For the forty-first time, the Association for Educational Communications and Technology (AECT) is sponsoring the publication of these Proceedings. Papers published in this volume were presented at the annual AECT Convention in Kansas City, Missouri. The Proceedings of AECT's Convention are published in two volumes. Volume 1 contains twenty-seven…

A study of the relationship between Spanish and English writing proficiency had as subjects 344 native Spanish-speaking college freshmen, students of English as a second language (ESL), in five universities in Puerto Rico. A questionnaire and four writing tasks in English and Spanish were administered in ESL class, and student scores on…

Sixty-six college students enrolled in an intermediate Spanish course were measured on 12 variables believed to be related to pronunciation accuracy. Variables that related most to pronunciation accuracy included individual concern for pronunciation, subject's degree of field independence, and subject's degree of right hemispheric specialization…

A study investigated the relationship between native language (NL) listening skills and foreign language (FL) learning. Research questions addressed: (1) whether a relationship exists between NL listening ability and overall FL proficiency, between NL listening ability and FL listening comprehension skills, and between NL listening ability and FL…

Studies were conducted to identify critical barriers which could impede the progress of Hispanic undergraduates enrolled in science and engineering programs. The underlying theme in most studies was the interplay of language in various problem-solving tasks. Studies examined: (1) predictors of academic achievement (as measured by grade point…

In this article, Maria Estela Zarate and Ronald Gallimore identify factors that predicted college enrollment for Latino and Latina students. Using data from a 15-year study of randomly recruited Latino and Latina youth (primarily second-generation Mexican Americans), they found that different factors were associated with their college enrollment.…

A study examined the learning strategies and attitudes of college language students and their relationship to success in language learning. Three research questions were asked: (1) Which self-reported language study strategies were associated with achievement as measured by classroom or other proficiency tests?; (2) Which attitude and motivational…

An evaluation project conducted at the Dona Ana County Occupational Education Branch of New Mexico State University was designed to compare the effectiveness of Century 21 Shorthand with Gregg Shorthand. Two classes of shorthand students were set up as experimental groups: thirty-five students in Century 21 and twenty-six students in Gregg. Their…

After the second semester of comparing college student performance in beginning courses in Century 21 shorthand and Gregg shorthand the following conclusions were made: Century 21 instruction produced a higher proportion of successes among students who speak a foreign language at home (Spanish); after two semesters of instruction, the attrition…

After the third semester of comparing college student performance in beginning courses in Century 21 shorthand and Gregg shorthand statistics failed to support the contention that Century 21 instruction produces a higher proportion of successes among students who speak a foreign language at home (Spanish). Results also indicated that the attrition…