EFFECTS OF DIRECT INSTRUCTION IN SPANISH PHONOLOGY ON THE NATIVE-LANGUAGE-SKILLS AND FOREIGN-LANGUAGE APTITUDE OF AT-RISK FOREIGN-LANGUAGE LEARNERS

This study examined the effect of an academic year of direct instructi on in the phonology/orthography of Spanish on the native-language skil ls and foreign-language aptitude of high school women identified as at risk (n = 14) and not at risk (n = 19) for experiencing problems with learning a foreign language. At-risk students received a specialized teaching approach; not-at-risk students received traditional foreign-l anguage instruction. Pre- and posttest results showed that both groups improved significantly on a foreign-language aptitude test, and the a t-risk group made significant gains on native-language phonology/ortho graphy measures. Pretest comparisons showed significant between-group differences on several phonological/orthographic measures and the fore ign-language aptitude test. Posttest comparisons showed that the not-a t-risk subjects still scored significantly higher than at-risk subject s on the foreign-language aptitude measure; no differences were noted on two native-language phonological/orthographic measures. Pre- and po sttest comparisons between groups showed that the at-risk group made s ignificantly greater gains than the not-at-risk group on phonological/ orthographic measures. Implications for instruction are presented.