It is proposed that college second-language students can increase understanding of the nature of fiction and film in a carefully planned upper-level course combining genres. One Spanish teacher's experience illustrates that this improves students' appreciation of Hispanic values, specific literary and cinematographic techniques, and use of…

English teachers together with multilingual and multidialect students can create new standards for language use and learning in the classroom. A teacher of writing and ethnic studies finds herself telling her students "I still have time to learn Spanish." Many to whom she speaks these words are native speakers of Spanish, struggling in classroom…

Techniques for teaching marketing to students of business Spanish are discussed, including an examination and classification of marketing concepts, analysis of the significant and growing United States Hispanic market, and English- and Spanish-language samples of computer-assisted instructional (CAI) materials used in two colleges (Youngstown…

A college faculty member describes how she used a "grammar poem" to sustain students' interest while tackling a difficult Spanish advanced grammar and stylistics course. The poem, which students discussed as they attempted to translate it, incorporated as many different forms of verbs as possible. (CB)

Brings the pragmatic and educational goals of language study together through the concept of narrative imagination, which suggests that the study of literary texts promotes civic and intellectual development and allows students to see the world from another point of view. Sets forth five interconnected reading goals as guides for adapting…

One professional translator's experiences in teaching a course on the problems of English/Spanish literary translation, using a number of Spanish and Russian poems and short stories and their different kinds of translations for texts are discussed. The process of analyzing the literature for translation difficulties is outlined, as well as…

Foreign-language teachers can use everyday objects as visual aids to help enliven beginning-level language courses and teach students useful vocabulary. Describes visual aids and techniques used in a university-level review class in first-year Spanish. (MDM)

Describes an idea for teaching language through content-based instruction in which a high school Spanish class studying a shortened abridged version of Cervantes'"Don Quixote" and an English class reading Shakespeare's "Hamlet," did a simple comparative analysis of the two texts. (Author/VWL)

Describes an experience using the Silent Way in an elementary and intermediate sequence of college-level Spanish courses, outside of the laboratory setting. Information is drawn from student commentary, instructor and research assistant observation, and student test results. (MSE)

Examines variations in current usage that pose problems in teaching Spanish relative pronouns. Discusses their treatment in first-year college textbooks, in the professional literature and in newspapers and magazines prose. Attempts to provide a description of the use of these pronouns applicable to classroom presentation. (MES)

Reports on a study with university foreign language students that employed ethnographic interview techniques to promote positive attitudes toward speakers of the language studied, such as, Spanish. Results indicate that the project enhanced student attitudes toward the study of Spanish as well as their understanding of their own culture and the…

This Digest focuses on the teaching of Spanish to U.S. Hispanic bilinguals at the university level. Traditionally, Spanish has been taught as a second or foreign language in the United States, and little attention has been given to developing and coordinating well designed and carefully articulated programs for Hispanic bilingual students of…

Three examples of conversation and composition courses that work well because of a large amount of preparation and coordination are outlined in this article. Courses in German, French, and Spanish are included that are concrete examples. (JL)

Outlines the format for a course dedicated exclusively to the teaching of listening skills at the intermediate and advanced second language instruction levels. Suggestions are made regarding instructional materials, testing, grading, assignments, class interaction, and organization. (Author/CB)

This very brief paper is a description of a business course, "Business 350 Managing Diversity," at Elmhurst College in Illinois. The course is taught in an intensive 6-day, 42-hour format. The underlying philosophy of the course is that one becomes more open to the diversity of others by better understanding the diversity within oneself.…