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Breaking the Spanish Barrier Level 1 (Beginner) Student Book
| Item #: | 063576 |
|---|---|
| ISBN: | 9781955306003 |
| Grades: | 4-AD |
Product Description:
Publisher Description:
The level 1 book assumes no prior knowledge of Spanish. It starts from the very beginning by introducing simple words and phrases that can be used right away.
- The “First Steps” lesson also presents all the sounds of the Spanish language so that students can develop an authentic accent. Theme-based vocabulary offers students opportunities to learn words relevant to their daily lives at home, school, and beyond.
- An action-packed dialogue series appears throughout the book offering students reading and listening comprehension practice.
- Throughout the chapters, easy-to-understand explanations unravel these essential building blocks of language:
- nouns, pronouns, adjectives, verbs, adverbs, conjunctions, and prepositions
- the present, preterite, imperfect, and progressive tenses
- formal commands
The Breaking the Language Barrier (BLB) program provides a core text/workbook/reference (aka the worktext) all in a one-on-one conversational format for the student. While other programs focus on listening and speaking alone, BLB provides in-depth grammar, writing and culture. Start out with conversation right away as part of Level 1’s Ten Steps. This section provides the student time to get familiar with the sounds of the language without any stress of grammar. All grammar will be explained in the lessons that follow. Your student will write directly in the non-reproducible worktext. Parents, don’t worry as you won’t need to know the language.
New for ‘20-21 is the Online Instruction for the student (1-year access). The online access code provides 12 months of access to the online version of the print textbook, with integrated audio, video, cultural articles, answers, beautiful pictures of sites of interest, and notable people from the country being studied. The exercises are interactive. A student can click on any single answer, see immediately if he/she is right or wrong, and view the correction. There are also responsive flashcards with sound files, oral questions, and video instructional capsules. But the content -- explanations, exercises, and dialogues are the same as the print book. Activities closely follow the worktext, but the online does not replace the worktext, rather they work together to create a complete learning experience. New for 2022 in the online access: answers now autosave and track student progress, composition prompts can be emailed to a teacher for review, and each student receives 90 minutes of coaching time for oral practice with Time2Talk!
Level 1 (Beginner) requires no prior language experience, but getting used to new sounds and spellings can take practice. This level, therefore, spends a lot of time on pronunciation. Level 2 (Intermediate) starts with good review of Level 1 before presenting new material. Level 3 (Advanced) reviews the first two years, adding more advanced grammar concepts, expressions, and geography.
Each course is one year in length and should qualify for a high school credit. The Homeschool Package is required to successfully use the program. Digital Access Homeschool packages include the aforementioned website access, and the following print resources: Student Worktext, Answer Key, Test Packet, and a small pocket, laminated pocket guide (Oasis). Worktext and Tests are consumable, but not reproducible. Access Codes can be purchased separately for 12 months. Online access has replaced the audio component formerly on a CD, however, there is so much more content here! ~Sara
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- Inaccurate
- Sara C. Staff on Jul 21, 2021
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- Inaccurate
- Diane J on Apr 21, 2020
- Purchased on Aug 4, 2018
PROS: It is grammar and vocabulary intensive, but that’s what I like about it because the students learn basic grammar skills and apply it to their work and oral practice. There is a good amount of practice in the book. The concepts are presented in bite size pieces with immediate practice afterwards. There is a review section at the end of each chapter. Tests are in a word document (download or cd) so you can edit it.
The online book is good. (It is the same as the printed book.) It has audio flash cards which is so good for hearing and verbally practicing the vocabulary, cultural articles (in Spanish), audio files so you can hear native speakers and embedded videos.
CONS: In the online book, the cultural information is in Spanish, which presents problems for teachers who are not fluent. You will have to spend some time translating them to use them.
It would benefit the curriculum to have printed versions of cultural articles with followup questions and answers. The teacher edition does not have guided teacher helps, it is only the answers key to the student book.
There is some helps on the website (txobreak.com) in the resource tab, but the .pdf files for the cultural articles are not available.
This really is a good curriculum. Some people may think it is too grammar intensive, especially in book two, but it does give students the foundations to speak well.
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