism (under the Derg regime of 1974–91). But it has
now morphed into serious religious competition. In these polemics, many new Internet sites of
Ethiopian Christians and Muslims, and especially diaspora sites, aggravate the ‘debate’ further in
often biased and provocative ways. I will not discuss these Internet exchanges except in passing, but
they no doubt need a major study in their own right, as their impact on local Ethiopian discourse will
grow. Internet debates in turn come to serve as input for the local print media in Ethiopia, often
translating and adopting diaspora discourse.
The subject of religious debates and polemics is obviously controversial, in Ethiopia as in other
African countries, and always has the subtext of rivalry, especially when it is about the relationship
between Islam and Christianity. As noted, even academic researchers – Ethiopians or foreigners –
sometimes cannot avoid elements of a biased apologetic approach in favour of one faith or the other
– a failing that only close factual analysis and historical contextualization can remedy.
………………………………………………………………………………………………….
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The polemical approach can also be seen in various concrete issues of controversy visible in the
landscape, such as the building of new churches and mosques. Their number has increased greatly
since 1991, especially the mosques, but there is growing resistance and argument over locations. A
notably controversial case was the proposed mosque in the old city of Aksum, a highly symbolic
place, where construction has so far been refused, due to the town's role as EOC ‘capital’ – the reputed
site of the Ark of the Covenant (Tabot) – and the adamant refusal of the EOC clergy to change
Aksum's status. The same refusal is heard in the old Christian town of Lalibela. In Addis Ababa, few
if any restrictions on mosque building were imposed. In addition, there is debate on the recognition
and construction of historical monuments. Frequently, rows erupt over the veneration of historical
places. An interesting case was the projected monument in the regional state of Amhara
commemorating Ahmed ibn Ibrahim ‘Gragn’, whom the authorities described simply as ‘a historical
figure’. In the late 1990s the government authorized the monument and construction was started. But
the work was vehemently opposed by local people and many Christians in the country at large,
because of the destructive legacy of Ahmed. In fact, the monument under construction was destroyed
twice in night attacks, and finally the project was given up. When the authorities searched for the
culprits, local people said: ‘We do not know who did this. Probably it's the work of a couple of
baboons.’
There have also been suddenly escalating physical clashes or riots between believers after alleged
‘insults’ – as in Kemise town in 2001, in Harar in 2001, and in Jimma and Gore in 2006, where people
were killed and property looted or destroyed. This is a relatively new trend. Other physical violence
was seen in the destruction of churches in the Jimma area and the arson attacks by Muslim militants
on dozens of Sufi mosques.
Finally, within Ethiopia the written press as well as the newly distributed CDs, DVDs, VCDs and
MP3 files with speeches, sermons, and teachings are very important in inter-religious polemics.
Especially in the diaspora, the Ethiopian websites and blogs (and YouTube) are taking over as sites
of debate, competition, and mutual recrimination. On the web there is, however, a growing
proliferation of small constituencies on both sides and in many shades, attacking virtually any position
expressed on any subject: against the Ethiopian government and its policy towards the Christian
churches and/or the Muslims, against secularism, against Sufi Islam and its sheikhs and shrines,
against the celebration of Mawlid (the birthday of the Prophet), against the Orthodox Church, against
the Mahbere Qiddusan, against the Wahhabi, against the Salafists, against certain academics, against
the Pentecostal groups, against the Protestant churches … . Needless to say, this bewildering array of
usually negative opinions and comments on the Web may serve to vent every blogger's or website
visitor's irritation, but in good polemical fashion they do not seem to improve religious dialogue or
coexistence, and within Ethiopia meaningful debate is neither very visible nor very effective.
Socio-political impact of religious polemics
Religious polemics in Ethiopia take on many forms, enormously stimulated by the possibilities of
new mass media and communication technologies, and are serious business. Their pace and intensity
have increased, reflecting the renewed self-consciousness of faith communities but also giving the
impression of verbal warfare. Indeed, a content analysis of religious polemics shows that they have
turned into full-blown apologetics, defending their own faith at all costs, inhibiting rational
exchanges, and showing a very tenuous relation to the facts. Indeed, the polemics are framed in a
closed epistemology of unassailable supernatural ‘truths’ that does not allow refutation or critique.
As such, religious polemics go on to predominate in public discourse and are less easily suppressed
by the government than oppositional political debate. The effects of polemic exchanges in this sense
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are a redrawing of boundaries, discursive over-confidence if not recklessness, decline of dialogue and
toleration, and deep rivalry, extending into the social and even demographic sphere. While these
developments are a fascinating subject for the study of religious identity formation, the politics of
religion, and religious experience itself, the social effects of polemical escalation amount to blighting
the relations between Christians and Muslims in Ethiopia. These effects seep down from the urban
areas, where most activists and propagandists operate, to the countryside, where people of different
religious persuasion were usually getting along and now have to face its negative aspects. As one
Wällo female informant noted: Now we have those ‘well-educated’ religious people who think they
know all. In the Derg's time there were Socialist university people telling us what to do and how to
farm and to forget religion; now we see the fanatics, Wahhabis and Pent'es [adherents of Pentecostal
congregations ], who tell us how to conduct our religion. These educated people bring no good, they
cause problems like that. … This is not the right way, and they divert us from the faith of our fathers.
This critique of radicalizing discourse is emerging in circles of ordinary believers. In this respect, it
is interesting to note that in recent years some new DVDs and other mediated messages produced by
mainstream Muslims in Ethiopia (in Wällo, for example) have appeared that attack the
‘reformist/Wahhabist/Salafist’ approaches to Islam, or rather defend the local way of life and its
religious traditions. Similarly, EOC circles offer critiques on Pentecostal interpretations of
Christianity.
The assertions and statements in religious polemics and in the above-cited papers by journalists
Johannes and Alem, and pieces by several Muslim writers, are often brash and unreasonable.
Sometimes they reflect developments happening on the ground but they are also propagandist and
often not based on facts but on gut feelings, suspicion, and hegemonic discourse.
On the side of the ‘revivalist/reformist’ Muslims, some writers now tend to combat ideas of
coexistence and mutual toleration, pleading instead for Islamist supremacy, conversion of
‘unbelievers’, and ultimately a Muslim state in Ethiopia. On the Pentecostalist side, isolationist and
superiority discourses can also be discerned, although more often they are directed inwardly, and in
rivalry mainly with the Orthodox Church. While most of the Muslim and Christian publications and
media products thus still speak to their own constituencies and exhort believers to be more strict and
devout in obedience to the rules of the faith, their effects are nevertheless noticeable in relations
outside their religious community. Religious thinking is becoming a more and more dominant frame
of reference in which even political decisions and policies are judged. In recent polemics it can further
be noted that a purposely confrontational style is developed, seemingly meant to delegitimize the
faith of the other.
In view of the increasingly contested but so far functional secular state order in Ethiopia – without a
state religion, recognizing religious pluralism, avoiding the defense of political decisions with
reference to God or other supernatural forces, and constitutionally recognizing religious courts in
many domains of personal life – the impact of religious discourse and frames of reference in the
public domain is experienced as a growing problem. In addition, there is the continuing pressure of
outside forces – from neighbouring countries, the Muslim Middle East and wider, globally active
groups, exerting major financial and ideological influence on the local scene, which can turn into a
major political challenge. Thus, as emphatic missionizing efforts and the imposition of religion on
others continue to generate controversy and communal tensions, the secular state may need to reassert
itself and try to contain its own erosion by encroaching religious discourse via new political measures
and educational and social policies on a more structural level. So far, Ethiopia seems to be able to
monitor religious threats in the public sphere (including terrorism) better than most other African
countries, for example Kenya and Tanzania: here, as Chesworth has described, there were events like
the mihadhara, public polemical debates between spokesmen of the major faiths, with a disturbing
effect on the public order. In Ethiopia there are regular state clampdowns on the most eye-catching
91
polemical products (in December 2009, for example), and believers are warned to calm down. In
2010, editors of a Muslim news magazine were imprisoned on rather unconvincing charges, while
several people alleged to have ‘insulted’ Islam were also arrested, though without serious evidence.
Experience has shown, however, that such state efforts come and go. In the absence of state
reassertion over expansive religious claims, one might expect new phases of civil unrest and conflict
in the country that would make the ‘ethnic’ clashes of the past seem pale in comparison.
The precarious balance
In Ethiopia, ongoing religious polemics will further define the new arenas of communal relations and
rivalries in conditions of political closure. Religion is actively and assertively constructed by
communal leaders and religious entrepreneurs as the normative, dominant identity of citizens. This
connects to its unmistakable social role as a source of community feeling and spiritual consolation,
as well as a legitimate alternative focus of collective identification. But the construction of identity
has taken the form of competition for ‘truth’ and religious predominance in the public sphere, with
resulting claims on national Ethiopian identity. This antagonistic religious discourse is redefining
public space in Ethiopia, and tends to fill up the space vacated by politics with the decline of
democratic debate and freedom. There is a precarious balance between the faiths and between faith
communities and the state. Ethiopia's political system has gone through major upheavals in the past
decade, such as the controversial 2005 elections, street killings, rural repression, human rights
problems, and a recent spate of restrictive laws concerning the press, federal powers law, NGOs, and
terrorism. Against the background of such political and economic insecurity, growing inequality, and
the democratic deficit, the polemic appeal to religion as the dominant element of personal and
communal identity will only grow and continue to pose major challenges to the political order.
92
Capítulo 12
TEXT 3
Anticipation
Excerpt 1 is the introductory part of a whole academic article. By using the correct reading
strategies you will be able to anticipate the text. Which reading strategy would you choose
to get the data to complete the following chart?
● skimmimg?
● scanning?
● looking for key words and phrases?
● reading for thorough comprehension?
● critical reading?
● analyzing paratext?
● other?
Put the strategy into practice and do the task.
Title
Author/s
Date of publication
Source
Length (whole
chapter)
Publisher
Field of study
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In all well-written academic papers it is often possible to get a fairly accurate idea of the
purpose of the chapter and the author´s stance from the very beginning. Scan the section
and transcribe into the chart the phrases used by the author to state them.
INTRODUCTORY PURPOSE OF THE AUTHOR´S

PHRASES CHAPTER STANCE
We have already stated that READING is an active process. Meaning does not only exist on
the page or in the mind of the reader but it is created by an active interaction between the
reader and the text, depending on the reading situation. Good, strategic readers develop
hypotheses about what they will read next. Then they read to see if their predictions will be
confirmed. If they are not confirmed, readers reread creating new hypothesis.
The following steps are designed to guide you and give you practice in the process of
consciously developing and confirming hypotheses. You will practice using clues from the
text and your general and background knowledge to more efficiently predict content. Let´s
try:
1. Scan the rest of the excerpt paying attention to subtitles. With the information you
have picked up so far write a general reading hypothesis.
2. Read paragraph boundaries and circle 10 key words or phrases.
3. Scan the excerpt paying special attention to theoretical frameworks mentioned.
Underline them.
4. Write a specific reading hypothesis.
Verification
Read the whole text in detail now. Remember to be a strategic reader. Focus on what you
know and do not read word per word.
94
a- What does the author mean by “this changing communicational landscape”
(lines 83/84)? Explain briefly.
b- What does “This shift” (line 104) refer back to?
c- Why does the author state that “The imperative, then, is to incorporate the
nonlinguistic representation into understandings of literacy in the contemporary
classroom” (last paragraph)?
INTERNALIZATION
1. Write the main idea of the text in one well-written sentence. The main idea must include
all the relevant concepts and sub-concepts that are developed in the text as well as the
comparisons, contrasts or restrictions expressed by the author/s. CAREFUL! It’s NOT a
SUMMARY!!!! Remember to use connectors when you write your main idea.
2. Outline the text. Remember that in an outline you have to indicate hierarchy of the main
concepts and the sub-concepts. Cluster details around main concepts and sub-concepts.
Try not to use narrative sentences, use concepts and express those using noun-phrases.
Chapter 7
Multimodality and literacy in school classrooms
Carey Jewitt
Institute of Education, University of London
1 The characteristics of contemporary societies are increasingly theorized as global,

fluid (Bauman, 1998) and networked (Castells, 2001). These conditions underpin the
emerging knowledge economy ass it is shaped by the societal and technological forces of
late capitalism. These shifts and developments have significantly affected the
communicational landscape of the 21st century. A key aspect of this is the reconfiguration
of the representational and communicational resources of image, action, sound and so
on in new multimodal ensembles. The terrain of communication is changing in profound
ways and extends to schools and ubiquitous elements of everyday life, even if these
changes are occurring at different degrees and at uneven rates (A. Luque and Carrington,
10 2002). It is against this backdrop that this critical review explores multimodality and
literacy and asks what these changes mean for being literate in this new landscape of the
21st century. The two key arguments here are that it is not possible to think about literacy
solely as a linguistic accomplishment and that the time for the habitual conjunction of
language, print literacy and learning is over. As Kress (2003) writes,
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It is no longer possible to think about literacy in isolation from a vast array of social, technological
and economic factors. Two distinct related factors deserve to be particularly highlighted. These
are, on the one hand, the broad move from the now centuries long dominance of writing to the
new dominance of the image and, on the other hand, the move from the dominance of the
medium of the book to the dominance of the medium of the screen. These two together are
20 producing a revolution in the uses and effects of literacy and in the associated means for
representing and communicating at every level and in every domain (p. 1)
My claim here is that how knowledge is represented, as well as the mode and
media chosen, is a crucial aspect of knowledge construction making the form of
representation integral to the meaning and learning more generally. That is, the ways in
which something is represented shape both what is to be learned, that is, the curriculum
content and how it is to be learned. It follows, then, that to better understand learning
and teaching in the multimodal environment of the contemporary classroom, it is
essential to explore the ways in which representations in all modes feature in the
classroom. The focus, here, is on multimodality and the representations and the learning
30 potentials of teaching materials and the ways in which teachers and students activate
these through their interaction in the classroom.
New conditions and conceptualizations for literacy

The concept of multiple literacies has emerged in response to the theorizations
of the new conditions of contemporary society. This can be broadly characterized by a
number of factors including the accelerated transnational flow of people as well as
information, ideology, and materials in contexts in which knowledge is highly situated,
rapidly changing, and more diverse than ever before (Appadurai, 1990); Kalantsiz, Cope
& Harvey, 2003). Alongside this, the representational and communicational environment
is also changing in highly significant ways that can be described as a shift from print as a
primary medium of dissemination toward digital media (Boulter, 1999; Kress, 2003).
40 Against this backdrop, writing as the dominant mode is increasingly brought into new
textual relationships with or even exchanged for visual or multimodal forms of
representation (Bachmair, 2006). In consequence, new relations between production and
dissemination are made possible across a range of media and technologies remaking the
conditions and functions of authorship and audience (Atkins, 2005; Lury, 1993). In
scientific endeavors, new digitalized workplaces, and new culture industries, disciplinary
boundaries and expertise are increasingly blurred, reformulated or collapsed in ways that
open up new configurations and types of texts.
The potential impact of new social and material conditions on communication

50 and education is profound. They allow for new possibilities and constraints for
representation and communication. They also play emergent demands on the
communicative repertoires of people to participate in the global economy as well as on
the construction of knowledge in the performative self in face to face, local, and virtual
contexts (Bauman, 1998; Beck, 1992; Butler, 1990; Leander & Wells Rowe, 2006). Hence,
multimodal representation and globalization are close companions providing new
foundations for processes of remixing and remaking genres and modal resources in ways
that produce new forms of global and commercial processes. This, in turn, are constantly
personalized, appropriated, and remade in local workplaces, communities, and
institutions.
96
60 These multimodal processes and their global scale and impact on local, situated
literacies are exemplified by a recent ethnographic study on the ascendancy of the Nike
Swoosh as a global cultural icon. Bich and Chiper (2007) examined how the Nike Swoosh
perform in the cultural contexts in two cities in Romania and Haiti, cities and countries
that sit on the fringes of global capitalism. The Nike global trademark has been
appropriated, transformed and remade locally in Romania and Haiti in ways that express
people’s identities across numerous places - from logos in jackets and trucks to
inscriptions in tombstones. This process of remaking happens across different scales and
sites. Pahl’s (2003). UK ethnographic study of three 5 to 7 year old boys examines how
70 meanings are constructed in multimodal texts made in the home. She demonstrates how
young children consume and appropriate Pokemon and Yugio characters through
television, film, and game cards making and remaking features in their own cards and
activities. Buckingham and Sefton Green’s (2004) study of Pokemon shows how theories
of learning and multimodal meaning making can be applied to the relationship between
media and user.
These studies suggest that the conditions for available resources and designs are
dynamic with distributed tools for transforming and (re)distributing these resources and
designs in development and transition (Leander, 2007). Taken together, this work
highlights the changing requirement of communication, literacy and knowledge economy
80 of the 21st century. The implications for the educational system differ significantly from
those of the nation bound industrial economies of the recent past, with the industrial
print nexus continuing to dominate literacy policy and practice in schools (Gee, 2004; Gee,
Hull & Lankshear, 1996; A. Luke & Woods in press). Against this changing
communicational landscape, which can be typified by diversity and plurality, the
dominant view of literacy as a universal, autonomous, and monolithic entity is as best
dated and in need of reconsideration.
Literacy to literacies
Literacy is increasingly pluralized and multiplied in educational discourses. It is,

however, important to note that literacy studies have a long history of attending to the
visual character of some scripts and symbol systems. Furthermore, the fields of New
90 Literacies Studies (hereafter, NLS), multiliteracies, and multimodality each build on a
range of traditions, disciplines, and histories. These include critical literacy and discourse
studies (Fairclough, 1992; Fouccalt, 1980; Lankshear & Mac Laren, 1993; A. Luke, 1996;
Street, 1995), genre studies based on systemic functional linguistics (Cope & Kalantzis,
1993; Fridman & Medway, 1994a, 1994b), gender studies (Cranny-Francis, 1993), and
critical studies (Hall, 1997).
Nonetheless, within this broader picture, NLS has been central in the theorization of
the complexities of literacies as historically, socially, and culturally situated practice
(Barton, Hamilton, & Ivanic, 2000; Street, 1998). Key to this attempt to rethink literacy is
the analytical focus of NSL on literacy events and literacy practices with texts in people’s
100
everyday lives and the bid to document emergent literacies across different local
contexts. This marks a shift in focus from the idea of literacy as an autonomous neutral
set of skills or competencies that people acquire through schooling and can deploy
97
universally to a view of literacies as local or situated. This shift underlines the variable
ideological character of school literacy practices, that is, how the official institutional
construction of literacy may or may not dovetail with emergent practices in homes and
communities. Furthermore, this perspective enables an analysis of how the social
practices of literacy in schools realize social structures through the formation of specific
power relations, forms of knowledge, and identities (A. Luke & Carrington, 2002).
110 Within NLS, there is increasing recognition of the complex interaction between local
and global literacies (Brant & Clinton, 2006). For example, Marsh’s (2003, 2005)
ethnographic studies on new technologies and the literacy practices of nursing school
children (ages 2.5 to 4 years) describe how global discourses of Disney mediate children’s
everyday literacy practices. Marsh mapped children’s mediascapes and patterns in media
use through interviews, literacy diaries during a month period, questionnaires, and home
observation with 62 families. She concludes global media has a fundamental role in very
young children’s identity formation and construction of themselves as literate. This and
other studies highlight the need to be sensitive to how children’s literacy practices
120 traverse physical and virtual spaces (Alvermann, Hagood, & Williams, 2001; Leander,
2007; Paal, 1999). The empirical description of children’s and adolescents’ new
mediascapes is essential to understanding how they negotiate social identity in relation
to the economies and cultures of late modernity.
Multiliteracies
The term multiliteracies was introduced to educational researchers by the New
London Group (1996). In this key position paper, a team of leading literacy educators
called for literacy pedagogy to respond to the changing social conditions of global
capitalism, in particular the new demands it places on the workforce. The multiliteracies
model highlights two interconnected changes in the communicational landscape that
impinge on what it means to be literate. These are the increasing significance of cultural
130 and linguistic diversity in a global economy and the complexities of texts with respect to
non-linguistic, multimodal forms of representation, and communication, particularly, but
not limited to those affiliated with new technologies. Multiliteracies has evolved into an
international pedagogic agenda for the redesign of the educational and social landscape.
To this end, multiliteracies set out to stretch beyond the constraints of official standard
forms of written and spoken language to connect with the culturally and linguistic
landscapes and the multimodal texts that are mobilized and circulate across these
landscapes. Therefore, multiliteracies can be seen simultaneously as a response to the
remaking of the boundaries of literacy through current conditions of globalization and as
a political and social theory for the redesign of the curriculum agenda. It is an educational
140
agenda that calls for the redrawing of the boundaries and relationships between the
textual environment towards the ideological purposes of the design of new egalitarian
and cosmopolitan social futures (A. Lake & Carrington, 2002).
Although sharing the assumptions of many NLS, multiliteracies has at its center the
idea of a socially and culturally responsive curriculum. It is informed by political
pedagogies of literacy, including Paulo Freire and Donaldo Macedo’s (1987) construction
of literacy as “reading the word and reading the world,” Australian approaches to the
98
teaching of writing as genre (Cope & Kalantsis, 1993), and critical literacy and pedagogy
models. The transforming agenda of multiliteracies sets out to redesign the social futures
150 of young people across boundaries of differences. With this explicit agenda for social
change, the pedagogic aim of social literacies is to attend to the multiple and multimodal
texts and wide range of literacy practices that students are engaged with. It therefore
questions the traditional monologic relationship between teacher and student, setting
out to make the classroom walls more porous and to take the students’ experiences,
interests and existing technological and discourse resources as a starting point. From this
perspective, the social and political goal of multiliteracies is to situate teachers and
students as active participants in social change, the active designers of social future (Cope
& Kalantis, 2000). Overall, multiliteracies pedagogies can be described as developing
160 model of effective critical engagement with students’ values, identity, power, and design.
I return to illustrations later in this agenda later in this chapter.
Yet, even in its plural form, these and other emergent approaches to literacy
continue to be strongly focused on competences and written lettered representations
(Kress, 1997; Marsh, 2005). In what follows, I turn to focus on literacies that move beyond
the cognitive and analytical processes of written and spoken language.
Multimodality
Multimodality (Kress, Jewitt, Ogborn, & Tsatsarelis, 2001; Kress & Leeuwen, 2001) like
multiliteracies has emerged in response to the changing social and semiotic landscape.
Key to multimodal perspectives on literacy is the basic assumption that meanings are
170
made (as well as distributed, interpreted and remade) through many representational
and communicational resources of which language is but one (Kess & van Leeuwen,
2001). This and other aspects of multimodal theory are outlined by Kress & van Leeuwen’s
(2001) Multimodal Discourse. Multimodality attends to meaning as it is made through the
situated configurations across image, gesture, gaze, body posture, sound, writing, music,
speech, and so on. From a multimodal perspective, meaning, action, and so forth are
referred to as modes as organized sets of semiotic resources for meaning making.
To some extent, multimodality can be described as an eclectic approach although it is

180 primarily informed by linguistic theories, in particular, the work of Halliday’s (1978) social
semiotic theory of communication and developments of that theory (Hodges & Kress,
1988). Multimodality has developed in different ways in the decade since its inception
around 1996. Although the linguistic model was seen wholly adequate for some to
investigate all modes, others set out to expand and reevaluate this realm of reference
drawing on other approaches (e.g., film theory, musicology, game theory). Multimodality
thus extends past the traditional psychological and linguistic foundations of print literacy
to draw from anthropological, sociological, and discourse theory (specifically the work of
Barthes, 1993; Bateson, 1977; Foucault, 1991¸ Goffman, 1979; and Malinowsky, 2006
among others). In addition, the influence of cognitive and sociocultural research on
190
multimodality is also present, particularly Arheim’s (1969) models of visual
communication and perception.
99
From decades of classroom language research, much is known about the semiotic
resources of language however, considerably less is understood about the semiotic
potentials of gesture, sound, image, movement, and other forms of representation. A
number of detailed studies of specific modes have helped begin to describe these
semiotic resources, their material affordances, organizing principles, and cultural
referents. Alongside Kress and van Leeuwen’s (1996) work on images other key words
that contribute to an evolving “inventory” of semiotic modal resources include van
200
Leeuwen’s (1999) work on the materiality of the resources of sound (e.g., pitch, volume,
breathing, rhythm, and so on). Martinec`s (2000) work focuses on movement and
gesture. With the focus on writing as a multisemiotic resource, Kenner`s (2004)
ethnographic case studies show how young bilingual learners (Spanish, Chinese, and
Arabic) use directionality, spatiality, and graphic marks to realize meanings and express
identities.
From this work we know that people draw on their available modal resources to make
meaning in specific contexts. Furthermore, the resources come to explain regularities
210 through everyday patterns of use. The more a set of resources has been used in the social
life of a particular community, the more fully and finely articulated its regularities and
patterns become. Consequently, any given mode is contingent on fluid and dynamic
resources of meaning rather than static skill replication and use. These modes are
constantly transformed by their users in response to the communicative needs of
communities, institutions and societies: new modes are created and existing modes are
transformed. Flewitt’s (2006) multimodal study of preschool classroom interaction
demonstrate the strong link between the communicative demands of a context and the
modes in use. Flewitt´s research draws on data from ethnographic video case studies of
young children communicating at home and in a preschool play group. By focusing on all
220 modes of communication (talk, gesture, movement, gaze, and so on) she is able to
scrutinize young children’s multifunctional uses of different modalities in meaning
making. Flewitt’s analysis of ”children´s uses of different semiotic as intentional, socially
organized activity in the construction of meaning” argues against “pathologizing the
absence of talk” (pág. 47). This work, then, offers a different account of classroom
language by locating the analysis of classroom talk in the broader context of children’s
total multimodal resources.
The concept of modal affordance refers to what it is possible to express and represent
easily. How a mode has been used, what it has been repeatedly used to mean and do,
230 and the social conventions that informs its use in context shape its affordance. Where a
mode “comes from” in its history of cultural work becomes its provenance, shaping
available designs and uses (Kress, 2003). Furthermore, the affordance of a mode is
material, physical, and environmental. For instance, an image in the form of graphic
marks in a two dimensional offers different potentials for the expression and
representation of meanings than the affordances of speech in the form of sounds.
Physical, material, and social affordances affiliated with each mode generate a specific
logic and provide different communicational and representational potentials. For
instance, the sounds of speech occur in time, and this temporal context and location
shape what can subsequently be done with (speech) sounds. This makes the logic of
240 sequence in time unavoidable for speech: one sound has to be uttered after another, one
word after another, one syntactic and textual element after another. This sequence,
100
therefore, constitutes an affordance, producing the possibility and constraints for putting
things first or last or somewhere else in a sequence. It can be said, therefore, that the
mode of speech is governed by a temporal logic. By contrast, the affordances of (still)
images can be understood as being governed by the logic of space and simultaneity. In
sum, multimodality approaches affordance is a complex concept connected to the
material and the cultural, social, historical use of a mode.
Alongside the assumption that all modes in a communicative event or text contribute
to meaning, models of multimodality assert That all modes are partial. That is, all modes,
250 including the linguistic modes of writing and speech, contribute to the construction of
meaning in different ways. Therefore, no one mode stands alone in the process of making
meaning; rather, each plays a discreet role in the whole. This has significant implications
in terms of epistemology and research methodology. Multimodal understandings of
literacy require the investigation of the full multimodal ensemble used in any
communicative event. The imperative, then, is to incorporate the non-linguistic
representation into understandings of literacy in the contemporary classroom. It also has
implications for contemporary theorizations of literacy pedagogy, curriculum, and
learning in the school classroom.
101
REFLECTION
Before analyzing some answers from students who have already worked with this text let´s
think about our hypothesis:
Were your hypotheses confirmed? If not, why not? Did you misunderstand something from
the introductory section? Do you think your hypotheses were valid? Do you need to reject
/ adjust them?
102
Answer Sheet
VERIFICATION
In this section we encourage you to analyze some students’ answer to possible

comprehension questions you might encounter in the independent exams for NIVEL
MEDIO. We encourage you to interact with the questions and the answers in ways that
permit you, as strategic readers, develop your own attitude to reading academic texts.
Read some students’ answers and choose the best. Justify your choice.
a. What does the author mean by “this changing communicational landscape”

1- Con la frase el autor refiere a que los cambios en la sociedad, la comunicación y la

economía traen implicancias sobre los sistemas de educación y sus prácticas en la escuela
2- El autor sugiere que existe un cambio de paradigma entre el sistema educativo del
pasado reciente y el del siglo 21 debiendo ser reconsiderado el punto de vista dominante
de la alfabetización como entidad universal y autónoma, por una nueva tipificación de
pluralidad y diversidad.
3- El autor piensa en el concepto de un paisaje comunicacional cambiante, como factor

que permite expresar la diversidad y la pluralidad.
b. What does “This shift” (line 78) refer back to?
1. Hace referencia al cambio en la literatura de ahora, mediante la cual uno adquiere

habilidades que previamente sólo encontraba en textos universitarios y secundarios y
ahora lo puede encontrar en la literatura diaria, en cualquier tipo de texto.
2. Refiere al cambio de perspectiva de análisis en los estudios literarios centrados ahora

en eventos y prácticas cotidianas de las personas.
3. Se refiere a que el concepto de la lectoescritura y lectocomprensión ya no es una

general que se incorpora en la escuela protocolarmente, sino que existen múltiples formas
de prácticas de lectura propia de distintos grupos sociales por edad, por acceso a la
tecnología.
c. Why does the author state that “The imperative, then, is to incorporate the
103
1. El autor afirma la necesidad de formas no lingüísticas para entender la comunicación en
la actualidad debido a las transformaciones y la utilización de multiformas de comunicación
devenidas por la globalización y el cambio de flujo de la información.
2. Porque el autor plantea que no alcanza en el proceso de enseñanza contemporáneo

con la transmisión lingüística del conocimiento.
3. Porque acuerda con la idea de que todos los modos en la comunicación contribuyen a la
construcción del sentido de diferentes maneras.
INTERNALIZATION
1. Write the main idea of the text in one well-written sentence. The main idea must
include all the relevant concepts and sub-concepts that are developed in the text as well
as the comparisons, contrasts or restrictions expressed by the author/s. CAREFUL! It’s
NOT a SUMMARY!!!! Remember to use connectors when you write your main idea.
MI 1: Frente a una sociedad contemporánea que va cambiando vertiginosamente,

especialmente en el campo de las comunicaciones, el autor cuestiona la idea de una manera
de ser alfabetizado y propone la existencia de múltiples formas de alfabetización y múltiples
modos de construcción de sentido en los intercambios comunicacionales.
MI 2: El tema principal habla acerca de cómo cambió la literatura en los últimos tiempos
debido a la masividad, tanto en la cantidad de gente que lee, así como el lugar donde lee;
al mismo tiempo cambiando también la calidad de esa literatura, pudiendo hoy en día de
una multiliteraticidad, así como también de una multimodalidad por las maneras en las
cuales se transmite la literatura sea tanto en forma de gestos, es decir no lingüísticos, como
la escritura y la lectura, trayendo ésta una nueva forma de encarar la enseñanza en los
colegios y universidades en tiempos de mucho cambio y de una marcada globalización.
MI 3: La globalización y las transformaciones comunicacionales han llevado a nuevas formas

de interacción dentro de la enseñanza la cual se ve en la multiplicidad de factores que
influyen en el proceso de aprendizaje llevando a cambios epistemológicos y metodológicos
(observables en el desarrollo de nuevas disciplinas, corrientes y géneros en los estudios de
la comunicación) y que plantean nuevas formas y la necesidad de reflexión a la hora de
transmitir y producir conocimientos en clase teniendo siempre en cuenta las condiciones
socio-históricas que determinan el entorno.
104
Answer Key
a. What does the author mean by “this changing communicational landscape”
1- Esta respuesta resulta incompleta y excesivamente general. El alumno no define

(aunque sea brevemente) a qué cambios en la sociedad, la comunicación y
economía se refiere. Sólo utilizó información presentada en forma anafórica a la
frase. Le faltó la referencia catafórica: panorama caracterizado por la diversidad y
pluralidad. (para ver referencia anafórica y catafórica referirse al Diccionario de
Gramática Funcional.
2- Aquí el alumno recoge los conceptos de pluralidad y diversidad, pero omite definir
y / o explicar los paradigmas a los que se refiere. Traduce literalmente “typified” por
“tipificación”, volviendo confusa su respuesta.
3- En esta respuesta el alumno recurre a una traducción literal que no llega a explicar
la frase. Se hace mención a los conceptos de diversidad y pluralidad, pero no se los
interrelaciona con conceptos importantes del párrafo. Se omite la definición pedida.
b. What does “This shift” (line 78) refer back to?
1- Es necesario destacar la confusión del término literacy con literatura debido al

desconocimiento del falso cognado. El texto no se refiere a literatura sino a alfabetización.
Además se omite la importancia del cambio de una alfabetización neutral y rígida que se
impartía generalmente en la escuela a una nueva forma de alfabetización local y situada. Es
decir, que no toma en cuenta los distintos contextos de práctica.
2- Esta respuesta es incorrecta ya que no explica qué es lo que cambia. No se comprende

a qué hace referencia este alumno cuando menciona perspectiva de análisis. Además no se
está hablando de estudios literarios, como este alumno ha expresado, sino de nuevas
prácticas de alfabetización que deben contemplar los distintos contextos y de cómo las
prácticas de alfabetización en la escuela pueden o no coincidir con lo que sucede a nivel del
hogar. Este estudiante también desconoce el falso cognado.
3- Esta respuesta presenta problemas de expresión escrita en “ya no es una general”. Si

bien es una respuesta parcialmente correcta se omite la idea de que el cambio es a nivel de
repensar a la alfabetización según los nuevos contextos y prácticas áulicas y domésticas.
c. Why does the author state that “The imperative, then, is to incorporate the
105
1. En relación a la expresión escrita, el alumno debería haber explicitado qué quiere decir
con “el autor afirma la necesidad de formas no lingüísticas”. Se omite la idea de que los
textos multimodales son en general parciales y que por lo tanto para poder desarrollar una
alfabetización multimodal completa se debe incorporar la enseñanza de sistemas no
lingüísticos en las prácticas áulicas.
2. Esta idea es incompleta. No explica la postura del autor. Omite las ideas expresadas en
el comentario anterior.
3. Igual que la respuesta anterior el alumno expresó sólo parte de la respuesta y no

desarrolló la postura del autor.
INTERNALIZATION
Write the main idea of the text in one well-written sentence. The main idea must include
all the relevant concepts and sub-concepts that are developed in the text as well as the
comparisons, contrasts or restrictions expressed by the author/s. CAREFUL! It’s NOT a
SUMMARY!!!! Remember to use connectors when you write your main idea. (45%)
MI 1: Esta idea principal omite el contexto áulico o escolar al que se refiere el texto. No
explica cuáles son los cambios en la sociedad. Son erróneos tanto el cuestionamiento como
la propuesta del autor.
MI 2: Hay varias cosas por comentar aquí. En primer lugar, el uso de la puntuación: el uso
excesivo de comas y puntos y comas no es correcto. En segundo lugar, el concepto erróneo
de literatura. No se habla de literatura sino de alfabetización: literacy. Por lo que deviene
que la expresión multiliteraticidad debiera ser multialfabetización. Este último concepto no
está explicitado. Como tampoco se expresa la postura y propuesta del autor. En general
hay una omisión y error importante de ideas: se restringe lo no lingüístico a gestos, no se
expresa la relación entre “universalidad” en relación a la “contextualización” (enseñanza
situada) ni el proceso de construcción de conocimiento.
Como se puede apreciar en esta respuesta se omiten los conceptos más importantes, sus
jerarquías en relación a los conceptos secundarios y la interrelación presentada en el texto.
MI 3: What is your opinion about this main idea? Justify your answer.
106

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Guia para Elemental y Medio Libres 2021

Cargado por

Copyright:

Formatos disponibles

Guía Didáctica para la

María Susana González (Compiladora)

Capítulo 1: Algunos temas a tener en cuenta 7

Los desafíos del Nivel Elemental

Capítulo 3: Manos a la obra (aspectos administrativos) 17

Capítulo 8: Las tesis y los argumentos 63

Capítulo 10: Text 1 67

Capítulo 11: Text 2 87

Capítulo 12: Text 3 93

En este documento, los estudiantes que deseen rendir el examen

Esperamos que este documento sea útil para todos los

Les recordamos que la información sobre el Departamento de

El objetivo principal de la Cátedra de Inglés - Lectocomprensión se focaliza en el logro

Resulta imprescindible señalar que en la lectura podemos distinguir tres momentos:

A estos dos pasos es necesario agregar la etapa de internalización o reformulación

En la presencialidad son cuatro horas porque el

1- Comprensión de textos académicos descriptivos, narrativos,

A la gramática tradicional no se la descarta en absoluto, pero tampoco es el foco de

En el abordaje de la lectura se requiere el conocimiento de los siguientes elementos

Los elementos lingüísticos que se listan se encuentran en el Diccionario de

Diccionario de Gramática Funcional - Inglés 2009.

Documento Inicial - La construcción de sentido en la lectura en lengua extranjera.

Estos materiales están disponibles para su compra en la Oficina de Publicaciones de la

EL ESTUDIANTE DEBE LEER PARA EL EXAMEN LIBRE : LOS

Objetivos del Nivel Elemental

A continuación enumeramos los objetivos del Nivel Elemental

1- Lectura comprensiva de textos descriptivos, narrativos y expositivos de 150

También puede incluir cualquier otro elemento lingüístico

2. Leer el Documento Inicial

4. Realizar prácticas de lectura antes del examen, utilizando el Diccionario de

5. Tener presente que lo que se evalúa es la comprensión de un artículo académico

6. Leer cuidadosamente este material, en el cual se encontrarán explicaciones y

2. Respuestas que no responden a la consigna: por ejemplo, en la internalización

¿Cómo están organizadas las consignas del examen?

Con la información obtenida de los pasos previos procedemos a la:

4. REDACCIÓN DE UNA HIPÓTESIS GENERAL: Tomando los datos que rescatamos de

Luego de la hipótesis general podemos seguir profundizando nuestra anticipación

9. REDACCIÓN DE LA HIPÓTESIS ESPECÍFICA DE LECTURA: Después de haber realizado

 VERIFY: DURANTE LA LECTURA

4. Llenado de cuadros con información del texto en donde se requiere

5. Detección de funciones de conectores y conceptualización de

 INTERNALIZE: POST LECTURA

- Debe contener los conceptos relevantes/ fundamentales del texto

- Debe ser específica y no general

- No debe ser descriptiva: ejemplo el texto trata primero de … para

- No es presentación del tema

- Debe ser una sola oración: Se recomienda realizar una oración

Todos los contenidos anteriormente mencionados en la virtualidad

Comenzamos por aspectos administrativos importantes

DO NOT READ THE TEXT IN DETAIL YET! FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS!8

ANTICIPATE (OPTIONAL ACTIVITY / NOT GRADED)10

1. Read the bibliographical data, title of the article and subtitles.

Debe leerse escribir o reconocer

NOW READ THE TEXT IN DETAIL.12

The Dark Side of Social Capital

Illuminating the Dark Side of Social Capital: Setting an Informed

Las preguntas o ejercicios de selección múltiple

VERIFY (55 %)13

Ahora, pasaremos a comunicarnos en inglés para practicar la comprensión de

Anticipate (Before reading)

ACTIVITY 1: Which of these general hypotheses do you consider is more adequate to

1. El texto tratará de la teoría del capital social, de sus ventajas y desventajas en el

2. El texto hablará de la participación de los padres en la escuela y como dicha