Use of a directed creative writing exercise to assess intermediate language students' skills is discussed. The technique was developed for second-year college Spanish instruction as an alternative to conventional writing tests in which anxiety or lack of motivation may inhibit performance. Differences in the nature of language skills (listening,…

Articles in this volume of the journal on English as a Second Language and applied linguistics include: "The 'ng' Challenge: Five Simple Rules for Pronunciation Prediction" (Carol A. Buss); "The Effect of Markedness on Epenthesis in Spanish/English Interlanguage" (Robert S. Carlisle); "Proficiency-Based Instruction:…

This guide for minority language parents whose primary language is Spanish presents parenting information to supplement a course in English as a Second Language. It focuses on topics parents must deal with in meeting the needs of their children. Vocabulary and practice drills are presented for activities in the following areas: (1) education and…

This collection of essays gives an overview of the different disciplines that inform language teaching and language teacher education. They include the following titles: "The Case for Psycholinguistics" (Bill VanPatten); "The Place of Second Language Acquisition Theory in Language Teacher Preparation" (Kathleen Bardovi-Harlig); "Why Syntactic…

Newood Products was one of the business partners involved in the Workplace Training Project, during which Lane Community College in Eugene, Oregon, and area businesses jointly developed worksite-specific, competency-based training in employer- and worker-identified basic skills. Over a 2-year period, second language courses in both Spanish and…

Fourteen articles are presented in this volume on contrastive linguistics. The articles and authors are as follows: "A Brief Falsificationist Look at Contrastive Sociolinguistics" (K. Janicki); "The Locus of French Gender Control" (W. A. Bennett); "On the English Perfect Tense and Current Relevance Implicatures" (J.…

This publication presents recommendations for improving educational success, excellence, and equity for Hispanic American students in Minnesota's public schools. The document describes the actions that established the Minnesota State Board of Education Hispanic Learner Task Force (HLTF), the procedures for developing the recommendations, and…

Issues 2-4 of this volume of the newsletter concerning foreign language instruction in elementary schools (FLES) contain articles on theory, classroom practice, instructional materials, class activities, and professional news, including conferences and information on public policy at the federal level. Articles in these issues include the…

The Computer Writing Skills for Limited English Proficient Students (Project COMPUGRAFIA.LEP), bilingual special education classes totalling 375 Spanish-speaking students at 10 elementary schools in the Bronx, is evaluated. The project proposed to assist site teachers in developing appropriate lesson plans and effective teaching techniques and…

The purpose of this study was to develop and test the effectiveness of a program in which activity-based science was used as a conceptual basis for language instruction. A series of four instructional units were adapted for bilingual use. Students' written and oral observations were used in experience charts and other language development…

This collection of abstracts is part of a continuing series providing information on recent doctoral dissertations. The 17 titles deal with a variety of topics, including the following: (1) the communicative competence of teenage boys in a northern United States urban warren; (2) the effects of second language learning upon reading achievement in…

Unit four of the Spanish as a Second Language Strand for grade two offers learning and assessment activities designed to provide the English-dominant child with structures and vocabulary for effective communication in a bilingual environment. The neighborhood is the basic theme for activities in kits 13-16 to help build concepts in a new language…

Theme of this Spanish as a Second Language unit for grade three is the communities of the nation. Learning and assessment activities in kits 29-32, each designed for two to three weeks of teaching, are intended to provide the English-dominant child with structures and vocabulary for effective communication in a bilingual environment. Activities…

This module on auto body welding is the fourth of four (CE 028 303-306) in the auto body repair course of a bilingual vocational training program. The course is designed to furnish theoretical and laboratory experience in welding, metal straightening, metal finishing, painting, and use of power and hand tools. Module objectives are for students to…

Supplemental materials are presented that can be used with any standard Spanish textbook in order to help students develop communicative competency by listening, understanding, and speaking in situations that involve the use of language outside the classroom. Career situations have been selected which require the use of Spanish in metropolitan…