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This essay offers a response to the challenge of preparing student interns to successfully utilize Spanish professional terminology in legal and medical settings. The authors developed a personal adaptive learning (PAL) course to address vocabulary language deficits experienced by Spanish internship students. PAL technologies provide students of Language for Specific Purposes (LSP) the opportunity to engage in vocabulary learning through personalized feedback and alternative learning content. Implementing Cavanagh et al.’s (2020) Framework for Adapting Learning Design, the authors designed Spanish language modules for legal and medical terminology using Realizeit, a PAL platform that allows instructors to create their own content and assessment items. PAL modules for both legal and medical terminology were added to the Canvas learning management system of the Spanish Internship course and students could select the Realizeit module that fit their internship placement (legal or medical). PAL holds enormous potential to help LSP learners build mastery of industry-specific terminology that will be attractive to potential employers.

This quasi-experimental study examined the impact of interactions with native French language Facebook posts on beginning French language learners’ attitudes towards the target language and culture. Participants in this study were recruited from two sections of FRE 1120, Elementary French Language and Civilization I at the University of Central Florida. Native French language Facebook posts were ‘pushed’ to participants’ personal Facebook News Feeds over the course of four weeks, with posts pushed on weekdays only. Dörnyei and Clément’s (2001) Language Orientation Questionnaire was used to measure participants’ attitudes towards the target language and culture. Data were analysed using a split-plot ANOVA. A total of twenty-six participants completed the study, with fourteen participants in the control group and twelve participants in the treatment group. Both sections of FRE 1120 were conducted in a face-to-face modality and were taught by the same instructor. Results indicated that participants’ attitudes towards the target language and culture were not significantly impacted by interaction with native French language Facebook posts. Opportunities for future research include increasing the size of the sample, increasing the length of the study, and selecting participants who are more advanced in their mastery of the target language.