LINGUIST List 21.2335

Mon May 24 2010

Software: En una palabra, Puebla, México: A CD-ROM for Exploring Culture...

Editor for this issue: Dayn Schulert <daynlinguistlist.org>

        1.    Jackie Beilhart, En una palabra, Puebla, México: A CD-ROM for Exploring Culture in Spanish
Message 1: En una palabra, Puebla, México: A CD-ROM for Exploring Culture in Spanish
Date: 24-May-2010
From: Jackie Beilhart <jb594georgetown.edu>
Subject: En una palabra, Puebla, México: A CD-ROM for Exploring Culture in Spanish
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http://press.georgetown.edu/detail.html?id=9781589

En una palabra is a unique interactive tool to help students learn aboutSpanish culture while increasing vocabulary and listening skills. Studentsexperience the program through a series of video segments in which fifteenresidents of Puebla—of varying ages and sociocultural backgrounds—definethe same ten concepts:

amigos (friends)familia (family)trabajo (work)país (country)libertad (freedom)éxito (success)orgullo (pride)individualismo (individualism)ambicíon (ambition)felicidad (happiness)

While these words are easily translatable into any language, thedefinitions offered by the speakers reveal the diverse nature of cultureand how words convey individual and collective values, which are not alwaysobvious.

This program is a resource flexible enough to fit into almost anycurriculum by setting appropriate tasks and expectations. Especially forstudents at the intermediate level and beyond, En una palabra can assist inunderstanding how cultural values are reflected in a language.

The CD-ROM includes the following features to assist students' culturalcomprehension:• transcription of each video• selective glossary• information about Puebla, México, and its region• web links for further exploration• information about the local dialect• easy navigation

There is also a free, online instructor's manual that offers suggestionsfor using the CD-ROM in the classroom at different levels. The content ispresented entirely in Spanish and plays on both PCs and Macs, using thefree program QuickTime.

Language labs that purchase a copy of En una palabra, Puebla, México willautomatically receive rights to (a) post an electronic copy of the CD-ROMon a secure (password-protected) network for use by current students andfaculty at their institution; and (b) loan the number of purchased copiesto students. For other permissions, please contact the press.

Technical Requirements

Windows: Windows XP with SP2 or higherIntel Pentium 4 processor or equivalent512 MB of RAMQuickTime 7 or higher

Macintosh: OS 10.4 or higherPowerMac G3 or higher or Intel processor512 MB of RAMQuicktime 7 or higher

Linguistic Field(s): Applied Linguistics                             Language Acquisition                             Sociolinguistics

Page Updated: 24-May-2010