Urges French departments to teach the language on its own terms rather than competing with Spanish on its own terms, recommending an iconoclastic shift from an emphasis on pronunciation and correctness to a critical look at culture that will allow students to see themselves and the target culture from inside and outside. (SM)

Describes the Spanish writing program at the University of Minnesota, which provides support services at the advanced level. Highlights the staff, the program structure, and the strategies used for developing students' writing. (Author/VWL)

Describes the "Texas Project," a project to train a cadre of Texas-based college-level teachers of French, German, and Spanish to serve as oral-proficiency interviewers and raters. Discusses the four goals of the project and reports on its current status. (SED)

Describes the lack of importance ascribed to English as a language in Elizabethan times and points out that the popularity of any language resides in its perceived cultural and economic capitol. Draws distinctions between instrumental and integrative motivations and discusses the place of favorable attitudes and positive motivations in language…

Explores the role of a course on Spanish cinema in an undergraduate, university-level curriculum in terms of its potential to acquaint students with significant cultural issues and to develop language skills. (Author/VWL)

Discusses a new Spanish program for heritage language speakers at Peace College in North Carolina. While most programs designed for native speakers have been implemented in large institutions near a strong Hispanic community, the efforts at Peace College show how a program can be effectively developed even in a small women's college with a…

This article focuses on the paucity of resources usually designated for rising numbers of students in Spanish courses as enrollments dwindle in other languages. Offers advice on how the strength of Spanish can be deployed to help other languages. (Author/VWL)

Provides an example of how literary theory and standards-based classroom practice can promote active reading experiences with the text as well as interactions with other members of the class. (Author/VWL)

Arizona State University promotes linguistic and cultural awareness throughout the campus and the community. By involving nearby Hispanic culture, it integrates its programs into the community's social and cultural concerns. Faculty members of all languages may gain a wider audience by teaching courses in film, women's studies, or the culture of…

Describes a translation and interpretation program at the University of California, Long Beach. The program affords students in both English and Spanish an opportunity to develop and perfect their linguistic skills and cultural knowledge to pursue a career in the field of translation and interpretation. The program covers technical vocabulary,…

Ten colleges and universities and the Educational Testing Service participated in a project that involved testing the Foreign Service Institute's French and Spanish oral proficiency test for possible academic applicability. (AM)

A research-in-progress report is presented on how students process second-language reading materials presented to them on the computer. The preliminary findings, based on log records generated by first- and second-semester Spanish students using "Recuerdos de Madrid" lessons, can help focus a research agenda for computer-assisted language learning…

Suggests that robust foreign language departments, such as Spanish, must support other languages or end up as the only language offered on campus other than English. (Author/VWL)

Discusses heritage language students enrolled in Spanish as a foreign language courses. Students and teaching assistants answered questionnaires about course experiences and decisions. Results illustrate student perceptions about their level of expertise in Spanish, the advantages and disadvantages of having heritage fluency in a class of native…

Describes intensive summer institutes designed for elementary and secondary school language teachers of French and Spanish. Objectives include: (1) revitalizing the participants' language capabilities, (2) increasing their knowledge of literature and culture, (3) exposing them to less traditional literature and culture, and (4) encouraging…