Learners who lack the perception of specific sounds or pronunciation can attain a measure of inability to participate in meaningful communication due to their difficulties in understanding and being understood. This article presents lesson plans that provide a framework for addressing the needs of learners as they move from perceiving sounds to…

The incorporation of literary texts in advanced beginner and intermediate level language classrooms (high school Spanish, years 2-4; university Spanish, semesters 2-4) can seem intimidating. The thoughtful exploration of literary texts takes time away from other content, specifically grammar and vocabulary, which often seem more straightforward to…

In this article, the authors describe the redesign of a first-semester Spanish course at the United States Air Force Academy due to the COVID-19 crisis and the subsequent transition from traditional, face-to-face instruction to fully online language teaching during the fall of 2020. More than 200 learners were enrolled across 11 course sections…

A business Spanish curriculum that presents the full spectrum of general and specialized areas--including management, banking, finance, marketing and advertising--might seem ambitious for a single course. A course that aims to present the full picture would seem to impose an undue burden on memory and retention of the content. By emphasizing…

Educators can take advantage of Latino English learners' linguistic backgrounds by teaching Spanish-English cognate vocabulary using the Children's Choices picture books. Cognates are words that have identical or nearly identical spellings and meanings in two languages because of their Latin and Greek origins. Students can learn to recognize…

English-Spanish cognates are words that possess identical or nearly identical spellings and meanings in both English and Spanish as a result of being derived mainly from Latin and Greek. Of major importance is the fact that many of the more than 20,000 cognates in English are academic vocabulary words, terms essential for comprehending school…

What does it mean to capably communicate across languages? This article introduces two theoretical models and a lesson plan format designed to facilitate the integration of proficiency, literacy, and culture teaching in foreign language teaching. The Second Symbolic Competencies Model configures proficiency and literacy as subordinate clusters of…

The use of content-based language instruction (CBI) offers an innovative and effective method for teaching core geographic concepts and skills while students study a second language. This article focuses on a collaborative initiative developed and tested by university and high school level geography and second-language educators. The goal of the…

Describes a program for 8 to 11 year old gifted children involving one-half day of Spanish and one-half day of science twice a week. Discusses in detail lesson plans, instructional materials, and activities designed to provide the children with an experience of the Spanish culture and way of life. (MES)

Describes a variation of content-based instruction for beginning-level language learners called content-enriched instruction (CEI). In CEI, emphasis is on cultural and real-world information, and vocabulary, grammar, and content are integrated to reflect a specific theme, or converge to represent a specific topic. (Author/CK) (28 references)

Reconceptualizes a cognitive apprenticeship method to provide foreign language teachers in charge of beginning language levels with the knowledge necessary to acquire the strategies of reciprocal teaching. The article gives teachers an example of a set of lesson plans that embeds the teaching of prerequisite declarative and procedural knowledge…

Although she is now teaching Spanish in a new school full time, Linda Smrokowski, spent 9 years teaching in a once-per-week second language program. Because many once- or twice-per-week programs still exist, she shares strategies for writing and implementing detailed lesson plans that worked for her while she was teaching in a once-per-week…

Considers common constraints placed upon large universities where teaching assistants (TAs) with no pedagogical instruction or experience often provide beginning level foreign language instruction. An approach for providing guidance to TAs includes suggestions for lesson plans, follow-up discussions, and classes oriented toward communicative…

Teachers can use the World Wide Web to create multimedia foreign language activities without expensive software. Describes and includes a lesson plan for a mystery game suitable for high school advanced placement or intermediate university Spanish students requiring students to work together solving clues and writing short compositions. Includes…

This resource guide is designed to provide foreign language teachers with suggestions for helping students learn how to become better language learners. The five chapters of the guide for teaching writing skills are as follows: (1) Teaching Learning Strategies (e.g., rationale for teaching, types, useful strategies, guidelines, instructional…