For best results, you need to install Spanish keyboard
support from the Control Panel first:

Control Panel > Regional and Language Options > Languages >
Details > Apply

Pick the input language and keyboard layout you want.
OK/Apply your way out. A reboot at this point helps. Now
when someone toggles the Spanish keyboard on (usually left
alt + left shift), Word should recognize that the language
being typed is Spanish. If you want Spanish spelling and
grammar support however, it must be supplied on the Office
XP CD. English versions of Office XP usually come with
French and Spanish support as well but you have to actually
install it.

Craig,

If the Spanish teachers are in the USA and IF they are using
computers with US keyboards, then I would recommend that they switch
the keyboard layout to use the US International layout.  It's
included in Windows and it's free.

Alternatively, if the teachers are sharing computers with other
English-only users, and they only need Spanish characters in Word,
then they can obtain those in Word itself.

Craig, this option might be the simplest for your Spanish teachers.
 This option is described very poorly in the Word Help but it's in
there.  In Word 2000, the help topic is "Insert an international
character by using a shortcut key".

There's more detail and discussion of alternatives in the following
article that I wrote for my local translation association
(www.hitagroup.org)

Steven

===============

Windows was developed in a country whose primary language is
deficient in orthographic marks [1]. As a result, the keyboards that
most of us own don't include those other characters, so we must use
workarounds. Each of these methods works, but has disadvantages.

1. Alt-xxxx, where x = keys on the numeric keypad at the right of
the keyboard. Slow, key codes must be memorized, hard to use on
notebook computers.

2. For Microsoft Word only: sequences such as Ctrl-' followed by a
to get á. Doesn't work in other applications such as email, Excel,
or web pages.

3. Switch to a keyboard layout intended for another language,
keeping the standard physical US keyboard. Many keys don't produce
the characters that are printed on the key tops, such as _+\{}=.
Very confusing if other people share the same computer.

4. Replace the physical keyboard. Not free. As in 3, many
non-alphanumeric characters are different, which can be frustrating
for touch typists. More difficult to find keyboards with extra
functions such as programmable keys, scroll wheels, wireless,
ergonomic models, etc.

The best solution? Mine is the "US International Keyboard" layout
included in Windows. It is free, simple to learn, doesn't require a
new physical keyboard, and each non-alphanumerical key still
produces the character printed on it. Microsoft does a very poor job
of telling us about it. And it can be inconvenient in a few cases.

After it's installed, here's how you use it:

FIRST, these keys become "dead" keys or prefix keys: ' " ` ~ ^ :

When you type them, nothing happens, until you press the next key.
If the next character takes an accent, the two keystrokes are
combined to produce the new character.

Example: press ' (single quote mark), followed by letter 'a'
Result:  á

If the prefix key is followed by another character that doesn't take
an accent, Windows types both characters.

Example: press ` (grave accent mark) followed by p
Result:  `p (two characters)

An example of the minor inconvenience: If you simply type the
letters in this French phrase, l'alliance, you will instead get
lálliance. To get characters that are "dead keys", you must press
two keys. The simplest solution is to learn to type a space after
any prefix key when you need that character.

SECOND: The Alt-key on the right side of the space changes function.
When you hold down this key and press other keys, it produces
special characters. Some of them are duplicates of the characters
you can get with prefix keys, but most are unique:

Right-Alt-a = á
Right-Alt-n = ñ
Right-Alt-s = ß
Right-Alt-, = ç
Right-Alt-Shift-; = ° (degree symbol)
Right-Alt-/ = ¿

Here are some web pages with more information:

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;306560&sd=tech

This site shows what the keyboard acts like (all Windows versions):

http://www.microsoft.com/globaldev/reference/keyboards.aspx

[1] I didn't make up this remark but I wish I did.

Steven Marzuola
unspam@hal-pc.orgwax.invalid