Glossary entry (derived from question below)
Apr 30, 2019 03:35
5 yrs ago
3 viewers *
Spanish term
amortizar
Spanish to English
Other
Education / Pedagogy
Si bien el entusiasmo o motivación que el docente posee al empezar a emplear la PDI no determina el éxito o fracaso final de su incorporación, pues constituye “una herramienta aceptada por la generalidad del profesorado por 3 razones: porque es de fácil uso, mejora rápidamente la enseñanza y el aprendizaje, y potencia la creatividad” (Sáez-López, 2011, p. 306), se enfatiza la posibilidad de que los retrasos durante los procesos didácticos “disminuye con la formación y además se amortiza al aumentar el número de sesiones” (Llorente, 2012: 93).
Thank you!
Thank you!
Proposed translations
(English)
4 +1 | recoup / capitalize on // pay off | Charles Davis |
3 | it is settled/regulated | Juan Arturo Blackmore Zerón |
Proposed translations
+1
4 hrs
Selected
recoup / capitalize on // pay off
"Amortizar" here has one of its standard meanings: "recuperar o compensar los fondos invertidos en alguna empresa" (DLE def. 2)
https://dle.rae.es/?id=2QNpMF8
It means "sacar rentabilidad", treating time here as an investment.
The quotation from Llorente has been clumsily incorporated into the sentence, as reflected by the singular verbs (disminuye, se amortiza) with a plural subject (retrasos). In Llorente's original, which Robert has usefully quoted, the subject is "tiempo": the time teachers have to spend learning to use the digital blackboard and preparing teaching material with it. This is seen as an investment up front which pays off over time. The idea is that on the one hand this time invested by the teacher is reduced through training — as they are trained to use the media they get quicker at it — and once they've made that investment, they can capitalize on it by using it multiple times: "al aumentar el número de sesiones". So the more teaching sessions they use it for, having mastered it, the more they profit from the time they spent learning to use it. That's the idea of "amortizar": recouping or capitalizing on an investment.
You could say "is/can be recouped by increasing the number of sessions". I like "capitalize on" here, but it's awkward in the passive ("can be capitalized on by..."). However, you could make this part active: "and moreover teachers can capitalize on it by increasing the number of session". Another possibility might be to use "pays off" for "se amortiza": "and moreover it pays off when/if/as the number of sessions increases".
https://dle.rae.es/?id=2QNpMF8
It means "sacar rentabilidad", treating time here as an investment.
The quotation from Llorente has been clumsily incorporated into the sentence, as reflected by the singular verbs (disminuye, se amortiza) with a plural subject (retrasos). In Llorente's original, which Robert has usefully quoted, the subject is "tiempo": the time teachers have to spend learning to use the digital blackboard and preparing teaching material with it. This is seen as an investment up front which pays off over time. The idea is that on the one hand this time invested by the teacher is reduced through training — as they are trained to use the media they get quicker at it — and once they've made that investment, they can capitalize on it by using it multiple times: "al aumentar el número de sesiones". So the more teaching sessions they use it for, having mastered it, the more they profit from the time they spent learning to use it. That's the idea of "amortizar": recouping or capitalizing on an investment.
You could say "is/can be recouped by increasing the number of sessions". I like "capitalize on" here, but it's awkward in the passive ("can be capitalized on by..."). However, you could make this part active: "and moreover teachers can capitalize on it by increasing the number of session". Another possibility might be to use "pays off" for "se amortiza": "and moreover it pays off when/if/as the number of sessions increases".
Peer comment(s):
agree |
Robert Carter
: Yes, but not "capitalize on", more "redeem" (see discussion).
6 hrs
|
Thanks, Robert :-) I see what you mean; the financial metaphor is just making back what you put in. "Sacar rentabilidad" was loosely put; I just meant making a "profit" to compensate for your original "loss".
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4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
9 hrs
it is settled/regulated
... when the number of sessions increases.
Discussion
So it's not quite saying that it's an investment that "pays off", (although I suppose this is implicit here!) but more that you get this time back again later on (redeem it), presumably through efficiency gains.
Granted, it's not much of a distinction, just that your answer threw me slightly when you mentioned "sacar rentabilidad".