The Approach

Every unit has the same format with the following components:

1. Orientation: Here’s where the student gets the roadmap. They’ll be introduced to the essential question and know how they’ll be summatively assessed.
2. Content: Every chapter has at least three components:
   • Learning Targets: NCSSFL-ACTFL Can-Do Statements that help students know what they can expect to do by the end of the class
   • Google Slide deck for in-person or online teaching & learning.
     • Every image includes accessibility features and fair use or creative commons licensing.
     • If you have trouble accessing a link, email me (kellyarispe@boisestate.edu) and I can share a media file with you directly.
   • Classroom activities: the majority of these help students comprehend the input (a video, a website reading, a text) using the format from the Integrated Performance Assessment
     • These serve as formative assessments (think, “workouts”) that help prepare students for their summative assessment
   • Homework: the homework is explained in the google slide deck but if it has an accompanying google document, I also include it for you to make a copy and adapt.
3. Frequent Vocabulary: I subscribe to a connectionist perspective of language development which places primacy on the “frequency effect” and the importance of highly frequent vocabulary to bootstrap language learning. For example, did you know that the most frequent words make up 90% of the language in texts/conversations (Nation, 2001)? But how do we acquire new words? The answer is by frequently seeing/listening/using them! Consider the fact that for neural connections to become strong, they have to be activated frequently.  Some scholars suggest 6-10+ times before a new word is really learned (Zahar, Cobb y Spada, 2001). When connections are fortified, new knowledge moves from short-term memory to long-term memory and is acquired and can be easily accessed for meaningful communication.  Unfortunately, in my work as a teacher educator, I rarely see curricula built on frequency theory. Instead, I see outrageous and unrealistic lists of words that students memorize for a test only to lose once they get to the next unit. I hope you see a difference, here. Working with the most frequent words first helps learners feel successful, building their self-efficacy, and instilling confidence in their ability to communicate with others in Spanish. To this end, I am eternally grateful for the impact of scholar Dr. Mark Davies.  Dr. Davies has compiled frequency lists based on actual evidence of use from spoken and written corpora in Spanish. He was generous to openly share some of his work to help me with my research when I was a doctoral student and his work has continued to significantly impact my teaching practice, today. I highly recommend purchasing Dr. Davies’ Frequency Dictionary of Spanish. With his permission, I’ve integrated several of the tables from this textbook which groups highly frequent words around topics that align with the units in this textbook.
4. Grammar practice: You’ll notice this textbook does not “teach grammar” explicitly in any of the “content pages”. In truth, this is a textbook to facilitate conversation and most research tells us that explicit attention to forms (grammar) might make students “feel better” but it does little to improve the outcome. However, some students do need review to make the connections stronger so they can monitor when their communication breaks down. Also, this course is a stepping stone to the rest of the upper-division Spanish courses and although I don’t dedicate more than 5% of class time to grammar, I do know that some students need to work on drills. I have remixed from other OER to integrate succinct grammar explanations that include context-driven examples. Furthermore, every grammar section includes interactive exercises. Teachers may wish to assign these as homework for all students or leave these as optional.
5. Review: A summary of what the student can do having finished the unit

Not included here but happy to share if you email me: Three Integrated Performance Assessments: Units 1 & 2, Units 3 & 4, and Unit 5. I do include the “expectation” at the beginning of each chapter so that students know what they are doing and why (i.e., what are they aiming for or preparing for?).

Resources that Impact the way I teach That You’ll See Integrated Here

1. ACTFL (everything!). I used to be a certified OPI tester and the training was instrumental in helping me understand the nature of intermediate and advanced-level oral proficiency and development. During COVID, I took advantage of the opportunity to complete several professional “on demand” video courses that were highly impactful. Those courses were the following: “Cultivating Connections: Language Learning and 21st Century Literacies”, ACTFL Virtual Learning Module and “Literacy Development Through the Teaching of World Languages”, ACTFL Virtual Learning Module.
2. The Integrated Performance Assessment has shifted how I assess students. I highly recommend this book, which has been the most helpful to me in putting the concepts into practice: The Integrated Performance Assessment: Twenty Years and Counting (I used the 2nd edition but you can pre-order the third!)
3. I actively follow and engage in/with most of the Title VI Language Resource Centers which are federally funded to provide open access to a wide array of material to support world language teaching and learning. My teaching practice has greatly evolved thanks to their collective work, innovation, and collaboration.
4. The latest textbook that has been a favorite for teaching SLA theory and unit design with my preservice teachers (and where I have applied many principles here to this textbook!) is: Henshaw, F. G., & Hawkins, M. D. (2022). Common Ground: Second language acquisition theory goes to the classroom. Hackett Publishing.
5. Already referenced above: Davies, M., & Davies, K. H. (2017). A frequency dictionary of Spanish: Core vocabulary for learners. Routledge.

How Can I Get Access to Edit?

I use Google Workspace for everything and I invite you to make a copy of anything you want to use so you can use the template and make changes to what you need. If you see a date written somewhere, delete it on your copy (I use these originals for my own class so if you make yourself a copy, you can modify anything you want!).

Everything has a license: either a Creative Commons or Fair Use license. It is your responsibility to read the license and adhere to it.

How Long Does Each Unit Last?

Each unit has at least 3 “content” days” and lasts 2-3 weeks long (5 units x 3 = 15-week semester, give or take). I teach this course twice a week in-person, but you can adapt it to fit your needs for whatever schedule and modality.

What tech tools do I need?

Great question! I built this course using NPR’s Podcast, Radioambulante, as one of my key points of departure. In part, it was a selfish choice. I love this podcast and I respect the work the producers do. I also have a colleague who has been on the design team for a language learning app they created to accompany the podcast to make it more accessible to learners. I’ve participated as a user-tester for the app when it has been in Beta mode and I think it is really good. I’ve used it for three years now and my students consistently rate it as highly effective. The app is called, Jiveworld, and you can click on the link to check it out. It is not necessary to have the app to use this textbook; you can simply find the podcast online or listen on Spotify.  As of 2023, my students paid $8/month to use the app (for 3 months) and this is still a whole lot cheaper than any conversation textbook on the market. In many cases, my students chose to continue paying after the class ended because they found it to be a great way to keep listening to authentic content in Spanish.

The other tech tools I use are all free and can be substituted with others based on your preferences.

What media is integrated in the textbook?

Videos, podcasts, songs, commercials, infographics, news articles, images, cartoons, and short clips. I’ve tried to be thoughtful about integrating a wide variety of media including perspectives about Hispanic and/or Latino culture that is both important for future professions where Spanish will be used and also elevates marginalized voices that have often been left out of traditional Spanish textbooks for learners. Nonetheless, I really want to work on integrating more diverse perspectives into this book. If you find places and spaces where I can do this better, I would greatly appreciate your feedback via email (kellyarispe@boisestate.edu).

OTHER Resources

This course also integrates 30-minute chat sessions twice a month. Students are paired up and meet online or in person every other week to complete their chat and record it using a voice recorder. Then, they upload their chat recording to Soundcloud and use bookmarks to make reflections and corrections. The following week they meet with an advanced-level Spanish lab assistant for 10 minutes to review their corrections and ask any remaining questions. The chat questions strategically target themes aligned to each unit. If you’d like a copy of the chat recordings and the student instructions to implement this assignment yourself, please email the author (kellyarispe@boisestate.edu).

Why Open Educational Resources (OER)?

I have authored this textbook because I believe good pedagogy impacts the learning process. Unfortunately, there aren’t a lot of excellent textbooks available for upper-division Spanish courses and the few that exist are really expensive. I’ve been teaching “Spanish Conversation” for over ten years but it’s changed a lot and for the better. This textbook is a starting place; I invite you to make it better by thinking not only about what you can reuse, but also what you can revise (edit, change) and remix (add to). I support the Go Open Pledge and am an active creator, user, and researcher of Open Education. This textbook is a work in progress and I commit to you that I will keep coming back to it to make it better. I value process over the product which means you may find some errors (just email me at kellyarispe@boisestate.edu and I’ll fix them!) and you may think an activity or an explanation needs some improvements. If you find yourself making changes, I would value learning from you/with you and consider integrating your work into mine (with your permission).

If you also teach lower-division Spanish, you might want to check out the Pathways Project. I am the co-director and we have hundreds of OER activities you can use to target interpretive and interpersonal communication. You can download the Spanish 1-4 Pressbooks here. Our professional development materials are also hosted on OER Commons in the Pathways Project group.

Finally, this textbook isn’t just for undergraduate Spanish students. It is also adaptable for AP Spanish, particularly if you’re wanting to help your students with interpretive and interpersonal communication. All are welcome here.