Looseleaf for Tu Mundo: Espanol Sin Fronteras

Tu mundo immerses the Introductory Spanish classroom in a culturally rich world full of opportunities to discover and explore the powerful connections between language and culture. Instructors are provided user-friendly resources to guide students as they dive into intensive communicative practice, building confidence in their ability to interact in meaningful ways in Spanish. Instructors are also provided with the tools to build a sense of community in face-to-face, hybrid, and online classes, resulting in a unique personal experience that evolves organically and sparks a natural curiosity about their world.

The hallmarks of Tu mundo are:

Communicative and Flexible: Tu mundo is designed to work well with a variety of communicative approaches. The goal is to provide an ideal environment where acquisition can take place, without fear of making mistakes. By jumping directly into communicative practice, students immerse themselves in the experience of active learning. This involves preparing at home using a variety of learning resources, prepping the necessary vocabulary and grammar in advance, and then coming to class ready to engage in conversation.

Consistency and Performance: Tu mundo offers a dynamic adaptive learning tool called Adaptive Learning Assignments that focus students on the grammar and vocabulary they haven’t yet mastered, filling the gaps to prepare them for in-class communication.

Community and Connections: Whether in a physical classroom or in an online course via Connect Spanish, students are provided with opportunities to engage in meaningful conversations and collaborative task-based activities that enable students to practice their language skills making connections and understanding the Hispanic world.

Meaningful and real-life experience:  Culture is often left behind - so Tu mundo offers it throughout. Each chapter features a country of focus, which doubles as the home country of one of the fifteen amigos. In addition to the in-chapter cultural sections, every chapter of Tu mundo features a second video segment called Mi país, narrated by the amigos themselves as they share information about their native countries. This window into the lives of the amigos provides a point of comparison in which students can interact with language and culture in a meaningful way.

Magdalena Andrade received her first BA in Spanish and French and a second BA in English from California State University, San Diego. After teaching in the Calexico Unified School District Bilingual Program for several years, she taught elementary and intermediate Spanish at both San Diego State and the University of California, Irvine, where she also taught Spanish for Heritage Speakers and Humanities Core Courses. Upon receiving her PhD from the University of California, Irvine, she continued to teach there for several years and also at the University of California, Riverside, and California State University, Long Beach, where she taught the graduate foreign language methods courses and coordinated the Spanish and French TA Programs as well as the Credential Program for foreign languages. For several years she has taught at the community college level, but currently, she is taking time off from regular teaching to help dyslexic children hone their reading skills. She also tutors special-needs students taking college-level Spanish courses. Professor Andrade has coauthored the textbook Dos mundos: Comunicación y comunidad and the readers Mundos de fantasía: Fábulas, cuentos de hadas y leyendas and Cocina y comidas hispanas (McGraw Hill).

Jeanne Egasse received her BA and MA in Spanish Linguistics from the University of California, Irvine. She also holds California Credentials for Spanish as well as for Bilingual Cross-Cultural Education. Professor Egasse has taught foreign-language methodology courses and introductory linguistics, and served as supervisor of foreign language and ESL teachers in training for the Department of Education at the University of California, Irvine. From 1980 to 2020 she was a full-time professor of Spanish, coordinator of the Spanish Department, and co-chair of World Languages at Irvine Valley College. Professor Egasse continues to offer online conversation groups for local college students and volunteers for the Irvine Valley College Foundation. In addition, she serves as a consultant for local schools and colleges on implementing the Natural Approach in the language classroom. She has coauthored the first-year college Spanish textbook Dos mundos: Comunicación y comunidad and the readers Cocina y comidas hispanas and Mundos de fantasía: Fábulas, cuentos de hadas y leyendas (McGraw Hill).

Elías Miguel Muñoz holds a PhD in Spanish from the University of California, Irvine, and has taught language and literature at the university level. Dr. Muñoz is the author of Viajes fantásticos and Ladrón de la mente, titles in the Storyteller's Series by McGraw Hill, and coauthor of the textbook Dos mundos: Comunicación y comunidad, also from McGraw Hill. He has published six novels, which include Vida mía, Brand New Memory, and Diary of Fire; two books of literary criticism; and two poetry collections. One of his plays was produced off-Broadway, and his creative work has been featured in numerous anthologies and source books, including Herencia: The Anthology of Hispanic Literature of the United States, The Encyclopedia of American Literature, W.W. Norton's New Worlds of Literature, and The Scribner Writers Series: Latino and Latina Writers. He is currently at work on a sci-fi historical novel.

María José Cabrera Puche received her BA from the Universidad de Murcia (Spain), her MA and MEd from West Virginia University, and her PhD in Second-Language Acquisition and Bilingualism from Rutgers University. Dr. Cabrera Puche is a Full Professor of Spanish at West Chester University of Pennsylvania (WCU), where she coordinates the lower-level Spanish program and the language-teaching certification program. At WCU, she also serves as the Assessment Coordinator in the Department of Languages and Cultures and as the Director of General Education Assessment for the university. She has completed ACTFL OPI and WPT tester training, and she serves as an ACTFL CAEP Reviewer. Dr. Cabrera Puche has taught at public schools, community colleges, and universities. She teaches graduate and undergraduate courses in Spanish, Spanish for Heritage Speakers, Spanish Linguistics, Bilingualism, and Foreign-Language Teaching Methodology. Dr. Cabrera Puche is co-editor of Romance Linguistics 2006: Selected papers from the 36th Linguistic Symposium on Romance Languages (John Benjamins).