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{\an2}EASIT: Easy Access
for Social Inclusion Training
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{\an2}This is unit 2:
Easy-to-understand language.
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{\an2}In short: E2U.
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{\an2}Element 4:
The language of E2U.
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{\an2}Video lecture: Discourse of E2U.
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{\an2}My name is Sergio Hernández Garrido
from the University of Hildesheim.
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{\an2}In this short video lecture,
I will talk about the discourse level
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{\an2}of E2U texts.
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{\an2}I will focus
on the aspects of intertextuality,
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{\an2}presupposed knowledge and text types.
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{\an2}First on intertextuality:
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{\an2}Texts have intertextual relations
with other texts.
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{\an2}This intertextuality may come
in different forms:
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{\an2}Implicit or explicit reference
to another text
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{\an2}or more than one text.
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{\an2}An example are citations.
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{\an2}Intertextuality can also take the form
of implicit or explicit references
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{\an2}to the whole text type.
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{\an2}From intertextual knowledge,
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{\an2}readers deduce information
on what to expect from a text:
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{\an2}What are supposedly
its functions or contents?
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{\an2}As I already stated,
texts may refer to other single texts
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{\an2}explicitly or implicitly.
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{\an2}These other texts contain information
the authors expect the readers to know.
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{\an2}Presupposed knowledge is necessary
to understand the initial text.
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{\an2}Readers may not know the information
but still be able to know
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{\an2}where to find the information necessary
to understand the initial text.
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{\an2}Sometimes, text authors explicitly say
which texts they refer to.
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{\an2}This can be done through citations
or other forms of mentioning.
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{\an2}Thus, the authors can indicate the
source of the presupposed information.
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{\an2}Often, the reference to the source texts
is implicit or vague.
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{\an2}In any case,
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{\an2}texts that presuppose knowledge
from other texts
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{\an2}are complex for readers to process.
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{\an2}Readers need to identify
the intertextual references
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{\an2}Perhaps, they even need to fill in
the unknown information
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{\an2}before going on reading
the initial text.
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{\an2}Experienced readers might know the text
the author refers to.
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{\an2}This helps them process the text
quicker and more easily.
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{\an2}The target groups of
easy-to-understand language
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{\an2}usually do not have the same
reading experience
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{\an2}or previous knowledge on the subject
like the author or experienced readers.
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{\an2}Intertextuality therefore
requires text experience.
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{\an2}If intertextuality is presupposed,
it is a hazard to comprehensibility.
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{\an2}If information from another text
is needed in E2U,
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{\an2}it may not be enough
to just refer to a specific source.
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{\an2}Instead, it will be helpful to indicate
where to find the information
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{\an2}and to give a summary on the information
in these sources.
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{\an2}If information is relevant to the text,
it should be added in E2U.
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{\an2}It should be considered if information
is in E2U format or not.
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{\an2}If not, it will probably not be
accessible to the primary target groups.
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{\an2}In the field of legal communication,
it is not always possible
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{\an2}to avoid references
to laws and regulations.
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{\an2}These texts are not written
in Easy or Plain Language,
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{\an2}but rather in expert legal language.
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{\an2}The target groups cannot be expected
to have previous knowledge
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{\an2}on the laws and regulations
that are cited in the text.
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{\an2}What is more:
they will not have access to the referred text
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{\an2}as it is too complex
linguistically and conceptually.
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{\an2}Information that is needed
will have to be given directly
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{\an2}in the easy-to-understand text.
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{\an2}Addition is one of the principles
of E2U:
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{\an2}Relevant information
that cannot be presupposed
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{\an2}and may not be accessible for target
groups has to be added.
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{\an2}Intertextuality in online formats:
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{\an2}Online texts are hypertexts.
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{\an2}They bring intertextuality to another level
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{\an2}and open new ways to add information.
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{\an2}Hypertexts with its links is not limited
to what is seen on the screen;
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{\an2}it represents a whole web of texts.
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{\an2}The content is not represented linearly,
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{\an2}it consists
of single texts that are linked.
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{\an2}This opens new opportunities
for the creation of content in E2U.
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{\an2}Using the hypertext structure of online
texts can shorten the information amount
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{\an2}that has to be added to a single text.
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{\an2}Extra information can be given in texts
that are linked to the initial text.
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{\an2}For this to be functional,
there are a few prerequisites:
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{\an2}First of all, the target groups
have to know how the links work.
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{\an2}This is only possible if the target
groups have internet experience.
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{\an2}We cannot expect all target groups
to have such knowledge,
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{\an2}meaning, to know they have to click on
the link and how to return to the text.
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{\an2}Therefore, links have to be explicitly
introduced in the initial text.
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{\an2}Target groups have to be instructed
to click on the link.
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{\an2}Also, the information in the linked text
has to be comprehensible and perceptible
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{\an2}for the target groups.
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{\an2}An easy-to-read text should only link
to other easy-to-understand texts
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{\an2}or explain that the linked text is
not in E2U.
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{\an2}As an example,
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{\an2}we show you the homepage of the
North German Broadcasting Association.
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{\an2}If they use links,
they explicitly guide the action:
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{\an2}Users are instructed
to click on the link.
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{\an2}Links are underlined
for a visual highlight.
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{\an2}Considering previous knowledge:
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{\an2}Authors and translators of E2U texts,
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{\an2}be it Easy or Plain Language,
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{\an2}need to consider
which kinds of previous knowledge
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{\an2}can be expected from the target groups.
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{\an2}Target groups cannot be expected
to know as much about a subject
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{\an2}as other groups have that do not need
comprehensibility-enhanced texts.
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{\an2}Therefore, it is important
to introduce additional information
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{\an2}necessary for the target groups
to understand the content.
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{\an2}This becomes clear
when translating or adapting material
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{\an2}into Easy or Plain Language.
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{\an2}The source text may presuppose knowledge
that the target groups do not have.
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{\an2}Easy and Plain Language experts
should be able to recognize those gaps
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{\an2}and fill them
with the information needed.
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{\an2}This may regard content or terminology
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{\an2}that may be
unknown to the target groups.
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{\an2}To avoid terminology
is not always possible
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{\an2}if talking on an expert subject.
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{\an2}This terminology has to be explained.
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{\an2}On text type knowledge:
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{\an2}Presupposed knowledge
may also be text type knowledge.
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{\an2}Experienced readers deduce instantly
which text type a text belongs to.
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{\an2}On this basis,
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{\an2}they have expectations on the content
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{\an2}and functions of a text
before reading it.
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{\an2}For instance,
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{\an2}when reading written news on a website,
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{\an2}the visual presentation of the text indicates
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{\an2}that the text informs
about news and events.
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{\an2}This knowledge helps experienced readers
to find the macro-proposition of a text,
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{\an2}meaning, its main points,
and thus facilitate reading.
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{\an2}Even if research has shown
that primary Easy Language target groups
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{\an2}have some forms of text type knowledge,
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{\an2}it is more restricted than in average readers.
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{\an2}These readers need more information
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{\an2}on the text type they are confronted with.
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{\an2}Main points of the text and its functionality
have to be made noticeable.
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{\an2}For example, in informative texts,
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{\an2}the use of questions
answered directly afterwards in the text
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{\an2}show very clearly
that the text's intention is to inform.
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{\an2}On text type conventions:
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{\an2}Users of E2U have some previous
knowledge on many text types,
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{\an2}even if limited
compared to average readers.
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{\an2}It is therefore helpful
not to erase all text type conventions
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{\an2}from the E2U texts.
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{\an2}This often happens for EL texts,
but it might not be helpful.
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{\an2}Texts in E2U should keep at least
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{\an2}part of the text type conventions
of the original texts.
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{\an2}But it has to be stated
that the features of E2U
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{\an2}sometimes make it difficult
to keep the text type conventions.
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{\an2}For example:
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{\an2}Comprehensibility can be enhanced,
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{\an2}if a story or event
is told chronologically.
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{\an2}News texts usually
do not have this structure:
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{\an2}They do not tell
the story chronologically,
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{\an2}but rather start
with the actual news item
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{\an2}and tell the events
in flashbacks and flashforwards.
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{\an2}The slide shows this structure
in a typical news text.
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{\an2}Such a structure requires
elaborate grammatical skills,
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{\an2}for example, with respect to tenses
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{\an2}that are not at hand in E2U.
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{\an2}Such texts may be interesting to read,
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{\an2}but they require
complex comprehension skills
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{\an2}that may not be present in the
target groups of Easy language.
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{\an2}A story in chronological order
would be easier to understand
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{\an2}but clashes with text type conventions
of a news text.
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{\an2}To relate a news story
in chronological order
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{\an2}would therefore erase the
“news character” of a text.
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{\an2}In the Easy Language target text version
of this same news text,
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{\an2}a compromise was used:
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{\an2}The Easy Language target text
gives up chronological order.
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{\an2}It starts with the actual news item,
a conviction in court,
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{\an2}and does present some flashbacks,
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{\an2}but at the same time
reduces the number of flashbacks
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{\an2}and pools the information
on the single time levels.
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{\an2}So, the target text information
is easier to process
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{\an2}but still presents qualities
of a news text.
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{\an2}To sum up:
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{\an2}It may not be possible to keep
text type conventions completely,
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{\an2}but they should not be
completely erased.
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{\an2}E2U should have a bridging function:
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{\an2}Meaning,
that comprehensibility-enhanced texts,
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{\an2}apart from helping
to understand a specific content,
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{\an2}should build a bridge to standard texts.
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{\an2}Target groups should be able to learn
from texts in E2U:
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{\an2}about the content, and about the textual
conventions of regular texts.
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{\an2}In this way, they gain
text type specific knowledge.
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{\an2}This video lecture has been prepared
by Sergio Hernández and Christiane Maaß
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{\an2}from the University of Hildesheim.
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{\an2}You can reach us at
easit@uni-hildesheim.de
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{\an2}The project EASIT
has received funding
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{\an2}from the European Commission
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{\an2}under the Erasmus+
Strategic Partnerships
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{\an2}for Higher Education programme,
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{\an2}grant agreement
2018-1-ES01-KA203-05275.
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{\an2}The European Commission support
for the production of this publication
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{\an2}does not constitute
an endorsement of the contents,
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{\an2}which reflect
the views only of the authors,
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{\an2}and the Commission
cannot be held responsible
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{\an2}for any use which may be made
of the information contained therein.
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{\an2}This work is licensed
under a Creative Commons
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{\an2}Attribution-ShareAlike
4.0 International License.
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{\an2}Partners of the EASIT project:
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{\an2}Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona,
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{\an2}Università degli Studi di Trieste,
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{\an2}Universidade de Vigo,
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{\an2}Stiftung Universität Hildesheim,
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{\an2}SDI München,
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{\an2}Dyslexiförbundet,
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{\an2}Radiotelevisija Slovenija,
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{\an2}Zavod Risa.
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{\an2}EASIT: Easy Access
for Social Inclusion Training
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{\an2}Subtitles by: Nina Kristin Hansmann.