Discusses techniques that facilitate student learning, conserve instructor time, provide a rationale for course and materials design, and increase inter-rater reliability. Includes suggestions for providing for student differences, determining what to teach and when, and saving time in grading compositions. (PMJ)

Suggests ways of improving the curriculum for the M.A.T. degree by offering courses more relevant to what secondary school language teachers have to teach. (RM)

Bulletin boards in language classrooms can be highly motivating learning activities. Examples are given here of several activities used successfully at beginning and intermediate levels of Spanish in secondary schools. (CHK)

By pooling resources, an elementary school desiring to add Spanish instruction to its curriculum and a university exploring ways to enhance the preparation of bilingual/ESL teachers found a solution: a K-5 Spanish-language program staffed by prospective bilingual and second-language teachers from Washington State University. Begun in 1994, the…

Argues that communicative competence in Spanish as a second language can not be taught without giving attention to the grammatical component of language. Compares aspects of the traditional and communicative approaches to language teaching, refers to theory on grammar instruction, and offers examples of classroom activities supporting the learning…

Examined the strategies used by native-English-speaking foreign language (FL) learners to read Spanish and English texts in order to investigate differences in FL reading strategies between males and females. Results indicate that students processed the Spanish and English passages using local and global strategies, respectively, and that males…

Investigates the effects of Spanish-English bilinguals' first-language syntactic knowledge on the guesses they make about the meanings of new words encountered in English contexts. Examines a particular type of transfer to understand the process of vocabulary acquisition in second-language readers. (48 references) (Author/CK)

Examines the influence of language differences on Los Angeles area businesses via a survey of South Central business owners after the Rodney King riots in 1992. For 67% of respondents, customers had trouble communicating their needs. Only 30% would be more comfortable doing business exclusively with people who speak the same language. (33…

Analyzes the narrative, descriptive, and evaluative structures of one person's two stories, drawn from oral proficiency interviews, about the same event told at the intermediate high and advanced levels on the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) scale. The discourse analysis revealed that the second story builds upon the…

Describes a three-year plan for colleges and universities in which the Spanish program attempts to increase its course offerings and improve articulation within the institution. The program is designed to put into practice the goals of a regional collaborative project on articulation of which the university is an integral part. (six references)…

Describes and critiques a National Endowment for the Humanities-funded summer graduate program at the University of Minnesota for preservice and inservice teachers of French, German, and Spanish. The program combines a language immersion approach in content-based classes with a pedagogical component. (Author/JL)

Examines the role played by voiced stop spirantization in the acquisition of English "b, d, g," and "d" by native Spanish speakers. Results reveal that accuracy in English pronunciation is hindered by native language transfer, including the transfer of spirantization and native language syllable structure constraints, and that…

Presents a model of professional development that is suited to the inservice Spanish teacher with limited time and financial resources. Details a summer program for Spanish teachers in Venezuela that combines an immersion experience with an advanced methodology course emphasizing a standards-based approach to curriculum development. (Author/VWL)

Addresses the help that heritage speakers and other native Spanish speaking students can provide in a Spanish phonetics class. These students can improve the pronunciation of Spanish learners while enhancing their own self esteem, and can also make learners aware of different dialects of Spanish. (Author/VWL)

A study examining the relationship between acculturation and sexual activity, contraceptive use, and attitudes toward self surveyed 290 Los Angeles area Latina adolescents. Less acculturated adolescents were less likely to engage in sexual activity, with place of birth being the most powerful predictor of differences. Implications for pregnancy…