Preparing Students for Class: A Hybrid Enhancement to Language Learning

Ensuring that students spend time preparing for class has always been one of the challenges of teaching. Indeed, when students are given an assignment that they are required to do before coming to the next lecture—whether it be written exercises or just studying—one wonders how often they are actually doing it. There are many ways in which teachers can evaluate whether or not students are prepared for class (i.e., have done “their reading”). Some of these methods to promote more out-of-class studying have included collecting written homework, giving quizzes, and even extra credit. This paper discusses the role of technology in the classroom as an alternative means to ensure student preparation for class lectures. In particular, this paper reports on a particular hybrid Spanish language program which was implemented at a large university in the United States. In this program, in addition to spending the traditional class time with an instructor, students are engaged in on-line, out-of-class activities related to the immediate subsequent class lecture. Solidly grounded in contemporary theories of second language acquisition, this program has shown that students are not only more prepared for class, but that the instructor is able to devote more class time to practice meaningful communicative activities in Spanish with the students. This paper ends with a section reporting opinions and testimonials from instructors and students of the Spanish hybrid language program

Developing Second Language Writing through Scaffolding in the ZPD: A Magazine Project for an Authentic Audience

In the present study, Vygotsky’s (1978, 1986) sociocultural framework of the zone of proximal development (ZPD) and scaffolding writing (Bodrova & Leong, 1995, 1996; Ross, 1976) are used as the theoretical basis to study the development of second language writing. A course project is presented in which advanced English language learners of Spanish acted as authors and editors to create their own professional magazines for an authentic audience. In the project, each student authored four essays which went through four peer- and instructor-edited stages of scaffolding writing techniques. After each stage, ratings were given by the editors who also facilitated feedback debriefing sessions (Lidz, 1991). Statistical analyses revealed significant improvement within the four essays demonstrating writing development of subsequent revisions of a single essay. There was also significant improvement between the four essays revealing a linear, continuous writing development. In all, these results support a notion that scaffolding writing techniques and feedback debriefing sessions within the ZPD effectively develops writing skills in second language learning when contextualized through a writing workshop involving the creation of a professional magazine designed for an authentic audience

Guatemala: An Intercultural Perspective

In July 2001, a group of 14 bilingual/ESL educators from Illinois traveled to Guatemala as participants in a Fulbright-Hays Group Projects Aborad Program. The main purpose of the trip was to enhance the quality and quantity of intercultural education in K-12 schools, using Guatemala as a case study. The group, 12 bilingual/ESL teachers and the authors of this article, spent five weeks in Guatemala studying and working in bilingual schools in the Guatemalan highlands

Maximizing Indigenous Student Learning in the Mainstream with Language and Culture

In this paper, we explore the importance of being conscious of the needs of indigenous students within the education system in order to increase their learning process and decrease their dropout rates. Specifically, we discuss how Mayan language, culture, and ideologies affect the educational outcome of Mayan students in mainstream classes in Guatemalan schools. From this discussion, we highlight the impact that these factors have on both teacher training and the education of the indigenous student population. A simple “teaching to learn—learning to teach” model is explained which discusses the importance of multilingual and multicultural aspects of teacher training and real-life implications in the indigenous student learning process

Language Attitudes and Gender: Descriptors and Nationalistic Ideologies

The present study explores language attitudes among 23 English language learners of Spanish enrolled in elementary Spanish. The data elicited from these participants were analyzed to see whether females used more positive adjectives to describe the Spanish language than their male counterparts (as shown in previous studies). The data were also analyzed to see whether the participants’ adjectives and comments supported evidence of nationalistic language ideology. The results mirrored those of past studies: females were more likely to describe Spanish with positive adjectives. Additionally, there was a great amount of nationalistic language ideology and ethnocentrism among the participants who felt negatively toward Spanish. The researcher argues that this may have contributed towards negative language ideologies reported by the participants

On the Interrelated Nature of Study Abroad Learners’ Language Contact, Perceptions of Culture, and Personal Outcomes

Abstract This study discusses a 5-week study abroad experience in which a group of English-speaking Canadian university students learning Spanish participated in a faculty-led study abroad experience in Spain. A mixed-methods approach combining quantitative measurement and qualitative inquiry was used to explore how often and with whom the second language (L2) learners used English and Spanish during their sojourn. At the conclusion of the study abroad program, the learners completed a Language Contact Profile and responded to open-ended questions that encouraged their meta-reflection on language contact, perceptions of culture, and personal outcomes. The findings show that learners relied on situations from their free time abroad to better understand the target culture rather than on required activities such as visits to museums or heritage sites. Students reported an appreciation for the L2 culture, mostly related to the relaxed and welcoming atmosphere and an increase in their L2 confidence. The findings also underscore the importance of constant interaction in the target language with host community members. Future programming and related research should emphasize learners’ engagement with the host community, both prior to arrival and throughout their time abroad.RésuméCette étude traite d’une expérience d’études à l’étranger d’une durée de 5 semaines. Un groupe d’étudiants d’une université canadienne de langue anglaise apprenant l’espagnol ont séjourné en Espagne. Cette étude à méthodologie mixte a combiné des mesures quantitatives à une enquête qualitative pour explorer combien souvent et avec qui les apprenants de langue seconde utilisaient l’anglais et l’espagnol durant leur séjour. À la suite de ce séjour, les participants ont complété un profil de contacts linguistiques et ont répondu à des questions ouvertes encourageant la métaréflexion sur les contacts linguistiques, les perceptions de la culture et les résultats personnels. Les résultats ont révélé que les apprenants s’appuyaient sur leurs activités quotidiennes pour mieux comprendre la culture cible au lieu des activités requises comme les visites aux musées ou aux sites patrimoniaux.  En outre, les étudiants ont exprimé une appréciation de la langue seconde, surtout par rapport à l’ambiance décontractée et accueillante ainsi qu’à leur confiance accrue dans leur habileté à communiquer dans leur langue seconde. Les résultats ont aussi indiqué l’importance d’une interaction constante avec la langue seconde. La programmation future ainsi que la recherche qui y est reliée devrait favoriser l’interaction avec les étudiants et leurs hôtes, à la fois avant leur arrivée et pendant leur séjour à l’étranger

Mechanism of oxidative amidation of nitroalkanes with oxygen and amine nucleophiles using electrophilic iodine

Recently, we developed a direct way to oxidatively convert primary nitroalkanes into amides. This entailed mixing an iodonium source with an amine, a base, and oxygen. Herein, we systematically investigated the mechanism and likely intermediates. We conclude that an amine-iodonium complex first forms through N-halogen bonding. This complex reacts with aci-nitronates to give both alpha-iodo and alpha-,alpha-diiodo nitroalkanes. These iodinated species can act as alternative sources of electrophilic iodine and also generate an extra equimolar amount of “I+” under O2. In particular, evidence supports alpha-,alpha-diiodo nitroalkanes reacting with molecular oxygen to form a peroxy adduct; alternatively, these tetrahedral intermediates rearrange anaerobically into a cleavable nitrite ester. In either case, activated esters are proposed form, which eventually react with nucleophilic amines in a traditional fashion