Salón de Clase: Intermediate Spanish for Education Professionals

Reviewed by Ida Day, Associate Professor of Spanish, Marshall University on 4/2/23

Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less

The textbook offers a comprehensive practice (reading, listening, speaking, and writing) for students who chose to pursue a career in education. It is divided into 4 modules:
1. immigrant students in K-12
2. bilingual education in the US
3. education in Spanish-speaking countries
4. education ecosystem

Content Accuracy rating: 5

The textbook is up-to-date and I have not found any mistakes or errors.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

The textbook is culturally relevant as it represents diverse voices from the Spanish-speaking world. It exposes learners to different accents, vocabulary, and cultural practices. It also provide relevant interactive activities (online).

Clarity rating: 5

The textbook is well-organized, and when it is time to update the material it could be easily done. At the end of each chapter, there is a vocabulary list and a concise grammar review (for the most important grammatical areas, such as the use of the preterite and the imperfect tenses).

Consistency rating: 5

Each module contains materials and activities that are presented in a specific order (introduction, project, our stars, lessons, guided discussion, vocabulary and grammar overview). The framework is clear and consistent.

Modularity rating: 5

The modules are divided into smaller sections (3 main lessons in each module). At the beginning of each module, there is an introduction to the content. The activities and topics focus on developing communicative skills, and could be easily reorganized. At the end of each module, there is a vocabulary and grammar review (depending on the class, this section could be skipped or assigned as an individual practice at home).

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

The organization is excellent. The textbook is culturally relevant, the material is well-presented, and the activities offer a wide range of practice, addressing both the area of education as well as the linguistic competence and cultural awareness.

Interface rating: 5

The text is clear, easily accessible, and I have not had any issues with navigation. I printed a pdf copy and it looks as good as the online version.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

The textbook is written in Spanish. The grammar is not explicitly presented in the modules but it is well integrated into the activities, helping students to develop a linguistic competence through practice of grammatical structures as well as the exposure to native speakers.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

The textbook addresses different cultural and historical aspects of the Spanish-speaking populations in the US, Spain, and Latin America. It presents points of view of various groups. The maps and charts included help students to comprehend the cultural diversity of the Spanish-speaking world.

Comments

Salon de Clase is an excellent textbook for education professionals. It provides material necessary to understand the role of the Spanish language and Spanish speakers in the American educational system. The book is culturally relevant and it could be a great source for the future bilingual educators.

Reviewed by Evelyn Nadeau, Professor of Spanish, Clarke University, Clarke University on 12/31/22

Comprehensiveness rating: 4 see less

This text addresses the subject well for the most part, but those looking for content related specifically to education may not find the first module satisfactory since the focus is on immigration, DREAMers, DACU, and the like. These relate to education, and I would argue that they are important for future educators to understand, but they may be covered in other content courses. There is a thorough table of contents at the beginning of the text, and each module has its own list of vocabulary, but there is no index or glossary for the whole text.

Content Accuracy rating: 4

The content is accurate for the most part, but in 1A there appears to be a bit of bias in the exercise that is in the form of a letter from a Cuban immigrant. Since it would require going into this complex topic with more depth, I would suggest leaving out the description of the Revolution as communist and the reason for leaving as being due to having liberal ideas. There are some language errors that do not impede communication, such as "Cchosystem" in the table of contents, "Mújica" in Module 3, "Explore de use..." and "...algunos estudiantes que tiene diferentes..." in Module 4.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

The content is relevant and up-to-date, and when information is not current, it is indicated. Some aspects of the content, especially those related to immigration, will of necessity have to be updated on a regular basis, and it would not be difficult to do so.

Clarity rating: 5

Instructions and explanations are clear and are in the target language to the appropriate degree in a text designed for this level.

Consistency rating: 5

The modules are set up in a consistent format that follows logically.

Modularity rating: 5

Each module has many components that are clearly marked and can be used in any order, as can the modules themselves.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

The topics are presented logically for the most part.

Interface rating: 4

The interface is clear and easy to use for the most part, although it might be helpful to have navigation instructions for the student at the beginning. One issue that needs addressing is differentiating between the online exercises and those that must be written out separately. This could be done easily by using different icons to indicate which type of exercise is being presented. If the completed online exercises could be sent to the instructor's e-mail address, that would be very useful.

Grammatical Errors rating: 4

Very few--see the note under "Accuracy."

Cultural Relevance rating: 4

There has clearly been an attempt to include examples and speakers from throughout the Spanish-speaking world, but I do feel that there could be more racial diversity, as well as communication from the Spanish-speaking Caribbean.

Comments

I think that this is an excellent text that just needs a bit of tweaking, and I plan to use it when the occasion arises.

Reviewed by María Luisa Ruiz, Associate Professor, St. Mary's College of California on 3/15/22

Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less

This intermediate-level textbook includes 4 modules, each related to a specific element related to the field of education. Each module includes a vocabulary list and grammar explanations to help language learners engage with a specific module content. The grammar explanations are designed to support effective communication specific to the modules and are presented in a clear, simple format of short interactive videos. All the modules are organized in the same way; they are scaffolded activities that include discussion, grammar practice, listening comprehension. What is unique to this textbook is that the modules, for example, “Bilingual Education in the United States”, are all related to the lived experiences of families and students that teachers may encounter in their classrooms.
Depending on the level of student learners in the class, an instructor who uses this book may need to provide more grammar review and more active practice of vocabulary in order to prepare students for the longer projects that involve written work.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

As this is a textbook intended for use in a second language classroom, the book is error-free and accurate.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 4

Module 1 includes information on DACA recipients and laws related to immigration status generally and DACA status specifically. As noted by the book authors, this information is current as of 2018 and instructors who use this textbook will need to provide updated information.

Clarity rating: 5

As this is a textbook intended for use in a second language classroom, the book is clear and well-written. Video examples are also clear and easy to listen to.

Consistency rating: 4

The book includes a list of relevant vocabulary and grammar explanations for each module. It would be helpful if some of the readings were glossed and defined in the text to make the readings a bit easier for the student.

Modularity rating: 5

The modules are organized effectively and give an instructor a lot of flexibility in terms of presenting the material and adding supplemental materials. Each module is organized the same way and the table of contents are hyperlinked so that a student can easily click on a link to access the activity and avoid scrolling.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

All the modules are organized in the same way; they are scaffolded activities that include discussion, grammar practice, listening comprehension. What is unique to this textbook is that the modules, for example, “Bilingual Education in the United States”, are all related to the lived experiences of families and students that teachers may encounter in their classrooms. Each module includes videos and other interactive activities.

Interface rating: 4

Students use the scrolling option to move from one section of a module to another. There are some activities that are interactive (for example, fill-ins that are automatically graded) while others are meant to be written down. It would be helpful if the instructions indicated this. Instructors teaching hybrid classes can have students complete these assignments on a Google document or other interactive format for increased engagement. The media is compatible with Chrome and Firefox. I used Chrome and did face a few technical issues, but nothing major.

Grammatical Errors rating: 4

The text includes extensive lists of vocabulary; glossing the vocabulary throughout the modules would be helpful, especially for the intermediate level of language ability assumed of the students.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

The module topics and the videos feature different speakers of Spanish from different communities. The participants are called “Nuestras Estrellas” (Our Stars), and are excellent examples of developing empathy and inclusivity for teachers. One example of inclusive content is the final project in module 4. Students are asked to plan a school fair. Students engage with questions and issues related to providing support for parents as they navigate the education system.