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)

A study was conducted in Jalapa, Mexico, to test the hypothesis that a student of average and below average language aptitude may have greater difficulty with the accelerated pace of learning in an intensive program. The Modern Language Association Cooperative Spanish Test was administered to the eight beginning students enrolled in the Jalapa…

Conversation between Spanish Journalist J. Saez-Angulo and Robert Lado, Dean of the School of Languages and Linguistics at Georgetown University, Washington, D.C. (DS)

A report on the status of Portuguese in university language programs. The role of the AATSP in the promotion of Portuguese and a description of several of its recommendations are given. The success of most strong university programs is attributed to good public relations and interdepartmental communication. (AMH)

An intensive elementary-level language course for college students, seeking to provide meaningful application of language skills and to improve student attitudes toward second language learning, is described in this report. The three-term course in which students work extensively with undergraduate apprentice teachers while living in language…

This report summarizes a study published in 1967 by Harvard University which assessed foreign language proficiency of U.S. college seniors majoring in French, Spanish, Italian, German, and Russian. The measures used were the following: the MLA Foreign Language Proficiency Tests (Form A): Listening, Speaking, Reading, and Writing; the Modern…

Describes a survey of student interest in Spanish in the Houston, Texas, area and suggests a variety of practical courses to improve student motivation. (RL)

Howard University in Washington, D.C. recently initiated a program in Afro-French and Afro-Hispanic literature and civilization. The student may take either to fulfill his language requirement. Student reaction has been enthusiastic. Comparative literature courses with a Black theme, scientific French, and Spanish for the Social Services are also…

A discussion of university-level FL instruction in Canada. (RM)

Each panelist described the program in his school or district. Donald Fraser discussed the elementary school French program in North Vancouver which started in October 1974 and includes ten pilot schools. Classes are held for twenty minutes each day. The materials used were written by Canadian authors and have considerable Canadian content.…

This report is based on a questionnaire survey of all two-year and four-year colleges in the United States listed in the 1972-73 "Education Directory" (Part 3, Higher Education). Registrars at 2,614 institutions replied to the questionnaire; 2,419 reported registrations in one or more foreign languages. The fall 1972 survey shows a…

Data to be used for evaluating university foreign language departmental practices in the oral aspects of language usage were gathered from questionnaire responses. The study was limited to undergraduate programs in French and Spanish and involved data from 155 department heads. A list of items studied and their mean importance ratings is provided.…

The results of an experimental Spanish course using videotapes, described previously (FLA, December 1974), and the application of the results to the entire Spanish language program, are discussed. (Author/KM)

A new Spanish program proposed to Mesa College (Colorado) is described. It is a three-hour, three-quarter, limited objective (understanding and speaking skills only) career-oriented course to begin in the Fall, 1975. Among the courses proposed are: Medical Spanish, Spanish for Child Care, Farm and Ranch. (For related document, see FL006729.) (SC)

The alternatives to the traditional intermediate or second-year courses in community colleges are three student-centered plans designed for colleges with low or high enrollment of second-year Spanish students. Plan A is a two-year program of Spanish instruction. It consists of Spanish 101 and 102 and eight four-week minicourses, including two…