Synopsis
Tu mundo immerses the Intro Spanish student in a culturally rich world full of opportunities to discover and explore the powerful connections between themselves and the people and cultures of the Spanish-speaking world. Students dive in to intensive communicative practice, building confidence in their ability to interact in a meaningful way in Spanish with access to a wealth of tools to support and guide their progress, including video chat, interactive online scenarios, and an adaptive diagnostic program. In addition, students are able to create their own sense of community, resulting in a unique individual experience that will evolve organically with each student, sparking their natural curiosity about their world.
Tu mundo employs a communicative methodology that focuses on developing all four skills, supported by the best digital learning platform available today: Connect Spanish. Because Tu mundo was designed with today’s students in mind, students are more readily engaged with the content, thanks to their avid use of web-based tools, their innate interest the cultures of other countries, and their preference for visual presentations and quick access to information. Tu mundo reflects the world in which our students live; where online learning, social networking, texting, instant messaging, mobile devices, tablets, online gaming, and virtual scenarios are an integral part of daily life.
What are the pillars of Tu mundo?
Our extensive and ongoing research in the Intro Spanish course has led to the creation of Tu mundo, with a strong emphasis on the 5 C’s: Communication, Culture, Connections, Comparisons, and Communities. Tu mundo delivers content in a variety of ways in order to ensure consistent course outcomes across all course formats.
1. Improved communication performance & skills: By jumping directly into communicative practice at the beginning of every chapter, students are encouraged to immerse themselves in the experience of active learning, whether in a face-to-face or online classroom. Grammar is presented at the end of each chapter, allowing students to study at home and work through the exercises in Connect Spanish for automatic feedback, coming to class ready to engage in discussion. This emphasis on communication in the classroom makes Tu mundo the most effective communicative program on the market. No other program commits to this methodology like Tu mundo.
2. Creating consistent learning outcomes: Tu mundo offers a powerful adaptive learning system called LearnSmart that allows students to identify grammatical structures and vocabulary words not yet mastered and to receive an individualized study program for mastering them. Students of all experience levels will benefit from using LearnSmart, which includes built-in reporting and a competitive scoreboard. Connect Spanish Voice Board and Blackboard Instant Messenger (BbIM), both powered by Wimba, ensure that students are getting ample practice time no matter where their classes take place.
3. Building community and connections between students: Creating a sense of community in the face-to-face or virtual classroom is a huge part of language learning and something that Tu mundo does implicitly. Whether students collaborate in a physical classroom or in Connect Spanish, they are provided with opportunities to engage in meaningful conversations and collaborative task-based activities. The Amigos sin fronteras, a cast of young Hispanic students that share common interests, are featured throughout the entire program and showcased in the Así somos video segments. Through the Amigos sin fronteras, students are exposed to a friendly model on how to apply what they are learning to another friendly group of students, i.e. their own class. In addition, Tu mundo presents an interactive online environment that applies engaging content and task-based scenarios that enable you to practicing your language skills in a fun, immersive way. Thus, students can practice Spanish in a context that is not only fun but extremely motivating.
4. More Culture and Comparisons coverage: Culture is so often left behind―so Tu mundo offers it throughout the program. Each chapter features a country of focus which doubles as the home country of one of the fifteen amigos. Along with in-chapter cultural sections, every chapter of Tu mundo features a second video segment called Mi país (within Connect), narrated by the amigos themselves, as they share information about their native countries. This window into the lives of the amigos provides a point of comparison for you to describe your own life. The Mundo interactivo scenarios represent a variety of cultural contexts in which you can interact with language and culture in a way that is meaningful to you.
*Connect Spanish, including but not limited to the workbook/lab manual, LearnSmart, the video program, and chat tools, is sold separately and does not come automatically with the purchase of the textbook.
About the Authors
Magdalena Andrade Received her first B.A. in Spanish/French and a second B.A. in English from San Diego University. After teaching in the Calexico Unified School District Bilingual Program for several years, she taught elementary and intermediate Spanish at both San Diego State and the University of California, Irvine, where she also taught Spanish for Heritage Speakers and Humanities Core Courses. Upon receiving her Ph.D. from the University of California, Irvine, she continued to teach there for several years and also at California State University, Long Beach. Currently an instructor at Irvine Valley College, Professor Andrade has co-authored Mundos de fantasï¿a: Fï¿bulas, cuentos de hadas y leyendas and Cocina y comidas hispanas (McGraw-Hill).
Jeanne Egasse Received her B.A. and M.A. in Spanish linguistics from the University of California, Irvine. She has taught foreign language methodology courses and supervised foreign language and ESL teachers in training for the Department of Education at the University of California, Irvine. Currently, she is an instructor of Spanish and coordinates the Spanish language Program at Irvine Valley College. In addition, Professor Egasse serves as a consultant for local schools and universities on implementing Natural aApproach in the language classroom. Professor Egasse is co-author of Cocina y comidas hispanas and Mundos de fantasia: Fabulas, cuentos de hadas y leyendas (McGraw-Hill).
Elï¿as Miguel Muï¿oz is a Cuban American poet and prose writer. He has a Ph.D. in Spanish from the University of California, Irvine, and he has taught language and literature at the university level. Dr. Muï¿oz is the author of Viajes fantï¿sticos, Ladrï¿n de la mente, and Isla de luz, titles in the Storyteller's Series by McGraw-Hill. He has published five other novels, two books of literary criticsm, and two poetry collections. His creative work has been featured in numerous anthologies and sourcebooks, including Herencia: The Anthology of Hispanic Literature of the United States, The Encyclopedia of American Literature, and The Scribner Writers Series:Latino and Latina Writers.
Marï¿a Josï¿ Cabrera Puche received her B.A. from Universidad de Murcia, Spain, her M.A. and M.Ed. from West Virginia University, and her Ph.D. in second language Acquisition and Bilingualism from Rutgers University. She has taught Spanish at Public schools and universities, foreign language methodology courses in both face-to-face and hybrid formats, and supervised foreign language student teachers for the Department of Education at Rutgers University and for the Department of Languages and Cultures at West Chester University of Pennsylvania (WCU). Currently she is an Assistant Professor of Spanish at WCU, where she coordinates the lower-level Spanish courses, and she is also the assessment coordinator in the Department of Languages and Cultures at WCU.
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