This study examined the results of a case study of a school that labels itself as a bilingual school. The study examines and describes language use in bilingual classrooms in the school and language use in the larger school environment outside of the classroom. (52 references) (JL)

This study examined the effects of direct instruction in the phonology/orthography of Spanish on the native language skills and foreign language aptitude of 14 high school women at risk for foreign language learning problems. Pretest/posttest comparisons with students not at risk showed that subjects made significantly greater gains on…

Buoyed by the success of an informal, unexpected "pilot study" using sign language and Spanish and a challenge from a university colleague, a Florida middle-school teacher expanded the use of second languages in her classes. An ensuing study involving 115 eighth graders showed a positive change in students' attitudes toward foreign…

Considers the impact that the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) could have on the publishing world and the availability of Spanish language materials. Mexican and Latin American publishing, as well as economic, social, and historical factors, are examined; and the market for Spanish language materials in the United States is discussed.…

Instructors are prepared to use Spanish versions of English-speaking and bilingual artists' recordings to teach language structures and enhance the five skill areas. This article reviews the literature and pedagogical use of songs and also provides a list of recordings, recommendations for classroom use, and two sample lesson plans. (Contains 20…

The special needs of college students with learning disabilities are often challenging because of the variety of disabilities and accommodations. An alternative, parallel Spanish course at Old Dominion is described in the larger context of postsecondary foreign-language requirements. (Contains 25 references.) (Author/LB)

Although many new books depict Latino people and culture in a positive realistic or artistic perspective, others continue to present stereotypes or are marked by poor translations that do not represent the richness of the Spanish language. Annotations review 10 recommended and 13 not recommended books for young readers. (SLD)

Demonstrates the dimensions of the processes of simplification, transfer, and convergence in the contact situation of Chicano Spanish and English. It is argued that changes in a language may be accelerated by a contact situation, reviewing data on bilingual Spanish-speakers in the United States and monolingual Spanish-speakers in Mexico. (11…

Three studies investigated Spanish and English readers' interpretations of sentences with complex noun phrases (NPs). In contrast to earlier findings, results provided evidence for cross-language universality of the late closure parsing principle. Results suggest that late closure is not language-specific but specific to only certain classes of…

Middle-school students can be given the appealing writing assignment early in a Spanish course: writing to someone their own age about topics they can handle linguistically. (Author)

Examines switches produced in spontaneous speech over a period of 15 months by 2 trilingual children acquiring Hebrew, Spanish, and English. The switches were analyzed both grammatically and according to specific sociolinguistic features. (seven references) (VWL)

Follow up to a previous study of the use of "por" and "para," this study analyzes "ser,""estar," and "haber" for lexical selection in relation to their functions and also for errors in tense, mode, aspect, agreement, and invented forms and uses of copula in simplified or reduced utterances. Data were from 20 oral examinations of Peace Corps…

Active comprehension, a strategy used in the United States to teach Spanish language basal reading, is discussed. The strategy emphasizes a process approach to comprehension instruction. (20 references) (JL)

Describes the experience of 11 Michigan bilingual teachers attending an immersion program in Mexico involving 15 days of intensive seminars dealing with Mexican history, geography, mythology, folklore, politics, and education. (CB)

Reports on the results of a descriptive study of the noun phrase agreement behavior exhibited by three first-year Spanish language students during a series of oral interviews conducted over six months (two academic quarters).(13 references) (JL)