Many studies have been done on language attitudes, including attitudes toward languages in contact, various dialects of a language, nonnative speech, and attitudes of second-language (L2) learners toward the language that they are learning. Typically the studies of second-language learning deal with the attitudes toward the language in general rather than toward specific varieties within the language. The present study measures the attitudes of L2 learners of Spanish who lived in Spain, Mexico and Argentina toward native speakers from Spain and Mexico. The nonnative speakers listened to recordings of four native speakers, a male and a female from Spain, and a male and a female from Mexico, and rated each on a series of characteristics such as intelligence, education, attractiveness, work ethic, and honesty. T-tests were run to determine whether or not the time spent in one of the countries affected the attitudes toward each variety of Spanish. The results show that the judges had a tendency to give higher ratings to the speakers that they could understand the easiest. In addition, there was an overall tendency to rate both of the speakers from Spain higher, as was found in studies by Álvarez, Martínez and Urdaneta (2001), as well as Montes-Alcalá (2011), and to rate the females higher, supporting what both González Martínez (2008) and Labov (1972) found.

Flow theory explains the conditions for optimal engagement (enjoyment, interest, and concentration). There are three types of engagement: cognitive, emotional, and behavioral. When these are combined and present at their peak, flow takes place. In the era of information, media, and technology, current concerns in education include an increasing student disengagement and disaffection. Recently, educational organizations have focused on 21st century skills and the importance of developing these in order to better engage with society. This mixed study explores the relationship between the inclusion of 21st century skills in an L2 task and the level of engagement of students, and whether it reaches flow. Participants came from two sections of intermediate-low Spanish FL classrooms. Findings show there is a positive relationship between 21st century skills and all three types of engagement. 21st century skills are also related to authentic work. Sense of control, clear goals, high challenges matched with high skills in a contextualized setting lead to increased engagement. Flow did not take place, but different levels and intensity of engagement in all areas did.

This thesis project for a Master of Arts in Spanish Pedagogy consists of a four-week, five- lesson unit on Mexican food designed for a high school Spanish 1 class. Following an overview of the need for more cultural products, practices, and perspectives in the teaching of world languages, the project outlines the learning objectives and assessments for the unit and describes its implementation in a high school Spanish classroom, followed by an analysis of learning outcomes and a discussion of which components of the unit went well along with suggestions for improvement. The actual lesson plans are included as appendices.

This project analyzes three documentaries that explore the inherent tensions and difficulties in building a sense of community in three different settings in Rio de Janeiro. The documentaries Boca de Lixo (1993), Santo forte (1999), and Edifí­cio Master (2002) by Eduardo Coutinho present an in-depth look at the tensions inherent in developing communal identity based on vocation in Boca de Lixo, religion in Santo forte, and location in Edifício Master. Through these documentaries, Eduardo Coutinho presents the difficulties faced by different groups of people in Brazil as they explore the development of a sense of community. Boca de Lixo endeavors to understand the tension between using a sense of community to bolster one's self-respect and personal pride in the face of perceived outsider contempt. Santo forte addresses the problems associated with establishing a sense of community in a favela that contains various different religious traditions, each vying for more members at the cost of the others. Edifí­cio Master focuses on the difficulties of developing a sense of community within an apartment building in Copacabana, and in this film Coutinho explores the power of storytelling as an alternative method for creating communal identity. Together these three films examine the resiliency of the human spirit while challenging various forms of prejudice and stereotypes within Brazilian culture.

This study analyzes the production of Voice Onset Time (VOT) of natural Spanish-English bilinguals. VOT is a linguistic characteristic that measures the amount of aspiration occurring after the release of a stop consonant. In terms of VOT, English stop consonants differ substantially from their Spanish equivalents. This study analyzes whether or not natural bilinguals produce VOTs that approximate VOTs of monolingual speakers of each language. Participants completed two surveys to quantify their linguistic dominance in English and Spanish. They were then recorded performing similar speaking tasks in both languages. The conclusions show that natural bilinguals do not produce their English or Spanish VOTs within the monolingual norms defined in previous studies. If conclusions were to be drawn solely from this data, then the participants would theoretically have no monolingual-like language production of VOT. There is also no correlation between language dominance scores and production of VOT. These results support the conclusion that a natural bilingual is not the equivalent of two natural monolingual speakers. Significant correlations exist between VOT production and gender, age of learning English, and amount of time spent watching TV in each language. Another interesting conclusion is that many of the participants score more Spanish-dominant when a survey is given in Spanish and more English-dominant when the very same survey is given in English. This shows that even the language of a survey may skew responses slightly.

Brigham Young University (BYU) first implemented the Spanish Computer Adaptive Placement Examination (S-CAPE) during the Fall Semester of 1986 and it has been used ever since. The S-CAPE was designed to determine course placement into beginning and intermediate classes for students who have previously studied Spanish. A 10% increase occurred this year (2014) in students who have served missions for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Many of these returned missionaries gained language proficiency on their missions, and some go to BYU to begin or continue their studies. Because of the increase in enrollment of students with intermediate and advanced Spanish fluency, the BYU Department of Spanish and Portuguese needed a way to accurately place these students. This study analyzed the S-CAPE to see if it was reliable and capable of placing more advanced students. The S-CAPE was not originally designed to place students above SPAN 206. In addition, other factors that contribute to student placement at BYU are evaluated. Recommendations are made for improving the validity of the S-CAPE, as well as the language skills tested by the S-CAPE. Further recommendations are made to upgrade the process of placing students registering for Spanish at BYU.

As mudanças políticas das décadas de 50, 60, 70 e 80 foram pano de fundo para a transformação da música nacional no Brasil e Nara Leão fez parte desse processo. Através de sua carreira artística podemos recontar a história da Música Popular Brasileira (MPB) e descobrir compositores antes não conhecidos e que vieram a luz através de sua performance. Nos anos 50, a Bossa Nova surgiu como uma mistura do samba, que não era aceito pela sociedade moderna por sua associação à pobreza, com o jazz americano, criando uma nova identidade na música. Nara fez parte do grupo que desenvolveu esse tipo de música que era o símbolo da sociedade moderna de classe média do Rio. Em uma nova fase de sua vida, percebeu que a vida era mais difícil para muitos e sentiu o desejo de usar a música para movimentar as massas para o bem comum, o que lhe levou a gravação do disco Opinião e a criação de um show inovador e extremamente político. Por ter um bom gosto e uma mentalidade aberta para diferentes estilos de música, Nara participou de parcerias memoráveis com Chico Buarque, que se tornou o maior símbolo da música politizada. Sempre a frente de seus colegas cantores, também fez parte do movimento Tropicália, movimento criado para quebrar todas as barreiras impostas na música e nas artes pelos ditadores e até mesmo intelectuais de esquerda, quando ainda era extremamente criticado pelos adeptos à MPB. Sua carreira foi marcada pela descoberta de novos estilos e a reinvenção de estilos existentes na música brasileira e por isso que Nara Leão se tornou um dos maiores nomes da música brasileira

In this work I explore the geometry found both in the narrative structures and the internal shapes proposed in Jorge Luis Borges’ short stories and seek to arrive at new interpretations of those works by mapping out—in graphical form—the shapes found therein. I move from basic two-dimensional shapes (lines, triangles, quadrilaterals) to those involving the element of temporality and atemporality (circles, interruptive loops, chiasmus) to shapes dealing with repetition—both geometric and temporal—and eternity (labyrinths, fractals, and Alephs). In each case and for each short story analyzed, either an existent interpretation is favored or a new interpretation is set forth.

En esta estudio veremos la interpretación novelística de la violencia que Mariano Azuela mismo presenció en México durante la Revolución de 1910. Ya que esa revolución es una de las guerras civiles más conocidas y más importantes de esta hemisferio, será muy interesante ver detalladamente algunos e los actos de violencia típicos de esa época. Y ¿quién mejor que Mariano Azuela para darnos una vista casi cinematográfica? En Los de abajo, Mariano Azuela usa la Revolución. Ne escritores a hacer uso de sus propias experiencias revolucionarias.

Así pues, este estudio trata de dos novelas del autor mexicano contemporáneo, Luis SPota. Las novelas llevan el título de Los sueños del insomnio, publicada en 1966, y Lo de antes, publicada en 1968. Los diversos temas socio-políticos, que Spota trat en estas dos novelas, serán examinados para ver si las condiciones que él describe verdaderamente existen en México. La intención de este estudio no es criticar la obra del autor.No se propone decir que el autor no ha creado fantasía en su obra, ni que solamente son novelas que narran hechos verídicos. El poder creativo del autor será en todo momento respetado. Interesa ver si existe una correlación entre los hechos que describe el autor en estas dos novelas,, y algunos acontecimientos en la sociedad actual de México. Estos hechos tal vez han servido como fuentes de inspiración para la obra del autor.