This article reports on the results of a study concerning the type of texts and their features produced by a student after using mobile technology as a support to improve the development of the students’ writing skills in a second language. The Functional Systemic Linguistic (FSL), Genre Pedagogical Approach (GPA), and mobile learning concepts were employed as theoretical framework. The participant of the research was a freshman student that belongs to an English narrative course in a private university of the Caribbean region, Universidad Del Norte in Barranquilla, Colombia. This case study analyzed the student’s writing during a period of eight-week course, which was then complemented with an interview conducted by the researcher. The results reveal that genre approach can be implemented with mobile technology to increase students’ writing ability.

Teaching mathematics in a second-language (L2) environment requires teachers to understand both relevant mathematics concepts and the L2. Teachers must be aware that the explanations, clarifications, and development of mathematical language require that students have sufficient competence in the L2 to understand what is being taught. This implies teaching language to students in three specific ways, as suggested by Coyle, Hood, and Marsh (2010): language of learning, language for learning, and language through learning. Teaching mathematics also requires teachers to apply different types of scaffolding. This study seeks to identify the types of scaffolding and instructions used by the mathematics teacher at a bilingual school in Santa Marta, Colombia teaching first-grade students in English. Classroom observations, as well as interviews and classroom observation checklists, were carried out to determine what the mathematics teacher was already doing in the classroom in terms of scaffolding. The resultant data suggests that a range of visual aids and careful use of the L1 can play significant role in supporting the simultaneous development of content and linguistics competences.

El presente artículo tiene por objetivo describir los resultados de una experiencia piloto realizada con un grupo de estudiantes de primer semestre de Relaciones Internacionales en la asignatura de inglés, nivelatorio. La finalidad de esta experiencia es mejorar las habilidades auditivas apoyadas con aprendizaje móvil. Para ello, se implementaron archivos de audio llamados podcasts a través de dispositivos móviles. Se diseñaron siete podcasts teniendo en cuenta las necesidades y falencias de los estudiantes. Los resultados de esta experiencia fueron favorables.