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Study abroad (SA) provides a space and place for second language (L2) learners to be challenged in terms of their target language skills and intercultural awareness. In order to appropriately equip learners, a task-based approach seems ideal to identify learners' specific needs (Long 2015). The present study reports a multiphase needs analysis carried out to design a university Spanish course, geared toward students preparing to study abroad in the following semester. In phase 1, qualitative interviews were conducted by contacting resident directors and students who had returned from their study abroad programs. These interviews generated a list of 37 tasks. In phase 2, 40 students, who had completed their study abroad semester, rated the frequency and difficulty of each task on a 37-item Likert-type questionnaire. Finally, in phase 3, researchers analyzed and categorized target tasks identified in the needs assessment into five major target task types. Altogether, results suggest that learner needs in this particular institution center predominantly around tasks that involve the use of colloquial and academic speech in environments in which students need to adapt to unfamiliar situations. These reports then informed course objectives and classroom tasks.

Purpose: Health-related quality of life (HRQOL) improves throughout treatment of patients with nonmetastatic osteosarcoma. We compared HRQOL for patients in the United States and Chile treated on an international trial (OS99) with polychemotherapy and surgery, and we assessed the relationships among HRQOL measures, event-free survival (EFS), and overall survival (OS). Materials and Methods: Patients with newly diagnosed, localized osteosarcoma and their parents completed three HRQOL instruments (PedsQL v.4, PedsQL Cancer v.3, and Symptom Distress Scale [SDS]). Data were collected at four time points throughout therapy. Repeated measures models were used to investigate the effect of treatment site on instrument scores. The log-rank test examined the impact of treatment site on survival outcomes, and Cox proportional hazards regression models evaluated baseline HRQOL measures as predictors of EFS and OS. Results: Of 71 eligible patients, 66 (93%) participated in the HRQOL studies in the United States (n = 44) and Chile (n = 22). The median age was 13.4 years (range, 5 to 23 years). Clinical characteristics were similar between treatment sites. US patients reported better scores for physical (P =.030), emotional (P =.027), and school functioning (P <.001). Chilean patients reported poorer scores for worry (P <.001) and nausea (P =.007). Patient and parent nausea scores were similar between patients treated in the United States and Chile by the end of therapy. Differences in symptom distress were not observed between the countries. Neither HRQOL measures nor treatment site were associated with EFS or OS. Conclusion: Although significant differences in HRQOL were observed between countries, outcomes were similar, and HRQOL measures were not associated with prognosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]