A study analyzed patterns in one speech act, that of refusal, in 60 native English speakers (responding in English only) and 120 native Spanish speakers (60 responding in English and 60 in Spanish). Native English speakers were college students in the United States and Spanish speakers were students in Spain. A questionnaire was used to elicit…

This paper presents a linguistic analysis of Spanish-English bilingual speech for scholars and practitioners of bilingualism. More specifically, the study surveys several outcomes of language contact, among these, inter-lingual transference, codeswitching, and convergence, as evidenced in the speech practices of heritage Spanish speakers in the…

A study examines two major types of vowel systems in languages, centripetal and centrifugal. English is associated with the centripetal system, in which vowel quality and quantity (rhythm) are heavily influenced by stress. In this system, vowels have a strong tendency to move toward the center of the vowel area. Spanish is associated with the…

Designed to acquaint social workers and other professionals in the mental health field with the basic terms necessary for professional discussions, paper presentations, and international correspondence, the English/Spanish-Spanish/English glossary lists 130 selected mental health terms. The glossary includes two sections: English to Spanish and…

For Peace Corps volunteers and others working in countries which speak an unfamiliar language, the problems of communication can be enormous and embarrassing. This guide is designed to help avoid some of these problems. Common, local names for a variety of terms have been omitted because of the large number of Latin American dialects. The 4,300…

Bilingual parents can help the teacher in developing culture-related reading activities and with students' emotional adjustments. They can help the librarian in reading and language arts related activities. At home, they can give children the confidence and reassurance needed to learn successfully in a different language environment. (NQ)

Discusses how current procedures for selecting/constructing equivalent texts may lead to error because of their specific limitations; proposes the utilization of micro-propositional analysis coupled with word-frequency lists and readability formulas for constructing "matching" texts; presents some procedures which researchers working in…

This guide is designed to provide teachers and reading tutors with an easy-to-use and practical guide to selecting and using reading assessment tools that (1) provides descriptions of reading assessments for English and Spanish speaking students that can be used to diagnose and identify their reading skills and abilities; (2) helps teachers find…

The display of Spanish and English communicative competence of two Hispanic children is explored in a study analyzing directive speech acts (orders, requests, suggestions, hints). The linguistic, sociolinguistic, and strategic resources of the Mexican-American children, aged 4-1/2 to 6 years, are examined qualitatively in data taken from…

Explores special problems posed by idiomatic expressions for learners and teachers of second languages stressing need to integrate idioms into teaching. Presents program providing a classification of idiomatic expressions based on contrastive analysis of Spanish and English. (BK)

A study compares and contrasts a set of English and Spanish prepositions of location in the context of prototype theory. It seeks to establish the prototype concept of each preposition and the degrees of prototypicality by testing for native-speaker choices of examples that illustrate best the most basic use of the preposition. The prepositions…

This manual is a compilation of the bilingual (i.e., English and Spanish) programs sections for the 2001 and 2002 Texas Reading Club manuals. The sections have been combined and organized into chapters according to the age level of their audiences--toddlers, preschoolers, families, elementary school-age children, and young adults. Included are…

The City of Chicago's curriculum guide for public school Spanish native language instruction in grades 7, 8, and 9 has two sections, one in English and a corresponding one in Spanish. The program is primarily, though not exclusively, oriented toward the large Mexican immigrant community in the city with varied academic skills and experience with…

Defines three previously overlooked subpopulations of English proficient students (English superior, equally limited, non-English superior) in terms of their relative proficiency in English and the home language. Presents data and clarifies assessment terms, criteria, and procedures used in relative proficiency assessment. Makes program…

Addresses the issue of vocabulary in the English as a Foreign Language classroom and introduces a technique for interlingual lexico-semantic comparison: the lexigram. This technique is based on restricted word-association data gathered from native speakers of English and Spanish and gives insights into vocabulary development. (Author/PJM)