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Browsing by Issue Date, starting with "2022-11-12"

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  • Helping migrants to improve their pronunciation skills
    Publication . Castelo, Adelina
    Pronunciation constitutes an important skill for all learners, especially for those who have to use oral language on a daily basis for communication purposes and who wish to be integrated into the target-language speakers’ community. This is precisely the case of migrants in a host country. Furthermore, it should be borne in mind that these groups of learners are normally highly constrained in terms of time and financial resources. Consequently, it is relevant to propose practical and free ways to help them improve their pronunciation skills. This presentation aims precisely at showing how different free digital resources can be used by migrants to achieve a good level of pronunciation, especially in terms of intelligibility and comprehensibility (see these latter concepts in Derwing and Munro, 2005). It will include four main parts: (1) presenting reasons to focus on improving pronunciation, according to the literature (e.g. Yates, 2002; Moyer, 2014; Kissling, 2018); (2) showing what is needed to develop better pronunciation (e.g. Celce-Murcia et al., 2010; Grant, 2014; Castelo, 2022); (3) illustrating how several free digital resources can be used by migrants to practice their pronunciation, namely YouTube videos, mobile applications, online translators, and online courses (e.g. Liakin et al., 2015; O’Brien, 2018; Castelo, 2021); (4) suggesting ways to reach out to migrants in order to give them these tips and raise their awareness and autonomy.
    2022-11-12Conference object Open access Show more
  • Shedding light on metals release from chestnut wood to wine spirit using ICP-MS
    Publication . Catarino, Sofia; Thanasi, Vasiliki; Morin, Gael; Anjos, Ofélia; Fernandes, Tiago; Caldeira, Ilda; Fargeton, Laurent; Boissier, Benjamin; Canas, Sara
    Possible effects caused by mineral elements during wine spirit ageing are diverse. In this study, the evolution of the mineral composition of wine spirit during ageing with chestnut (Castanea sativa Mill.) wood was investigated. A wine distillate was aged in 250 L wooden barrels (traditional ageing) and in 50 L glass demijohns with wood staves and micro-oxygenation (alternative ageing). Sampling was performed after 21, 60, 180, 270, and 365 days of ageing. The elemental composition of the wine spirits, including alkaline, alkaline earth metals, and heavy metals, was assessed by quadrupole inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (Q-ICP-MS). For most of the elements, no significant differences between wine spirits from distinct ageing modalities were observed. Ageing time had significant effect on most of them, with different trends and distinct magnitude of changes, depending on each specific element. The concentrations of the mineral elements found in the wine spirits were very low, especially those of heavy metals, which is quite positive in terms of quality and food safety. Novel information on metals released from chestnut wood to wine spirits confirms its appropriateness for ageing this beverage.
    2022-11-12Journal article Open access Show more