Given that exposure to video programming has been shown to increase students' listening comprehension, the subsequent effects of that increase on communicative competence were studied in order to assess the impact of exposure to authentic video on the language acquisition process. Following their contact with an authentic Spanish-language telenovela, student viewers demonstrated a statistically significant increase over their counterparts in a control group not only in listening comprehension but also in the number of words they used in discourse and in two component parts of communicative competence, specifically, their confidence in generating output and the scope and breadth of their discourse. This study shows that authentic television programming is a valuable tool that provides high levels of input and results in improvements in students' output. The Modern Language Journal picture. The narration tends to be composed of one full sentence per picture.1 The narration consists nearly exclusively of descriptions of the characters and other objects, and identification of them, with no actions expressed. 0 The narration consists of isolated lexical items. Communicative Techniques5 The student effectively uses circumlocution and descriptions when he or she does not control the exact lexical item. No English is used. Speech is smooth and such techniques enhance the narration. 4 The student effectively uses circumlocution and descriptions; he or she inserts only one English lexical item.3 The narration is complete, with some hesitation, and the student uses some circumlocution. The student uses two or three English lexical items

Background Ileus is common after elective colorectal surgery, and is associated with increased adverse events and prolonged hospital stay. The aim was to assess the role of non‐steroidal anti‐inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) for reducing ileus after surgery. Methods A prospective multicentre cohort study was delivered by an international, student‐ and trainee‐led collaborative group. Adult patients undergoing elective colorectal resection between January and April 2018 were included. The primary outcome was time to gastrointestinal recovery, measured using a composite measure of bowel function and tolerance to oral intake. The impact of NSAIDs was explored using Cox regression analyses, including the results of a centre‐specific survey of compliance to enhanced recovery principles. Secondary safety outcomes included anastomotic leak rate and acute kidney injury. Results A total of 4164 patients were included, with a median age of 68 (i.q.r. 57–75) years (54·9 per cent men). Some 1153 (27·7 per cent) received NSAIDs on postoperative days 1–3, of whom 1061 (92·0 per cent) received non‐selective cyclo‐oxygenase inhibitors. After adjustment for baseline differences, the mean time to gastrointestinal recovery did not differ significantly between patients who received NSAIDs and those who did not (4·6 versus 4·8 days; hazard ratio 1·04, 95 per cent c.i. 0·96 to 1·12; P = 0·360). There were no significant differences in anastomotic leak rate (5·4 versus 4·6 per cent; P = 0·349) or acute kidney injury (14·3 versus 13·8 per cent; P = 0·666) between the groups. Significantly fewer patients receiving NSAIDs required strong opioid analgesia (35·3 versus 56·7 per cent; P < 0·001). Conclusion NSAIDs did not reduce the time for gastrointestinal recovery after colorectal surgery, but they were safe and associated with reduced postoperative opioid requirement.

The city of Medellín, Colombia's second largest, impresses the visitor. What was once the most dangerous city in the world has gone through a metamorphosis since drug lord Pablo Escobar's death in 1993. Indeed, in 2013, Medellín was named the World's Most Innovative City by the Wall Street Journal and the Urban Land Institute (ULI). ‘Few cities have transformed the way that Medellín… has in the past 20 years' reads the ULI's explanation (Wall Street Journal, 2013, online). Medellín is now poised to move forward with its innovative infrastructure projects, and looks to position itself as a center of international business, technology, and education (Alexander, 2015). One of the ways in which this new international outlook manifests itself is in the ever-increasing use of English in various areas of public life, notably in advertising and in shop names. Accordingly, this study explores and describes the use of English in shop names in a cross section of commercial areas in Medellín. First, we consider the use of English shop names in four shopping malls that serve customers from a variety of socioeconomic strata. Note that our use of ‘shop’ refers not only to stores but also restaurants, bars, travel agencies, and any other commercial enterprise. Second, we look at four public commercial corridors (retail streets or demarcated zones) in metropolitan Medellín through a similar lens. From these two commercial venues, we find that English use is common in Medellín's retail landscape and that it increases as the socioeconomic status of the target consumers increases.

This study reports on 431 surveys that were used to determine speakers' attitudes toward the tuteo and voseo in Montevideo. It examines speakers' attitudes toward: the use of íií; the use of vo5 in [+D] domains; speakers' recognition of V-V, T-V, and T-T combinations; ti and vos in prepositional phrases; and the dialect of Montevideo. All speakers express positive attitudes toward the tuteo, although those under 40 do not use it. Younger speakers show a preference for V-V combinations and a predilection for vos as a prepositional object. The youngest subjects expressed thé most positive attitude toward the Montevidean dialect. Although recent research points to an increasing use of the voseo in Montevideo (Steffen 2010, Weyers 2009, Bertolotti and Coll 2006, the generally favorable attitudes expressed toward the tuteo suggest an affinity toward the Montevideo norm, regardless of actual usage or potential future changes.

Voseo is common in conversations in Medellín, Antioquia, Colombia, but it is not commonly prescribed for written venues. Currently, voseo appears to have a burgeoning presence, which appears to mark a shift from previous trends. This study focuses on the use of the vernacular voseo and prescriptive tuteo and ustedeo in the linguistic landscape of Colombia’s second largest city. An examination of over 300 samples shows that written voseo has an increasing presence in city government communiqués and a limited presence in other domains. Given Medellín’s recent transformation, this study makes the case that increased prestige in paisa (from Antioquia) culture appears to result in increased prestige for that city’s voseo.