Business case studies, descriptions of management problems or decisions that require students to analyze and decide on an appropriate course of action, are suitable for classroom study of commercial language because the technique emphasizes situational analysis and communicative activities such as role playing. The principles underlying the case…

Interviews with ten officers in the lending centers of two Dallas, Texas banks concerning their possession of and need for second language skills on the job revealed that all but one had second language training and three were nonnatives. Five of the native-born Americans had lived abroad and/or studied languages in college. Two of the officers…

A survey of the 20 most populous states concerning their secondary school provision of foreign languages for business is reported. State foreign language supervisors were interviewed for information on state policy or planning for the inclusion of foreign language for business or applied language studies, for information about specific programs or…

Authentic listening materials are appropriate and desirable for instruction in English as a second language (ESL) for business purposes for several reasons: they have high interest, leading to enhanced motivation and increased opportunity for learning; they contain many natural redundancies and repetitions that facilitate comprehension; and they…

A discussion of the implementation of the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) second language proficiency guidelines in Florida's public schools and colleges includes a brief review of literature about the guidelines, background information on the oral proficiency movement, and a description of the effects of the movement…

The historical background of the English for Specific Purposes (ESP) movement in the United States is recounted, and its relationship to contemporary trends in second language education is given. The ESP movement refers to the area of English-as-a-Second-Language education that focuses on the learner's purpose in acquiring the language, including…

Deletion of final /s/ in the Spanish noun phrase (NP) involves the morphological problem of loss of plural markers. A study investigated nominal plural markers in the speech of 20 Cubans representing both sexes and various occupations, ages, educational levels, and geographic areas of the island. Results show very little difference between the…

The development of a marketing strategy for business Spanish courses by means of situational analysis is described. The planner of marketing strategy must consider demand for a course, institutional acceptance, and financial support. A survey of 508 universities revealed a low level of demand for business Spanish which could potentially be…

A survey was conducted of 508 universities to investigate the status of business Spanish courses in the modern language curriculum. The questionnaire solicited information on the number, size, and scheduling of business Spanish courses; students; course materials; methods of promotion; funding; language requirements; other business language…

The relationships between certain parallel aspects of the teaching and learning styles of 60 student teachers of English as a second language were examined in the context of the general assumption that an individual's teaching and learning styles are closely related. The Canfield Learning Styles Inventory and Instructional Styles Inventory were…

Employs a form-content theory to analyze usage of clitics in Spanish. A questionnaire (in Appendix) compares responses by English-dominant subjects to those of Spanish-dominant subjects. Results are compared with spontaneous production of clitics in the context of free conversations with 67 informants from the Caribbean area. (Author/LMO)

Investigation of the extent to which the 20 most populous states had secondary school programs featuring foreign language for business covered state policies, curriculum guides, teachers, and courses. Results, which indicated that few states offer foreign language for business at the secondary level, are presented for each state. (CB)

Describes a survey done to measure the extent to which courses in foreign languages for special purposes (FLSP) are part of the curriculum in higher education. Sixty-two percent of the responding colleges and universities offer FLSP courses. Survey results indicate growth potential of this relatively new field.

Shows that "usted" has two functions: showing lack of solidarity and showing extreme solidarity, with "tu" falling somewhere in between on the continuum. Discusses the increasing use of "tu," especially among younger people, and presents some possible reasons for this. (SED)

Results of a survey of business and language faculty at two universities provide information about how the two groups view each other and why business schools might be opposed to having language requirements. Problems of communication between the faculty groups are also revealed. (MSE)