Describes a method of intensive guided reading instruction in a second language which reduces frustration, ensures success, and implements the processes of reading instruction set forth by Kenneth Goodman and elaborated by others. (SED)

Outlines the contents of a one-week course called "Survival Spanish," which was taught to retired persons in an Elderhostel program. Differences in learning strategies between and presentation of material to adults and children are discussed, with specific emphasis on the older learner. (SED)

Describes a project at Massachusetts Institute of Technology concerned with making computer-assisted instruction more "human," communicative, and interactive for students learning a foreign language. The goal of the project is to create prototypes for beginning and intermediate courses in French, German, Spanish, Russian, and English as…

Analyzes the ways in which second language learners of Spanish and native speakers of Spanish deal with relative and complement clauses in writing. The few differences between beginners' and advanced students' skills raised questions regarding the degree to which foreign language writing instruction focuses on the development of syntactic…

Examines the theoretical underpinnings of the 1986 American Council for the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) Proficiency Guidelines for reading, covering an historical perspective, the role of background knowledge, the process/product distinction, text types, and hierarchical and interactive reading models. (CB)

Describes the goals and responsibilities of the Institute of Latin American Studies at Liverpool University, including brief biographical sketches of staff members and a listing of research in progress. (CB)

Comparison of how English and Spanish speakers express contrastive emphasis revealed that, while English speakers used pitch and intensity, Spanish speakers used changes in syntax and lexicon as well as pitch and intensity in showing contrasts. (CB)

Discussion of the sequence of tenses and the subjunctive in Spanish language textbooks demonstrates that there is a lack of mechanical morphonological agreement and that subjunctives may have a temporal value independent of that of the matrix with associated semantic differences; that is, subjunctives do not function as neutralized forms…

Comparison of the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Language's (ACTFL) Oral Proficiency Interview (OPI) and a communicative competence-oriented dictation test, involving 60 university level French, German, or Spanish majors, revealed significant correlations between the two tests. (CB)

Considers several factors that combine to hinder a learner in the task of second language acquisition, including barriers related to culture and society and the classroom environment. Appropriate teaching strategies for Spanish classes and research opportunities are also discussed. (CB)

A college-level Spanish language teacher developed a textbook for fourth-graders that supported the audiolingual approach and was based on American Council for the Teaching of Foreign Languages Oral Proficiency Guidelines. Subject and vocabulary areas covered in the textbook included: salutations, the alphabet, numbers, colors, days of the week,…

Investigates factors which condition deletion of plural /s/ in Peruvian Spanish. There is more /s/ deletion in plural forms than in monomorphemic forms. But 1,304 examples of plural /s/ from informal interviews with native speakers of Peruvian Spanish show plural marker tends to be retained when ambiguity would otherwise result. (Author/LMO)

Describes a year-long intercultural exchange program between fifth year Spanish students from a suburban high school and English as a second language students from an inner city junior/senior high school in Rhode Island. Results of the exchange show that attitudes and proficiencies improved for both sets of students. (LMO)

Advises the secondary school teacher lacking special training how to use the ACFL Guidelines to test for oral proficiency in the classroom. Sample situation cards and a sample grading sheet are included. (LMO)

Critiques current second language courseware in view of recent trends increasing emphasis on oral proficiency. Suggests changes in the content of instructional computer programs that could be used to improve conversational proficiency. (LMO)