The responses of 938 first year Spanish students at 2 major midwestern universities to a survey regarding their motivation and strategies for learning Spanish identified several affective factors that were associated with students' reactions to the use of authentic instructional materials. (28 references) (CB)

Presents several examples of short Hispanic ballads for incorporation into advanced secondary school and undergraduate courses. The ballads' historical and cultural significance are explored as well as their linguistic value. (CB)

Explores current uses of HyperLang, a sophisticated hypermedia authoring system that understands spoken speech, in computer-assisted foreign language learning. Software developers should adopt an educational and humanistic perspective in further developing this technology to ensure the creation of effective educational tools. (CB)

Compares the French language competence of Ontario high school immersion graduates with that of core program graduates of a six-week summer course in a francophone environment. The immersion graduates performed functions well, but at the expense of accuracy, while summer students showed fewer discrepancies in speaking skills. (Author/CB)

Reports on two studies of minority language children enrolled in a Toronto, Canada, bilingual (English-French) program. The study indicated that focus on the maintenance and development of students' heritage language with specific reference to literacy learning enhanced the learning of French, a third language for the minority language students.…

Describes one class' experience with Tele-class, where university students used a telephone-like device that showed a still picture of the speaker to talk with students in Spain, pointing out linguistic and cultural gains as well as limitations in enhancing motivation, language awareness, and cultural awareness. (13 references) (Author/CB)

Documents the differences in language acquisition and school achievement between Finnish- and Swedish-speaking students in Finland's comprehensive school systems. Discusses the need for language maintenance and enrichment measures in both out-of-school and in-school environments. (SR)

Presents information on the normal sequence of speech and language development in young children. Describes how a teacher or family member can recognize a potential problem or delay in a child's language skills. Offers suggestions for enhancing early speech and language development, such as talking during routines. Lists favorite books for…

To trace how age and language experience shape the discrimination of native and non-native phonetic contrasts, we compared 4-year-olds learning either English or French or both and simultaneous bilingual adults on their ability to discriminate the English /d-[delta]/ contrast. Findings show that the ability to discriminate the native English…

This article discusses the advantages of experience in volunteer work camps for second language learning, and describes one such work-study experience in France. (CLK)

The use of rhymes in a reading program can result in improved listening skills, increased vocabulary, improved spelling, and greater proficiency in comprehension. A rhyme can be improvised and/or adapted for every skill in the reading hierarchy. In order to make knowledge about rhyming words useful for improving reading skills, the teacher must…

Discovering pleasure in words should begin at a young age. But the discovery can continue among college students if oral communication courses offer parallels to the art and music appreciation courses which are part of most collegiate curricula. Some class activities which can enlarge appreciation of oral language are: (1) students may be assigned…

Intended to provide for the reader a new road to study India, the booklet encourages students to experience the languages of India as an avenue to learning something about its people. The workbook introduces the reader to the languages of India; shows through activities and research the contributions of Indian languages to English; and provides a…

The 'Association Linguistique Franco-Europeenne' analyzed 1600 questionnaires completed by French students to find out the motives for choosing the languages they study versus which languages they would like to study. The results are tabulated. The general conclusion is that multilingualism is beneficial to world peace and should be encouraged.…