The Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures (DFLL) at University of Alabama Birmingham (UAB) is home to a pioneer program in Spanish for the Professions and Specific Purposes (SPSP) in US higher education. For the last two decades (2000-18), its Spanish curricula have been carefully experimenting and evolving to adjust to the societal…

Portuguese is the fifth most-spoken language in the world, with about 260 million speakers (and growing to an expected 400 million by 2050), the third most spoken in the West, the most widely spoken in the Southern Hemisphere, an official language in 9 countries and other regions. It is present in Europe, South America, Africa, and parts of Asia.…

The Department of World Languages and Cultures (WLAC), housed in the School of Liberal Arts at IUPUI, has been through a series of transitions over the last twenty years due to university structural changes, but mostly because of curricular needs. Originally there were three separate departments, French, Spanish and German, as each of these core…

World language classrooms in the United States have been significantly impacted by the physical and ideological disruptions experienced in recent history. Such disruptive times call for the reform of pedagogical practices to raise awareness of social justice issues and ignite real change both in and out of language classrooms. This essay outlines…

This article briefly describes Fred P. Ellison's ground breaking contributions in Brazilian literary studies in North America. Further, his key role in the development of Brazilian Portuguese language instruction is highlighted, along with the numerous scholarly connections he made in the the field of Luso-Brazilian Studies.

Based on practical reflections on the role of language educators and Portuguese language learners in diasporic communities in the state of California, this short-form article shares academic contributions from the Luso-Brazilian Studies Program at the University of California, Davis, to underrepresented groups in Lusophone communities amidst the…

Brazil's meteoric rise as Latin America's economic superpower has prompted the United States government to reassess its strategic vision of South America and its relationship with Brazil. The next generation of US economic, business, political, and military leaders will likely be faced with a South American landscape heavily dominated by Brazil.…

Addressing the underrepresentation of films by female directors in Spanish language and culture classes, this work proposes the inclusion of two films, Chus Gutiérrez's "Retorno a Hansala" (2008) and Icíar Bollaín's "También la lluvia" (2010), in the curriculum of advanced or upper-level Spanish courses. Both films expand…

This article discusses what is at stake in teaching works written in "Spanglish" in Spanish departments and what teaching such works might mean for students and the scholarly community at large. This article primarily comes out of the author's experiences teaching "Spanglish" works in Spanish courses at a major research…

It is gratifying to see that the two Modern Languages Association (MLA) reports, "Foreign Language and Higher Education: New Structures for a Changed World" and "Report to the Teagle Foundation on the Undergraduate Major in Language and Literature," address important issues regarding the improvement of language teaching in the…

The growing importance of Spanish in the U.S. has generated an impressive growth in the number of university Spanish programs that offer community service learning. However, students' and community partners' misaligned expectations can create tensions and problems in these programs. Instructors must make a special effort to articulate and align…

Explores factors affecting the successful maintenance of a college-level Portuguese language program, focusing on expansion of course offerings, cooperation with other foreign language programs, responding to student interests, and hiring and retaining instructional staff. (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)

The special needs of college students with learning disabilities are often challenging because of the variety of disabilities and accommodations. An alternative, parallel Spanish course at Old Dominion is described in the larger context of postsecondary foreign-language requirements. (Contains 25 references.) (Author/LB)

Describes college-level supplementary lessons incorporating African elements of Latin American folklore and culture into the traditional Spanish curriculum, including discussion of appropriate topics, lesson formats, and audiovisual aids. (CB)