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—[197]→ University of Central Florida Mariachi Mass. Producer: Guy Poitras; Distributor: Dept. of Communications, Trinity University, San Antonio, TX 78284. Videotape. This videotape analyzes the Mexican American's search for his cultural and ethnic roots through the Mariachi Mass - La Misa Guadalupana. The appropriateness of the vehicle is evident. The dual heritage is shown in the predominant flavor of the ceremony: Indian and pagan rites are portrayed to the accompaniment of Aztec and mariachi instrumentation. The historic San José Mission in San Antonio, Texas is the highly appropriate setting. Interwoven among the commentary are the images of the congregants. Here the primary message of the tape, and certainly its principal impact, is seen. Their Indian features seem to be emphasized in the camera's focus, and regardless of the theological and doctrinal validity of this type of Mass, the expressions on their faces reveal that they are people truly being reached. The commentaries present a balanced analysis of the Mariachi Mass. Dr. Francisco O. García-Treto presents the theological and historical background, pointing out that in this Mass both the Spanish father and the Indian mother are represented, the latter epitomized in the Virgen of Guadalupe. Gilbert Hinojosa adds that there is also the evocation of the values of a simpler society -the contemporary urban reality of the Mexican American is framed in his rural past. Father Blane O'Neill defends the Church's use of the pagan rites of the Aztec dances in the Christian Mass, saying that this also praises the Lord. Dr. García adds that, though this is folk Catholicism, it is a Christian service in that the essential elements of the Mass are present. Dissenting opinions balance these comments. Ronald A. Grennes analyzes the irony of the reintroduction of pagan rites into those of the very Church which earlier had tried to eradicate them, thus reinforcing the image of Latin American Catholicism as being no more than a thin veneer of Christianity covering the pagan soul of the Hispanic Indian. He applies this universally to the phenomenon of the ethnicity of the Mass. Daniel P. Rodríguez voices the criticism of many Mexican American Catholics for whom this ritual does not speak because of their more traditional European religious orientation. The narration is done by Irma Arispe. There is a short analysis of Mariachi music, the phenomenon of the Virgen of Guadalupe, as well as the role of the activist priest -represented here by San Antonio Archbishop Flores. Further political commentary is evoked by images of muralists such as Diego Hernández. The activist role of Mexican Americans in the U.S. is briefly traced. The greatest weakness of the tape is perhaps that it is now somewhat dated. The rhetoric is that of the seventies. Many of the issues then debated with so much urgency have now been replaced by others, and the tone has changed. There are universal elements in the work, however. Regardless of the doctrinal, social, or political validity of the Mariachi Mass, the enchantment of its music remains, along with the images of the faces of those worshipers who have found this symbol of the convergence of their Indian and Spanish heritage to be not only a key to their cultural identity but also a message of inspiration in their lives. In addition, it is part of the historical documentation of the Mexican American's quest for identity. Kenneth M. Taggart Trinity University El libro de buen amor del Arcipreste de Hita. Videocassette VHS en español. Presentado por Televisión Española. Guión de Manuel Criado del Val y Jesús Fernández Santos. Dirección de Jesús Fernández Santos. Films for the Humanities. 60 minutos. Distribuido por Films for the Humanities, Box 2053, Princeton, NJ 08540. Precio: $199.00. —198→Los autores de este programa para televisión se han propuesto la difícil tarea de representar en película el Libro de Buen Amor de Juan Ruiz, Arcipreste de Hita, del siglo XIV. Al recordar que el libro contiene muestras de todos los géneros literarios de su época, se empieza a tener una idea de uno de los problemas inherentes en trasladar el texto a la pantalla. Además, el tono del libro, que varía desde lo religioso hasta lo francamente sexual y es a menudo burlesco, podría representar otras dificultades. Don Luis Rosales de la Real Academia Española introduce el programa, dando algunos de los escasos datos biográficos que existen sobre Juan Ruiz. El resto de la película alterna entre la recitación de un juglar en una plaza de versos del texto, y escenas tomadas del libro. La historia se enfoca principalmente en Don Melón, quien, aconsejado por Don Amor, enamora y conquista a Doña Endrina con la ayuda de la vieja medianera Trotaconventos. Se intercalan escenas piadosas de oraciones a la Virgen algo como las del texto de Juan Ruiz, y se narra la batalla de Don Carnal y Doña Cuaresma, representada visualmente por obras de arte. La selección de ciertas porciones del texto para filmarlas es necesariamente arbitraria. Los escritores del guión tratan de unir los varios episodios, especialmente los que giran en torno a Don Melón y Doña Endrina, con la introducción de dos personajes inventados por ellos para impulsar el flujo de la trama. Estos son dos «justicias», agentes del arzobispo, que persiguen a Melón hasta que lo prenden abrazando a Endrina. Tras una confusión de Melón con el Arcipreste -algo como en el libro original- se ve a Don Melón y el Arcipreste hablando en una cárcel. Los personajes de la obra hablan en cuaderna vía, dando al oyente una buena impresión de los versos originales, aunque en castellano moderno. Los lugares y el vestuario logran transportar al espectador a remotos siglos. La producción contiene sólo un poco del humor del libro y enfatiza el aspecto didáctico a expensas del alegre tono cómico, burlesco y sexual del original. El resultado es un efecto sombrío que no refleja lo vivo, lo burlesco y lo gozoso que tipifica en el libro del Arcipreste. La película comienza a errar cuando presenta tan seriamente a Don Melón y a Doña Endrina. El efecto total es de un trabajo técnicamente bueno e interesante que no logra representar bien ni el espíritu de Juan Ruiz ni la actitud divertida y alegre del Libro de buen amor. Martin A. Favata University of Tampa Francisco de Quevedo y Fray Luis de León. Producer, Radio Televisión Española. Distributor, Iniciativas Culturales de España, S. A. Apartado de Correos 14655, 28020 Madrid, Spain. (VHS format ½", purchase price $85.00) This color video presents two of Spain's greatest writers, Francisco de Quevedo and Fray Luis de León, describing their polemic lives, works, and times. The scriptwriter, Antonio Gala, also briefly introduces each character before the actual presentation begins setting the scenario for what will follow. The video is divided into two 30-minute sections which present the main character in a particularly trying time of his life. For Francisco de Quevedo it is the closing of his life. He chooses to leave Madrid and its intrigues and return to La Torre de Juan Abad, his home. Throughout the video Quevedo presents his reasons for writing and for living as he has. The acting is superb and the setting conforms to the demands of the script. Some of Quevedo's most renown verses are recited combining visual imagery to the interpretation of these verses. Quevedo, the man, the writer and the narrator of his times, discusses his private and public life leaving the viewers with an understanding of and an admiration for this man and his literary work. After a short introduction by Antonio Gala, the second half of the video presents Fray Luis de León upon his release from the prison of the inquisition. Fray Luis has suffered five years in prison and is released for lack of evidence. Fray Luis is the son of «conversos» and his Jewish lineage is the basis for the accusations. During the sixteenth century in Spain «cristiano viejo» and «cristiano nuevo» were two social categories with extensive ramifications as this video explains. Fray Luis views his past with dispassion and understanding for those who, through their ignorance, have deprived him of five years of his life. The video presents Fray Luis as a writer and an intellectual who is a precursor and as such is misunderstood and judged by those of lesser insight. His verses are presented —199→ illustrating a specific point in his life giving significance to the poet's works, life and time. The choice of setting, actors and verses combine to make this video an excellent learning tool for advanced language and literature students. This two-part video presents both historical and literary data in an entertaining format. The filming, casting, and overall presentation are impeccable. Through this video the students will be afforded the opportunity of learning about two great Spanish writers, their works, lives, and times, while viewing magnificent scenes of Spanish countryside, palaces, castles and monasteries. The Spanish pronunciation is clear and representative of the regions from where each writer originates. This video will be an excellent addition to the advanced Spanish language and literature class. Maria T. Redmon University of Central Florida —[200]→ Prepared by Ned J. Davison Languages, University of Utah Salt Lake City, Utah 84112 BITNET account: HISPANIA@UTAHCCA
For specific information or suggestions,
Mark D. Larsen Robert A. Quinn
Electronic Bulletin Board Contents of Folders December 1987
(See the September 1987 issue, pp. 698-700, for instructions on how to use —201→ We want to advise all prospective authors about the kinds of articles we are seeking. Manuscripts of special interest are those which describe and explore subjects that will demonstrate to members of the AATSP the role the computer is currently playing in Hispanism and the many ways in which our academic computing is expanding. Here are a few of the subjects we all feel would be of exceptional interest. Within the context of Hispanism, the use of the computer: 1 > in teaching culture, literature, and language; 2> as a research and clerical tool; 3> as a device for the exchange of ideas on personal teaching and research activities and findings; 4> as a means for expanding the gathering and transfer of information and the development of home-reference databases; 5> in very practical ways to carry out specific professorial tasks, and which machines and programs do those tasks best. These are aspects of our professional computing that we would like to hear more about. In short, we wish to address questions that our readers likely have about how to get the most out of their computers for all kinds of academic work -teaching, research, management of professional duties, and collegial communication of ideas and materials. Along with these general topics, we'd like to suggest some specific examples of things we'd be interested in: *IBM and Macintosh: what are the advantages AND disadvantages of BOTH machines for the teacher of Spanish and Portuguese? *How can one go about updating files and data from an old computer (say a Commodore 64) to a new one? What steps would have to be taken? At what cost? Is it worth it? *What should be expected if you desire to take your computer with you overseas? *What are the problems when integrating computers with classroom activities in general? What are some PROVEN techniques? *How feasible is it for a teacher to incorporate computers into a composition course, i.e., where students really do turn in their work on disk or over the phone line? What are the obstacles? How are they resolved? What are the results? *What electronic bibliographic sources are available to Hispanist researchers? How are they accessed? At what cost? What services do they provide? *How can schools or departments effectively network supposedly incompatible machines (Apples II's, IBMs, Macintoshes, etc.) so that they can share information and perhaps applications? What special hardware/software would be needed? At what cost? What are the advantages or disadvantages? *What sorts of general applications software, beyond the specific scope of CAI, are clearly useful to Hispanists (word processors, databases, spreadsheets, bibliographic compilers, map generators, etc.)? *Notes on truly productive cooperative efforts, by teachers of different languages and cultures, that Hispanists are engaged in. *Notes on any existing CAI software that is designed as an adjunct to courses or books on literature and culture. *Articles on existing software that may be used by Hispanists for the analysis of literary texts. *The tested use of various computer-controlled media for instruction in Spanish or Portuguese, or in their literatures, cultures, or histories. Examples of some studies we'd like to hear about: *An experiment where a certain number of classes used one author's software and other classes used that of a different author, say, for the purpose of reinforcing the students' understanding of predetermined areas of knowledge, grammatical, communicative, or cultural. The study could compare the results and determine which material, design, or approach proved most effective in teaching the concepts or skills being studied. *An experiment using the SAME software but with one control using monochrome and another color in order to try to determine if color differentiation really does improve or —202→ accelerate learning. A similar experiment could be done isolating sound, or graphics, help-menus, or any other apparently significant feature of presentation. *A similar experiment testing the concept that «right» answers must always be matched or «wrong» ones identified. A carefully conceived study might give us some reliable answers to the question of reinforcement or correction, specifically as these actions relate to computer-based instruction. What is the role, for example, of the notion of the «affective filter» in such a learning environment? Or what might be the virtues or weaknesses of self-evaluation as a guide to correct expression, or in the learning of cultural concepts? N.D. —203→ We are always grateful when we hear from readers regarding the section and our efforts to promote the use of computers in the work of our members. Dr. M. Stanley Whitley wrote us recently of his misgivings about the «markup codes» (ASCII formatting symbols) we devised for transmitting manuscripts and other texts to our BBS, the editors, and to each other. Because his observations may reflect views and questions of other readers, we asked Dr. Whitley if he would grant us permission to reproduce his original letter. He graciously agreed, and we especially appreciate his willingness to share the letter with you, despite the fact that it was drafted merely as a casual note to an individual and not as a formal contribution addressed to the journal's broader readership. We felt that reproducing the letter and our reply would be instructive and help clarify the problem of text transmission. It offered an excellent opportunity to explain the rationale behind the coding selected and to provide, for readers less familiar with electronic text transfer, additional information on ways to minimize difficulties in text preparation. This exchange of correspondence restates forcefully the vexing problem of incompatibility among different computers and the obstacles it continues to create for all of us. N.D. Dear Professor Larsen, I have just read your article «How to Submit a 'Paper' - Without the Paper» in Hispania (Sept. 1987] and would like to respond to it. As you point out, one advantage of word processors for academics is the greater ease of both writing and rewriting our manuscripts. Another is the fact that they have liberated us from the limited American English character sets of U.S. typewriters. All word processors now put boldface, underlining, superscripting, and italics at our disposal. And, as a fellow Macintosh user, you're well aware of how Macintosh WPs free us further from ASCII, so that we can easily type any West European language (that much is standard with the Mac keyboard) and also load virtually any alphabet in a variety of font styles and sizes... With «Fontastic» I'm even able to create any additional symbols I require for my work in linguistics. Now I can type freely in English and Spanish, citing words next to their Greek roots or IPA phonetic transcriptions, pulling in diagrams and other graphics from MacDraw, showing an interesting Russian parallel to the Spanish passive se, and even using musical notation (nice for contrasting Spanish and English rhythm)... Laserwriters promise even better resources and power to the user. Although I have contributed several times to Hispania, I have not yet worked up my nerve to try submission by telecommunications. Hence, I was intrigued by the title of your article, especially when you ... described the Mac as your machine of preference. I wondered, as I got into your article, how all this fantastic typography could be sent over a medium designed for limited ASCII; could one hope that desktop publishing and other technological pushes would lead to more ample telecommunications resources? Your answer to this question was depressing: we will go backwards to the old typewriter character set instead of pushing forward. All those artificial repunctuations and renotations were ingenious but dismaying [IY]!!??Est;a loco, sinverg;;uenza??!![IN] Producing such gibberish is painful, awkward, and grotesquely unnatural on first write; it breaks one's train of thought irretrievably. True, one does enter such keystrokes, but what one sees on the screen is recognizable strings the human mind can process, not arcane codes. Even to distort one's manuscript thus in the secondary rewriting/editing/print-to-disk stages would be an unproductive, time-consuming exercise in language warping. And even if «experienced computer users» agree with your assertion of «simplicity» for these guidelines, what of those who must use phonetic symbols, arrows and other notations, other alphabets, graphics, and other non-ASCII stuff? Obviously, many of us will have to continue to submit hardcopy to journals such as Hispania, I mean [UY]Hispania[UN], but what a shame that one who began by discussing the freedom and power WPs give us should end by recommending conformity to the Procrustean bed of an ASCII character set concocted by monolingual computer engineers. Is this the best that journal editors can offer in the heady era of desktop publishing and inter-WP translators? Much better would be a joint effort by those of us in languages, music, math, —204→ the sciences, and other specialized disciplines to push for some other kind of electronic transmission system that -perhaps through digitizing in the mode of scanners- could transmit the notations we require directly. Currently in the computer world, it seems that users' needs are driving technological change, so why should earlier technology hold us back? Sincerely,
M. Stanley Whitley We truly welcome comments such as these by Professor Whitley, because they help us understand how you readers perceive our efforts, and what clarifications will be helpful to you. Professor Whitley is probably not the only colleague to feel dismay on discovering that our guidelines for the electronic transmission of text rely on those unexciting «standard ASCII codes». Indeed, we all share the frustration in this regard. Certainly we would prefer to transmit documents that display foreign characters, boldface, italics, and underlining on different brands of computers without having to resort to confusing strings of characters. However, the hard reality is that different kinds of computers and software are not compatible, and ASCII codes are the only standard they all share. Were we to permit non-standard codes to distinguish certain features of a document, nothing could be transmitted. For example, how is the owner of an Apple IIe or a Commodore to send the proper signals to generate accents on Davison's Atari, Quinn's Zenith, or my Macintosh? Our experiments show that such characters are simply stripped when we attempt to transmit a document from our computers to another. Regarding the unorthodox appearance and the matter of entering the strings, users should remember that it is not necessary to use these codes when preparing a document. After it is written, and prior to sending it over the phone lines, it is a simple task to convert formatting features and diacritics to basic ASCII with the global search-and-replace routines of your word processor. Professor Whitley, for example, could use a variety of programs for the Macintosh that make the task faster and simpler -such as the public domain programs File Stripper or Cleanup, and the word processor FullWrite Professional. Of course, once any of us receive electronically a document prepared with our Hispania codes, we can quickly restore the original format and characters in our individual computers, and regain the ease of screen editing and the correct symbols for printing. There are, of course, ways to send us a document via the Bulletin Board without making such alterations. Specifically, authors can send manuscripts as binary files (rather than textfiles). For example, Professor Whitley could upload a MacWrite document by using KERMIT. In turn, I could download the file via the same process into my Macintosh with nary an accent, tilde or illustration out of place. But what about the other editors and users? The binary file would be unintelligible to them. The only way we, as editors, could venture beyond the restrictions of standard ASCII would be to require that anyone submitting a document over the phone lines do so on a specific brand of computer and with a specific type of word processing program. Imagine the reactions such a requirement would evoke. Our chief editor, Dr. Sackett, uses an IBM PC. Where would that leave many of us if he were to insist that all electronic submissions be sent with only that machine, and with his choice of word processor? Our own surveys show that most of our colleagues use the Apple IIe and AppleWorks -yet neither the machine nor the software can generate foreign characters! Digital scanners seem to provide a better solution, but according to editor Sackett's research into the matter, the majority of these machines cannot read foreign characters only the most expensive ones ($50,000 and up). And even they assign different ASCII codes, depending upon the manufacturer. There are some text programs, like Nota Bene, that are capable of reading documents created with a limited number of other word processors, like Word Star. But there are very few translators that can bridge the gap between one brand of computer and another. For example, I have tested a utility called Apple File Exchange, that comes bundled with all new Macintoshes, which will translate MS-DOS or ProDOS files into MacWrite documents —205→ and vice-versa, but even in this instance all the fonts, styles, boldface, italics, underlining, foreign characters, and graphics are lost in the transfer. Moreover, the program is still useless for those with other types of machines and word processors. Professor Whitley is absolutely correct in his observation that our guidelines would not work for documents which contain illustrations, other alphabets, phonetic symbols, etc. In such cases, the only alternative is to revert to paper-and-ink manuscripts. No one prefers the limitations posed by the basic ASCII codes, but neither can we ignore them, because they are the only standard currently available. Our needs as teachers of Spanish and Portuguese are legitimate, but unfortunately ours is only a small voice in the world of computer users, and manufacturers always seem to seek design with the most potential for profit. It is illusory to think that our Association could dictate future standards for the computer industry. In summary, we have been asked if «this is the best that journal editors can offer». Actually, it is the best solution that computer manufacturers allow us to offer. Editors, like other users, cannot be blamed for the shortcomings of the tools they are obliged to work with. Given the complexity of the problem, we are confident that our codes are reasonable, and will ultimately facilitate the submission and editing of articles for the journal. M.D.L. —206→ ¿HABLA ESPAÑOL? CALIS Holt, Rinehart and Winston Appropriate for both secondary and college students, ¿Habla español? CALIS presents over 200 exercises keyed to the text ¿Habla español? Essentials. The organization of the exercises by grammar topics and language functions makes it suitable, however, for use with any first-year book. One of the few sets of software available for IBM compatibles, it includes the MicroCALIS disk and four others. The introduction states the program has two types of formats, multiple choice and fill-ins, but the questions are so varied that they never seem the same. Some exercises ask students to type the correct forms of words appearing in lists, parentheses, or previous sentences; others involve questions and answers, multiple choice, rearranging words into logical order, and translations. Perhaps the best thing about ¿Habla español? CALIS is that it is «perfectible». No teacher ever seems satisfied with texts, exercises, or exams written by someone else. In this case, however, there is no room for complaint. Since the authoring system CALIS was used to write these exercises, instructors can use it to add, omit, or modify anything they wish to change (see John C. Haggstrom's review of CALIS in Hispania 70.4 [Dic. 1987]: 973-74.) Although the instructions are on the program disk, hidden under the filename «Practice», they are very clear and can be printed with the Shift-PrtSc function. Among other things, they explain how to write accents and tell what the function keys do in CALIS. The main menu displays directories with the chapter number as the title. By pressing «enter» you can have subdirectories appear, with abbreviated exercise titles such as «rel-pro», «imsubj», «passiv-A», and «passiv-B». The only confusing point is that the directions do not tell users that they must press F2 to return to the main menu. What I liked most about ¿Habla español? CALIS is its variety, which results from the flexibility of the CALIS system and the fact that the authors have taken full advantage of the system's many features. Because scroll-protected text can be displayed at the top of the screen, students can see a whole paragraph (conversations, letters, narratives, etc.) while questions about it appear below. This has made it possible to present exercises with meaningful contexts, rather than just unrelated sentences. Instructions at the bottom of the screen tell what keys to press to see the correct answer (after trying at least once), to replay the directions (in case you forget them in the middle of an exercise), browse (review the sentences already done), bailout (leave the exercise), or type special Spanish characters. The user, who can exit, review, or return to the main menu at will, feels comfortably in control. An important feature of computer exercises that cannot be duplicated in book drills is immediate correction. ¿Habla español? CALIS handles this especially well. The comments motivate students who respond correctly or help those who make errors, and almost make them feel a teacher is alongside, guiding and encouraging them. The directions note that the programmers have tried to anticipate the «most likely wrong answer», and they have done very well indeed! I tried giving probable wrong answers -and even a few improbable ones- to see what the comments were. They guide students to the right answer, explain when appropriate, and distinguish nuances such as a right ending but wrong stem or accents that are missing. A few general messages simply refer students to a specific page in the book or suggest a word may be misspelled. From the students' point of view, interaction is easy. The exercises, from 8 to 12 items long, provide excellent practice. A final score tells how many answers were correct on the first try, the second try, and total number right. Judiciously placed humor provides light moments (like the comic relief from the cartoons in the textbook). Most comments, personalized with the student's name, encourage, explain, and even commiserate. Once a student completes an exercise, it is highlighted in red, but can be repeated. Teachers as well as students can learn from these exercises. By placing their word processing disk in drive A and the CALIS disk in B, instructors can retrieve a set of exercises by its file name as a DOS text to see what makes the programs «tick». For those wanting to learn how to write their own exercises, -Habla español? CALIS provides examples of almost every type of computer exercise that can be written with CALIS.
The exercises themselves were varied; unfortunately the display was not. I found unattractive and even confusing the strange marks used on either side of words under study: In ¿Habla español? CALIS knowledgeable writers have used an outstanding authoring system to produce a learning aid that both teachers and students can benefit from. Although the textbook is also accompanied by a Manual de ejercicios y laboratorio and tapes, students will probably enjoy using the computer materials the most. In my opinion, even without adopting the textbook, every Spanish department can profit from this outstanding software package. Estelle Irizarry Georgetown University
CARA A CARA
Heinle & Heinle Publishers, Inc. CARA A CARA consists of a manual and five double-sided diskettes, is compatible with the Apple II +, IIe, IIc, or IIgs and the Franklin Ace, and requires only one disk drive. The manual warns teachers to buy additional copies rather than duplicate the disks. Although designed to accompany Poco a poco, an introductory Spanish text from the same publisher, this software can be used with almost any first year book. The authors have organized its contents according to the principles of function, content, and accuracy outlined in the ACTFL/ETS Provisional Proficiency Guidelines, and all activities are goal-oriented. Each disk begins by displaying the unit's objective, how it will be reached, and how students can demonstrate their newly-acquired skills. The manual contains instructions, including a page for reminding students how to begin, correct typing mistakes, and so forth. It also gives a few suggestions on how to use the software. Each of the 10 lessons focuses on a topic involving social interaction and contains attractive exercises structured around that topic. For example, Unit 1, which deals with describing oneself, has exercises on ser and the -ar verbs. Unit 2, about one's likes and dislikes, includes estar and -er and -ir verbs. Other lessons involve buying food, giving directions and advice, and so on. The exercises deal with common irregular verbs, object pronouns, various tenses, if-clauses, and other points usually covered in an introductory course. CARA A CARA includes many interesting features. I liked having students answer a questionnaire which was transformed into a personalized paragraph. This was followed by an activity in which they completed sentences from the text they had just read. My students liked the section that gradually displayed a topic-related drawing as they gave correct answers. The authors made good use of feedback and incorporated an excellent learning aid that should be included in more programs: symbols that give students useful information about their mistakes and help them make corrections before seeing the right answer. The authors also let students turn the sound off as well as stop at almost any point and return to the menu. This software, nevertheless, is not problem-free. For example, directions are given only for the accented «e», and neither I nor my students understood how to type the other accented vowels. I finally discovered that all vowels can be accented by typing the vowel, the ESC key, then «e». Also, the booklet says to type «e», then ESC and ? or ! to get an inverted question mark or exclamation point, but this produces an extra «e» on the screen. I finally got them by just pressing ESC and ? or !. Because the program only accepts perfect answers, it refused to continue when we could not add the proper accents or punctuation. Occasionally, the program broke down. My students were unaware of doing anything wrong and only knew that it froze. Since the booklet said nothing about how to restart, we turned the computer off and began again. The graphics add interest, but require a lot of disk room; consequently, the exercises are very brief. In addition, many of them are mechanical (like fill-ins) rather than free-form as claimed in the manual. Several improvements could be made. When students misspell a word, the whole sentence is erased; if the cursor were moved to the incorrect letter, students would not have to retype the entire sentence. Similarly, when they must arrange words to form acceptable sentences, students cannot change an answer after trying one way; they can only press ESC and start again. It would be more effective to let them try various arrangements until they were satisfied and then have them press RETURN for feedback. I must admit, however, that some students enjoyed «being forced by the computer» to give the correct answer before they could continue. My students and I liked CARA A CARA. There were some glitches, but in general it was educationally-sound, motivated them, and was fun. As a teacher, I would like to see more programs like this in the future. Armando Baltra California State University, Fresno PUBLISHER'S REPLY: A forthcoming reprint of the manual corrects the instructions: «for accenting all vowels, type this vowel, ESC key, then 'e'; type ESC ! and ESC ? to get those marks upside down on the screen». It is true the program insists students rewrite sentences. While this takes more time, students learn better by rewriting than by using trial and —208→ error. The program does eventually give the correct answer. Jeanne Fryar Marketing Manager Heinle & Heinle
QUEST (Version 2.3) Allen Communication Accompanied by a manual and a demonstration disk, QUEST is a major authoring system designed for the IBM compatibles. This software consists of several different programs for creating character fonts or animated shapes, for registering users, and for writing, cataloguing, printing, and presenting lessons. It requires a graphics adaptor and comes in several versions that can be used with a light pen, a mouse, and various video disk players. As yet, however, it has no built-in commands for driving video cassette players or audio cassette recorders (except the Tandberg random-access models). When looking for software I could use to produce exercises for an introductory course at Vanderbilt, I decided to use QUEST, since it is a reasonable compromise between an authoring language like PILOT (which calls for computer-programming skills) and the inflexibility of a template system like DASHER (which requires no more than familiarity with a disk-operating system). To use this software, teachers only need to know the fundamentals of the computer's disk-operating system and its basic commands; with a little patience and experience, however, they can create practically any type of exercise. The demonstration disk presents impressive uses of the system (primarily the graphics), and the manual includes simple tutorials about making lessons. Although the documentation is clear, it only hints at or briefly describes many of this software's possibilities. Users have to learn what these are and how valuable they can be by experimenting and paying attention to students' comments. For example, of the skills required for using this system well, answer judging techniques take the longest to master, but they actually unleash its power. Even so, answer analysis is not fully covered in the manual. The value of QUEST becomes evident once the user realizes how it analyzes answers, which may be words, numbers, or even a cursor position. The program can judge responses either word by word or character by character, and it can also accept approximate spellings, extra words, synonyms, and so forth. Limited only by their time and patience, teachers can provide multiple correct answers, have the computer check for anticipated wrong answers, and give specific feedback for each. Thus, they can easily show students which portion of a compound verb has been typed wrong, can indicate whether a mistake is in the stem or ending, and so on. With experience, teachers can fine tune the answer analysis and feedback so the computer seems to understand answers and respond almost as well as systems using artificial intelligence. Due to the wide variety of answer-judging techniques and numerous possibilities for branching, teachers can use QUEST to produce computer-assisted exercises that provide a learning environment rather than just a series of drills. They can assign varying weights to correct answers, give partial credit, or even allow for accepting answers without counting off points. Besides being able to tell the computer to show a specific screen, authors can have it repeat displays, show a series of them and return to a certain one, go at random to one of three displays, and so forth. Such branching can be timed or student-paced. Teachers can have questions repeated as many times as they wish or have them displayed until the student types the right answer. Lessons have a built-in function for calling up a help screen or series of screens, as well as for quitting before completing an entire exercise. Users can easily copy any combination of text and graphics either from a «library» of often-used objects or to it, from one lesson to another, or from one screen to another within a lesson; thus, they can set up elaborate formats and graphics for a lesson and then quickly reproduce them on any screen. Because it is graphics-oriented, however, QUEST requires an adaptor, and lessons written for one graphics card will not work with others. Be careful to order the version that is specific to the graphics adaptor card in your computer. Color Graphics Adaptor (CGA), Enhanced Graphics Adaptor (EGA), and Tecmar Graphics Adaptor versions are available. While requiring a specific graphics card may be a drawback, it makes displays easy to produce and lets users create alternate fonts that can be incorporated into the lessons. Teachers using QUEST, for example, are not restricted to the standard IBM design and its extended character set, which does not contain the tilded vowels needed for Portuguese. The program can display either high-resolution or medium-resolution graphics and either 40-column or 80-column text. It can mix different modes within a lesson, but not in a single display. For color monitors, the background can be any one of the 16 standard colors provided by the CGA. The foreground text and graphics can be in any of three colors, plus the background color, which can be used to effectively «erase» material on the screen. This software also permits sophisticated management, such as letting students only do certain lessons or having them do exercises in a specific order. To discourage tampering, records can be kept of students' scores in a form that requires a specific program to read them. Although QUEST costs considerably more than —209→ a template package, its power and versatility justify the added expense. The actual cost, of course, depends on the version and whether it is used to produce multiple copies. My experience has shown that it compares favorably to packages with similar prices and licensing arrangements. Dan M. Church Vanderbilt University
A Comprehensive List of Software Reviews in Hispania We have assembled this list for your convenience and urge you to consult the reviews for descriptions of those programs of interest to you. Please note that the prices listed are those prevailing at the time the review was published; they may now vary considerably. Check with the publisher for current prices. MDL Volume 67, September 1984, Number 3. Spanish Vocabulary Builder, PLATO Educational Software, Control Data Publishing (P.O. Box 26117, San Diego, CA 92126), 1982, ISBN 0-89893205-X, 466-67. Apple; Atari 800; Texas Instruments 99/4A. Reviewed by Onofre Di Stefano, Occidental College. Spanish Vocabulary Drill: Language Teacher with Practice Files, Compu-tations (P.O. Box 502, Troy, MI 48099), 1982, 466-67. Apple. Reviewed by Onofre Di Stefano, Occidental College. Poker Listo, Gessler Educational Software (900 Broadway, New York, NY 10003-1291), 1983, 467. Apple. Reviewed by Ruth L. Bennett, AATSP Career Education Service. Spanish Achievement I. Microcomputer Workshops (225 Westchester Avenue, Port Chester, NY 10573), 1980, 467. Apple. Reviewed by Ruth L. Bennett, AATSP Career Education Service.
Volume 67, December 1984, Number 4. Episodios Elementales, Newbury House (54 Warehouse Lane, Rowley, MA 01969) $99 program and lesson disks, optional $59 authoring system (estimated prices), 700. Apple. Reviewed by Jim Soper, Digital Research, Inc. Anagramas Hispanoamericanos, Gessler Publishing Co., Inc. (900 Broadway, New York, NY 10003), ISBN 0-88043-430-9, $37.95, 700-01. Apple. Reviewed by Linda Deudon, Consolidated High School and Deborah Watson Fry, Southwood Valley Elementary School. Spanish Hangman Vocabulary Builder, Compu-tations (P.O. Box 502, Troy, MI 48099), $14.95, 701. Apple. Reviewed by Michele S. de Cruz-Sáenz, Swarthmore Pennsylvania High School.
Volume 68, March 1985, Number 1. Lecciones de Español, Conduit (University of Iowa, Oakdale Campus, Iowa City, IA 52242), 1984, 226-27. Apple. Reviewed by Vincent A. Virgulti, Pennsylvania State University.
Volume 68, May 1985, Number 2. The Spanish Contest, Levels 1 & 2, Lingo Fun (P.O. Box 486, Westerville, OH 43081), 1983, $39.95, 437-38. Apple; TRS-80 III, IV; Commodore 64. Reviewed by Máximo W. Gutiérrez, Greenville High School. The Grading System, Eternal Software (1234 Rubicon Avenue, Ventura, CA 93004), 1983, $20.00, 438-39. Atari. Reviewed by Alan R. Davison, University of Utah.
Volume 68, September 1985, Number 3. Spanish Idiom Master: Repasos y Prueba, Palabras y Expresiones, Lingo Fun, International Software (P.O. Box 486, Westerville, OH 43081), 1984, $49.95, 687-88. Apple. Reviewed by Marilyn Kiss, Staten Island Academy. La corrida de toros, Gessler Educational Software (900 Broadway, New York, NY 10003), 1984, $29.95, 688-89. Apple. Reviewed by Judith S. Conde, Asbury College. Ser vs. Estar/Por vs. Para, Gessler Educational Software (900 Broadway, New York, NY 10003), 1983, ISBN 0-88043-443-0, $39.95 for each disk, $69.95 for set, 689-90. TRS-80 I, III, IV. Reviewed by Marilyn Kiss, University College. Spanish Bargaining. Myriad Systems (P.O. Box 60219, Palo Alto, CA 94306), 1983, $32.50, 690-91. Apple. Reviewed by Judith S. Conde, Asbury College. El Tiro al Blanco, Schoolhouse Software Company (290 Brighton Road, Elk Grove, IL 60007), 1982, $49.95, 691-92. Apple. Reviewed by Ina Carlton, Cleveland High School.
Volume 68, December 1985, Number 4. «Nota Bene: Caveat Scriptor» (Part 1), Dragonfly Software Company, $495 list price, $396 to MLA members, 877-79. IBM & compatibles. Reviewed by Merlin H. Forster and Margo Milleret, University of Texas at Austin. Da Poma Grade Book, Da Poma, Inc., Software (Programming Center, P.O. Drawer H, Hondo, TX 78861-0240), $49 (Apple 64K), $59 (Apple 128K; TRS-80 64K), $69 (TRS-80 128K), $150 (Macintosh), 880-83. Reviewed by Mark D. Larsen, Utah State University. EA Gradebook, Educational Activities, Inc. (1937 Grand Avenue, Baldwin, NY 11510), $59.95, 180-83. Apple; TRS-80; Commodore 64. Reviewed by Mark D. Larsen, Utah State University. —210→Nibble Grade Book, Nibble Magazine, $20.00 plus postage, 180-83. Apple. Reviewed by Mark D. Larsen, Utah State University. Spanish Word Order, Gessler Educational Software (900 Broadway, New York, NY 10003), 1983, $37.95, 884-86. Apple. Reviewed by Beatriz Varela and David Sandberg, University of New Orleans. Spanish Grammar Computerized, Parts I & II, Lingo Fun (P.O. Box 486, Westerville, OH 43081), 1985, $100, 866. Apple. Reviewed by Joe Barrett, Northfield Mount Hermon School. Foundation Course in Spanish, 6th Edition Software Series, DCH Educational Software (125 Spring Street, Lexington, MA 02173), 1985, $120, 887-88. Apple. Reviewed by Judith S. Conde, Asbury College. Batalla de Palabras, Gessler Educational Software (900 Broadway, New York NY 10003), 1984, $49.95, 88-89. Apple; IBM PC; Commodore 64. Reviewed by Alonson Perales, The Multi-lingual School.
Volume 69, May 1986, Number 2. «Nota Bene: Caveat Scriptor» (Part 2), Dragonfly Software Company, $495 list price, $396 to MLA members, 426-29. IBM & compatibles. Reviewed by Merlin H. Forster and Margo Milleret, University of Texas at Austin. Episodios Elementales, Newbury House Publishers (54 Warehouse Lane, Rowley, MA 01969), 1984, $100, 432-35; a review essay of this software. Apple. Reviewed by Armando Baltra, University of California at Irvine. Spanish for the Traveler, Southwestern Data Systems (10761 Woodside Avenue, Suite E, Santee, CA 92071), 1982, 436. Apple. Reviewed by Diana L. Chase, Howell High School. CARLA, Don Q Software (4264 Palmero Drive, Los Angeles, CA 90065), $24.95, 436-37. Apple; TRS-80 I, III, IV. Reviewed by Martha A. Russell, West Bridgewater Jr.-Sr. High School. Verb Practice, Don Q Software (4264 Palmero Drive, Los Angeles, CA 90065), $39.95 per program, 437-38. Apple; TRS-80 III, IV. Reviewed by Martha A. Russell, West Bridgewater Jr.-Sr. High School.
Volume 69, September 1986, Number 3. Practicando Español, Conduit (University of Iowa, Oakdale Campus, Iowa City, IA 52242), 2nd Edition, 1984, $110.00 746-47. Apple. Reviewed by Joseph A. Feustle, Jr., University of Toledo. Let's Practice Spanish, EMC Publishing (300 York Avenue, St. Paul, MN 55101), 1985, $105.00, 747-48. Apple. Reviewed by Marilyn Kiss, Staten Island Academy. Vocabulary Toolkit, Oakleaf Systems (P.O. Box 472, Decorah, IA 52102), 1985, ISBN 0-933209, 749. Apple. Reviewed by Janet E. Meizel, Davis High School. Spanish Language Math Practice (Ejercicios de Matemáticas), Minnesota Educational Computing Consortium (3490 Lexington Avenue No., St. Paul, MN 55112), 1983, $45.00, 749-50. Apple. Reviewed by Martha M. Quiat & Lorenzo A. Trujillo, Jefferson County Schools. Let's Practice Portuguese, EMC Publishing (300 York Avenue, St. Paul, MN 55101), 1985, $105.00, 750-51. Apple. Reviewed by Armando Baltra, University of California at Irvine. Spanish Achievement I, II, and III, Microcomputer Workshops (225 Westchester Avenue, Port Chester, NY 10573), $49.95 per disk, $135.00 per set, 752-53. Apple; IBM PC. Reviewed by Bernadine Banning, Radford. Spanish Read-Master, R G Computer Workshops (62 Old Middleton Road, New York, NY 10956), 1984, $79.95, 753-54. Apple. Reviewed by Armando Baltra, University of California at Irvine. Foundation Course in Spanish, D. C. Heath Educational Software (125 Spring Street, Lexington, MA 02173), 6th Edition, 1985, $120, 754-55. Apple. Reviewed by Lorenzo A. Trujillo & Martha M. Quiat, Jefferson County Schools.
Volume 70, May 1987, Number 2. Una Visita a México, DCH Educational Software (125 Spring Street, Lexington, MA 02173), 1985. $120, 418-19. Apple. Reviewed by Marilyn Kiss, Staten Island Academy. Computer Drills for «Español a lo vivo», John Wiley & Sons, Inc. (605 Third Ave., New York, NY 10158), 1986, free to those who adopt the text. 419-21. Apple. Reviewed by Joseph A. Feustle, Jr., University of Toledo.
Volume 70, September 1987, Number 3. Spanish Word Games, EMC Publishing (300 York Avenue, St. Paul, MN 55101), 1987, ISBN 0-8219-0291-1, $39.95, 708. Apple. Reviewed by Marilyn Kiss, Staten Island Academy. Juegos Comunicativos, Random House College Software (201 East 50th Street, New York, NY 10022), 708-10, free to those using Random House texts. Apple. Reviewed by Joseph A. Feustle, Jr., University of Toledo.
Volume 70, December 1987, Number 4. CALIS, Duke University CALL Project (104 Languages Building, Duke University, Durham, NC 27706), 1986, version 1.91, free to those signing site license. 973-74. IBM PC. Reviewed by John C. Haggstrom, U.S. Military Academy. —211→PROMPT, Gessler Educational Software (900 Broadway, New York, NY 10003), 1986, $125. 974. IBM PC. Reviewed by Howard Cohen, James Madison University.
Volume 71, March 1988, Number 1. ¿Habla español? CALIS, Holt, Rinehart and Winston (383 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10017), ISBN 0-03-11489-6, $24 (includes site license). 206-07. IBM PC. Reviewed by Estelle Irizarry, Georgetown University. Cara a cara, Heinle & Heinle Publishers, Inc. (20 Park Plaza, Boston, MA 02116), $150 ($65 for backups). 207-08. Apple. Reviewed by Armando Baltra, California State University. QUEST, Allen Communication (5225 Wiley Post Way, Salt Lake City, UT 84116), 1986, version 2.3, cost varies by features; about $2,000. 207-08. IBM. Reviewed by Dan M. Church, Vanderbilt University.
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Quotation marks would have been better. While comments designed to guide students to the correct response were more than adequate, some explanations for right answers seemed superfluous and unduly slowed the pace. The few errors I found, such as 