Pdf Spanish Textbook
Giuseppina Worster
When I first started Spanish teaching in 2016 I found myself completely clueless. I was not a formerly trained teacher (yet) nor had I been trained in any way how to teach Spanish. But I did lots of research and I thought about my personal experience & journey learning Spanish.
In 2017, my second year teaching, my team of Spanish teachers changed a lot. Half of the team was new to the school. One person new to high school teaching, and the other a first year teacher. These new folks began to talk about things I had seen in my research. Things like TPR (Total Physical Response), TPRS (Teaching Proficiency through Reading and Storytelling), and CI (Comprehensible Input). My mind was blown. I needed to learn more!
This solution totally changed our approach to teaching Spanish comprehensibly with a textbook. We saw that it could done and it could be done while STILL meeting the textbook requirements. To take a look at some of those stories, you can click here.
*aside: while these stories were written to be comprehensible, they were also written to be used with Realidades and teach/illustrate the grammar concepts in each chapter alongside high use of the vocabulary. These were NOT your traditional TPR or TPRS comprehensible stories with super high amounts of repetitive input.*
Libro Libre would be ideal for the first two semesters of Spanish. This is a truly comprehensive text in terms of grammatical structures, inclusive language, and variety of activities. There are listening and video exercises, games, spaces to...read more
Libro Libre would be ideal for the first two semesters of Spanish. This is a truly comprehensive text in terms of grammatical structures, inclusive language, and variety of activities. There are listening and video exercises, games, spaces to jot down additional vocabulary, and goal-setting pages. There is a cultural reading at the beginning of each chapter and some cultural information (such as regional differences in vocabulary), but additional cultural information such as grammar and vocabulary in a cultural context (videos, for example) would make the OER text more comprehensive.
Libro Libre contains accurate and concise explanations of grammar. I appreciated the mention of things to look out for/errors to avoid and pneumonic devices or other strategies to help students understand the usage of structures in Spanish.
The text is relevant in its content. I appreciated the inclusion of an explanation of transgender and non-binary pronouns in particular. There is also vocabulary that would be useful not only to students but also to a younger generation.
The book is divided into ten chapters and each has separate sections on culture, grammar, vocabulary, etc. They are easy to access in the PDF by page number, although hyperlinks from the table of contents to each sections would be an excellent addition.
The links to audio and video segments work well, and the video clips are an excellent addition for students to hear Spanish spoken with different accents. I really like the check-your-answer activities via QR code as well.
The cultural readings and references are all appropriate, and special attention is given to cultural similarities and differences in the vocabulary sections. None of the comments are offensive and all provide clarification.
Overall, I am very impressed with Libro libre. While it is a very grammar-heavy text, it can be supplemented with additional cultural information and a more task-based approach to provide an amazing free resource for introductory level students.
The book covers the main content of an introductory Spanish course: present and past tenses, basic vocabulary about school/family/food/work/travel, noun and pronoun use, and a quick (last chapter) overview of commands, subjunctive, future, and...read more
The book covers the main content of an introductory Spanish course: present and past tenses, basic vocabulary about school/family/food/work/travel, noun and pronoun use, and a quick (last chapter) overview of commands, subjunctive, future, and conditional.
The book is quite accurate; there are a few spelling/typo/grammar errors, but no more than are found in other texts. The presentation of gustar as part of another two-verb construction is confusing for students because it is not a two-verb construction--the infinitive is acting as a noun in this structure.
The book is relevant and up-to-date. The things that will probably need to be changed over time those things that change with social changes to language use, and the book has addressed gender-neutral language.
This is a generally clear book, with a few things that are less-clear. The aforementioned inclusion of gustar as a two-verb construction and the discussion of masculine and feminine gender patterns (specifically the section that generalizes patterns that are limited to adjectives of nationality) are unclear. There are a few other areas that seem a little cluttered, but, again, no more so than in a $200 textbook.
The book is organized well. The only things that are a little difficult are the disparity between chapters in terms of the amount and scope of vocabulary and the last chapter, which crams in a LOT of grammar. Even though I see this chapter as a preview of things to come, it's intimidating for students.
The book does contain a few grammatical and spelling issues, but probably nothing that is too distracting for most users. There are a few corrections that should be made, but as I've said in other sections, no more than in other textbooks.
This is really a solid book. I have used it, and I intend to continue to use it. The author obviously put in a lot of work to make a good, useable introductory Spanish text without gouging students, and I am very grateful. None of my minor criticisms would not also be applicable to any of the printed texts I've used over the years from major publishers who constantly find new ways to charge students more without adding value to the basic text.
The presentation of vocabulary, grammar, and culture is appropriate for the first two beginning-level courses. I especially like the inclusion of prompts through which students establish and evaluate learning goals. Not all cultural topics were...read more
The presentation of vocabulary, grammar, and culture is appropriate for the first two beginning-level courses. I especially like the inclusion of prompts through which students establish and evaluate learning goals. Not all cultural topics were included in the Table of Contents. Also missing are double object pronouns. There are links to video and audio files throughout as well as a variety of activities to practice them. I would like to see more opportunities for interactive practice through the integration of online activities (perhaps using tools such as H5P for an online workbook), but the book itself is a good resource for instructors teaching in a traditional classroom and a starting point for instructors, who may wish to create more tailored online materials for their own students.
I enjoyed the photos and the general layout. The hyperlinks to the multimedia required users to disable pop-ups. The page design is not overcrowded, and the font is clear. The text is easy for students to access and to download. The Table of Contents and index are clear, but I would like to see more hyperlinked texts to facilitate navigation.
A variety of cultural topics from a wide-range of Spanish-speaking regions are addressed. However, I would like to see more attention to Spanish in the United States. I appreciate the inclusion of a thoughtful discussion of gender.
Brava! Thank you for creating this comprehensive textbook for beginning students of Spanish! It is an excellent addition to the OER library and will be appreciated by instructors and students alike as an attractive and free alternative to expensive textbooks.
I found this book to be a bit overwhelming and too inclusive for a first year, beginning Spanish course. Chapters 1-9 cover, for the most part, what a typical first year Spanish course would cover. Chapter 10, however, is jammed packed with...read more
I found this book to be a bit overwhelming and too inclusive for a first year, beginning Spanish course. Chapters 1-9 cover, for the most part, what a typical first year Spanish course would cover. Chapter 10, however, is jammed packed with advanced verb tenses (imperative, subjunctive, future, etc) and tries to summarize an entire second year course in one chapter. The chapter contents are clearly listed in the Table of Contents at the beginning of the book, although it would be nice if links were included to take someone directly to a specific section in the book. A vocabulary list with English definitions is presented in alphabetical order at the end of each chapter, but not at the beginning. Rather, at the beginning of the chapter, the vocabulary is presented in a fill-in-the-blanks format instead of in meaningful context. The vocabulary index at the end of each chapter is not beginning-student friendly. Instead, the vocabulary should be presented in thematic groups, not alphabetical order.
I found the cultural readings to be random, incomprehensible for beginners, and irrelevant to chapter content. In addition, there are many examples of practice exercises that require students to know concepts not yet introduced or learned. The pre-chapter activities, for instance, ask students to do activities without any background information and little knowledge of the concepts. Concept introductions are sometimes too concise. They provide very minimal information and explanations and jump into activities without much support. Most content, though, is understandable and provide a lot of good practice activities.
The format of this book is fairly consistent. Each chapter begins and ends with a goal-setting exercise, learning outcomes, I can statements, and pre-chapter activities. Concept presentation, practice exercises, and vocabulary lists are consistent in format. Images and graphics are consistent for the most part, although some images are used for language support while others are used for decorative purposes only.