Book review

Since the dawn of the Internet, technology has played a crucial role in all spheres. In particular, in the educational and research world, the use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) has greatly advanced, making a complete transformation in the methodologies used. Thus, virtual research environments are considered essential these days for those scholars and researchers who want to advance their investigations in the field of Spanish as a second language (SL2) or foreign language (SFL) (Allan, 2009; Mairal-Usón & Faber, 2020; Whishart & Thomas, 2017). The book e-Research y español LE/L2: Investigar en la era digital, edited by Mar Cruz Piñol (2021), deals jointly with the contributions to SL2/SFL from three diverse fields, i.e., library science, corpus linguistics, and digital editing. This publication provides a new, interdisciplinary, and international vision combining theory with case studies.

This volume, written in Spanish, comprises ten chapters. While the first two chapters deal with the theoretical framework, the remaining eight chapters are organised into three main blocks. Part I of the volume aims at guiding SL2/SFL researchers to incorporate technologies in their personal research environment. Part II presents the main features of research with large language samples to help researchers select the most appropriate corpus to work with according to their objectives or even compile their own ad hoc corpus. Finally, Part III shows the advantages of disseminating and visually presenting research outcomes using technology.

The book opens with Chapter 1, where Cruz Piñol makes a revision of the theoretical and methodological foundations that contextualise the use of technologies for SL2/SFL research. To start with, the concepts e-Research and personal research environment are deeply analysed. Then, the main lines of SL2/SFL research are described to show, on the one hand, that all of them are nourished by the three main pillars which shape the research with technology, i.e., the use of large amounts of data, the collaboration, and the multidisciplinarity; and on the other hand, to highlight the need to make this research visible. The chapter ends presenting the objectives, the structure, and the main content of the volume.

In Chapter 2, by Trigo, the use of technologies for SL2/SFL research is contextualised in the framework of Digital Humanities. The author explains that the use of technology has been a major transformation in the research world and has led to a revolution bringing the use of new terminology and substantial changes in relation to the dissemination of research. Trigo continues delving into three areas of reference within the Digital Humanities: 1) the reinvention of new research environments, especially the role played by libraries and the free access; 2) the dissemination and the digital impact of research; and 3) the digital research in the learning of SL2/SFL. Thus, preparing the grounds to address the needs grouped into the three main parts in which this volume is divided.

The volume continues with Part I, El Entorno Personal del Investigador (EPI), which includes Chapters three, four and five. This section includes topics related to library science.

In Chapter 3, López-Hernández, Muro-Subías and Santoja-Garriga focus on the process of searching for quality academic references when dealing with SL2/SFL and the problems encountered by researchers. In particular, the current needs of scholars and researchers when dealing with the search of resources are analysed. The authors of this chapter suggest that the university libraries are a good solution as they are considered dynamic and offer their users multiple resources such as databases, repositories and collaboration systems between librarians and researchers. In the last part of the chapter, some of these resources are deeply examined to find scientific quality references.

Chapter 4, by Morante, explores how to manage the bibliography in the research world. She starts by pointing out the two main needs researchers have to face, i.e., organising and citing the bibliographic information. Bibliographic reference managers are proposed as a good solution to simplify these tasks and the research process thanks to the technological aid they offer. Morante explains how to introduce and organise data and get citations and bibliographical references from these tools. Finally, a comparison among six bibliographic reference managers is provided, paying special attention to one of them, i.e., Mendeley. This chapter is believed to be of great utility for researchers to integrate their job in these bibliographic reference managers.

In Chapter 5, Marín Queral examines the usefulness of social networks in shaping one’s personal research environment. The author starts by digging into the advantages and disadvantages of being present in social networks. Then, differences between general and academic networks are mentioned regarding the management of the digital identity, the dissemination of research results, how documents are managed, and impact measurement. In the last part of the chapter, diverse case studies are shown, including the use of Twitter, Google Scholar, ResearchGate, Humanities Commons, and ORCID just to mention a few.

Part II, entitled La investigación con muestras de lengua, comprises Chapters six, seven, and eight, all of them devoted to linguistic corpus research.

Chapter 6 opens Part II of the volume, in which Buyse pays attention to corpora composed by native speakers to explore them deeply. The main objective of the chapter is to offer scholars, researchers, and other experts in the field of SL2/SFL the basis to use these language samples and to start creating their own corpus. In the first pages, the author introduces the needs, advantages, and drawbacks of using corpora. Then, a classification of language samples is offered to help researchers find the best corpora according to their objectives, followed by an analysis of the most important current native corpora for SL2/SFL research. It concludes with diverse grammatical, lexical, and pragmatic case studies from both a synchronic and a diachronic perspective to analyse different Spanish variations.

In Chapter 7, Lozano continues investigating the paramount role played by language samples in SL2/SFL research. This time, the importance of designing a corpus for learners due to its usefulness when learning Spanish is emphasised. Moreover, the author illustrates the key role played by corpus methods to allow researchers to understand the features of Spanish for L2 learners in an objective and systematic way. The chapter starts examining the needs which exist in the acquisition of SL2/SFL in natural contexts. It then continues exploring the advantages and disadvantages of using technology in SL2 learners’ corpora and the basic principles of the corpus for learners’ design. After that, diverse case studies based on learners of SL2/SFL corpora are analysed. Finally, a list of free SL2/SFL corpora for apprentices is offered to the reader.

The focal point of Chapter 8 is the use of corpus to investigate the phonic component of SL2/SFL. Llisterri examines the oral corpora of Spanish as a first language (SL1) and SL2 and explains how technology can help both teachers and researchers in their studies based on oral corpora. After an introduction including the main features of oral corpora, the chapter continues delving into the possibilities and limitations of using online oral corpora. The last part of the chapter compares 14 oral corpora from non-native Spanish speakers with 23 oral corpora from native speakers. It concludes with the presentation of the main tools to explore and use oral corpora.

Part III, La visibilización y la visualización de la investigación, is made up of Chapters 9 and 10. This section focuses on the visibility and visualization of research results.

In Chapter 9, Lloret Cantero, López Ferrero and Cruz Piñol set out the needs of SL2/SFL researchers when dealing with the search of online articles through specialised journals, bulletins, and book volumes. The authors suggest thesaurus, thematic websites, and digital maps as the best alternatives to make up for these necessities. In the third section of the chapter, three thematic websites, two digital maps, and a new website called Porta_ELE are presented to facilitate SL2/SFL scholars and teachers the search of online periodical publications. Porta_ELE, created after analysing 159 online periodical publications related to SL2/SFL, includes an interactive map to facilitate users search of articles and find journals to publish their work.

Finally, in Chapter 10, Barros García focuses on the potential visualization techniques have to share research outcomes and transfer knowledge in the field of SL2/SFL. The author encourages the research community to use visual ways both to present the results of their investigation and as an analysis and research tool due to the affordances it provides. The chapter begins dealing with the needs to visualise the research data to improve the transfer of knowledge. It then continues with the advantages and limitations provided by technology to visualise data. Finally, various case studies and projects are shown to illustrate data visualisation.

All things considered, this volume is believed to be the perfect guide for those experts, teachers or researchers who aim at investigating SL2/SFL in the digital era using a multidisciplinary vision. In particular, it centres on the fields of library science, corpus linguistics, and digital editing. e-Research y español LE/L2: Investigar en la era digital offers invaluable digital resources to get on with the task of researching SL2/SFL in the 21st century.

1. REFERENCES

Allan, R. (2009). Virtual Research Environments: From Portals to Science Gateways. Chandos Publishing.

Mairal-Usón, R., & Faber, P. (2020). Linguistic Research in the 21st Century: Looking Beyond. In A. Bocanegra-Valle (Ed.), Applied Linguistics and Knowledge Transfer Employability, Internationalisation and Social Challenges (pp.55-64). Peter Lang.

Whishart, J., & Thomas, M. (2017). e-Research in Educational Contexts: The Roles of Technologies Ethics and Social Media. Routledge.

Received: 16 January 2022

Accepted: 15 March 2022