Young English learners (ELs) whose home language is Spanish continue to lag behind in several school readiness areas including language and literacy skills in spite of their strong social skills, which are positively related to language and literacy. The purpose of this article is to identify challenges that preschool Spanish speaking ELs face,…

Calligraphic culture in education had a long tradition in the Hispanic World. This entailed the cultivation of specific forms of script to the detriment of others. Since the late eighteenth century, discussions about the shape of letters and the differences between different alphabets were associated with national characters. The "letra…

This book presents a new and comprehensive framework for the analysis of representations of culture, society and the world in textbooks for foreign and second language learning. The framework is transferable to other kinds of learning materials and to other subjects. The framework distinguishes between five approaches: national studies,…

Since the introduction of gender themes into university teaching in geography in Spain in 1989, significant gains have been made but challenges remain in relation to placing gender into undergraduate curricula and developing teaching resources in local languages. Geographers in Spain have to meet those challenges in the near future in order to…

Although the interactive whiteboard (IWB) is becoming increasingly prevalent in classrooms throughout the more efficient parts of the world and research has shown how this tool can increase the effectiveness of teaching and even transform pedagogy (Kennewell & Beauchamp, 2007), research literature overviews (Higgins, Beauchamp, & Miller,…

Spanish-English cognates have been used for decades to facilitate the acquisition of English by Latino English learners (ELs). Using the online program, WordSift, in tandem with the online Find-a-Cognate database, teachers can identify important Spanish-English cognates and noncognate words in text. With this information, teachers can plan and…

The teaching of foreign language advanced grammar (AG) at the college level nowadays continues largely to focus on form, with little attention to its functions and meanings. The practice agrees with neither the Standards for Foreign Language Learning in the 21st Century (National Standards, 2006) nor the advances made in basic language teaching…

Teaching Spanish at the K-5 level is a passion of mine, and the author would like to share some of the practical applications that she finds most rewarding and effective. She has found enthusiastic response to the creation of detailed language learning kits that are rooted in storytelling, but expanded to include home-made board games,…

The growing importance of Spanish in the U.S. has generated an impressive growth in the number of university Spanish programs that offer community service learning. However, students' and community partners' misaligned expectations can create tensions and problems in these programs. Instructors must make a special effort to articulate and align…

The use of mother tongue materials in teaching literacy to an 18-year-old Chilean ESL student is described. The materials, initially used for motivation, were later used for translation and other translation-related teaching. Two writing styles and work from Spanish to English and English to Spanish are discussed. (MSE)

Describes a program for 8 to 11 year old gifted children involving one-half day of Spanish and one-half day of science twice a week. Discusses in detail lesson plans, instructional materials, and activities designed to provide the children with an experience of the Spanish culture and way of life. (MES)

Awareness of a new and altered method of teaching literature, similar to that described by Adrienne Rich, grew from the experience of teaching a small introductory course in twentieth century Hispanic women writers to students with diverse language, cultural, and economic backgrounds. Although about half the students were native Spanish speakers,…

Discusses the use of authentic materials for elementary foreign language instruction, and includes several examples of Spanish poems, songs, and games. (CB)

A study investigated the utility of a set of Spanish-language instructional materials, "Decsubriendo la Lectura," in compensatory or remedial literacy education for Spanish-speaking elementary students. The reading recovery approach, used with English-speaking first-graders, was adapted for Spanish. Program development included…

Describes efforts of the Florida Division of Vocational Education to translate the Employability Skills Series into Spanish. Reports the findings of the field-test evaluation conducted on the Spanish version of the Employability Skills Series which found the materials were just as effective in Spanish. (LRA)