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The present article discusses the pragmatic role of intonation in crosscultural interactions. It investigates whether the choice of tone and pitch accent in the spoken discourse produced by Spanish learners of English can lead to deficient appropriateness, a concept that can be defined as the choice of ''the most adequate element-where element is understood at any linguistic level-in the realization of a certain function in a specific context'' (Romero Trillo 2001: 531). The study analyzes short read-alouds and Spanish learners' spontaneous conversations and compares them to native English speakers' production in order to interpret the pragmatic meaning expressed by their intonation patterns (cf. Benson et al. 1988; Halliday 1994;Pierrehumbert and Hirschberg 1990). A cross-linguistic corpus was compiled by recording native and non-native speakers who performed short dialogues in English. The corpus data were analyzed and annotated in order to obtain detailed and quantitative comparable information on the two language user groups' prosodic characteristics. The results reveal the existence of significant di¤erences in the choice of the tone and pitch accent by nonnative and native English speakers in similar contexts. These di¤erences may cause communicative misunderstanding.

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This study was carried out as an international cooperative research project supported by a Fulbright Scholar award to investigate attitudes and perceptions towards bilingual education, and to extract key findings on effective pedagogy in bilingual schools in the Region of Madrid, where expansion of bilingual programs has been rapidly increasing. The study sought to identify the attitudes of teachers, language assistants and students towards bilingualism and bilingual program development. It was also interested in identifying effective classroom practices and strategies for effective teaching in bilingual contexts. The results obtained reveal key findings and possible implications that should be taken into consideration in order to facilitate the future development and consolidation of bilingual programs that promote educational excellence. 119Resumen El presente estudio se llevó a cabo dentro del marco de un proyecto de investigación colaborativo internacional, apoyado por una beca Fulbright, con el objetivo de investigar las actitudes y percepciones hacia la educación bilingüe y extraer los principales resultados sobre una metodología de prácticas pedagógicas eficientes en colegios bilingües de la región de Madrid, donde la implantación de los programas bilingües ha aumentado exponencialmente en las últimas décadas. El estudio pretendía identificar las actitudes de los profesores, asistentes de idiomas y estudiantes hacia el bilingüismo y el desarrollo del programa bilingüe. Además se identificaron ejemplos de buenas prácticas docentes y estrategias eficientes de enseñanza-aprendizaje en contextos bilingües. Los resultados obtenidos ponen de manifiesto hallazgos fundamentales y sus posibles implicaciones que, se deberían tener en consideración para facilitar el futuro desarrollo y consolidación de programas bilingües que promuevan la excelencia educativa.Palabras claves: ALTBE, marco conceptual, buenas prácticas, programas bilingües, CLIL, actitudes y percepciones; colaboración Beca Fulbright, cuestionario y protocolos de investigación. ResumoO presente estudo foi realizado dentro do marco de um projeto de pesquisa colaborativo internacional, apoiado por uma bolsa Fulbright, com o objetivo de pesquisar as atitudes e percepções em direção à educação bilíngue e extrair os principais resultados sobre uma metodologia de práticas pedagógicas eficientes em colégios bilíngues da região de Madrid, onde a implantação dos programas bilíngues tem aumentado exponencialmente nas últimas décadas. O estudo pretendia identificar as atitudes dos professores, assistentes de idiomas e estudantes em direção ao bilinguismo e ao desenvolvimento do programa bilíngue. Além do mais, identificaram-se exemplos de boas práticas docentes e estratégias eficientes de ensino-aprendizagem em contextos bilíngues. Os resultados obtidos põem de manifesto descobertas fundamentais e suas possíveis implicações que se deveriam levar em consideração para facilitar o futuro desenvolvimento e consolidação de programas bilíngues que promovam a e...