Achievement and satisfaction in adult Spanish language courses with compressed and standard formats

This study examined the achievement and satisfaction level attained by adults studying elementary Spanish in compressed and standard terms. Each format included 60 hours of classroom instruction; compressed terms were completed in 6 weeks, while standard terms were 15 weeks. The 90 minute, multiple choice, standardized achievement test, the Dantes Beginning Spanish I-SF 583, an attitudinal survey, and a 15 minute questionnaire developed for this study were completed by 129 students in southeast Florida, 73 in standard format courses, 56 in compressed formats. The findings indicated that adult students learning Spanish as a foreign language in compressed and standard time formats with an equal number of contact hours had similar levels of student achievement and intent to continue to the next level of Spanish. The one exception was that a significantly higher vocabulary and structure mean achievement score (<.05) was obtained by the students in the compressed term. The major conclusion is that an adult learner may expect similar results in an elementary Spanish course regardless of whether it is offered in a standard or compressed format. Inferences which can be drawn must be limited to similar populations and time frames. Since a learner's achievement and satisfaction level in elementary Spanish classes for adults is dependent upon many factors, not just the element of time, a multiple perspective is needed to analyze and assess foreign language learning. One implication is that courses be made available in a wide variety of time formats. It is recommended that administrators concerned with scheduling and curriculum planning use adult student needs assessments to determine what the adult learner considers to be convenient, flexible scheduling. Recommendations include replicating the study with a larger, more diverse population, amplifying it to include a qualitative segment for student personal responses, and adding a longitudinal component containing follow-up surveys over varying time periods.