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Spanish

Distribution by Scientific Domains
Humanities and Social Sciences44%
Life Sciences24%
Medical Sciences20%
Psychology4%
Chemistry4%
2 Other Domains4%

Terms modified by Spanish

  • spanish america
  • spanish bank
  • spanish case
  • spanish child
  • spanish civil war
  • spanish class
    		•
  • spanish family
  • spanish firm
  • spanish hospital
  • spanish imperial eagle
  • spanish national health survey
  • spanish patient
    		•
  • spanish population
  • spanish pyrenees
  • spanish region
  • spanish regions
  • spanish sample
  • spanish speakers
    		•
  • spanish student
  • spanish version
  • spanish woman

    • Selected Abstracts

    Normalizing bilingualism:The effects of the Catalonian linguistic normalization policy one generation after1

    JOURNAL OF SOCIOLINGUISTICS, Issue 3 2008
    Michael Newman
    This study examines the evolution of language attitudes of linguistically diverse adolescents in urban Catalonia a generation after the instauration of Linguistic Normalization, official language policies favoring Catalan. Woolard (1984, 1989) and Woolard and Gahng's (1990) classic Catalan/Spanish matched guise studies are used as a baseline. Current data come from a modified and expanded replication of those original studies. Findings show: (1) differences in attitudes between youths of Spanish and Catalan background have softened; (2) disparities in Status and Solidarity have evened out; (3) language choice can be highly gendered; and (4) bilingual proficiency is now valued by and for both communities. The support for bilingualism and the easing of divisions are understood as signs of increased ,linguistic cosmopolitanism,' a stance that looks beyond parochial own-group communities and favors bridging linguistic boundaries. The significance is that minority languages can be valued when they take on such symbolic roles. [source]

    LANGUAGE-RELATED DIFFERENCES IN ENVIRONMENTAL BENEFITS ESTIMATION: EVIDENCE FROM A MAIL SURVEY

    CONTEMPORARY ECONOMIC POLICY, Issue 1 2008
    XIAOLIN REN
    In contingent valuation studies, failing to accommodate populations with limited language skills might yield biased estimates. In the United States, there are many residents primarily fluent in Spanish. This study uses conditional logit models applied to data from a bilingual (English and Spanish) conjoint choice mail survey to evaluate the effects of language proficiency on estimates of the economic benefits of contaminated site cleanup. Results indicate that language does have significant effects on welfare estimates. The results suggest that mail surveys addressing environmental issues that may affect a linguistically diverse population should be designed at the outset with multiple languages in mind. (JEL Q51, J19) [source]

    The language-specific nature of grammatical development: evidence from bilingual language learners

    DEVELOPMENTAL SCIENCE, Issue 2 2004
    Virginia A. Marchman
    The fact that early lexical and grammatical acquisition are strongly correlated has been cited as evidence against the view that the language faculty is composed of dissociable and autonomous modules (Bates & Goodman, 1997). However, previous studies have not yet eliminated the possibility that lexical,grammar associations may be attributable to language-general individual differences (e.g. children who are good at learning words are good at learning grammar). Parent report assessments of toddlers who are simultaneously learning English and Spanish (n = 113) allow an examination of the specificity of lexical,grammar relationships while holding child factors constant. Within-language vocabulary,grammar associations were stronger than cross-language relationships, even after controlling for age, proportion of language exposure, general language skill and reporter bias. Similar patterns were found based on naturalistic language samples (n = 22), ruling out a methodological artifact. These results are consistent with the view that grammar learning is specifically tied to lexical progress in a given language and provide further support for strong lexical,grammatical continuity early in acquisition. [source]

    Early Socio-political and Environmental Consequences of the Prestige Oil Spill in Galicia

    DISASTERS, Issue 3 2003
    J.D. García Pérez
    The controversial form in which the oil industry is run has once more caused a huge disaster , this one affecting the Galician coastal environment and economy. Oil-spill clean-up operations have been managed in Europe with some success but with considerable economic, environmental and social costs. The oil industry often avoids fully or even partially compensating those affected. The lack of both political will and political power has let the culprit (the oil industry) off the hook. This paper considers the spill of the Prestige to assess whether the balance of power between affected people and the oil industry can be changed. The paper examines the growing awareness of environmental issues among ordinary people in Spain, through the massive involvement of volunteers concerned with the damage done to the environment and to the livelihoods of fishing communities in Galicia. To understand these growing public concerns and the strength of opinion, the paper examines the details of the decisions taken by the central Spanish and local governments and the way these have informed the clean-up operations, the character of the oil companies involved and the feeling of impotence in the face of such disasters. The conclusion here is that the operations of the oil industry should be tightly regulated through EU legislation, and that this can come about as a result of organised political pressure from those affected by the oil spill, from the mass of volunteers, as well as from public opinion at large. [source]

    Philip I of England, embezzlement, and the quantity theory of money

    ECONOMIC HISTORY REVIEW, Issue 2 2002
    Glyn Redworth
    Early in 1555, King Philip I of England minted at the Tower of London over £40,000 in sterling from New World silver brought from Spain. By probing Spanish and English accountancy procedures, this article demonstrates that this sum has not been included in either sixteenth ,century or modern calculations of the circulating medium. Revised estimates for the money supply are given and possible inflationary effects on the mid ,Tudor price rise are considered. [source]

    European Union scientific production on alcohol and drug misuse (1976,2000)

    ADDICTION, Issue 8 2005
    Xavier Sánchez-Carbonell
    ABSTRACT Background Alcohol and drug misuse is a social and health phenomenon of great relevance in the European Union (EU). One indicator of scientific production in a given area is the analysis of publications included in bibliographic databases. Scientific production on alcohol and drug misuse was analysed in EU member countries, and comparisons were made between countries. Methods Analysis of articles on alcohol and drug misuse published during the period 1976,2000 by institutions based in a country of the EU, indexed by PsycINFO. Results A total of 4825 citations was retrieved. Great Britain published 38.6%, while Sweden, Germany and Spain accounted for a further 30%. The articles dealt with drug and alcohol usage (12.8%), substance abuse (53.5%) and drug and alcohol rehabilitation (34.5%). The articles were published in 13 different languages, more than three-quarters being in English. Spanish was the second language, and was followed by French, German, Dutch and Italian. The articles were published in 521 different journals, and 62 of these published more than 10 articles. The journals publishing most were Addiction, Alcohol and Alcoholism and Drug and Alcohol Dependence. Sixty-eight per cent of the articles were signed by more than one author, and the index of collaboration, between 1996 and 2000, was 3.24. Discussion and conclusions PsycINFO is useful for making comparisons between countries, because it includes the name and country of the institution. The number of publications in the EU on alcohol and drug misuse increased over the quarter-century analysed. The most used language was English, as it also is for PsycINFO as a whole, and a tendency towards its increased use was observed. Classification of the articles by subject by the Classification Code is too general, and makes it difficult to distinguish between the areas it proposes. Production tends to be concentrated in journals dealing specifically with drug dependence and psychiatry. The index of collaboration is similar to that found in other scientific areas. [source]

    Epidemiology of sharka disease in Spain

    EPPO BULLETIN, Issue 2 2006
    M. Cambra
    PPV was first detected in Spain in 1984 in Japanese plum (Prunus salicina Lindl) cv. Red Beaut and spread very quickly to other Japanese and European plums and apricot cultivars but left peach cultivars unaffected. In the years following the detection of PPV, the predominant aphid species visiting Prunus orchards in Mediterranean areas were Aphis gossypii followed by Aphis spiraecola, the latter being the main aphid species found at present. Both species are considered to be the main vectors of PPV in Spanish early Prunus growing areas. Spatial analysis of the spread of PPV-D in Japanese plum and apricot trees confirmed the lack of significant association between immediately adjacent trees. The observed spatial pattern of sharka suggests a lack of movement of PPV-viruliferous aphid vectors to immediately adjacent trees and indicates their preferential movement to trees several tree spaces away. PPV-D is the only type currently present in Spain, with the exception of a PPV-M outbreak that was detected in and successfully eradicated from Aragón in 2002. The short-distance spread of PPV-M infection occurred as far as 12 m along the rows of peach trees. However, PPV-D has not been observed to spread through peach cultivars, despite being grown in the vicinity of heavily infected plots of apricot or Japanese plum trees. [source]

    Meta-analysis on drugs in people with eating disorders

    EUROPEAN EATING DISORDERS REVIEW, Issue 4 2009
    Ana Calero-Elvira
    Abstract Objective The aim of this study was to examine whether drug use (DU) is higher in people with eating disorders (EDs) compared to a healthy control group and to perform a meta-analysis on the literature related to DU in people with EDs. Method We searched electronic databases (Medline, PsycINFO, Web of Science and CINAHL) and reviewed studies published from 1994 to August, 2007, in English, German or Spanish. A total of 16 papers fulfilled the inclusion criteria and were included. Results The general meta-analysis revealed a negligible albeit significant effect size (0.119, p,<,.05). Risk was found to be higher in bulimia nervosa (BN, ,,=,0.462, p,=,,<,.001), smaller in binge eating disorder (,,=,0.14, p,<,.05) and non-significant in anorexia nervosa (AN, ,,=,,.167, p,=,.070). Conclusions The differential risk observed in patients with BN might be related to differences in temperament or might be the result of reward sensitization. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and Eating Disorders Association. [source]

    Morningness in German and Spanish students: a comparative study

    EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF PERSONALITY, Issue 4 2007
    Christoph Randler
    Abstract Humans show pronounced individual differences in circadian orientation. Transcultural comparisons are interesting since biological (or environmental) factors together with cultural ones may contribute to differences in morningness,eveningness. We compared Spanish and German undergraduates using the Composite Scale of Morningness (CSM) to assess circadian preferences. Confirmatory and multiple groups confirmatory factor analysis were used to assess factor structure and structural invariance across countries. The results showed that a three-factor model of morningness best characterises the CSM structure of both samples. Partial factorial invariance (factor loadings) across countries was demonstrated for the factors ,morningness' and ,morning alertness'. Scores of both factors were higher in German students. Potential cultural and biological explanations for the differences are discussed. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]

    Maternal Distress and Parenting in the Context of Cumulative Disadvantage

    FAMILY PROCESS, Issue 2 2010
    JOYCE ARDITTI PH.D.
    To read this article's abstract in both Spanish and Mandarin Chinese, please visit the article's full-text page on Wiley InterScience (http://interscience.wiley.com/journal/famp). This article presents an emergent conceptual model of the features and links between cumulative disadvantage, maternal distress, and parenting practices in low-income families in which parental incarceration has occurred. The model emerged from the integration of extant conceptual and empirical research with grounded theory analysis of longitudinal ethnographic data from Welfare, Children, and Families: A Three-City Study. Fourteen exemplar family cases were used in the analysis. Results indicated that mothers in these families experienced life in the context of cumulative disadvantage, reporting a cascade of difficulties characterized by neighborhood worries, provider concerns, bureaucratic difficulties, violent intimate relationships, and the inability to meet children's needs. Mothers, however, also had an intense desire to protect their children, and to make up for past mistakes. Although, in response to high levels of maternal distress and disadvantage, most mothers exhibited harsh discipline of their children, some mothers transformed their distress by advocating for their children under difficult circumstances. Women's use of harsh discipline and advocacy was not necessarily an "either/or" phenomenon as half of the mothers included in our analysis exhibited both harsh discipline and care/advocacy behaviors. Maternal distress characterized by substance use, while connected to harsh disciplinary behavior, did not preclude mothers engaging in positive parenting behaviors. RESUMEN Este artículo presenta un modelo conceptual emergente de las características y las conexiones entre la desventaja acumulada, la angustia materna, y las prácticas de crianza de los hijos en familias de bajos recursos donde uno de los padres ha estado encarcelado. El modelo surgió de la integración de investigaciones conceptuales y empíricas existentes con un análisis de muestreo teórico de datos etnográficos longitudinales tomados de Welfare, Children, and Families: A Three-City Study ("Bienestar, Niños y Familias: Un estudio en tres ciudades"). En el análisis se usaron catorce casos ejemplares de familias. Los resultados indicaron que las madres de estas familias vivían la vida en el contexto de desventaja acumulada, ya que describieron una cascada de dificultades caracterizadas por preocupaciones con respecto al barrio donde viven, preocupaciones por el sustento económico, dificultades burocráticas, relaciones íntimas violentas y la incapacidad de satisfacer las necesidades de sus hijos. Sin embargo, las madres también tenían un profundo deseo de proteger a sus hijos y de subsanar errores del pasado. Aunque, en respuesta a los niveles altos de angustia materna y desventaja, la mayoría de las madres demostraron una disciplina severa hacia sus hijos, algunas madres transformaron su angustia apoyando a sus hijos en circunstancias difíciles. El uso de disciplina severa y apoyo por parte de las mujeres no fue necesariamente un fenómeno excluyente, ya que la mitad de las madres analizadas demostraron tanto el uso de una disciplina severa como comportamientos de cuidado y apoyo. Si bien la angustia materna caracterizada por el abuso de sustancias estuvo conectada con el uso de una disciplina severa, no excluyó que las madres tuvieran comportamientos positivos en relación con la crianza de sus hijos Palabras clave: desventaja acumulada, angustia materna, crianza de los hijos, encarcelamiento de uno de los padres, disciplina [source]

    Chemical composition variability of the essential oil of Conyza canadensis Cronq.

    FLAVOUR AND FRAGRANCE JOURNAL, Issue 5 2003
    Anna Lis
    Abstract The essential oils from different botanical parts (herb, leaves, ,owers, stems, roots) of Conyza canadensis Cronq. were analysed at various ontogenesis phases. R -(+)-limonene and trans - , -bergamotene were the main constituents of the herb, leaf and ,ower oil at all phases of vegetation. The early ,owering phases are the best time for harvesting C. canadensis herb, because the oil yield is the highest (0.7,0.8%) and its chemical composition is constant (limonene 80,81%, trans - , -bergamotene 6,8%). Limonene was the dominating compound of the oils of European origin (French, Italian, Spanish, Belgian, Bulgarian and Lithuanian). Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]

    Short-Term Study Abroad: Predicting Changes in Oral Skills

    FOREIGN LANGUAGE ANNALS, Issue 3 2010
    Rob A. Martinsen
    Abstract: Increasing numbers of students are opting for study abroad programs of 2 months or less while research on study abroad generally focuses on semester- or year-long programs. This study quantitatively examines changes in students' spoken Spanish after 6 weeks in Argentina using native speaker ratings of student speech. The researcher then uses self-report measures to determine which of the following variables predict improvements in speaking, pre-program motivation and intercultural sensitivity, relationship with the host family, and interaction with native speakers. Results suggest that short-term programs can benefit language skills, as the majority of students in this program demonstrated small yet highly significant improvements in spoken Spanish even though a percentage of students showed a decrease in their skills. Surprisingly, only pre-program levels of cultural sensitivity predicted students' improvements in language skills, providing further evidence of the importance of culture in language learning. [source]

    Advanced Heritage Learners of Spanish: A Sociolinguistic Profile for Pedagogical Purposes

    FOREIGN LANGUAGE ANNALS, Issue 2 2010
    Irma Alarcón
    Abstract: 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 this gap by providing a sociolinguistic profile of these speakers, including their identifying characteristics, linguistic needs, and similarities and differences with lower-proficiency speakers. Survey responses indicate that advanced HL learners possess both productive and receptive skills in the HL, always use Spanish at home, are fluent speakers of a standard variety, already have basic academic skills in Spanish, and are therefore primarily interested in perfecting their academic writing skills. [source]

    Acquisition of Spanish Gender Agreement in Two Learning Contexts: Study Abroad and At Home

    FOREIGN LANGUAGE ANNALS, Issue 2 2010
    Christina Isabelli-García
    Abstract: The goal of this study is to describe the acquisition rate for gender acquisition in Spanish and to show whether individual variability and language contact may affect this rate. The participants were intermediate second language Spanish (first language English) learners in the study abroad and at-home contexts over a 4-month period. The participants received grammaticality judgment tests coded for morphological class of the modified noun as well as attributive and predicative adjectives. Data were also collected on social behavior and language contact in Spanish and English in order to explain data outcome. The findings suggest that no difference exists between the two learning contexts and that social behavior and language contact abroad have minimal influence on acquisition rate. [source]

    Making a Request for a Service in Spanish: Pragmatic Development in the Study Abroad Setting

    FOREIGN LANGUAGE ANNALS, Issue 1 2010
    Rebeca Bataller
    Abstract: This study addresses the development of the request strategies used in two service encounter scenarios by 31 nonnative speakers of Spanish spending 4 months living and studying in Valencia, Spain. The main method of data collection was an open role-play in which participants interacted with a Spanish native speaker. Results show that while there were some aspects of the learners' request production that changed after the study abroad experience, there were other aspects that remained unaffected. Knowing which aspects from the nonnative speakers' request production are acquired and which ones are not after a student has been immersed in the target culture for 4 months is relevant to informing second language acquisition, specifically the field of interlanguage pragmatics in the study abroad setting. [source]

    The Role of Structural Position in L2 Phonological Acquisition: Evidence from English Learners of Spanish as L2

    FOREIGN LANGUAGE ANNALS, Issue 2 2008
    Gabriela Vokic
    Abstract: In this pilot study, the speech of 12 adult native speakers of English with intermediate to intermediate-high proficiency in Spanish as a second language (L2) was analyzed to determine whether L2 learners rely on distributional information in the process of L2 speech learning and if so, if similar or dissimilar distributional patterns of sounds are more easily acquired. The parameter for (dis)similarity was set around the notion of structural position in combination with native language (L1) and L2 phonemic inventories. The results show that the subjects were consistently more successful in producing the phonemes with overlapping distributional patterns in L1 and L2 than phonemes whose distribution differed in L1 and L2 as well as novel L2 contrasts. [source]

    Foreign Language Learning Anxiety in Upper-Level Classes: Involving Students as Researchers

    FOREIGN LANGUAGE ANNALS, Issue 1 2007
    Article first published online: 31 DEC 200, Jennifer D. Ewald
    Abstract: While both the causes and effects of students' language learning anxiety have been a frequent focus of many investigations, few have explored anxiety in the context of upper-level language classrooms. Through a qualitative analysis of questionnaire data obtained from 21 advanced students of Spanish, this study found that, indeed, many of these students did report experiencing anxiety in upper-level courses, perhaps an unanticipated setting given students' relatively higher levels of proficiency. Students highlighted many issues related to their anxiety and confirmed findings of previous investigations; specifically, they pointed to the key role of the teacher in producing and relieving anxiety. In addition to considering anxiety in an unexplored context, this study serves as a model for involving students in research related to language learning. [source]

    Explicit Input Enhancement: Effects on Target and Non-Target Aspects of Second Language Acquisition

    FOREIGN LANGUAGE ANNALS, Issue 4 2006
    Article first published online: 31 DEC 200, Carolyn Gascoigne
    Many recent studies have examined the effectiveness of various types of input enhancement. The following study expands this line of inquivy to include tech nological applications of language learning by comparing the effectiveness of the com puter application of diacritics to a traditional pen-and-paper process among beginning students of French and Spanish. In addition to studying the effect of computer-mediated input enhancement on the recall of accents, this study also questions the incidental effects of input enhancement on non-target aspects of the second language acquisition (SLA) process. Results support the effectiveness of explicit and computer-mediated input enhancement. [source]

    Early Versus Late Start in Foreign Language Education: Documenting Achievements

    FOREIGN LANGUAGE ANNALS, Issue 4 2005
    Rocío Domínguez
    Abstract: This study compares 27 sixth grade students who have been learning Spanish since kindergarten with 5 who have had Spanish for only 1 year using a battery of Spanish oral and written tests. The students who started early outperformed the new students in listening, speaking, and writing Spanish. Those who started early also displayed a positive attitude toward speaking Spanish in the classroom, a high level of confidence in their Spanish oral and literacy skills, and the use of sophisticated language structures in writing. These findings provide additional evidence supporting the case for early foreign language learning. [source]

    The Practicality and Efficiency of Web-Based Placement Testing for College-Level Language Programs

    FOREIGN LANGUAGE ANNALS, Issue 3 2004
    Elizabeth B. Bernhardt
    A key component of the articulation process is an assessment of student language abilities. On college and university campuses this process is usually conducted via a placement test. As developments in proficiency research have progressed, it is clear that programs need information about a student's grammatical command of a language as well as about their integrative use of the language specifically in speaking. This article examines the process of having students test online before their arrival on campus and provides insights into efficiencies brought about by such testing. The data for the article were generated by 679 learners of Spanish and 78 learners of German as well as by their 14 instructors and 2 language program directors. [source]

    Stereotyping in the Representation of Narrative Texts Through Visual Reformulations

    FOREIGN LANGUAGE ANNALS, Issue 3 2003
    Article first published online: 31 DEC 200, Melina Porto MA
    Two hundred nineteen visual reformulations produced in response to three narrative texts about Christmas celebrations were analyzed (one in Spanish, the subjects' native tongue, and two in English as a foreign language). Subjects were Argentine college students (prospective teachers and translators of English, Caucasian, mostly female, middle-class) between 19 and 21 years of age enrolled in English Language II at the National University of La Plata in Argentina. Stereotypes in the visual reformulations were classified into two large groups: those corresponding to the native culture and those referring to the target (alien) culture. Stereotypes were further classified into three categories of reference: main characters (personality and/or physical appearance), the Christmas celebration itself, and the storyline. A selection of typical visual reformulations is analyzed here. In general, the visual reformulations did not sufficiently capture the cultural content of the texts and embodied a superficial approach plagued with stereotypes. The students' perceptions of otherness were limited to what was exotic or exciting and did not reflect genuine efforts to become familiar with what was strange. The study thus revealed the learners' inability to transcend their cultural biases and points to an urgent need to address stereotypes in the classroom. [source]

    Diversity and Inclusion of Sociopolitical Issues in Foreign Language Classrooms: An Exploratory Survey

    FOREIGN LANGUAGE ANNALS, Issue 1 2003
    Ryuko Kubota
    ABSTRACT: One aim of foreign language teaching is to broaden learners' worldviews and promote intercultural communication. Less discussed, however, are domestic diversity and sociopolitical issues. Through a survey of university students of Japanese, Spanish, and Swahili, the authors of this study investigated diversity in the classroom, students' backgrounds and learning experiences, and their perceptions about the relationship between foreign language learning and issues of race, gender, class, and social justice. The study found more racial diversity in Japanese and Swahili than in Spanish classes and in beginning Spanish classes than in advanced Spanish classes. Beginning Spanish students related foreign language learning with social justice issues less frequently than did advanced students. A follow-up survey revealed stigmatized experiences and detachment from ethnic identity among some minority students. [source]

    On the Background and Motivation of Students in a Beginning Spanish Program

    FOREIGN LANGUAGE ANNALS, Issue 5 2002
    Article first published online: 9 SEP 2010, Paul B. Mandell
    ABSTRACT: A number of recent articles have examined the motivation, purpose of study, and demographics of first- and second-year language learners of French or Spanish (see, e.g., Ossipov, 2000; Rava, 2000; Voght, 2000; Wen, 1997) This study surveyed the make-up of a sample of first-and second-year university-level Spanish learners at a major postsecondary institution in a city with a substantial, growing population of monolingual and bilingual Spanish speakers. The results of the survey were used to address questions about learner preparation prior to entering a four-year university course of study, preferred and desired activities in the current curriculum, and motivations for the study of Spanish. Generalizations about the nature of the typical learner in this context and the implications of the appreciation of and desire for grammar-related and communicative activities , as expressed by the respondents , in the contemporary liberal arts curriculum are discussed. [source]

    Exploring New Frontiers: What Do Computers Contribute to Teaching Foreign Languages in Elementary School?

    FOREIGN LANGUAGE ANNALS, Issue 3 2002
    Joyce W. Nutta
    ABSTRACT: Two growing trends in foreign language education, the study of foreign languages in the elementary school (FLES) and the use of computer-assisted language learning (CALL), have been well researched independently but rarely in concert. This study compares the use of a print and multimedia program to teach Spanish to second through fifth graders from quantitative and qualitative perspectives. The experimental portion of the study showed that the achievement and proficiency of students using print or multimedia materials did not differ at posttest. However, a small but statistically significant difference in achievement emerged at the delayed test point in favor of the students who used the multimedia materials, although this finding is limited by participant attrition over the 13-month study. The qualitative portion of the study detected differences in language behavior, with the students who used multimedia spending more time to stop, check, and revise their language production, leading to greater precision in pronunciation and the use of larger chunks of language when repeating phrases. [source]

    Teaching Gambits: The Effect of Instruction and Task Variation on the Use of Conversation Strategies by Intermediate Spanish Students

    FOREIGN LANGUAGE ANNALS, Issue 2 2002
    2Article first published online: 10 SEP 200, Gregory Taylor
    This study, based in part on previous research by Wildner-Bassett (1984), examined (1) whether gambit use in Spanish can be taught effectively in the classroom, allowing the student to use gambits appropriately in unplanned speech; (2) how the type of interactional situation (a friendly discussion versus a complaint) affects the production of gambits; and (3) what types of gambits show the greastest increases in use for each interactional situation. Participants were intermediate students. A repeated-measures design was used. Results suggest that students can be taught to use gambits effectively and appropriately in the classroom. In addition, the nature of the interactional situation seemed to make a difference in the ability of the students to produce gambits in spontaneous interaction and in the types of gambits they produced. [source]

    U.S. Spanish on the Air: Good Waves for the Classroom?

    FOREIGN LANGUAGE ANNALS, Issue 5 2001
    Carmen Villegas Rogers EdD
    Using segments of programming taped from stations in eight US. states, the researchers compiled data on the presence of Anglicisms in commercials and announcements; commentaries and discussions; and news, weather, and traffic reporting. Possible reasons for the use of these Anglicisms and the effect that the phenomenon might have on the maintenance of Spanish within the Latino community are discussed, The authors suggest ways in which these samples of authentic speech might be used in the classroom to present not only the idealized speech of the so-called "educated native speaker," but also dynamic and current models of interlocutors from many nations, interacting effectively as they transmit and receive information in the language. [source]

    Integrating Technology and Classroom Assessment

    FOREIGN LANGUAGE ANNALS, Issue 4 2001
    Tony Spanos PhD
    This article examines classroom assessment techniques and how technology can be used to enhance their effectiveness. Examples from upper-division courses in German, French, and Spanish are given. [source]

    Effect of fungicides, endophytes and fungal filtrates on in vitro growth of Spanish isolates of Gremmeniella abietina

    FOREST PATHOLOGY, Issue 4 2007
    O. Santamaría
    Summary The effect of eight fungicides and 15 endophytes isolated from twigs of healthy Pinus halepensis trees on the growth rate of four Spanish isolates of the pathogen Gremmeniella abietina was evaluated in vitro. In the fungicide experiments, four doses of each fungicide tested were added to the growth medium. In the endophyte experiments, dual cultures endophyte-pathogen were paired in Petri dishes. Furthermore, growth of three G. abietina isolates was evaluated on malt agar with pine needle extract amended with filtrates from cultures of endophyte E14, which produced a brownish compound apparently inhibiting G. abietina growth. The results obtained suggested that chlorothalonil and daconil were the most suitable fungicides at low doses to reduce growth of G. abietina isolates from Spain. Four of the endophytes tested in vitro showed strong antagonistic activity against G. abietina and deserve further testing in vivo. The endophyte E14 produced in vitro a brownish compound which almost completely inhibited mycelial growth of G. abietina isolates from Spain. [source]

    The Politics of Belonging: Complexities of Identity in the Catalan Borderlands

    GEOGRAFISKA ANNALER SERIES B: HUMAN GEOGRAPHY, Issue 3 2001
    Jouni Häkli
    The rise of the European nation,state system profoundly influenced the map of linguistic and cultural minorities. Catalonia in northeastern Spain is no exception. The consolidation of the Spanish and French kingdoms during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries left Catalan speakers without political and cultural sovereignty. Furthermore, in the Treaty of the Pyrenees of 1659, the Catalan homeland els Països Catalans was divided by the Franco,Spanish border. Today, Catalan culture and politics enjoy increasing latitude in both Spain and France. This has encouraged various forms of cross,border co,operation in the Catalan borderlands. It has also led many Catalan nationalists to expect still greater political autonomy. Some activists have voiced claims for independence and even the reincorporation of the Spanish (el Principat) and French Catalonias (Catalunya Nord). However, political tensions regarding the borderland's development exist between the local actors and the Spanish and French national governments, as well as between Catalan nationalists and the population at large. This article examines these tensions, first by looking at cross,border co,operation efforts in Catalonia, and second by assessing the visible markers of identity that Catalan nationalists have placed in the border landscapes. These are contrasted with the results of a survey charting the opinions and attitudes of ,ordinary' Catalans. The article argues that there are significant cleavages among Catalans, and that the era of the nation,states has left a legacy of complex loyalties at international frontiers. [source]

    Changes in the demand for private medical insurance following a shift in tax incentives

    HEALTH ECONOMICS, Issue 2 2008
    Marisol Rodríguez
    Abstract The 1998 Spanish reform of the Personal Income Tax eliminated the 15% deduction for private medical expenditures including payments on private health insurance (PHI) policies. To avoid an undesired increase in the demand for publicly funded health care, tax incentives to buy PHI were not completely removed but basically shifted from individual to group employer-paid policies. In a unique fiscal experiment, at the same time that the tax relief for individually purchased policies was abolished, the government provided for tax allowances on policies taken out through employment. Using a bivariate probit model on data from National Health Surveys, we estimate the impact of said reform on the demand for PHI and the changes occurred within it. Our findings indicate that the total probability of buying PHI was not significantly affected by the reform. Indeed, the fall in the demand for individual policies (by 10% between 1997 and 2001) was offset by an increase in the demand for group employer-paid ones. We also briefly discuss the welfare effects on the state budget, the industry and society at large. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]