In December 2019, the University of Oxford Language Centre started to offer online courses in French, Spanish, and German at an advanced level. This not only enabled the Language Centre to pilot a new way of Modern Foreign Language (MFL) teaching ahead of the unprecedented 2020 health crisis, but also to open and expand 'Oxford to the world'. The…

This is a longitudinal case study of two groups of students (24 students in total) from the Foreign Languages Department of the University of Puerto Rico-Rio Piedras. This research deals with the acquisition of the French adverbial pronouns "en" and "y" through two different teaching approaches, the implicit-inductive teaching…

This book takes the reader through a journey into the practical and theoretical aspects of partner-based learning in bilingual early childhood environments. The authors begin by presenting compelling arguments for the significance of this approach noting the parallels between partner-based collaborative learning and developmentally appropriate…

Mastery of grammatical gender is difficult to achieve in a second language (L2). This study investigates whether persistent difficulty with grammatical gender often observed in the speech of otherwise highly proficient L2 learners is best characterized as a production-specific performance problem, or as difficulty with the retrieval of gender…

Under the premise that vocabulary learning in a Spanish as a second language in-class environment may be affected by the instructional approach adopted by the instructors or the materials followed, this study explores the influence of rather distant teaching styles, such as implicit and explicit approaches, on the learning outcome of Spanish…

This case study is a preliminary look at different styles associated with different activities preferred by students in a foreign language homestay situation, in this case 29 American college students in Guatemala, the stability of their choices of activities, and increments in their Spanish language performance after one month. (Author/VWL)

Presents preliminary results of a study on the association of field dependence/independence to success in language tasks and in language-learning programs of varying orientations and discusses implications of these results for second-language instruction. (CB)

This diary study focuses on the second language learning styles and strategies of the diarist/researcher in a naturalistic setting, utilizing categories from Oxford's (1990) Strategy Inventory for Language Learning and the Style Analysis Survey. Analysis of diary entries indicates that the learners' learning style remained relatively constant…

This paper explores the influence of field independent-dependent cognitive style on second language test performance, especially as it relates to performance on the integrative type of measure known as the cloze test. Approximately 250 college students enrolled in a first semester Spanish course formed the sample group for this correlational…

Investigation of native English-speaking adults' and native Spanish-speaking children's acquisition of noun gender and its function in Spanish revealed significant differences in first- and second-language acquisition, suggesting a developmental progression in acquisition of noun gender for both groups. (Author/CB)

Spanish students in four inner-city high schools were first tested for conceptual tempo and then given the Test of Oral Proficiency in Spanish (TOPS). It is concluded that speeded and timed tests not only allow impulsive examinees to answer too soon, but often pressure normally reflective examinees to respond impulsively. (EJS)

This collection of essays is designed to help teachers of linguistically and culturally diverse students address their students' needs effectively. Essays include: "A Balanced Approach to Early Spanish Literacy Instruction" (Claude Goldenberg); "Language and Preliteracy Development of English as a Second Language Learners in Early…