A survey of 64 University of New Mexico undergraduates examined their attitudes toward the different varieties of Spanish and the use of Spanish. (HP)

Integrating a foreign language culture into the teaching of the language is discussed, and a list of methods is provided.

All modern Romance languages except Rumanian have a class of causative + infinitive construction in which the infinitive subject surfaces as an agentive. This article investigates the question of how agentivization of the infinitive subject is to be handled in these languages. (DS)

A report on the status of Portuguese in university language programs. The role of the AATSP in the promotion of Portuguese and a description of several of its recommendations are given. The success of most strong university programs is attributed to good public relations and interdepartmental communication. (AMH)

Ability to distinguish "ask" and "tell" in Spanish was studied with five groups of native Spanish speakers: adults, 7- and 10-year-olds in a full bilingual school and 7- and 10-year-olds in a non-total bilingual school. Increased age, bilingual schooling and presence of contextual clues enhanced performance. (CHK)

The authors discuss the ways in which social policy has resulted in the absorption of ethnic groups into the dominant culture and explain how education of the Spanish speaking child has proceeded in such a way as to funnel these children into special education and into learning disabilities in particular. (Author/SBH)

Outlines the contents of a one-week course called "Survival Spanish," which was taught to retired persons in an Elderhostel program. Differences in learning strategies between and presentation of material to adults and children are discussed, with specific emphasis on the older learner. (SED)

An evaluation study indicated that teachers differentiated standard American English from three marked varieties, with Hispanicized English rated more favorably than ungrammatical English and code switching. Four varieties of Spanish were differentiated on standard language continuum, with code switching the least acceptable. (CB)

The first of two articles presents a review of children's plays written in Spanish, including the authors' approaches and underlying themes. The second, an annotated bibliography of children's folklore and health books for adolescents in Spanish, includes a directory of eight U.S. dealers in Spanish books. (CLB)

Compares native Spanish-speaking (N=9) and native English-speaking kindergarten students' use of language learning acts after individual peer tutoring sessions in English. Findings reveal that students appear to acquire English according to their level of general academic achievement. (Author/CB)

Utah State University's intensive Spanish program uses video simulations of real-life experiences as the basis for classroom instruction in lieu of following a textbook, allowing the class to become student-centered, rather than instructor-centered, through a problem-solving group endeavor. (Author/CB)

Presents the instructional episodes engaged in by bilingual first graders. Findings indicate that peer instruction occurred frequently and that proficiency in English was not a determining factor in the language choices made by individual students. (Author/CB)

The theoretical and pedagogical issues emanating from the practice of teaching Spanish to Hispanic bilingual college students are discussed. Distinctions are made between standard Spanish and the two most important United States varieties of Chicano and Puerto Rican Spanish, and structural differences are examined. Teaching suggestions are…

Noting that some educators are calling for a whole language approach to teaching Spanish reading to replace the traditional word approach, reviews various methods of teaching Spanish reading and summarizes research that supports a psycholinguistic view of reading. Suggests specific guidelines and materials to help teachers move toward a whole…

The exploratory study determined whether Spanish language-use patterns employed on a television program accurately reflected language use patterns of the target culture as perceived by members of that group. Findings indicated over 50% approved of the show's language use because they attributed to it the intent of legitimizing bilingualism. (NEC)