Despite the increasing number of U.S. born Latinos, placing heritage and native speakers in the Spanish curriculum is still a challenge (MacGregor-Mendoza & Moreno, 2020). The present article: (1) addresses the unique needs of heritage speakers in the Spanish curriculum; (2) problematizes traditional grammar-based placement exams; and (3)…

Indigenous languages of Mexico have largely been excluded from formal education spaces. This ethnographic action research study highlights a context where "Diidxazá"/ Isthmus Zapotec, an Indigenous language of Oaxaca, has recently begun to be taught in higher education. We examine the ways that administrators, the teacher, and students…

During the last years there has been an increasing interest in examining the brain responses to word order variations. In one ERP study conducted in Spanish, Casado, Martin-Loeches, Munoz, and Fernandez-Frias (2005) had participants read Spanish transitive sentences with either an SVO (subject-verb-object) or an OVS order. The word order of a…

This paper reports on an investigation of writing in Spanish in the lives of U.S. Latinos. Twenty-two semi-structured interviews were conducted with informants recruited from among students and former students of high school and college Spanish courses. The interviews were transcribed and coded for concepts and emergent themes (Rubin & Rubin,…

This article reports on an extensive survey administered to advanced heritage language (HL) learners to examine their language behaviors, attitudes, and backgrounds. To date, there have been no detailed categorizations of advanced HL learners to guide classroom instruction and curriculum design. Thus the present study is a first attempt to fill…

Closed-class word selection was investigated by focusing on determiner production. Native speakers from three different languages named pictures of objects using determiner plus noun phrases (e.g., in French "la table" (the [subscript feminine] table), while ignoring distractor determiners printed on the pictures (e.g., "le"…

This study compares quantitative and qualitative results for task-based second language (L2) grammar instruction conducted as whole-class, teacher-led discourse (TLD) versus small-group, learner-led discourse (LLD). Participants included 78 English-speaking adults from six university classes of beginning L2 Spanish, with two assigned to each…

Looks at what constitutes near-native language skill for students looking for jobs and for those hiring them, with particular reference to Spanish. Finds little consensus among search committees or students about the definition of near-native ability. (Author/VWL)

From 1998-2001, students in Spanish classes at the University of Texas San Antonio competed surveys regarding how they defined their language skills and how they felt about special courses. A total of 642 students, of whom 482 were Hispanic, completed surveys. Overall, 70 percent of the students thought that if heritage courses were offered, they…

Four groups of respondents comment on and evaluate oral communication of university level students. Implications of results are that students must feel desire to communicate; teacher must seem interested, not critical; teacher must deal openly with cultural sensitivities; lexical items should be dealt with in context; and objectives in classroom…

Investigates the self-reported reading habits and levels of ability in reading of ten heritage speakers of Spanish enrolled in Spanish classes at Purdue University. Results warrant more explicit focus on form instruction and activation of background knowledge for heritage speakers. (Author/VWL)

Offers an alternative to the two approaches to teaching Spanish to adolescent and college-level bilingual native speakers interested in developing their Spanish abilities. This theory draws heavily from Freire's problem-posing procedure for critical dialogue and Vygotsky's theory of social learning. (28 references) (Author/VWL)

Describes Spanish practicum course at Lewis and Clark College in which students of Spanish act as English tutors for Spanish-speaking individuals on campus and in the community. Students benefit culturally and linguistically and Spanish curriculum is enhanced. (Author/BK)

Discusses a new Spanish program for heritage language speakers at Peace College in North Carolina. While most programs designed for native speakers have been implemented in large institutions near a strong Hispanic community, the efforts at Peace College show how a program can be effectively developed even in a small women's college with a…

This article stresses the need for improved Spanish instruction in Spanish and Latin American universities for Spanish-speaking students. Obstacles to teaching such as student apathy and professional shortcomings are outlined. Suggestions for improved curriculum content and methodology are given. (Text is in Spanish.) (CLK)