Many scholars across the world have studied the knowledge, skills and dispositions needed to use digital media. Yet as digital texts have proliferated and evolved, there has been much conjecture over what it means to be 'digitally literate'. As literacy researchers from Australia, Sweden and Argentina we are concerned with the drive to standardise…

The extensive literature on subject expression in Spanish makes for rich comparisons between generative (formal) and usage-based (functional) approaches to language acquisition. This article explores how the problem of subject expression has been conceptualized within each research tradition, as well as unanswered questions that both approaches…

This citation analysis examines the use of Spanish- and Portuguese-language books and articles in PhD dissertations on Latin America at the University of New Mexico between 2000 and 2009. Two sets of data are presented: The first identifies the use of Spanish- and Portuguese-language books and articles across 17 academic departments; and the…

The influence of orthographic transparency on the prevalence of dyslexia subtypes was examined in a review of multiple-case studies conducted in languages differing in orthographic depth (English, French, and Spanish). Cross-language differences are found in the proportion of dissociated profiles as a function of the dependent variables (speed or…

Determines the patterns of analogy underlying medically terminologized words that carry a metaphorical status. Study results show that the patterns of analogy underlying medical metaphors are language independent and differ from those underlying nonscientific metaphors. Pedagogical guidelines are provided encouraging new vocabulary usage to…

Discusses the vowel contrast of the vowel systems of English and Spanish, and concentrates on the difficulties posed by the interference of the English Schwa sound. (GLR)

Discusses and compares the syntactic features of free relative clauses found in Castilian and Aragonese dialects of Old Spanish. The role of clitics (nontonic pronominals) and the lexical innovations of the wh-question compound-type clauses are highlighted. (TR)

Because the fast-growing Hispanic population of the United States has little political and economic power (a problem which has been linked to a lack of media attention to this group), a study sought to determine to what extent Miami's Spanish-language newspapers provided Hispanic angles to the l988 presidential primary. Miami's two…

Most second language texts not only do not emphasize negotiation of meaning, but are also structured to mislead learners in their attempt to express meaning (in the learners' native language). Examples from German, Spanish, and French are used to illustrate the need for second language learning to stand alone and independently from the native…

A comparative study examined the influence of overseas experience on how learners put their second-language knowledge to use during communication, and how they compensate for gaps in their knowledge. Results do not suggest a strong dichotomy between language learning in the classroom and abroad or between grammar and oral proficiency. (20…

A review of 10 major studies, conducted since 1976, assessing the effectiveness of Title VII bilingual education programs suggest that bilingual education is a viable instructional program for children of limited English-speaking ability. The studies examined are: "Bilingual Education: An Appraisal of Empirical Research," Zappert and…

Four papers address trends and issues in Hispanic linguistics. "Recent Trends in Hispanic Linguistics" (Frank Nuessel) gives an overview of benchmarks in research on diachronic, sociolinguistic, and applied aspects of Spanish phonology, morphology, syntax, and semantics. "African Influence on Hispanic Dialects" (John Lipski)…

Examines debates involving three speech communities in the United States: standard English, Black English, and Spanish. The analysis focuses on languages in which electoral activities take place and in which public school instruction is conducted. The major American ideologies of language are similar in their denial of linguistic inequality.…

While bilingual education programs in Peru are promoted as educational alternatives, designed for a specific group with the intention of strengthening the community's capacity to achieve its own goals, Texas programs are "substitute" programs to compensate for presumed deficits until the student can function in a "regular"…

Part of a larger research project, this descriptive study identified the range and characteristics of learning strategies used in studying foreign languages. Related studies include a course development study, in which foreign language instructors teach their students to apply learning strategies, and a longitudinal study that analyzed differences…