Libro Libre: An Introduction to Spanish I

Reviewed by slav gratchev, Professor, Marshall University on 11/3/23

Comprehensiveness rating: 3 see less

Although the book talks about basics, it does not follow the established order while introducing concepts or topics. For instance, it talks about family in chapter 4 which is strange: students usually want to know all family ties and relations early. This is what raises my questions about comprehensiveness - the order of introduction of topics.

Content Accuracy rating: 4

In terms of accuracy, I did not notice anything significant. No mistakes, all accents are in place.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 2

This is where my concerns are quite serious. I did not find the book relevant to the Introduction of Spanish I course as in its very beginning the book introduces the concept of "hispano" and "latino" in Spanish. At this point students does not even know how to read, so what is the point to do that? Yes, the translation follows but again: what is the point in it? What did students learn after all? In the following activities students are supposed to fill in the blanks in the text written entirely in Spanish. It is not only irrelevant but also illogical.

Clarity rating: 2

I had a trouble following the logic of topics that appear in the book and the way how these topics are supported. In fact, they are supported by a minimum number of exercises. They are definitely not sufficient to reinforce the concept that has been introduced. Also, there are way too many references to the on-line supporting material while I, as an instructor, would like to have everything in front of me, embedded into the book itself. In my classes, for instance, I do not allow phone, tablets or computers, so it makes it impossible for students to work with those on-line materials in my class.

Consistency rating: 2

As I have already mentioned, I do not find logic in the introduction of concepts or topics. Therefore, the lack of logic hurts the concept of consistency of the textbook.

Modularity rating: 2

The book is divided into too many sections and subsections that made me absolutely confused while I was trying to navigate myself through the text.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 2

Because the topic presented in not sufficiently supported by a significant number of exercises, I cannot say that the book is organized properly. I had a feeling that I am jumping from one topic to another without being able to mull it over well before moving myself, and my students, to another one.

Interface rating: 4

Regarding this, I have no comments although it would be very helpful to develop a more attractive cover for the book.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

No grammatical errors have been detected.

Cultural Relevance rating: 2

Spanish culture is very rich and there so many things to talk about. I would like to see a more conservative approach to this. The eternal values of Spain should be introduced first, values that Spain has been and will always be proud of: Cervantes, Don Quixote, Prado gallery, Madrid as a capital and Barcelona as the main cultural attraction. Talking about history is important as well: Spanish Civil war, for example. In connection to this, the Spanish cinematography can be discussed, as well as Spanish music. It makes sense to talk about the guitar, the instrument invented in Spain, and flamenco dance, and corrida, and much more. I did not find anything in the book.

I would not use this book myself for my classes. Therefore, I am not able to recommend it to other instructors.

Reviewed by Angela Pacheco, Assistant Professor of Spanish, Taylor University on 3/30/23

Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less

This book is intended for students with little or no knowledge of Spanish who want to begin their path of learning the language. The textbook contains an Index organized into four chapters, each focusing on a specific aspect of Spanish culture, grammar, pronunciation, and vocabulary, followed by a reflection on the learning outcomes at the end of each chapter. The chapters are further divided into lessons that include explanations, examples, and practice exercises. The exercises range from simple fill-in-the-blank questions to sentence construction exercises, readings, and speaking activities appropriate for the level. The book received multiple additions from the original source which made it more complex but accurate for the level. The textbook has a good focus on practical usage of grammar. The authors provide numerous examples of how grammar is used in real-life situations, such as with family and friends.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

The grammatical and vocabulary content was accurate and correct. The examples and activities for practice were appropriate for the level. The practical focus and numerous exercises make it an effective tool for both self-study and classroom use.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

The textbook contains a lot of current videos and texts showing cultural issues common of the Hispanic world. The organization of the content made it easy to follow. In addition, because it is for language learning, the content was continuous and evocative of previous lessons/ideas.

Clarity rating: 5

When something is culturally different, the authors did a good job at explaining concepts and manners proper of the Hispanic world. The sentences are clear and precise and the language always felt professional, but not extra formal. I liked the user-friendliness of the content.

Consistency rating: 5

The textbook keeps a good structure of the objectives and the terminology associated with it. Each chapter held a clear path for learning the vocabulary and the context in which it is used.

Modularity rating: 5

I enjoyed the multiple ways of learning through explanations, readings, images, and self-quizzes. There were different modules for each topic and it had multiple categories for evaluation. All of it aligned nicely with the objectives too. I liked the practicality of the reflections at the end because it forces the students to study the chapter and its structure and evaluate themselves in that learning path.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

The books flows well. I thought the variety of activities made it increasingly challenging as you move from one page to the other, but without over-saturating the students minds. It is a smooth and continuous growth. The authors use different sentences length, titles, and subtitles to make the content logical.

Interface rating: 5

The textbook is available in different formats to allow for easy access; among them in PDF, Online, EBook, XML, and MS Word. I found the Online version much easier to follow. It was easier to complete some of the activities by dragging the answers and even checking if those answers were correct immediately after completion. The left tab also made it easy to navigate between chapters without having to scroll up and down like in other versions. Additionally, the surface felt cleaner and more user-friendly. The textbook does have a lot of adaptations of activities from other open source books online. While this does take a bit of originality away from the book, it also makes the newest version more complete.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

Overall, “Libro Libre: An Introduction to Spanish I,” is a great resource for beginning Spanish learners. It is clear and free from grammatical errors in both English and Spanish.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

The textbook shows attention to diversity, although I would have liked to see more variety in that representation. For instance, more images of people having an indigenous background or from a different socioeconomic status; as this is very common in the Hispanic world. The book does not have offensive content.

I recommend the book for AP students, college students, self-learning, and online classes.