American students enrolled in a beginning Spanish program in Mexico were tested to see whether they benefitted from the foreign study; this premise has been questioned in the past. Results indicate that the group learned three semesters of Spanish in 3 1/2 months. The need to communicate forced students to learn. (CHK)

This document describes an educational experiment designed to test the proposition that language learning can best be carried on through a program of maximum exposure in the least possible time. An experimental class of 19 average students participated in an eight-week intensive course consisting of four half-hour laboratory sessions; there were…

The State Department's Foreign Service Institute short-term, intensive course in Spanish language and culture for government employees going to work in Spanish-speaking countries contains an introductory section and 38 lessons and 10 related audio cassettes intended as the basis for a ten-week program with an instructor. The lessons cover these…

ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY SCHOOL ACT FUNDS SUPPORTED A SPRINGFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS, PUBLIC SCHOOLS' SUMMER ACTIVITY DESIGNED TO PROVIDE INTENSIVE LANGUAGE TRAINING IN FRENCH, GERMAN, AND SPANISH FOR 56 SELECTED STUDENTS. THE 6-HOUR DAILY SCHEDULE INCLUDED TWO HOURS DEVOTED TO ORAL EXPRESSION, TWO TO LITERATURE STUDY, AND TWO TO CULTURE-ORIENTED…

This paper describes the development and evaluation of self-instructional Spanish course designed to produce an elementary communication skill sufficient to meet conversational and travel requirements. Some 106 lessons, known as AUTOSPAN and organized in seven major sections are described. Two novel pedagogic techniques which simulate live…

The foreign language faculty at College of Saint Scholastica Minnesota) developed and implemented 10-day Spanish and French immersion programs based on Peace Corps methodology as a means of affording students time for intensive study of those languages, improving students' fluency, and instituting a change in teaching methodology. The first…

A study was conducted in Jalapa, Mexico, to test the hypothesis that a student of average and below average language aptitude may have greater difficulty with the accelerated pace of learning in an intensive program. The Modern Language Association Cooperative Spanish Test was administered to the eight beginning students enrolled in the Jalapa…

The Masters Degree in International Business Program at the University of South Carolina, begun in June 1974, has as its unique feature the emphasis on "lifelong experience." This emphasis affects both the student and the department. From the first year of the program (the basic features of which are intensive training in language,…

The collection of essays on second language learning during study abroad includes: "Language Learning and Study Abroad" (Barbara F. Freed); "Predictors of Foreign Language Gain During Study Abroad" (Richard D. Brecht, Dan E. Davidson, Ralph B. Ginsberg); "A Canadian Interprovincial Exchange: Evaluating the Linguistic…

Seven research tasks and related projects undertaken by the Center for Language Education and Research (CLEAR) are described in a series of summary reports. For each specific task, an introductory section outlines the background, relevant research, and scope of the task. Subsequent sections contain reports of studies done as part of the task, each…