The need for and problems of teaching ethnic languages in the United States are discussed. Difficulties include inadequately trained teachers and lack of teaching materials and guidelines. An institute for teachers of Spanish speakers is described, with emphasis on the development of a theory defining native language instruction. (PMJ)

Presents a multicultural framework describing three basic lifestyles of different ethnic groups: cultural assimilation, cultural pluralism, and cultural separation. Supported by Extension experience with Blacks, Hispanics, American Indians, and Asians, the framework may be used to increase effectiveness of Extension programs and practices with…

The foreign language program in the Edison, New Jersey public schools is described. The exemplary features of this program are: (1) It is not limited to college-bound students, (2) a significant provision is made for program advocacy, and (3) there are full four- and six-year sequences in French, Spanish, and German. (PMJ)

This article discusses a battery of tests, the "Short Tests of Linguistic Skills," which was developed by the Chicago Board of Education to help teachers determine the language dominance of Spanish bilingual children between the ages of 8 and 13. (CFM)

Twenty-two Cantonese-speaking Chinese students and 16 Spanish-speaking students were tested for short-term memory encoding strategies on word-recognition tests. Chinese speakers were found to encode Chinese ideographs phonologically, but both Chinese and Spanish learners of English were found to encode English words visually. (Author/CFM)

Presents evidence of a study of speakers of English as a Second Language that cross-language transfer effects interact with developmental effects in the construction of second language (L2) syllable structures. Argues that the optimality theory provides a more explicit account than the minimal sonority distance parameter setting model regarding…

Examined the efficacy of the keyword method versus rote rehearsal in learning foreign language vocabulary. Findings revealed that in experienced foreign language learners, rote learners' performance excelled that of keyword learners, whereas in experienced learners, rote and keyword learners recalled the same proportion of words, although the…

Examines the hypothesis that learners focus their attention on lexical instead of grammatical items when processing input for semantic information. The study measured language processing via reconstruction of propositional content and recognition of verb tense within a passage. Results indicate that lexical cues improved reconstruction of a…

A Massachusetts elementary two-way bilingual education program represents a democratic, efficient approach to the education of two distinct language groups by balancing second-language instruction in English and Spanish and by integrating the two student populations. Discusses program goals, team teaching, classroom setting, program structure,…

Lists doctoral degrees granted in the United States in African languages and literatures; Celtic languages and literatures; comparative literature; foreign-/second-language acquisition and teaching; French, Germanic, and Italian languages and literatures; theoretical linguistics; Near and Middle Eastern languages and literatures; and Portuguese,…

Illustrates how women from the frontier of Laredo, Texas, use, describe, and view the hybrid of Spanish and English spoken at the borderlands as a result of culture and language contact among Mexicans of various backgrounds and Anglos. Categorizes the attitudes toward language choice into intraethnic and interethnic classifications. (32…

This study extends previous research on the relationships among intelligibility, perceived comprehensibility, and accentedness. The researchers obtained accent and comprehensibility ratings and transcriptions of accented speech of Cantonese, Japanese, Polish, and Spanish intermediate English-as-a-Second-Language students from native English…

Reviews the challenges and benefits of using multimedia instructional technology to teach intermediate business Spanish at Thunderbird American Graduate School of International Management (Arizona). Challenges were technical and administrative support requirements, technical training needs, and locating quality materials. Benefits included learner…

Reports four experiments examining subject-verb agreement errors in Spanish and English. Discusses cross-linguistic differences within the framework of the computational model of grammatical encoding proposed by Kempen and Hoenkamp. Suggests that languages differ in the extent to which the selection of the verb is controlled by features on the…

Analyzes the computer program, "Question Mark," produced in England and designed to be a testing tool for large second-language classes. Using this tool, it is possible to create and edit up to 500 questions using any one of 8 different question types. The program also can provide a running score for students using it. Notes that student…