Experience with a second language (L2) has been shown to facilitate learning of a third or subsequent language (L3) (Sanz 2000). However, little is known about how much L2 experience is needed before benefits for L3 development emerge, or about whether effects depend on type of L3 instruction. We report two experiments investigating initial…

Tasks provide engaging ways to involve learners in meaningful, real-world activities with the foreign language (FL). Yet selecting classroom tasks suitable to learners' linguistic readiness is challenging, and task-based research is exploring the relationship between learners' overall abilities (e.g., reading, grammatical) and the complexity and…

Whereas myriad studies have been published in the field of Computer-Assisted Language Learning (CALL) in the past thirty years, research on the use and implementation of technology in the teaching and learning of Spanish as a heritage language (SHL) is very scarce. This study is aimed for those SHL instructors and researchers who are interested in…

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…

An examination of the effectiveness of the use of various computer-based communication tools (commercial computer conferences, bulletin boards, word processors, outline processors, and electronic dictionaries) in developing college students' Spanish proficiency suggested that computers offered potential for enhancing the writing process. (38…

Describes a word processor exercise (using WordPerfect or similar software) for Spanish language students that was easy to design, convenient for students (who could perform the exercise on their own time), and effective in helping students review their lessons. (CB)

A list of computerized exercises, grade books, test generators and other software from eight publishers is presented. Information is given on generic software, other types of computer programs provided by the publisher, and text-specific computer exercises. Advantages or disadvantages are not discussed. (LB)

Adapted from the author's monograph, The Self-Instructional Foreign Language Program at Florida Atlantic University," published in 1969 at Boca Raton, Florida. (DS)

A review of the progress made in incorporating computers in second language study focuses on benefits of computer use, software problems, authoring systems, research on instructional effectiveness, and remaining areas to be addressed. (45 references) (CB)

Examines trends in computer assisted language learning (CALL) research and postulates strategies for classroom assessment of CALL. Describes a pilot study designed to evaluate a music-based multimedia program. (Author/VWL)

Explores the divide between possibilities for technology use in classrooms and the realities of technology use in these same classrooms. Specific focus is on ways in which technology is used to teach culture in university Spanish classes. (Author/VWL)

Although most teachers use word processors and electronic mail on a daily basis, they still depend on paper and pencil for correcting their students' compositions. This article suggests some tools and techniques for submitting, editing, and returning written work electronically. (BD) (Author/VWL)

Two minipresentations by second-language teachers describe their classroom efforts to instruct their students. The first article focuses on using computers to help students improve their writing skills. The second zeroes in on incorporating speaking activities into the daily life of the classroom. (CK)

Examined whether readers in a third-semester Spanish course--reading the second language on a computer screen--accessed glossed vocabulary more frequently when the glosses were written in their first language or their second language. (Author/VWL)