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Modelos An Integrated Approach for Proficiency in Spanish
Agnes L. Dimitriou, University of California, Berkeley
Juan A. Sempere-Martínez, San José State University
Frances M. Sweeney, St. Mary's College of California

ISBN-10: 0131893017
ISBN-13: 9780131893016

Publisher: Prentice Hall
Copyright: 2004
Format: Paper; 304 pp
Published: 08/06/2003

Suggested retail price: $67.20
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For 5th semester and beyond courses in Composition, Composition and Conversation, and Grammar Review.

Capturing both the traditional strengths of composition courses as well as new directions in the field of learning, this text/writer's manual combination offers a unique student-centered, holistic approach that focuses on 1) proficiency, 2) student engagement in speaking, reading, writing, and listening, and 3) integrated treatment of literature and composition with grammar review. Each chapter of the text consists of an authentic reading selection, instruction on writing strategies and tips, followed by activities with specific roles for understanding and exploring the text.

  • Chapters organized around role models—Text readings serve as models for composition strategies and syntactic growth, showing students the connection between language and how we use it according to the different roles we play.

    • Maintains interest among instructors and students across a semester, and helps students remember the different aspects of composition and the interrelatedness of the other productive and receptive skills.

  • Proficiency orientation—Makes students responsible for producing, self-correcting, and expanding the language beyond limited structures.

    • Encourages students' active learning and helps instructors create a classroom with an integrated approach focused on real production and communication.

  • Student engagement—Features activities that promote collaborative development, making students aware of the utility of the course for their own ends.

    • Creates an environment with students as co-participants in the learning process—nota teacher-centered classroom.

  • The integration of literature, composition, and review—Consolidates all the aspects of language learning and curriculum, reinforcing rather than compartmentalizing the components of language and life.

    • Helps instructors emphasize those aspects most needed in their particular courses. Students experience the complete use of the language.

  • Composition activities—Focuses on syntax (grammatical competence), structure (clause and sentence level attention), style (e.g., elements of tone, voice, precision, and concision), and framework (creating a comprehensive text around a central idea).

    • Reinforces the idea of recycling information and inculcating strategies across genre and assignment.

  • Progressive reading activities—Creates learning communities in which each student plays an important role in the reading process.

    • Students are the key facilitators of the discussion, and the instructor is a participant-guide.

  • Evaluation/grading guidelines—Goes well beyond the usual single sheet or correction key that students use in editing production, to provide an overview of what makes a good piece of writing. Serves as a source of positive reinforcement and motivation, rather than being a list of rights and wrongs.

    • Alerts students to what the instructor is looking for in the class so they have a grasp of the goal; helps them understand notions of good and poor composition.



Capítulo 1: ¿Yo, autor? Definiciones y espejos.


Capítulo 2: Escritor fotógrafo.


Capítulo 3: Escritor escultor.


Capítulo 4: Escritor reportero.


Capítulo 5: Escritor pintor.


Capítulo 6: Escritor cuentista.


Capítulo 7: Escritor crítico.


Capítulo 8: Escritor abogado.


Capítulo 9: Escritor crítico literario.


Capítulo 10: Escritor sociólogo.


Capítulo 11: Escritor cientiífico.


Capítulo 12: Escritor escritor.

Agnes Dimitriou is the Director of the summer Spanish Program and a member of the Department of Spanish and Portuguese at the University of California at Berkeley. An ACTFL proficiency trainer and rater, Agnes' interests include writing development, cultural studies, and Latin American women writers.

Juan A. Sempere Martinez is the Section Coordinator of the B.A. Program in Spanish and a member of the Department of Foreign Languages at San Jose State University. With a degree in Romance Philology, Juan's work encompasses historical linguistics, morphology, syntax and dialectology, most recently the study of the Murcian dialect and Catalan-Spanish contact.

Frances M. Sweeney is Dean of the School of Liberal Arts and a member of the Modern Languages Department at Saint Mary's College of California. With a degree in Hispanic Applied Linguistics, Frances' interests include computer-assisted language learning, integrated language acquisition, assessment, and the changing role of the professor in higher education.

Modelos, Prentice Hall's newest composition book is designed to enhance students' critical thinking and interpretive skills. Taking a highly motivational approach, Modelos asks learners to comprehend and produce Spanish in a way in which they assume responsibility and accountability for their own work. At each juncture, Modelos strives to reinforce the conviction that each student is an author, with a unique voice and individual ideas to share.

A unique student-centered, holistic approach to composition, Modelos features:
  • An integrated approach to composition covering the full process of writing, revision, and evaluation
  • A consistent focus on language proficiency
  • An emphasis on developing reading strategies and literary discussion
  • A manual/workbook that includes a complete grammar review and exercises, as well as additional activities for speaking and writing, and appendices (e.g., verb paradigms, abbreviations, and ACTFL guidelines).

The title Modelos plays on the meaning of authentic texts as models for writing, and the notion that students are asked assume different roles as a writer, such as: escritor fotografo (description), and escritor abogado (argumentation). This innovative approach to composition fosters a solid and interesting next step in language comprehension and production.

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