Let's Chat! Spanish

Reviewed by Victoria Kern, Instructional Design Specialist/Adjunct Spanish Professor, Trine University on 11/8/24

Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less

The text offers a comprehensive overview of Spanish language instruction, covering levels 1-4 and addressing both face-to-face and online learning environments. The inclusion of a detailed table of contents and a thematic table of contents facilitates easy navigation and topic identification. The text provides a rich collection of over 100 interpersonal speaking activities, along with clear guidelines on their implementation, ensuring a thorough and practical resource for Spanish language teachers.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

The content is accurate providing proficiency level specific interpersonal speaking activities, designed for Spanish levels 1-4, and a Spanish 1 for 6-8 grade also included. No significant errors are present.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

This book offers highly relevant and up-to-date content, effectively leveraging collaborative technology like Google Slides, engaging videos, H5P content and design platforms like Canva to deliver dynamic course material. The authors have astutely identified a common speaking proficiency deficit among Spanish language learners and have developed practical, ready-to-use interpersonal speaking activities that require minimal preparation for Spanish teachers to address this issue.

Clarity rating: 5

The text is written in clear and accessible language. Each activity is written as well-developed lesson plan, tailored perfectly for Spanish teachers without difficult to understand terminology or unnecessary context.

Consistency rating: 5

The book maintains consistent terminology and framework throughout, enhancing readability and comprehension. This consistency aids in the smooth flow of information and avoids potential confusion for the reader.

Modularity rating: 5

The text is highly modular, with clear divisions into specific language levels and instructional formats (face-to-face and online). This organization allows for easy selection and adaptation of activities to fit various course structures and student needs. The activities are self-contained, with minimal reliance on cross-referencing, making them easily adaptable for different sequencing or standalone use.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

The book is well-organized, with a clear and consistent structure across Spanish levels 1-4 and including approximately 15 activities for both face-to face and online formats. Each lesson follows a logical sequence: an ACTFL Can-Do Statement, a warm-up activity, a main activity, and a review of the Can-Do Statement. This consistent structure makes it easy for instructors to navigate the text and implement the activities in their courses.

Interface rating: 5

The book is well-designed and easy to navigate. Hyperlinks are functional and lead to relevant resources. Embedded media, such as Google Slides, Canva activities, and YouTube videos, are properly formatted and display correctly. The overall interface is clean and free of distractions, enhancing the reader's experience.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

Text is does not contain any significant grammatical errors. Some of the Spanish sentences could be said more concisely, but they are not grammatically incorrect.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

The book demonstrates cultural sensitivity by incorporating diverse examples and activities. A Cultural Notes section at the end of each lesson that can be resources to help the instructors learn more about the topic, can be shared with students or used as additional activities. The text avoids stereotypes and promotes cross-cultural understanding.

Comments

This exceptional, free textbook provides Spanish teachers with over 100 engaging, interpersonal speaking activities for levels 1-4 (including a dedicated Spanish 1 for middle school students) to enhance their instruction. The well-designed lessons incorporate innovative and up-to-date materials, making them easy to implement in the classroom.

By supplementing their curriculum with these activities, teachers can foster a more communicative and interactive learning environment, empowering students to develop their language skills.

Reviewed by Alejandra Rodriguez, Associate Professor of Spanish, Hanover College on 8/21/24

Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less

The book covers a great number of topics to develop communicative skills in the Spanish classroom. The index is extremely clear, and the book does a great job of explaining how it should be used in the classroom.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

The content is accurate as it efficiently addresses the practice of communicative skills in Spanish at different levels.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

Content is up to date, and it won’t become obsolete anytime soon, as the vast majority of the topics of conversation are timeless.

Clarity rating: 5

The book is extremely clear and provides thorough explanations on how to use the activities.

Consistency rating: 5

The book is extremely consistent in format and quality.

Modularity rating: 5

The book encompasses four levels of Spanish language, and each level is divided into face-to-face activities and online instruction. Each level and modality includes a multitude of activities on different topics, giving the instructor great freedom in preparing their classes. It also includes a Spanish Level 1 Section for Grades 6-8 with face-to-face activities.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

The organization is exceptional, especially considering that the book provides numerous supplementary materials, such as slides, cards, or Kahoot games, which are not only easy to access but also modifiable by the instructor according to their needs. This makes the book extremely helpful and comprehensive.

Interface rating: 5

The interface is very professional, sleek, and easy to navigate. This book is published with Pressbooks.

Grammatical Errors rating: 4

This is the only weak point of the book, as some activities lack proficiency in Spanish, with issues like lack of agreement, missing accent marks, or problems with relative clauses. However, any user can send feedback to the authors, so this is a minor problem that will be resolved with its use.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

The book is culturally sensitive and not offensive in any way. It includes all types of examples and is neutral in all its expressions.

Comments

This book compiles classroom activities, similar to those that language professors have traditionally created independently. However, thanks to the latest technologies, it offers a comprehensive compilation where activities are carefully crafted using various tools that make the class more enjoyable and efficient. These activities are designed to last around 30 minutes and are customizable depending on the instructor's needs. Each section of the lesson plan ensures that the activity is well-rounded, integrating vocabulary, cultural perspectives, and communication standards, all aimed at achieving specific language learning objectives.

Each activity is introduced with an OER Commons link, a description of the activity, the semantic topics, and the products, practices, and perspectives that can be derived from the lesson. The content is aligned with the NCSSFL and ACTFL standards, as well as the Idaho State Content Standards, relevant to the publishing Boise University.

In practice, the activity is divided into phases: a warm-up, where the instructor presents a slideshow provided by the textbook, aligned with the NCSSFL and ACTFL Can-Do statements, prompting students to start communicating and engaging with the topic. This is followed by the main activity, with materials provided but modifiable by the instructor. Activities are designed to maximize communication. Finally, the wrap-up invites students to answer questions and reflect on what they have learned. The activity concludes with a repetition of the Can-Do statements, allowing students to recognize their progress.

Moreover, the book offers a variety of materials and links with cultural additions to the activity. Overall, this is a great book that follows the Pathways Project, an initiative by the Boise State Department of World Languages. The Pathways Project is an open and collaborative network of K-16 language staff, teachers, and students who retain, reuse, revise, remix, and redistribute instructional language teaching materials and professional development. A wonderful initiative and an excellent resource.