Trayectos 2: Más sobre mí 2

Reviewed by Maryjane Dunn, Assistant Professor of Spanish, Southwest Minnesota State University on 9/21/24

Comprehensiveness rating: 4 see less

The textbook, created for a 2nd semester course, covers the standard major grammatical (verbal) areas: stem-changing present tense, reflexive usage of verbs, the preterit tense (although it does not contrast it with the imperfect), and, of course, the very unnecessary present progressive. Vocabulary seems to be over traditional subjects like activities, sports, food, clothing.

Content Accuracy rating: 4

I didn’t notice any egregious errors in grammar explanations, vocabulary, or cultural presentations. I am at a loss why the present progressive is taught using the extremely rare Spanish usage of “estoy yendo”, reinforcing the Americanization of Spanish grammar to match student expectations instead of clarifying differences between the Spanish and English usage in spite of the similarities of formation. Students are expected to infer grammatical rules based on guided questions.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

The text and accompanying pictures and videos use regular people and daily situations as illustrations and as basis for exercises. There are few, if any, references to contemporary actors, athletes, or ideas that could become dated, so this text should be relevant for many years without major revisions. The exception to this could be the use of musicians and music videos, although these could be updated relatively easily, and, although they may become dated in style, the grammatical or cultural lesson connected to them means they will remain relevant.

Clarity rating: 5

The written text is generally limited to initial introduction of topics (grammar, vocabulary, culture) and is clear and easy to follow. The explanation and instruction text is generally in English, although occasionally in Spanish, or in a mix of both languages. Later modules have longer passages in Spanish describing countries and cultural practices that are written on an appropriate level.

Consistency rating: 3

The text seems to be consistent in presentation, but the 3 modules are so long (60+ pages each) that it is hard to remember what the presentation order is, and where one is in the module. There is a consistency with module, segment, and subdivision in their headline typeface, size, and color. Activities are numbered in a 1.1, 1.2, 1.3 fashion, but then are subdivided into Pasos for some longer projects and activities.
Trayectos uses cowboy-cactus icons to label audio, pair work, conversation exercises, videos, etc.—there are so many (12) that they are not necessarily instantly recognizable. They also seem a bit stereotypical, and childish (if not offensive).

Modularity rating: 3

There are only 3 modules in this textbook, with no detailed Table of Contents nor Index or Glossary for the students, making it very hard to keep track of where one is. At the end of major segments there also seems to be a standard link, “Hablemos de…” (cultura, gramática) and even “Hablemos más” that seems to indicate more vocabulary. (These links appear differently on the iPad or desktop pdf.)
Within the text there are links to “Práctica individual” that take the student outside the textbook to a separate file that offers self-check exercises, online exercises, and quizzes. There is a link to take the student back to the main textbook, but not to particular segments, even when specifically mentioned, for example: “Lee una vez más la conversación entre Sara y Rachel en la Actividad 1-2 en Manos a la obra y decide…”. Although the directions say specifically to go back and reread, there is no internal link to that activity.
There are multiple links to material outside of the textbook. Sometimes these open in a separate tab, which needs to be closed, others take the student to a site (often a video) which opens within the textbook tab and the student must use the return arrow to go back to the appropriate place in the lesson.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 4

The sweeping organization seems fine – each module divided into grammar, vocabulary, and cultural segments. The logical flow introducing new grammatical concepts is fine, but again, the modules are so long and without an index or detailed table of contents it is difficult to keep track of minor grammatical points (pronouns, prepositions, adjective placement, comparisons, etc.) that may have been interspersed in the module.
The initial 10% of the textbook is a pedagogical explanation for teachers. This lays out the overall organization for the teachers, but unless this section is assigned to the students, the overall organization is less overt for the student-users.

Interface rating: 3

The images and charts display well. The decorative “papel picado” images that appear at the bottom of the opening page of each module or segment look lovely, but if a student is working on a cell phone waste space. The audio overlays pronouncing the labeled vocabulary on photos does not always match the order in which the words/pictures appear. The .pdf opened on an iPad does not match the buttons or links stylistically as are viewed on the pdf on a desktop computer. Unfortunately, several of the links to outside pdf or webpages will not open when clicked from the iPad version.
There is no linked Table of Contents or Glossary/Index for the students to use to quickly navigate within the textbook.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

The grammar (as used in the text and as taught) is generally correct.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

Other than the cacti icons used to signal various types of exercises, the actual cultural information about Spanish-speaking groups, countries, and cultures is accurate and informative. It includes information about other linguistic and cultural groups within the countries presented, and is inclusive of races, ethnicities, and backgrounds.