Trayectos 1: Mi vida en la universidad 1

Reviewed by Jose E. Hernandez, Professor, University of Texas Rio Grande Valley on 3/4/24

Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less

The textbook is appropriate for any course of Spanish as a second language. This particular volume focuses on building vocabulary and grammatical structures around four topics: las presentaciones, la universidad, la familia, el hogar. This would be similar themes and topics found in other similar books. However, the most relevant contribution of the book is that the background story and characters are situated in the United States. This is a valuable contribution to second language instructors teaching the course in the United States, as the local communities become sources of knowledge. The book uses a communicative approach, something that may be appreciated in courses aiming to work on relevant student input and output. The author successfully incorporates relevant vocabulary, grammatical structures, and culture are in each unit. The incorporation of technology makes the book effective for the present-day language classroom.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

The textbook is accurate in presenting topics related to the American University experience from the point of view of a Latina student. In addition, it offers accurate lexical, grammatical, and cultural information. The cultural capsules (for example, formal vs. informal in Unit 1 or Latinx identity labels in Unit 2) in each unit are also precise and informative. The way that vocabulary and grammatical structures is introduced is similar to that found in other Spanish second language textbooks. In Trayectos, grammatical explanations are brief and to the point. There are also enough communicative and traditional exercises for students to practice.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

The textbook is relevant in different aspects. It focuses on relevant vocabulary and grammar for students in the beginning Spanish classroom. The topics chosen are relevant for students wanting to acquire beginning level competence in Spanish. The content is introduced in a way that it is interesting for a university level audience, as well as for the age group more commonly found in that stage of language learning. Introduction of grammatical points seems informed by common acquisition patterns among second language learners. The incorporation of technology in the course curriculum is also relevant as it gives students the opportunity to develop their technological skills. Finally, the emphasis on multimodality is of high relevance, as it gives students the opportunity for students to view information and Spanish represented in different modalities.

Clarity rating: 5

The textbook is clear in different levels. It is clear in introducing the methodological approaches proposed: learner centered, multimodal texts, communicative activities, and critical thinking and language awareness tasks. The explanations of the grammatical structures is concise and appropriate for the level of language learning involved. The cultural points are accurate and informative. The exercises and their instructions seem to be student friendly.

Consistency rating: 5

Textbook is consistent in its organization. New units and sub units (Hablemos de gramática: Los verbos en presente) are introduced with a communicative dialogue, followed by a reading comprehension section (Comprendiste), a grammar explanation, and a practice section (Manos a la obra). The chapters in the textbook have a clear cohesion as well as the lexical and grammatical topics in the chapters. The textbook is also consistent in its presentation of cultural relevant points throughout the text units.

Modularity rating: 5

Every unit can stand on its own, but they are further subdivided into smaller units
Each unit is divided into easily digestible/accessible sections. Each unit has (A) Manual de discusión y reflexión, and (B) Manual de practica. Each of these sections are further divided. Manual de discusión y reflexión: introductory exercises, an introductory reading to the unit's theme, discussion questions, videos (including pre/during/post viewing activities), a literary piece (including pre/during/post reading activities), and a concluding writing activity. Manual de practica: orthography, vocabulary, accentuation, grammar.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

The textbook is well organized. Units are divided by vocabulary and grammatical sub-sections. New units and sub units (Hablemos de gramática: Los verbos en presente) are introduced with a communicative dialogue, followed by a reading comprehension section (Comprendiste), a grammar explanation, and a practice section (Manos a la obra). The chapters in the textbook have a clear cohesion as well as the lexical and grammatical topics in the chapters. The textbook is also consistent in its presentation of cultural relevant points throughout the text units.

Interface rating: 5

There are no interface problems in the textbook. All external links and audio links worked. The textbook is easy to navigate. The students should have little problems, if at all, navigating the different units, as textbook is user-friendly.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

The vocabulary and the grammar in the textbook contain no errors. The grammar and vocabulary is also formal and academic, even though in different points of the textbook the author introduces more casual everyday vocabulary. The author has a good understanding of the intended addressee of this textbook, a hypothetic Spanish as a second language student.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

The cultural component of the textbook promotes the cultures of the Spanish-speaking world and of Latino origin communities in the United States. Vocabulary concepts are also introduced by using local/regional cultural references, for example Tejas en números, La Tejas hispana. The author also represents cultural diversity well, for example, African and East Asian Diasporas in Latin America.

Comments

Trayectos 1 is a great contribution to the Spanish as a second language beginning classroom. It represents an important OER resource for Spanish language instructors. The author has created a well thought textbook that can be easily adapted for most Spanish second language courses.

Reviewed by Carmel Carr, Instructor, Northeastern Illinois University on 5/14/23

Comprehensiveness rating: 4 see less

This text covers many of the vocabulary and grammar topics expected to be seen in a first semester beginning Spanish course. There are a few important omissions though including focus on forms and usage of the verb estar (to be), the verb ir (to go), contrasting usage of the verbs ser and estar, and stem-changing verbs. These are topics that would typically be covered in a first semester Spanish college course. There is a good amount of cultural material integrated into every module along with related videos, songs, and other pertinent realia with which students can engage and explore more about Spanish speaking communities.
The text does not include a Spanish/English glossary. Although the Table of Contents is thorough, the actual text topics for the student are not easily found or set apart in any way from sections on framework, organization of the text, etc. I believe students would benefit if these were highlighted or set apart in some way, as well as the inclusion of a glossary and appendices for grammatical terms, verb conjugation tables, etc. There is extensive pedagogical material/guidance for instructors as to how the text should best be approached.

Content Accuracy rating: 4

Overall, the grammatical and vocabulary content is accurate. I did notice a spelling or typographical error early on in a vocabulary section. There is a link for reviewers to suggest an edit to the book record.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

The content is certainly up-to-date and especially relevant for college students engaged in typical university life. There are cultural sections that focus specifically on student life and Hispanic communities in the state of Texas, but perhaps these could be adapted by instructors for students based on their location.

Clarity rating: 4

The text and explanations are clear, thorough and accessible, although they could at times be broken down into multiple points. They do anticipate many typical learner's questions.

Consistency rating: 5

The text is consistent from module to module as far as organization and framework.

Modularity rating: 4

Grammar explanations are thorough but there are some large blocks of text that could be broken down into smaller chunks or points so as to be more accessible to learners. Also, providing additional vocabulary and expressions in the form of lists or tables in lieu of chunks of text or paragraphs would be easier to process for learners.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 4

The text does flow well and follows a logical pattern throughout. Section headings could be more dynamic and pronounced.

Interface rating: 4

The text is available on PDF and hard copy. There are no apparent navigational issues. Photos/images and charts are clearly presented overall, though some graphics are difficult to read (see p.67/95 of PDF for example). There are numerous links provided within the PDF to related audio and video clips. These links are functioning, though from one link, students must continue to click on a number of additional links from page to page in order to access all related material. Some of the linked videos are not of the best quality as far as the audio.

Grammatical

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

No grammatical errors are apparent.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

This text is definitely inclusive as far as representation of the variety of racial and ethnic backgrounds of Spanish speakers. Examples of this can be seen throughout the text and in cultural sections. Regional linguistic differences are highlighted and learners are encouraged to explore these.

Comments

I would consider this text for in-person classes, but there would be a need for supplementary vocabulary and grammar exercises as well as in-class communicative activities.