This study analyzed the implementation of a pre-writing activity that was designed to address L2 student writers' tendency to focus on grammatical accuracy to the exclusion of content and structure. The participants, students in a university-level Spanish composition course, were given a rubric with which to evaluate three previously written…

This study examined the writing development of two language minority students over 3 school years, in particular, students' writing samples in the form of dialogue journals. Analyses focus on the function of content features (pragmatics) in their writing, the development of mechanical control (surface features), and the change in content over…

The results of two studies describing the strategies and attitudes of adult learners of English as a Second Language (ESL) are reported. The first study compared two groups of high/intermediate students (n=94) taking ESL in two settings, a traditional university and community extension classes. The second study examined intermediate and advanced…

The writing apprehension experienced by Puerto Rican university students is examined. Levels of apprehension when writing in English versus native Spanish, for males versus females, and for students enrolled or not enrolled in writing classes are compared. The results indicate that the students, particularly the women, are more apprehensive when…

Two studies were conducted among Hispanic secondary school students in Arizona to determine whether providing special reading time with a wide variety of reading materials in Spanish would affect the students' reading abilities, reading attitudes, and academic self-concepts. The studies were conducted in two Arizona high schools, one in a high…

A study compared language skill development and cultural attitudes of second-grade children taught in an additive-bilingual program setting with those of second-grade children from a monolingual classroom setting. Subjects were 41 second-grade children participating in a Spanish immersion program and 19 children from a regular second-grade…

A study investigated the relationship between gender, age, and length of residence in the United States and codeswitching behavior, by looking at the attitudes of 133 Hispanic college students who are first-generation immigrants from a variety of countries. The subjects completed questionnaires concerning their English and Spanish language…

The three conditions given in the literature for the pervasiveness of linguistic insecurity (a speaker's attitude toward his or her own speech revealed in face to face interaction through the upward or downward shift of language forms) exist in the case of speakers of the Spanish vernacular of Puerto Rico. The conditions are: the rise of a middle…

The Basic Trilingual Program at Flushing High School in New York City is described in this report. As implemented in 1980-1981, the program aimed to help 250 Spanish- and Korean-speaking high school students (grades 9 through twelve) to make the transition to English by adopting a comprehensive instructional approach consisting of intensive…

"Women Break Through" is a series of radio programs intended to document the experiences of young minority women who had entered the nontraditional or male-dominated occupations. This report reviews the results of an evaluation of the program which focused on student interest, knowledge, and attitudes toward nontraditional occupations as well as…

This three-month project utilized commercially prepared programed materials in French, German, and Spanish instruction for eighth graders selected for high language aptitude and above average ability. Interviews with participating students made after the completion of the project are the basis of the project evaluation which includes…

Research in second language learning supports the hypothesis that success in language learning is related to students' attitudes about the culture represented by the target language. This study tests the hypothesis by examining two Spanish programs at three high schools which have a large Mexican-American student enrollment. Declining enrollment…

Begun in the summer of 1953, the New Mexico Developmental Education Project was to: study the social and emotional development of American Indian children in public schools; discover their interests, needs, and abilities using exploratory media; develop a language arts program that would be functional for all children; develop learning experiences…

Examines ways to motivate students who do not want to learn a foreign language. Questionnaires were completed by 191 year 9 pupils and 7 teachers. The responses of the teachers offered simple strategies that could be replicated without great addition to workload or financial outlay. Responses of a disgruntled minority of students are presented.…

This report describes a pilot study of the attitudes and personal estimates of progress of students who have spent 4 or more years in the Amigos two-way bilingual program in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The program currently enrolls about 300 students: 50% native Spanish speakers and 50% native English speakers, approximately half of whom are African…