Several types of hybrid Spanish programs have been developed in US colleges and universities for more than ten years, but the most common structure consists of a course in which the instruction combines face-to-face time with an instructor and the use of an online platform. Studies have demonstrated that a well-developed hybrid Spanish program can…

This study reports the results of a national survey of Portuguese instructors that investigates enrollment growth in regions and institutions of higher education in the United States. It details the reasons why Portuguese enrollments have grown steadily since 1998, while providing data on the numbers of students enrolled in classes and the number…

In the present study, we examine the roles of 1) explicit information about language provided to learners prior to treatment and 2) aptitude (specifically grammatical sensitivity) within Processing Instruction. Forty-two learners of Spanish in their third-semester of study were divided into two groups: those who received explicit information (EI)…

Reading texts with historical and sociopolitical content in a foreign language is often a challenge for second language students. The obstacles encountered by students should be of concern to language instructors. Lack of background knowledge frequently causes the reader to abandon the reading activity with a sense of disappointment and…

Change in higher education, as manifested in curriculum reform, can be particularly difficult as the structures of academia, such as rank and tradition, retard the process. Two recent reports from the Modern Language Association (MLA) strive to address needed curricular adaptations and offer a roadmap of considerations for modifications. The 2007…

Describes the results of a study conducted with 28 adult third-year learners of Spanish to investigate the degree to which idiom type affects the speed and ease of idiom comprehension and interpretation, and the effect that context exerts on idiom understanding. Findings are discussed. (VWL)

Describes a model of inservice Spanish for native Speakers (SNS) teacher training called Heritage Language Teacher Corps offered through a collaboration between the university teachers in accordance with several f the necessary teacher competencies for teaching SNS outlined by the American Association of Speakers of Spanish and Portuguese. (VWL)

Challenges the prevalent misconception among many students that the grammatical gender system of Spanish is transparent. Data concerning the number of exceptions in gender assignment in Spanish is presented along with samples of student production. (VWL)

Explores the divide between possibilities for technology use in classrooms and the realities of technology use in these same classrooms. Specific focus is on ways in which technology is used to teach culture in university Spanish classes. (Author/VWL)

Analyzed the development of past tense verbal morphology in Spanish second language acquisition among native English speakers divided into three levels of proficiency. Analysis shows that learners may use a default marker of past tense during the beginning stages of development of verbal morphology, but the choice of the default may be dependent…

Discusses the use of service learning as a way of enhancing student learning, especially in oral comprehension, conversation, and cultural understanding. Highlights a study of University of North Carolina-Asheville students who worked in the local health department, reporting the degree to which service learning helped them meet the American…

Reports experiences designing, implementing, and testing a 10-week survival-Portuguese language course for students in colleges that do not offer Portuguese. Making use of a website, long-distance selection, and mentoring of instructors and templates for language-learning modules, the project can be adapted for other lesser-taught languages and…

Describes the planning, implementation, and evaluation of a Seminar for College Teachers at Ohio State University. Funded by the National Endowment for the humanities, the seminar brought together faculty from several parts of the country to study Colonial Latin American literature from the Brazilian perspective. (Author/VWL)

Describes an interdisciplinary program offering modified Spanish classes to students with special needs. Through preliminary identification, eligible students are signed up for classes. Exemplifies an effective way to confront problems related to a more diverse student population; to comply with regulations imposed by the Americans with…

This study compares the relative effects of two types of instruction, processing instruction and traditional instruction, on the acquisition of the verbs "ser" and "estar" with adjectives and past participles. (Author/VWL)