Spanish modal verbs may express necessity, obligation, probability, and possibility, in either their personal or impersonal modes. Analysis is based on examples of contemporary Madrid speech. Four modals, "poder,""deber (de)," tener que," and "haber que," are placed within a tripartite structure defined by…

Reports on attempts to determine whether Cuban Abakua is a pidginized Afro-Spanish, creole, or dead language and concludes that some of this language, spoken by a secret society, has its roots in Efik, a language of the Benue-Congo, and seems to be a simple, ritualistic, structureless argot. (CB)

Describes an adaptation of an intensive language (Spanish) program to suit the needs of two-year community college, resulting in student enthusiasm, increased enrollment, and more comprehensive coverage of material. (CB)

Discusses theories and findings concerning the status of the present perfect in American Spanish. In Spain, the present perfect is preferred to the preterite whereas the simple preterite is more frequently used in South America. The lessened usage of the past perfect parallels the narrower usage of the present perfect in Latin America. (Author/LMO)

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)

An attitude dimension questionnaire was administered to a random sample of Mexican-American college students and to a random sample of Spanish-surnamed professionals in the Rio Grande Valley (Table 1). Attitudes toward use of Spanish varied by age, sex, generation, and occupational status. Tabular results in Appendix. (Author/LMO)

Argues against the grammatical accuracy hypothesis. Test results of second-language students taught by Krashen's Natural Approach are compared to results from those taught by the grammar-translation method. No advantage is found in using the traditional method, and the expectation that students can become fluent speakers of a second language in…

Compares priorities of language functions (1) between community college and university studnets; (2) between students enrolled in traditional language courses and those in conversational language courses; and (3) among students in first-term French, German, and Spanish at a community college. Results are presented in six tables. (Author/LMO)

Examines Rafael Catala's notion of sciencepoetry and an application of modern scientific principles to the teaching of language and culture, the "Lange Process." This interactive language/culture learning process relates target and native languages, culture, and perceptions. (Author/LMO)

Outlines a history of Costa Rica and its music. Cites sources for Costa Rican music and cultural information. (Author/LMO)

Describes a system of editing compositions on an IBM PC that allows students to see how to correct their mistakes. Gives directions for formatting two columns--one for text and one for corrections. (Author/LMO)

Extensively reviews Hypercard, a multifaceted software package for the Macintosh. HyperCard uses a language called "hypertext" which was patterned after everyday language and designed to allow flexibility in the linking and manipulation of text, graphics, and sounds. Describes one use for Hypercard in an advanced course on Latin American…

A review of research concerning bilingual (English and Spanish) Chicanos' use of code-switching during spontaneous oral narrative indicates that such code-switching may be organized to achieve more dramatic effects through personalizing (as opposed to objectionalizing) certain parts of the narrative and through techniques of foregrounding and…

When selecting audiotapes for use in foreign language classrooms, teachers should consider factors affecting listening activities, including: second language vocabulary level of students; amount of information students must retain; rate of speech; subject matter and factual knowledge level of students; and grammatical knowledge of students. (CB)

The Amity Scholar Program features a teaching aide program in which students from French-, German-, and Spanish-speaking countries become intern teachers of language and culture in two-year college foreign language classes in the United States. Screening and application procedures are outlined as well as host responsibilities for the program. (CB)