US teacher education has been scrutinized for years. In this essay, the author discusses the four major questions that have driven educational reform. Afterward, a historical account of teacher education focusing on teacher certification, teacher testing, and the teaching of modern languages is presented. An international perspective is added by…

Describes and analyzes results of a questionnaire, addressed to 438 students of Spanish in grades three through college, which sought to determine the reasons behind students' interest in learning a second language. (AM)

Describes a method of using "pesos" as a reward for prompt homework assignments, extra work and good grades, and also as a forfeit for using English in the Spanish class, unfinished assignments, or to buy points on a test. (CHK)

Emphasizes that developing a coherent sequence of instruction prekindergarten-16+ is crucial to improving education and to the future success of extended-sequence foreign language course offerings. The Collaborative Articulation and Assessment Project represents a successful model that affords opportunities for application and replication in local…

Presents the findings of a survey among teachers of Spanish and Portuguese ( K-16) on the role and value of new technology and media for teaching and learning and on the identification of strategies for the development, selection, and use of technology. The results are discussed, along with comments from respondents. (AS)

This report describes successful programs abroad that use foreign languages in courses on foreign-language teaching methodology and that enable participants to experience first hand the language and culture of the language. (Contains six references.) (Author/LB)

Examines the evolution of Spanish textbooks qualitatively using computerized pedagogical data. Results show distinct generational text style trends from 1860 to 1998 which chronicle a common engine of change and conflict in standardization movements and the production of generational text styles. Summarizes 20th-century textbook generations and…

Examines the field of Spanish linguistics over 100 years, subdividing Spanish linguistics into several subdisciplines: historical grammar, descriptive phonetics, Spanish phonology, contrastive structures, descriptive grammar, Spanish syntax, specific Spanish dialectology, Spanish in Africa and Asia, sociolinguistics of Spanish-speaking societies,…

The Standards for Foreign Language Learning present a definition of language teaching that includes the sociolinguistic and cultural aspects of language. The article analyzes the concept of communicative competence as used by sociolinguists and anthropologists and examines some of the components of communication (interpersonal, interpretive, and…

The University of Idaho and Moscow School District (Idaho) cooperated to create a Spanish enrichment program designed to stimulate academic interest among elementary school children and to provide preservice teachers with additional foreign-language teaching experience. The model offers content-based courses and addresses concerns of junior high…