Pura vida - PROGRAM SAMPLER

ix Pura vida is an innovative Beginning Spanish program that fully integrates vocabulary, grammar and cultural content through a task-supported and flipped classroom approach. In this learner-centered program, the authors’ commitment to a methodology based on true-to-life experiences brings Spanish to life. Pura vida is the discovery of a Spanish-speaking world through the experiences of real people who share anecdotes and reflections on those experiences. Students relate to these people and make deeper, more meaningful connections between language and culture and acquire Spanish with an unparalleled sense of personal engagement. In this 12-chapter introductory program, students don’t learn Spanish only for real life, but also from real life. They discover that there is not just one homogeneous Hispanic culture, but rather, that each Spanish-speaking country has its own rich, unique culture and that the people who live in these countries speak one common language with different accents, characteristics, and idiosyncrasies. This second-edition program offers seamless integration of cultural notions and language instruction, and features 100 percent contextualized and personalized activities. Hallmarks of the Program Cross-cultural Approach Culture isnot justanadd-onin Puravida .Thenational standards call for the integration of a particular content with language aims. With Pura vida , students learn a new language and use it to learn about the different Hispanic cultures. Students discover cultural differences, rather than being told about them in disjointed, stand-alone “Did you know?” sidebars. Pura vida takes a cross-cultural approach. In every Una perspectiva/Otra perspectiva section, cultural notions are introduced through the eyes of real people living in or visiting the target country. From the point of view of a visitor from the United States, students begin to observe cultural similarities anddifferences,which invite themto reflect on their ownculture as they learn about the other. From the point of view of a citizen from the target country, students start to understand the other perspective and how people of that culture perceive them. This cross-cultural approach promotes cultural understanding and intercultural competence. All vocabulary and grammatical structures are introduced in context through meaningful, comprehensible input stories (La pura verdad) based on real-life events as experienced by U.S. citizens living in Spanish-speaking countries. These input stories lend a reality lacking in most Spanish textbooks. They are written with the limited comprehension skills of first-year Spanish students in mind. Task-supported and Flipped Classroom Approach Puravida offers abroadarray of pedagogically sound, research- based and class-tested, interactive, and engaging activities that develop all language skills (listening, speaking, reading, writing, and intercultural competence) throughout a task- based and flipped classroom approach. The teaching sequence is structured so that students read over the new content (grammar and vocabulary) and do the input recognition, less challenging activities at home, which prepares them for the input presentation and communicative practice in class. Instructor annotations and resources on the Supersite guide the teacher through the learning sequence and indicate which activities should be completed at home in order to maximize time in the classroom to practice those skills that cannot be practiced individually (interpersonal listening or speaking). Research shows that for an activity to be communicative a real-life or pedagogical outcome is needed. In Pura Vida each series of activities is carefully broken down into small steps that guide students from structured input, through structured output, toward more open-ended opportunities to create with the language and negotiate meaning through interaction with others as they work their way towards a goal. Activities are all sequenced from input-recognition to output practice, from easier to more challenging, and moving from the individual practice, to pair, group and whole-class interactions. Each chapter culminates in the integrative Manos a la obra section comprised of communicative, task-based activities, and with the final project Tarea final , meant to be completed thorough more than one class period. This section integrates all the content students have learned throughout the chapter, providing them with a sense of accomplishment. Full Integration of Cultural, Thematic and Language Content In keeping with second language research, we assume that the learner does not need to know every word s/he hears in order to understand the message directed at him or her. Preface