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Chapter Structure and Teaching Techniques for Puntos de
partida
Note: This section provides detailed explanations of the parts of each chapter in Puntos de partida—
what is found in each of them and why—as well as general suggestions for using, elaborating upon,
and adapting the text materials and Annotated Instructor’s Edition (AIE) glosses.
A. Capítulo 1: Ante todo
The first chapter of the text has three purposes: to make students aware of the importance of the
Spanish language; to give them a functional introduction to the language and make it possible for
them to speak it from the very first day of class, before any grammar has been formally covered;
and to set up the organization of the chapters that follow.
Capítulo 1: Ante todo is divided into two parts. After the chapter opening spread (explained in
part B of this section of the Instructor’s Manual [IM]), Primera parte begins with Saludos y
expresiones de cortesía, a section with three minidialogues, a number of useful expressions, and
importance, wide dispersion, and diversity of modern Spanish, including the Spanish spoken in this
country. It both conveys information and aims to motivate students as they begin their study of
Spanish.
Segunda parte begins with Los números del 0 al 30; Hay, which develops the concept of
gender and introduces hay for both statements and questions. In Los gustos y preferencias only
the singular me/te/le gusta forms are introduced, and activities with these memorized forms
introduce students to the forms of the definite article and to infinitives.
The next section is telling time (¿Qué hora es?), which in this edition includes an introduction
to the days of the week. Telling time is followed by a two-page Salu2 section (explained in part B).
1. The First Day of Class
The first day of class can be the most important day of the course, since it sets the tone for what will
happen during the rest of the term. Many language instructors like to use the first class meeting to
introduce students to both the course and the language. The first day of class can include an
introduction to the course, getting to know students, and beginning an active practice of the
Spanish language.
a. Introduction to the Course
You may want to include the following items as you briefly discuss the organization of the course,
although many of the details can be left until later in the term.
• Introduce yourself and announce your office number, office phone number, and the hours when
you will be available to students for individual consultations. You will probably wish to share your
e-mail address with students. Be sure to explain for what reasons you think students should use e-
mail to contact you and your policy about answering e-mails.
• State the course goals. Will there be equal emphasis on all four language skills (listening,
speaking, reading, and writing), or will there be special emphasis on one or more of them? To what
extent will cultural content be required learning?
• What are your other expectations? Is attendance required? Will written exercises be collected and
corrected? Will students complete their homework on-line? Will homework exercises be corrected
or discussed in class? What do you expect in terms of class participation and lab attendance?
• Discuss the media center or language laboratory and use of the audio and video programs, if
b. Getting to Know Students
Because language learning is essentially communication practice and requires a lot of risk taking on
the part of the learner, it is extremely important for students and instructor to get to know each
other and feel comfortable together. There are several ways to establish this kind of rapport.
• Give general information about testing and grading.
• Have students fill out an information sheet or a file card with whatever information you think
would be useful or interesting to know about them: name; high school attended; local address and
phone number; e-mail address; language studied previously in high school or college, and for how
long; class rank and major; whether they have ever traveled, worked, or studied in another country
B. Chapter Sequence, Cultural Content, and Types of Activities
Each of the seventeen remaining chapters of Puntos is organized according to the following fixed
sequence.
Chapter Opening Spread
Vocabulario: Preparación
A escuchar
Producción personal
Subsections: ¡Ahora, yo!
A escribir
Más ideas para su portafolio
En resumen: En este capítulo
This section of the IM follows the chapter sequence section by section (exception: Salu2, which is
discussed in B.7. below.) But first, a few words about the text’s cultural content are appropriate.
Culture is presented throughout each chapter, from beginning to end, in explicit sections that focus
exclusively on culture. But culture is also embedded in other features (such as Gramática y acción
and grammar activities). Explicit presentation of culture is always found in the following sections or
features.
Chapter Opening Spread (see 1 below)
Producción personal (new to this edition; see 9 below)
The Algo sobre… feature, not the only new cultural feature in this edition, is unusual in that it can
occur in any part of the chapter from Vocabulario: Preparación to Un poco de todo. The Algo
sobre… are brief cultural capsules (minireadings) that provide information about the country of
focus. There are usually three Algo sobre… features in each chapter. Thus, culture appears
throughout the chapters, not only in features that are explicitly labeled “culture” or (as often
happens in language textbooks) in cultural readings. The Algo sobre… are always accompanied by
a photograph or realia, and they are always followed by a discussion question that focuses on
cultural contrasts. These features are very brief, so that they can be quickly covered in class if
instructors wish.
333). Students’ experience with these practice activities will be enhanced if they have read the
accompanying Algo sobre... feature.
1. Chapter Opening Spread
The first two-page spread of each chapter serves to introduce students to the cultural themes and
grammar points to be studied in the chapter. The photograph on the left-hand page reflects both the
theme(s) of the chapter and the country or countries targeted in many of the chapter’s cultural
The right-hand page offers both cultural information and a communicative introduction to the
chapter.. At the top of the page, a map of the country or countries shows them in their geographical
context,, and is accompanied by a brief bulleted list of interesting facts about the country, along
with the country’s flag (in abbreviated United Nations format). Marginal annotations in the AIE
(continued in the Section Chapter-by Chapter Supplementary Materials of this IM) offer additional
information about the country or countries of focus. The lower part of the page includes chapter
theme-related questions that require use of some of the chapter’s vocabulary and grammar. These
questions are answered in a natural manner by a fictional character who represents a region of the
Spanish-speaking world. These answers, which can be also be heard on Connect, represent a model
for students to attain; they can be used as an oral capstone experience at the end of the chapter.
2. Vocabulario: Preparación
This section of each chapter presents important vocabulary related to the chapter theme and
provides vocabulary-building activities. Only thematically related words are introduced and
practiced in this section. Theme-related words active in previous chapters are also listed or
illustrated here, for purposes of review. (A complete list of all new words for the chapter is in the
En resumen: En este capítulo at the end of each chapter, and review vocabulary is noted in
Repaso lists in that section.)
It is assumed that the Vocabulario: Preparación section will be studied before the other
sections of the chapter. This approach establishes the chapter theme and makes it possible to
reenter and thus reinforce these important lexical items throughout the chapter. It also minimizes
the amount of active vocabulary introduced later in exercises and in the Gramática sections, where
emphasis is on the presentation of new grammar.1 Finally, it ensures that students will have the
vocabulary necessary to handle the communicative situations posed throughout the chapter.
1Active vocabulary introduced in other parts of the chapter is indicated by a Suggestion: Active vocabulary… in the AIE
annotations if it is not immediately obvious. See, for example, p. 74 of the AIE (the Suggestions for Prác. G and H).. Words
listed or illustrated in Vocabulario: Preparación would not be called out in this way, nor would new verbs introduced in lists in
Gramática sections. However, new vocabulary introduced in exercises and activities is noted with this convention, as is new
vocabulary from Gramática en acción and paradigm sentences in Gramática sections. Instructors should note that nothing has
changed in the way vocabulary introduction is handled in Puntos. The text has done this since its first edition. The system has
been made salient for instructors since the Ninth Edition. Vocabulary is made active only in the Vocabulario: Preparación and
Instructors can use the image(s) and/or vocabulary list that appear at the beginning of each
Vocabulario: Preparación section as a vehicle for the introduction of theme vocabulary. In
addition, many suggestions for working with the vocabulary are provided in the AIE and in Section
X of this IM. Instructors should note in particular the suggestions for presenting vocabulary via
listening passages (examples of which are found in Section VIII).
Many instructors feel it is useful to begin by modeling pronunciation of new lexical items and
then asking for choral repetition. Modeling pronunciation means providing an example of the
correct pronunciation of the words or phrases that appear in the list. Students listen and imitate
your pronunciation. Choral repetition means repetition by the whole class, with students speaking
in unison. Beginning with choral repetition provides practice for everyone— an especially
important factor in large classes— and allows individual students to reach some level of accuracy
and confidence before being called on individually. During choral repetition, you can listen
attentively for errors in pronunciation and call attention to them. It is best to deal with such errors
as a whole-class activity, rather than drawing attention to individual students.
Certain conventions are observed in the listing of vocabulary, and you will want to bring these
to students’ attention at the beginning of the course. Nouns are always given with their articles in
Vocabulario: Preparación and students should be encouraged to learn the article with the noun as
a means of learning the gender of nouns. Both masculine and feminine forms are indicated for
adjectives—alto/a, trabajador(a)—and for nouns referring to persons—el chico / la chica, el
profesor / la profesora. The use of a slash (o/a) indicates that the -o ending of the masculine form
is replaced by -a in the feminine form. The use of parentheses (a) indicates that the -a is added to
the masculine form to form the feminine. (Complete forms for nouns are spelled out in
Vocabulario: Preparación, as just shown, but abbreviated in En resumen: En este capítulo: el/la
chico/a, el/la profesor(a).)
In addition to practice activities (discussed in detail below), every Vocabulario: Preparación
section has a Nota cultural, which is always related to the chapter’s theme. The Notas present the
cultural practices of the Hispanic world and also comment on the realities of modern society.
Information is often but not always related to the country or countries of focus. For example, the
Nota cultural in the Vocabulario: Preparación section of Capítulo 5 (p.134) discusses houses in
the Spanish-speaking world, not specifically in El Salvador or Nicaragua, but the photo that
illustrates the Nota shows the casa natal of Rubén Darío, of Nicaragua
Practice is just as essential in learning vocabulary as it is in learning grammar, and so a great
variety of vocabulary building activities has been included in the Vocabulario: Preparación
section. The most frequently used repeating types of vocabulary activities in Puntos include the
following. Many examples are taken from the first chapters of Puntos, as an aid to instructors who
are not familiar with the text. Note that many of these activity types occur in other sections of the
text as well. In addition to the vocabulary activities in the student text, many more activities are
provided in the suggestions on the oversized margins in the AIE. If those suggestions and the
Gramática sections. Vocabulary is never made active in any other section of the text. This decision allows instructors to use or
not use sections such as Salu2, A leer, A escuchar, and Producción persona,l according to the needs of their class; they can be
omitted with no consequences to the chapter’s active vocabulary.
listening passage model of vocabulary presentation are followed, the following sequence will be
observed.
a. Fill-in-the-Blank Activities
This type of exercise requires students to fill in the blank with the word or phrase that most
accurately completes the sentence. For example, in Comunicación B, ¿Quién es? (p. 63), students
study the chapter vocabulary list, then complete the sentences with the correct names of members
and so on.
b. Question/Answer (Personalized Questions)
In this type of activity, students practice new vocabulary by answering questions based on general
knowledge or shared reality (the classroom environment, for example), or by answering questions
about themselves and sharing their own experiences or opinions. For example, the questions in
Práctica y comunicación D. Intercambios (p. 14) illustrate the wide range of question-answer
sequences. Item 1 draws on shared knowledge: ¿Cuántos (How many) estudiantes hay en la clase
de español?, and so on. Item 2 requires general knowledge: ¿Cuántos días hay en una semana
(week)?, and so on. Item 3 is both general (En una universidad… ) and specific to your campus
(En esta [this] universidad… ).
c. Logical Completion and Personalized Completion
In this type of fill-in-the-blank activity, students practice new vocabulary by completing sentences
with logical words and phrases, or according to their own opinions, attitudes, or experiences. There
is, of course, no single right answer to this type of activity, but you can gauge students’ command
d. Associations
In this type of activity, students indicate what words or phrases they associate with other words or
phrases. Thus, they make associations between vocabulary items and review vocabulary clusters,
for example, Comunicación B. Asociaciones (p. 104). Here, students demonstrate their
understanding of new vocabulary by providing words they associate with various colors.
1. gris
2. verde
and so on.
e. Definitions
In the first chapters of Puntos, definition activities are passive in nature; students are given a
definition or paraphrase of a vocabulary item and respond only with the item defined. Sometimes
only the definitions are given and students must supply words on their own, for example,
Comunicación B (p. 204):
and so on.
In later chapters, definition activities become more active, and students are asked to give simple
definitions of new vocabulary items. By this point, they will have a large enough vocabulary to
create reasonable definitions, as in Comunicación B (p. 447). In other definition activities a
matching format is used (Comunicación A, p. 451).
f. Visual-based Activities
In this type of activity, students complete sentences, answer questions, or make statements based
on images in the text. Vocabulary items are cued without the use of translation, and without the
cue’s telling the students the word you want them to practice. Sometimes these activities are very
structured, allowing for only one correct answer. Generally, however, they are more open, allowing
for increased student creativity while providing a structure for it. In such open-ended activities,
students should be encouraged to produce as many answers as possible. Often, several students
may express the same idea in very different ways, and that type of repetition should be encouraged,
g. ¿Cierto o falso? (Agree or Disagree)
In this type of activity, students indicate whether statements are true or false, or whether they
agree or disagree with them. In many cases, students know enough vocabulary and grammar to
correct false statements or change statements to ones with which they agree, for example,
Comunicación A.La familia de Patricia (p. 63). In this activity, correcting false statements is quite
simple to do, since students need to change only the name in question or the word that describes
the relationship. A more complex example of this type of exercise is Comunicación D (p. 528):
D. Ud. y los medios de comunicación. En parejas, expresen y justifiquen su opinión sobre las
siguientes ideas.
1. El interés por los reality shows demuestra que el público no se interesa realmente en los
problemas actuales del mundo.
2. La prensa de los países democráticos es con frecuencia irresponsable y parcial.
and so on.
Here, students express personal opinions and attitudes about television, the media, and the
Internet by reacting to a series of statements. All items are well within simple correctable range by
changing a word or phrase in the statements, by adding or deleting no, or by transposing elements.
h. Matching (Multiple Choice)
This type of activity focuses on the recognition of new vocabulary. Students are asked to match new
words with their definitions or with their opposites, questions with appropriate answers, or
i. Situations/Logical Conclusions
In this type of activity, the text provides the situation or context within which to use vocabulary.
Students respond to the situation by telling what they would do or say, for example, Comunicación
B. El clima en el mundo, Paso 1 (p. 167). This activity is structured enough to lead students in the
direction of the use of particular vocabulary items (in this case, weather expressions).
j. Survey/Self-tests
In the category of the input-based activities described in Section I is a type of activity best described
as a Survey/Self-Test. In these activities, which frequently occur in the Vocabulario: Preparación
sections as well as in Gramática and Un poco de todo, students check off the answers to a series of
questions or responses to items. Typical surveys ask for yes/no or true/false answers or for
students to rate the frequency with which they do a particular activity. An example of this type of
activity is Comunicación A. ¿Qué hace Ud.? Paso 1 (p. 237):
1. Cuando estoy de vacaciones, tomo el sol.
2. Prefiero ir de vacaciones a las montañas.
and so on.
The activity offers structured input with the new vocabulary from the section (De vacaciones) and,
at the same time, is highly personalized, since students respond according to their own experiences.
The advantages and benefits of this type of activity are obvious. Although on the surface the
activity seems relatively passive, it is quite engaging and will maintain students’ interest.
Furthermore, it is extremely easy to engage students in conversations about their answers, allowing
for productive use of the section and chapter’s vocabulary in general.
k. Estudio de palabras Activities
The purpose of this type of activity is to make students more aware of word families and word
morphology— the forms of related nouns and verbs. In Comunicatión A. Estudio de palabras (p.
327), for example,, students give the nouns or verbs that correspond to the cue words, indicated by
You may want to use this type of activity far more often than it occurs in the student text, simply
by giving students vocabulary items for which they know related words. (The AIE for En resumen:
l. Logical Sequence Activities
In this type of activity, students are given— out of sequence— a series of statements about an
event. They demonstrate comprehension of the vocabulary items by putting the sentences into
m. CLASSROOM-BASED ACTIVITIES
The people and objects in the classroom provide the basis for this type of activity, for example,
Comunicación D (p. 105):
E2: Es Anne.
Here, colors are practiced in a natural context. The activity is at once controlled (by the models) and
open-ended, since on any given day there will be many interesting kinds of clothing to describe.
n. Intercambios/Entrevistas
In most interview activities in the Vocabulario: Preparación sections, the structure is provided by
the activity, for example, Conversación C.Intercambios (Exchanges) (p. 32). In Paso 1, students
answer a series of questions. Then, in Paso 2, they use the same questions to interview a classmate.
The activity is structured so that students can communicate successfully and correctly even as early
as in Capítulo 2.
In later chapters, students are asked to conduct interviews based on cues only, that is, they need to
create the questions themselves. For example, Comunicación C (p. 298):
Paso 2. Ahora, en parejas, hagan comparaciones sobre el tiempo que Uds. pasan haciendo
las actividades de cada categoría. Díganle a la clase algo que tienen en común.
MODELO: E1. ¿Cuánto tiempo pasas en los estudios?
E2. Paso cinco horas aproximadamente. ¿Y tú?
and so on.
Often interview activities will end with the suggestion that students share all or some of the
information they have learned with the class. This need not be done each time an interview activity
is done, nor is it necessary to go around the class and have every student report what he/she has
learned. However, instructors who frequently use this type of activity find that a brief share-back
phase helps to validate the activity in students’ eyes and that it often provides the stimulus for
lively conversation.
1. Students first hear vocabulary in meaningful contexts.
2. Students verify comprehension of vocabulary and use vocabulary in one-word answers during a
meaningful interchange with the instructor.
3. Students incorporate vocabulary into prefabricated sentences (that is, sentences given in the student text).
4. Students use vocabulary in original sentences for communication.
o. Encuesta Activities
Survey activities are similar to Entrevistas in that students work one-on-one with others to obtain
information. The survey, however, adds the twist of interviewing a number of students. Survey
activities, although conversational in tone, are still relatively structured, and students can make of
them what their language abilities and interest level permit. See, for example, ComunicaciónE.
Encuesta (Poll) sobre los talentos especiales de la clase (p. 207).
The model is followed by a chart that students complete as they conduct the interview. Note also
that Paso 1 provides scaffolding for Paso 2.
Since a good deal of information about the class as a whole is collected in a survey activity,
surveys lend themselves to whole-class discussions as a follow-up.
p. Role Plays/Story Invention
This type of open-ended activity allows a great deal of freedom on the part of the students, while
providing a highly focused context. After students have had a chance to practice in small groups or
pairs, they can act out the text with the rest of the class as an audience. The following example
(Comunicación C, p. 500) focuses on careers.
C. ¿Qué preparación se necesita para ser... ? En parejas, piensen en las carreras (majors)
y materias específicas que se deben o se pueden estudiar para prepararse para cada
and so on. In this activity, students should be encouraged to move from merely providing a list of
courses and to try to imitate the speech and manner of an academic counselor.
It is a good idea to spread the presentation and practice of vocabulary over two class meetings.
A typical sequence to follow would be to present vocabulary during the second half of one class
(listening passage or modeling with choral repetition, focus on individual words), and then practice
the vocabulary (using the AIE and student text activities) on the following day. This brief preview of
material the day before will prepare students to work on the vocabulary exercises as a homework
assignment.
In the Vocabulario: Preparación sections of the AIE, a note is included explaining that a model
for presenting vocabulary and other material can be found in the “Chapter-by-Chapter
Supplementary Materials” in the IM. Also, the new Digital Overhead Transparencies with all the new
Vocabulario: Preparación art are available to instructors on Connect.
3. Pronunciación
The first four chapters of Puntos include a Pronunciación section. These sections focus on vowel
sounds that are particularly difficult for native speakers of English as well as stress and written
accent marks.
CHAPTER TOPIC
1 Las vocales: a, e, i, o, u
2 Diphthongs and Linking
3 Stress and Written Accent Marks (Part 1)
4 Stress and Written Accent Marks (Part 2)
Similar pronunciation practice with the sounds of the Spanish consonants is available in
Capítulos 5–14 of the Laboratory Manual.
The final chapters of the text review previously presented topics in pronunciation.
15 More Cognate Practice
16 More Cognate Practice
17 More on Stress and Written Accents
18 Intonation and Review of Linking
Additional activities and suggestions for methods of presenting sounds are included in the on-page
suggestions in the AIE.
The authors of Puntos believe that pronunciation is best studied bit by bit, and that students
should not be overwhelmed with more pronunciation details than they easily can handle during the
first days of class, although many instructors believe that a detailed presentation of Spanish
pronunciation at the beginning is preferable. If you choose the latter approach, you can cover as
many of the pronunciation sections as you wish, in or out of sequence, during the first days of the
semester or quarter. However you choose to teach pronunciation, it is important to remember that
different students learn to pronounce correctly in different ways. Some students will learn best by
imitation; others will benefit most from a brief but careful explanation of how to produce a sound,
while still others make the greatest amount of progress by combining analysis and practice. Several
types of practice are provided in the student text, in the AIE, and on the audio program.
a. Listening Discrimination Exercises
Many theorists believe students cannot produce sounds accurately unless they can distinguish
between similar sounds—sounds that are similar in the native language and in the foreign
language, and sounds that are similar to each other in the foreign language. Listening
discrimination practice can be a first step toward helping students hear themselves and know when
they are pronouncing properly. And, obviously, listening discrimination skills enable students to
distinguish between similar but very different words in the target language— for example, pero
and perro. Here is an example of the sound discrimination exercises found in the AIE of Puntos.
This exercise is on p. 7.
Preliminary Exercise: Pronounce these words in random order. Students tell whether each word is
español or inglés.
ENGLISH SPANISH ENGLISH SPANISH
me mi may me
ace es no no
and so on.
b. Repetition Drills
Most of the pronunciation activities in the student text are of this type. You model (provide) the
correct pronunciation of words or phrases, and your students imitate your pronunciation. As with
the presentation of new vocabulary items, it is possible to begin pronunciation practice with choral
repetition—which allows students to gain confidence— and then to proceed with individual
repetition. This chorus-individual sequence is particularly important with the practice of Spanish
sounds that have no equivalent in English, for even college-level students may be hesitant to try out
in front of the entire class what initially appear to be strange sounds.
c. Recombination Activities
This type of activity recombines the words of the student text to form new phrases or sentences.
Again, you should usually begin with choral repetition, followed by individual repetition.
Trabalenguas (Tongue-twisters) are included on occasion in the AIE; they will challenge the best
students.
d. Dictations (Follow-ups)
Although dictations do not give pronunciation practice per se, they do reflect a student’s knowledge
of the correspondences between Spanish sounds and their spellings—that is, the relationship
between the spoken and the written word. An awareness of sound-symbol correspondences,
especially in the early stages of language learning, will help students sound out new words in later
lessons.
Say the dictation item clearly, being careful not to pronounce unnaturally or too slowly in your
attempt to be clear. Allow students to begin writing after this first repetition, and then repeat the
item. This procedure lets students write down what they catch on the first repetition and fill in the
gaps when they listen the second time. Some instructors like to give a third repetition of dictation
items to allow students to do a final check. You should experiment to determine which procedure
works best with a given class.
Finally, remember that every instructor must consider these questions about pronunciation:
What role does pronunciation have in our language program? Most instructors will want to
dedicate some class time to pronunciation, especially in the early period of language study, since
they can diagnose and help correct individual problems in ways that an audio program never can.
Still, students’ greatest opportunity to practice pronunciation as much as they need to lies in the
audio program, which provides an authentic linguistic model for students, either in the privacy of a
booth, if they work in the media center or language lab, or at home.
4. Gramática: Grammar Presentation and Explanations
with a grammar presentation device of another kind: linked examples in the form of a short
bulleted list or a visual (realia, drawing, cartoon, and so on) and an activity or questions. Then,
grammar explanations present and define grammatical terms and give English examples before
presenting Spanish forms, functions, and rules. The word ¡OJO! (“Watch out!”) calls students’
attention to areas where they should be especially careful when speaking and writing Spanish,
since these are areas in which beginning students frequently make mistakes or have special
difficulties. The practice phase of each section, called Práctica y comunicación in this edition, is a
series of activities that go from most form-focused to most open-ended. (In previous editions, the
practice phrase was divided into two parts: Práctica [more controlled activities] and
Conversación (more open-ended practice).
Early chapters contain more grammar points than do later chapters, to provide for more rapid
development of linguistic skills at the beginning of the course and to permit increased use of the
supplementary skill-based activities in later chapters. The number of grammar points per chapter is
In general, individual grammar sections do not actively practice grammar from any other
section in that chapter. Therefore, within most chapters, you can present the individual grammar
sections in any convenient order. Most instructors will choose to follow the sequence of grammar
points as presented in the text. On occasion, however, increased flexibility may be useful—when
you have less than the usual amount of time, for example, or when you have 10 minutes left and had
anticipated 30, you may want to present and begin practice on one of the shorter grammar points in
the chapter, rather than beginning the longer, more complex one you had planned to do. You will
also appreciate this flexibility of presentation when your own style or philosophy requires it.
All grammar points, however, are practiced together later in the chapter—in the Un poco de
todo review section. Thus, the overall organization of Puntos has a focused, single-emphasis
presentation cycle (Vocabulario: Preparación, Pronunciación, Gramática) and a recombined or
synthesis-application cycle (Un poco de todo).
a. The Gramática en acción Feature
The GEA feature in the Gramática sections has several purposes: (1) to introduce new grammatical
structures in a meaningful context; (2) to add a light touch to the classroom interaction; and (3) to
occasionally provide short dialogues that can serve as models of conversation. On occasion, the
GEA also contains cultural information, as is the case with the GEA for Gramática 17 (p. 185).
Forms that illustrate a new grammar point are set in colored text in the text of the GEA itself and (in
this edition) in the activities that follow-up the GEA.
2Note that the four grammar points in Capítulo 1 are not included under the Gramática rubric in the text, but those sections do
present grammar-like material.
i. Presentation
You can assign preparation of the GEA as homework geared to the presentation of a new grammar
section during the next class meeting. Since a GEA contains only one new grammar point, it should
be possible for students to understand it on their own. (The English equivalents of most of the
GEAs, which appear at the bottom of the page, will be helpful in this regard.) All GEAs, including
those that are dialogues, are included in Connect, where the content is also provided as audio so
students can read along as they listen.
The GEAs that are actual dialogues also lend themselves quite well to in-class presentation and
practice. You may want to begin the presentation by explaining briefly the communicative focus of
the dialogue. For example, the one on p. 48 can be introduced by your saying, “This dialogue
expresses some of the frustration we all feel when we are trying to figure out what classes to take
next term,” or words to that effect. Or, instead of focusing on the communicative content of the
dialogue, you can introduce it by previewing its grammar content: “This dialogue will help you
learn about forming questions in Spanish.”
Another way to develop the GEAs in class is to model them yourself. First, read it through once
aloud, pausing for student comprehension. Next, model each line, breaking longer sentences into
shorter phrases.
ii. Continuing Practice
As a prelude to individual repetition of the GEAs that are dialogues, you can divide the class into
groups (according to the number of speakers in the GEA) and have students practice choral
reading, with each group reading the lines of one speaker. Next, assign individuals roles to read
aloud, or ask for volunteers; the rest of the class listens, perhaps with books closed, as individuals
read. As an alternative, students can be assigned specific roles to rehearse out of class and then
present in class as a dramatization.
iii. Comprehension Check
Most GEAs are followed by a series of comprehension questions that test students’ understanding
of it. Typically, these comprehension questions also guide students toward using the new grammar
point being introduced, but without requiring it to be spontaneously produced by students. For
example, in the GEA in Gramática 9 (p. 110), students gain passive practice with the forms and
uses of demonstrative adjectives and pronouns via the dialogue itself and by answering the
Comprensión questions, but students are not required to manipulate those forms or decide which
ones to use in a given context. Note also that the AIE frequently contains additional comprehension
exercises and personalized questions based on the topic of a GEA.
iv. Introduction of New Grammar Structures
Phrases from the GEAs can be used to initiate formal grammar presentation in a more focused way
than would be achieved by manipulating new grammar in comprehension questions. Draw
students’ attention to grammatical patterns by asking several questions of the ¿Cómo se dice
_______? or ¿Qué significa _______? type. You may want to use phrases from the GEAs to stimulate
inferences about grammatical structures. The GEA in Gramática 30 (p. 330) can be used in that
way to help students start to think about the different uses of the preterite and imperfect. In fact,
the ¿Y Ud.? activity provides a vehicle for doing that. (See C. “Presenting Grammar” below for a
more thorough discussion of this kind of presentation.)
b. Non-dialogue Gramática en acción Presentations
The presence of short dialogues to introduce grammar in context has been a feature of Puntos since
its First Edition. The use of such “minidialogues” reflects a long tradition in language instruction in
which dialogues (long and short) have been an integral part of the language-learning process. But,
also since its First Edition, Puntos has used other vehicles for introducing grammar. Those grammar
presentation devices include bulleted lists, cartoons, realia, line drawings, and so on, all of which
show the grammar point of focus in a natural language context (but just not in a dialogue or
narrative form).
Examples of the use of bulleted lists to present grammar in the GEA feature abound in all
chapters of the text, even the first ones. An example of a more sophisticated list occurs in Capítulo
5, Gramática 13: Expressing Actions Present Tense of stem-changing Verbs (Part 2) (p. 145). In
this GEA, the short sentences in the narrative give students examples of all types of verbs they will
encounter in the grammar explanation and Práctica y comunicaciónactivities. The ¿Y Ud.? follow-
up gives students the scaffolding they need to begin to use the verbs to express themselves. At this
point in the text, students can easily figure out that they need to use -o endings to create the first
person forms. The use of color highlighting in the narration and in ¿Y Ud.? emphasizes the verbs if
students do not make the connection. With all of that help (and remembering that students learned
the endings for –er and –ir verbs in Capítulo 3), students should be able to infer that duerme
becomes duermo, and so on. In this way, grammar learning becomes a much more active process
than if students just started the grammar topic by reading the grammar explanation.
Another example of a non-dialogue GEA (one from previous editions) occurs in Gramática 14
(p. 150). Here a series of line drawings introduces the grammar topic (reflexive pronouns) and
leads students toward an understanding of the grammar point before reading the grammar
explanation or hearing your explanation of it. Each numbered drawing illustrates an aspect of
Andrés’s daily routine with a corresponding numbered statement (1. Me despierto a las siete y
media... ). In the ¿Y Ud.? follow-up, the items provide the structure within which students can
describe their own daily routines, with the appropriate reflexive pronoun provided and the line
drawings above as a point of reference for making the meaning of the new verbs clear.
c. Presenting Grammar
Grammar sections in Puntos are designed to clearly mark what students are supposed to learn. The
two-column design separates prose grammar explanations (in the left-hand column) from Spanish
examples (in the right-hand column). Spanish charts and paradigms are contained within an easily
identifiable shaded box and placed either in the right-hand column or centered across the page,
depending on the space available. Students can therefore, on a first reading, work through the
explanations on the left along with the examples on the right and in the shaded boxes. When
reviewing for a test, they might simply scan for the examples in the boxes and on the right.
The grammar sections all have single emphases; that is, only one grammar point is presented
and practiced in a grammar section. Thus, within each chapter, a step-by-step sequence of
grammar-practice, grammar-practice, and so on, is repeated as many times as there are grammar
sections. This single-emphasis presentation and sequence breaks chapter grammar down into
manageable chunks, allowing students to absorb difficult concepts bit by bit.
More complex grammar topics are further broken down into sections. For example, Gramática
18: Expressing what or who(m) Direct Objects: The Personal a; Direct Object Pronouns (pp. 209–
211) is divided into a number of parts. In the first two main sections:
• the concept of the direct object
In the third main section:
• the concept and forms of the direct object pronouns (1.)
• their general placement (2.)
In the student text, grammar presentations are done in English to ensure maximum student
comprehension and to enable students to study material on their own. Because many students are
not familiar with or have forgotten grammatical terms and concepts (subject, infinitive, adjective,
direct object, and so on), each new concept is introduced and defined, often with examples in
English as well as in Spanish and with brief activities for some of the more difficult concepts.
Spanish equivalents of all grammatical terminology (parts of speech, names of verb tenses, and so
on) are provided, so that these terms can be used in Spanish directions for activities and as an aid to
students whose instructors prefer to make grammar presentations in Spanish. The main headings
in grammar sections are given in English and in Spanish (see p. 76, for example), as an aid to
instructors who prefer to give grammar explanations all in Spanish in class. That is the approach
that the authors prefer, and they do not believe that it conflicts with the fact that the text’s grammar
explanations are in English; again, the text’s grammar explanations will more frequently be used at
home, where students don’t have access to the instructor.
of Double Object Pronouns, p. 283). Finally, instructors will note overall great redundancy in the
grammar explanations, with the same point (at times) being made in the heads, in grammar charts,
in prose, and in paradigms. We believe that this redundancy will help students master grammar
concepts.
Additional noteworthy features in the grammar sections include the following:
• “pointer boxes” to explain features of the text to students (example, p. 115)3
• ample review and clarification in grammar explanations (see the sections in Gramática 18 above: other
3.)
• strategic typographical alignment of material in charts and paradigms in order to make important
information “pop” visually (for example, the presentation of spelling changes and the alignment of verb
forms on p. 220)
One of the best ways to organize clear grammar presentations is to follow the example of the
grammar presentations in the text. First, we suggest that you read through the entire explanation of
a grammar section to get an overview of the material covered and how the presentation is
developed. Next, read the comments in the margins of the AIE to see what supplementary
information, suggestions, and activities are provided. Jot down the entire sequence of presentation
if there is a lot of material. For example, part of the grammar presentation for Gramática 3:
Expressing Actions Subject Pronouns (Part 1); Present Tense of -ar Verbs (pp.41-44) can be
outlined as follows:
Step 1.
Grammar Explanation: infinitives and
personal endings
[Student Edition]
Step 2.
Suggestions: model, conversational
exchange; bailar and personal endings
[Annotated
Instructor’s Edition]
Step 3.
Preliminary Exercises: oral rapid response
drill, listening exercise, pattern practice
(explanation of exercise type, exercise)
[Instructor’s Manual]
Step 4.
Práctica A, B
[Student Edition]
Step 5.
Suggestions
[Annotated
Instructor’s Edition]
and so on. Some instructors prefer to follow grammar presentations exactly as they are given in the
text. Others prefer to vary presentations somewhat so that their students have two slightly
different presentations to help them understand new material. And, often, instructors have their
own, completely different way of presenting a given grammar point. They should not hesitate to
present the point the way they think it is best presented.
In addition to brief, straightforward presentations of the material to be covered, most
instructors point out areas of English interference with Spanish— that is, areas in which English-
language structures are likely to interfere with mastery of a new pattern in Spanish. For example,
English puts object pronouns after conjugated verbs, whereas Spanish places them before
conjugated verbs. It is also a good idea to point out areas of Spanish interference, such as cases in
3This feature also occurs in other sections of the text.
Brief, simple discrimination exercises are also often helpful for students learning to distinguish
differences that exist in Spanish but not in English; for example, saber versus conocer, ser versus
estar, indicative versus subjunctive, and so on. Many such discrimination activities are provided in
the IE.
Two additional features of Gramática will enhance students’ experience with those sections.
One comes before some individual grammar sections, the other comes at the end of explanations
(and before Práctica y comunicación.
i. ¿Recuerda Ud.?
Whenever new grammar structures are based on previously learned material, it is important to
review the “old” material before beginning the new. ¿Recuerda Ud.? boxes in the student text will
alert you to these situations in the grammar sequence and provide students with brief, focused
activities with which to review. It is a good idea to review the answers in class and follow up with a
quick conversational review of the same material. For example, before presenting -er and -ir verbs
in Gramática 8 (p. 83), you might review the -ar infinitives that students already know with this
brief exercise: ¿Qué verbo asocia Ud. con... ? ¿una tienda? ¿la biblioteca? ¿el dinero? ¿la ropa?
¿una fiesta? ¿la boca (touch your mouth)? ¿la casa? ¿la oficina? ¿el laboratorio de lenguas? ¿la
clase? Emphasizing review and reentry in this way, when appropriate, will help students to see the
grammar structures they are learning as part of a coherent system, not as discrete items.
ii. Grammar Summary Charts
In the 10th edition, brief summaries appear at the end of all grammar explanations (and close to
the Autoprueba feature). The summaries highlight, in chart form, the essence of the grammar
topic that students need to master. This feature can be found in Gramática 1 (p. 37), for example.
In contrast to the charts in the grammar explanations, the summary charts condense information.
d. A Note About Spiraling
A careful scan of the contents of Puntos or of its Index will reveal the extent to which major
grammar topics are introduced gradually, or spiraled, throughout the text. Topics treated in this
way include ser and estar, the preterite and the imperfect, the subjunctive, and so on. A hallmark of
Puntos since the First Edition, this spiraling technique has many benefits for language learners.
• Students— especially true beginners— are not overwhelmed with all of the details of a major
grammar point all at once.
• When topics are spread out over the entire book, and thus over the entire course, review and
reentry of them is automatically built into the syllabus.
• Furthermore, with major topics of a more difficult nature, like the subjunctive, students have
multiple opportunities to “catch” or gain some functional control of the topic. Thus, when the
topic is introduced for the second time, students have a base of knowledge on which to build
and can be more successful with difficult material the second time around.
The actual amount of spiraled grammar has not changed in this edition of Puntos. Spiraling is called
to the attention of students and instructors in the following ways.
• All grammar topics that are spiraled are indicated as such in the student text with Part 1 (Part 2, Part 3,
and so on) in the grammar section and subsection titles.
5. Gramática: Práctica y comunicación
Following the Gramática prensentations, under the heading Práctica y comunicación, Puntos
provides a careful sequence of activities, from very form-focused to very free in format. As noted
earlier, the division of activities into Práctica and Conversación has been eliminated in this
edition, because even from the very beginning of practice with a new grammar point, students can
engage in meaningful and personalized communication if activities are carefully structured and
scaffolded. (See [5] below.) Puntos assumes that communicative use of Spanish is both necessary to
and is the ultimate goal of language learning and that students have not “learned Spanish” if they do
not progress beyond manipulating the language in mechanical drills.
a. The Pasos Concept
The use of Pasos (1, 2, 3, and so on) in Puntos organizes the steps or stages of more complex
activities. In essence, the Pasos break down an activity into its component parts. A Pasos sequence
might evolve as follows: Paso 1 = answer these questions about yourself; Paso 2 = use the
questions to interview a classmate; Paso 3 = compare your answers with those of your classmate;
Paso 4 = report what you learned to the class. Most activities organized into Pasos are not as
complex as that, but the advantage of the Pasos approach is clearly demonstrated with this four-
step activity. Most students (and instructors, for that matter) would be overwhelmed by direction
lines that asked for all that activity. However, when broken down into short, doable stages, the
activity not only appears more doable, it is in fact easier to implement in the classroom.
Experienced instructors who have tried activities that did “too much” will welcome the simplicity of
the Pasos approach, and new instructors will gain confidence in implementing communicative
activities by doing them.
b. Types of Form-focused Activities
Most instructors agree that drills have a role in language learning. Although many drills and basic
exercises may require linguistic manipulation at the expense of meaningful communication, their
role in language learning is fundamental. Whenever possible, even more drill-like activities require
students to make choices that demonstrate that they understand the words they are manipulating.
Once students have completed the required manipulations, many of the drills can be personalized,
extended, or transformed in other ways to extend the usefulness of these relatively simple
activities. Suggestions of these kinds of variations are found in the student text or in the AIE. (Note:
Many of the activity types already described in the Vocabulario: Preparación section of this IM are
also found in the Práctica y comunicación sections of Gramática.)
i. Substitution (Pattern) Drills (AIE or IM)
This type of drill requires the substitution of one word or phrase for another, plus the production of
other changes made necessary by the substitution. The word that is substituted can be a noun,
adjective, verb, or any other part of speech. In Puntos, these drills are generally presented within a
context: a general situation that serves as the “umbrella” for several patterns or a two-line
conversational exchange that shows the pattern in a natural conversational setting. This is done to
