La educación de los futuros maestros necesariamente debe incluir el desarrollo de la competencia comunicativa por su carácter fundamental como instrumento de comunicación, de producción y transformación del conocimiento y para la mejora de la calidad de los aprendizajes, así como para favorecer el desarrollo del pensamiento crítico, tanto en relación con los propios estudios como con su posterior desempeño profesional. A pesar de ello, son pocos los estudios e investigaciones dedicados a ello. El propósito de este artículo es contribuir a llenar este vacío mediante la presentación de los resultados de un estudio, cuyo objetivo estriba en la mejora de la construcción de textos orales argumentativos y la reflexión metalingüística sobre sus elementos, mediante el desarrollo e introducción de estrategias e instrumentos docentes. Se utilizó un método mixto, que incluye análisis cuantitativos y cualitativos. Los instrumentos utilizados fueron la EVALOE o Escala de Evaluación de la Lengua Oral en contexto Escolar (Gràcia et al., 2015a) y una rúbrica construida al efecto. Los resultados muestran que si se introducen estrategias e instrumentos docentes ajustados, los estudiantes aprenden a construir textos (monogestionados y plurigestionados) y a reflexionar sobre ellos.

Ethanol is the most important teratogen agent in humans. Prenatal alcohol exposure can lead to a wide range of adverse effects, which are broadly termed as fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD). The most severe consequence of maternal alcohol abuse is the development of fetal alcohol syndrome, defined by growth retardation, facial malformations, and central nervous system impairment expressed as microcephaly and neurodevelopment abnormalities. These alterations generate a broad range of cognitive abnormalities such as learning disabilities and hyperactivity and behavioural problems. Socioeconomic status, ethnicity, differences in genetic susceptibility related to ethanol metabolism, alcohol consumption patterns, obstetric problems, and environmental influences like maternal nutrition, stress, and other co-administered drugs are all factors that may influence FASD manifestations. Recently, much attention has been paid to the role of nutrition as a protective factor against alcohol teratogenicity. There are a great number of papers related to nutritional treatment of nutritional deficits due to several factors associated with maternal consumption of alcohol and with eating and social disorders in FASD children. Although research showed the clinical benefits of nutritional interventions, most of work was in animal models, in a preclinical phase, or in the prenatal period. However, a minimum number of studies refer to postnatal nutrition treatment of neurodevelopmental deficits. Nutritional supplementation in children with FASD has a dual objective: to overcome nutritional deficiencies and to reverse or improve the cognitive deleterious effects of prenatal alcohol exposure. Further research is necessary to confirm positive results, to determine optimal amounts of nutrients needed in supplementation, and to investigate the collective effects of simultaneous multiple-nutrient supplementation.

Fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) is a leading cause of neurodevelopmental disorders. Children adopted internationally from countries where alcohol consumption during pregnancy is very high are at greater risk for FASD. Lack of expertise in diagnosing FASD and mixed neurodevelopmental and behavioral signs due to abandonment complicate a timely diagnosis. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of FASD in adopted children. Children between the ages of 8 and 24 adopted from Russia and Ukraine were evaluated for clinical and historical features of FASD. Of the 162 children evaluated, 81 (50%) met FASD diagnostic criteria. Thirty-three (20.4%) children had fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS), 28 (17.2%) had partial FAS, 2 (1.2%) had alcohol-related birth defects (ARBD) and 18 (11.1%) had alcohol-related neurodevelopmental disorder (ARND). Of the 81 children in which fetal alcohol exposure could not be confirmed, many had manifestations that would have established a diagnosis of FASD if a history of maternal alcohol consumption was confirmed. In a population of children with a high risk of prenatal alcohol exposure (adoptees from Eastern European countries), at least 50% showed manifestations associated with FASD. The reported prevalence in this study is in line with the results obtained in a previous study as well as in orphanages of origin.