Used a broadly focused learning style instrument to identify a combination of learning styles that might be correlated with foreign language achievement at the college level. Participants were 100 university students enrolled in French or Spanish first and second semester courses. (Author/VWL)

Reports results from two questionnaires given to third-year adult learners of Spanish, French, German on beliefs regarding idiomaticity. Analysis of data showed that learners want idioms to be part of their language learning; they can predict their performances on idiomatic tasks; and they have specific beliefs on the importance of learning…

American students enrolled in a beginning Spanish program in Mexico were tested to see whether they benefitted from the foreign study; this premise has been questioned in the past. Results indicate that the group learned three semesters of Spanish in 3 1/2 months. The need to communicate forced students to learn. (CHK)

s2400 is intended to help students learn, review, and reinforce their knowledge of basic Spanish grammar. The computer contains the entire body of knowledge to be taught, presenting it to the student in a manner predetermined by an instructor. The language lab program at West Chester State College is described. (POP)

Reports the types of modification devices nonnative speakers of an intermediate level of proficiency employed during synchronous online exchanges. Results show that request for help, clarification check, and self correction were the most used strategies for negotiation among students. Data suggest these modification devices facilitate…

Reports findings from a longitudinal study tracking the expectations, shifts in expectations, and emergent beliefs of novice self-instructed language learners. Investigates how learners experienced and articulated their experience in a distance-learning context. Focused on learner-context interface, tolerance for ambiguity, and locus of control.…

In discussing assessment and its applicability to the needs of Spanish-speaking students, several types of testing approaches are needed. This paper focuses on the use of comprehensive assessment offered by multiple matrix sampling techniques. (SW)

A teacher describes an intensive Spanish course and the methods used to create the kind of exposure to total culture a student would have visiting a Spanish country. Pronunciation and speaking are practiced through use of songs, records, tapes, and poetry; students write essays; and language and culture are interrelated. (CHK)

Reports on a project evaluating home-study foreign-language courses for beginners. The languages evaluated were French, Spanish, and German. Findings indicate that any one course in a series reflects all the courses in that series, seven of the eight courses were inspired by one method, and tapes were a vital component of all the series except…

In the study reported here, an attempt was made to measure the relative achievement of students enrolled in four intermediate-level college Spanish courses, including one of near-immersion design. Course designs differed in methods of teaching and in intensity; it was expected that these differences would be reflected in student achievement.…

Describes the author's personal version of the action research cycle, focusing on two research experiences to point out what can be learned from research involving listening to language learners. Suggests that one can learn in two different and equally important ways; one can learn about the research question studied and about how to improve the…

Two studies of elementary, intermediate, and advanced second language learners indicated that involuntary rehearsal of second languages ("Din in the Head") is more frequently experienced by elementary and intermediate students and much less prevalent among advanced students, suggesting that the phenomenon is related to language…