Juan C.

Alicea
FL561

September 16, 2013

Dr. Abreu

Evaluate a language textbook of your choice following the rubric in Shrum and Glisan (2010), p.
65. Include rubric and a short statement (one paragraph) outlining your overall assessment of the
book.
Rate each criterion on the following scale: 3 = Excellent 2 = Satisfactory 1 = Poor
the Spanish textbook En espaol was evaluated utilizing the rubric in Shrum and Glisan on page
65.
1. Features an organization based on relevant and interesting topics and cultural contexts. (2)
2. Provides activities in which students talk to each other, share information and opinions, ask
personalized questions, and express feelings and ideas. (3)
3. Provides tasks in which students must negotiate meaning with one another. (3)
4. Provides authentic oral input (audiotapes, videotapes, CD-ROM programs) that has engaging
content and tasks. (3)
5. Provides authentic printed texts (newspaper/magazine articles, ads, poems, short stories) that
have engaging content and tasks. (2)
6. Suggests strategies for comprehending and interpreting oral and written texts. (3)
7. Includes pre-listening/pre-viewing/pre-reading tasks. (3)
8. Includes tasks in which students speak and write to an audience of listeners/readers (i.e.,
process-oriented tasks). (3)
9. Provides contextualized and meaningful activities that relate to a larger communicative goal.
(2)
10. Presents clear, concise grammar explanations that are necessary for communication. (3)
11. Presents vocabulary thematically, context, and with the use of visuals and authentic realia (3)
12. Provides for an integrated practice of the three modes of communication. (2)
13. Presents an accurate view of the cultures in which the target language is spoken. (2)
14. Includes visuals for presenting vocabulary and illustrating authentic cultural aspects
(overhead transparencies, visuals, PPT slides, realia). (3)
15. Provides opportunities for students to discover and explore the products of the culture and
their relationship to cultural perspectives. (1)

16. Provides opportunities for students to discover and explore the practices of the culture and
their relationship to cultural perspectives. (3)
17. Provides opportunities for students to use the target language to learn about other subject
areas. (2)
18. Engages students in using the target language to acquire new information on topics of
interest. (1)
19. Provides opportunities for students to compare key features of the native and target
languages in interesting ways. (1)
20. Provides opportunities for students to compare products, practices, and perspectives of the
native culture and target cultures in interesting ways. (2)
21. Includes activities in which students use the target language with peers in other communities
and target language regions (e-mail, World Wide Web, interactive video, field trips). (2)
22. Provides opportunities for students to select authentic texts to explore for enjoyment and
learning. (1)
23. Provides contextualized, performance-based achievement tests with scoring rubrics. (2)
24. Suggests strategies for assessing student progress in attaining standards. (1)
25. Integrates technology effectively into instruction (audiotapes, videotapes, interactive video,
CD-ROM, World Wide Web, e-mail, online chat rooms) (3)
After evaluating the second Spanish textbook En espaol, I thought it was quality resource that
can be effectively utilized in a foreign language classroom. Unlike many common Spanish
language textbooks that divide the subject matter into typical units (food, the family, clothing,
shopping, traveling, sports/leisure activities, etc.) this particular textbooks units were divided by
the different Spanish speaking countries. For example some units focused on the Spanish
speaking cities in the U.S. (Miami, San Antonio, Los Angeles, etc.) and other units focused on
other Spanish speaking countries such as Mexico, Puerto Rico, Ecuador, Spain, etc. The
particular unit theme of the specific Spanish speaking country was utilized to incorporate the
traditional subject matter in terms of blending it in with the target grammar and vocabulary that
was the focus of the chapter. For example, the unit theme of Mexico incorporated how to
order food in a restaurant (Mexican) and many of the writing, speaking, and listening activities
also interwove some aspects of Mexico and Mexican culture. Although I was very impressed
with this particular text book in terms of the richness of methodologies it employed in terms of
technological resources, diverse lessons (in terms of writing activities, speaking activities,
listening activities, cultural information, authentic readings, and literature, etc.) however the
overall format of the book had the commonality of other Spanish language text book in the sense

that more weight was given on the mechanics of the language in terms of grammatical rules
and long thematic vocabulary lists as opposed to fostering spontaneous speech.

Good work, Juan Carlos.