EN TU MEDIO - PROGRAM SAMPLER

students from structured input (recognition), through structured output (producing short answers), toward more open-ended opportunities to create with the language and negotiate mean- ing through interaction with others. They also provide practical ideas for games, role-plays, or other expansion activities. Each chapter culminates in the integrative ¿Y tú qué piensas? section comprised of communicative, task-based activities that focus on interpersonal and productive skills (conversation and writing) within the context of video content seen throughout the chapter. This section provides opportunities for risk-taking, open-ended discourse, negotiation of meaning, or other holistic interactions that make students aware of their own learning and accelerate their progress toward the next level. ACTFL World-Readiness Standards True to the “21st Century Learner World Readiness Standards” (cul- tures, connections, communication, comparisons, commu- nities), each chapter’s thematic, regional, and cultural focus is integrated throughout every section so that students explore the cultural products, practices, and perspectives of different regions—including their own communities—from multiple viewpoints even while learning vocabulary and practicing grammar. Instructor annotations provide numerous ideas and opportunities in which the ACTFL standards are implemented. In addition to cultural materials, each chapter contains the fol- lowing sections that integrate the five “Cs”: • Tu pronunciación guides the students to properly articulate frequently mispronounced sounds—COMPARISONS; • Notas de lengua introduce linguistic idiosyncrasies of the Spanish language (e.g., Spanish-language texting abbrevia- tions)—COMPARISONS/COMMUNICATION; • Notas culturales introduce unfamiliar aspects of Hispanic culture—CULTURES/CONNECTIONS/COMMUNITIES; • Investig@ en Internet that are Internet-based expansion projects—CULTURES/CONNECTIONS/COMMUNICATION/ COMMUNITIES; • Dichos: —CULTURES. ACTFL Oral Proficiency Guidelines En tu medio also aligns with the ACTFL Oral Proficiency Guidelines, an objec- tive measure of what students can actually do with the language at this level. TheOral ProficiencyGuidelines recognize that begin- ning second-year students are likely to fit within the productive rangeof Novice-Mid throughNovice-High. For this reason, text ac- tivities are designed to support students who are still developing their ability to produce sentence-level discourse and successfully complete concrete transactions. At the same time, each activity set provides opportunities for risk-taking, open-ended discourse, negotiation of meaning, or other interactions that accelerate stu- dent progress toward the next level. For the same reason, En tu medio provides language input that is readily comprehensible to second-year students, but also includes higher-level input such as literary readings, cultural materials, and authentic short films. These authentic materials challenge students to improve their vocabulary, comprehension, and analytical skills while creating a bridge to upper-level curricula. Fully Integrated Thematic and Cultural Context En tu medio integrates cultural information and authentic materials specific to the target region throughout the chapter so that students explore language in context, even while learning vocabulary or grammar. Some highlights include vocabulary sections with cross-cultural phonetic tips ( Tu pro- nunciación ), regional variances, usage notes and socio-linguis- tic issues ( Notas de lengua ), and pertinent, timely explanations of regional or cultural differences ( Notas culturales ). Each chap- ter includes a variety of text-types for cultural readings—blogs, realia, magazine-style articles, ads, and literary selections—ful- ly supported by pre-, post- and guided expansion activities ( In- vestig@ en Internet ). Culture readings vary in length, register, difficulty, and format from popular culture to literature. Short Films and Cultural Videos En tu medio also includes five critically recognized short films produced for Spanish-speaking audiences. These contemporary films are used in alternate chapters to provide authentic, higher-level input, support vocabulary, grammar, socio-cultural activities, and to spark discussion of relevant social, historical, personal, or cultural issues. They provide a window into linguistic and cul- tural perspectives that supplements and deepens student un- derstanding of the concepts presented in the chapter. The short films offer a richer experience when approached from different angles and learning contexts. To make this possible given their length and linguistic complexity, chapters which feature corto- metrajes incorporate film content into activities throughout the chapter and in the final ¿Y tú qué piensas? section. Instructor annotations provide additional ideas for using each film. Every chapter presents a brief video relating to its regional focus in the Para tus ojos section. The characters and content of this video are used as a point of departure to contextualize vocabu- lary and grammar activities and serve as a springboard for oral and writing activities in the final ¿Y tú qué piensas? section in chapters without a cortometraje . This integration provides the opportunity for students to view the video multiple times for different purposes, this maximizes both student comprehen- sion and cross-cultural understanding. Instructor annotations provide additional ideas for video use in grammatical, cultural, and socio-linguistic contexts. Grouping and Recycling of Grammatical Concepts En tu medio presents grammar as a means to achieve communicative goals. Rather than distribute gram- matical topics piecemeal throughout the text, En tu medio groups related concepts together in each chapter to provide an overview and emphasize usage. Each concept builds upon prior knowledge, as side boxes marked with a recycling icon remind students of related introductory concepts and in later PREFACE xi