Research suggests that second/foreign language teachers' sense of humor is directly related to many outcomes for teachers and their students. This research investigates the relationship between the perceived sense of humor of in-service Spanish teachers' (n?=?102) and their students' (n?=?5,419) score on the National Spanish Exams…

College students (N=60) majoring in French, German, or Spanish took Self-Appraisal of Speaking Proficiency and State Anxiety Inventory before being assessed by American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages' Oral Proficiency Interview (OPI). Results showed that anxiety did not exert as much influence on scores as ability did. However, once…

A study investigated the relationships between anxiety experienced by students in the second language classroom (usually associated with test anxiety, fear of negative evaluation, and communication apprehension), irrational thoughts associated with these anxieties, and classroom achievement among three groups of language learners. The Foreign…

This report describes instructional strategies to decrease anxiety and frustration in the Spanish classroom. Participants were five 7th grade Spanish classes in two suburban middle schools. Student interventions included a study skills guide; partner and group presentations, skits, and activities; and group oral reading. Teacher interventions…

Use of a directed creative writing exercise to assess intermediate language students' skills is discussed. The technique was developed for second-year college Spanish instruction as an alternative to conventional writing tests in which anxiety or lack of motivation may inhibit performance. Differences in the nature of language skills (listening,…