LaRocque, Kleiman, and Darling (2011) characterized parental involvement as the "missing link" in school achievement. For this reason, especially, middle grades teachers and teacher leaders want very much to reach out to newcomer Latino families--and they do. Although Google Translate™ has emerged as a go-to tool for many teachers and…

Reviews the content of the courseware contained in "EXITO: Survival Spanish," noting that this course is divided into 10 chapters and contains material typically covered in a beginning Spanish course (e.g., vocabulary units including greetings, family members, time expressions, etc.). The primary strength of the EXITO program is that it is a…

Describes the design and testing process that resulted in the production of "Un Meurtre a Cinet" and "Un Misterio en Toluca," two role-playing applications that ask students of French and Spanish to collaborate to solve a murder mystery using e-mail, listservs, and a culturally-rich Web site. (Author/VWL)

Discusses the theoretical basis, implementation, and pedagogical considerations of CALLE (Computer-Aided Language Learning Environment), a dialogue-based beginning Spanish language instruction system. CALLE uses Lexical Functional Grammar Theory to analyze errors in student input. Sample screen is shown. (Author/LMO)

SPANLAP (SPANish LAnguage Processing) is a computer program which attempts to engage students of Spanish in a free-form written dialog by allowing them to ask questions. The morphological and syntactic parsing process used in SPANLAP is explained. Sample dialog illustrates limitations of the current model. (Author/LMO)

Describes a specialized authoring system known as a template, which usually targets only one subject and one format at a time. A template called DICTATE, which allows teachers to use the dictation format to practice auditory discrimination, aural comprehension, and orthography is discussed in detail. (SED)

Outlines the steps taken in developing and using computer-based instruction with interactive videodisc material in a language class. The goal of this particular project was to develop a series of listening comprehension activities in Spanish using 30 minutes of Level 2 Interagency Language Roundtable videodisc material. (Author/SED)

Describes an authoring language created specifically for composing computer-assisted language drills. Students can receive written or visual cues, edit their answers, and summon additional information using the Macintosh microcomputer's pull-down menus and multiple windows. (Author/SED)

Discussion of computer-based second-language learning focuses on a study of elementary school students in grades four through six who used a contextualized computer environment that was designed to provide precommunicative practice with Spanish. Highlights include student roles in small groups, cooperative learning, and the teacher's role.…

A federally funded project to develop Spanish for Agricultural Purposes, a set of instructional materials for agricultural specialists planning to work in Latin America, is reported. The materials are intended for use by individuals with at least a year's college-level study of Spanish. They include: a series of authentic readings, each with an…

Describes the computer hardware and software programs developed by Anne Arundel County, Maryland to integrate the use of the computer into upper level literature classes. A study undertaken to determine whether computers in Spanish and French classes made a difference in language learning is also described. No significant differences were found.…

The proceedings of a conference on computer-assisted language instruction include the following reports and papers: (1) a report on computer-related developments in speech research and their implications for therapy and communication; (2) descriptions of courseware and authoring aids for grammar and comprehension instruction and language practice…