Bilingual Spanish speech and language materials are needed for the growing population of bilingual students in American schools that speak Spanish as their native language. Many dialects of Spanish speech are used in the United States. Some Spanish speakers, for example, use the word "carro" rather than "coche" for car. Spanish, as it is used in Spain, is quite different from Spanish as it is used in Mexico. There are also dialectical differences in how Spanish speech sounds are used.

Spanish speech and language materials for Spanish-speaking students often need to be modifed because of these dialect differences. It is recommended that speakers of the local dialect review instructional materials and make adaptations to ensure that the vocabulary is appropriate.

Academic Communication Associates often includes alternate word choices in their publications. Efforts are also made to design materials using vocabulary that is common to most dialects.

Picture Master Language Software, a new program, published by Academic Communication Associates, can be used to design customized bilingual learning materials. The program is often used to create communication boards and other visual displays. It can also be used to create language activities that can be presented on the screen. The program includes real speech rather than synthesized speech in English, Spanish, French, and other languages. Users can modify the Spanish speech when the vocabulary is not appropriate for the local dialect.

Additional information about Spanish speech and language materials developed by Academic Communication Associates can be found in their printed catalog or on their website at www.acadcom.com.  Although Academic Communication Associates has focused on English and Spanish, materials are also being created in other languages. Books  published by Academic Communication Associates are used throughout the world. Their textbooks have been used to train speech-language pathologists as far away as Taiwan.

Academic Communication Associates is currently seeking speech-language pathologists and special education specialists to develop bilingual materials in a variety of languages. If interested, write to: Academic Communication Associates P.O. Box 4279 Oceanside, CA 92052-4279

web: www.acadcom.com