Digital library
Textbooks, references and open learning resources.
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Trayectos 1: Mi vida en la universidad
Gabriela Zapata · Center for Open Educational Resources and Language Learning (COERLL) · 2021
Trayectos is an open curriculum for beginning second language (L2) learners of Spanish. The textbook offers the following features to L2 Spanish students and instructors: Learner-centered fresh, multimodal content, based on Learning by Design, a pedagogy inspired by the Multiliteracies movement (Kalantzis et al., 2005, 2016, 2019; Zapata, 2022). The four modules in Volume I connect the life worlds of learners with the life worlds of diverse Spanish speakers. Instruction incorporating the following features: Multimodal texts (e.g., readings, videos, posters) based on a variety of textual genres that contextualize topics about the lives of real university students; Communicative activities that bind language form to cultural meaning within real-life contexts, and offer students opportunities to discover how to use new Spanish vocabulary and grammar in diverse sociocultural situations; Critical thinking and language awareness tasks that showcase different varieties of Spanish, including those spoken in the United States, and help learners explore the Spanish-speaking world, including local Hispanic/Latinx communities; and Culminating tasks that oblige learners to synthesize their new linguistic and cultural knowledge into a personal, multimodal text. Supplementary digital resources that provide students with opportunities to practice the content learned through self-correcting activities (Práctica individual) and to use Spanish to broaden their knowledge of and critically analyze issues related to diversity, equity, and inclusion in the Spanish-speaking world (Voces de nuestro mundo; available at http://bit.ly/VocesMundo). An open copyright license (Creative Commons license) that gives all users the right to adapt the textbook and to share their new content with others, and digital how-to sections for instructors to answer their students’ unique needs.
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Conversaciones Corrientes: Temas de Cultura y Sociedad
Laurie Massery; María Bordera; Pedro Larrea-Rubio · Laurie Massery
This book is designed to facilitate conversation in Spanish among intermediate and post-intermediate learners of Spanish. The following online textbook allows students to read about, review and discuss interesting, entertaining and relevant topics that will undoubtedly elicit conversation and friendly debate among classmates. Topics including spirituality, family design, life choices, social norms and even history and its impact on Generation Z, are discussed.
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Libro Libre: An Introduction to Spanish I
Erin Huebener; Handy Cuellar; Yelani Feldman · LOUIS: The Louisiana Library Network
Welcome to Elementary Spanish! This textbook was designed in cooperation with the Louisiana Board of Regents Open Educational Textbook Pilot program. Designed by Elementary Instructors as a cooperative effort across Louisiana, this textbook will introduce you to the basic elements of the Spanish language through the use of self directed and active learning. This book is an adaptation of the open textbook “¡LIBRO LIBRE!: A free textbook for introductory Spanish” (which can be found at http://librolibre.net/) and was written by Erin Huebener. We have adapted Libro Libre: A Free Textbook for Introductory Spanish, originally released in 2018, to better fit a traditional 16-week semester schedule. “Libro Libre: A Free Textbook for Introductory Spanish” is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0. This textbook was created as part of the Interactive OER for Dual Enrollment project, facilitated by LOUIS: The Louisiana Library Network and funded by a $2 million Open Textbooks Pilot Program grant from the Department of Education. This project supports the extension of access to high-quality post-secondary opportunities to high school students across Louisiana and beyond. This project features a collaboration between educational systems in Louisiana, the library community, Pressbooks technology partner, and workforce representatives. It will enable and enhance the delivery of open educational resources (OER) and interactive quiz and assessment elements for priority dual enrollment courses in Louisiana and nationally. Developed OER course materials will be released under a license that permits their free use, reuse, modification and sharing with others.The target audience for this project and this textbook are dual enrollment students. Dual enrollment is the opportunity for a student to be enrolled in high school and college at the same time. A dual enrollment student receives credit on both their high school and college transcripts for the same course.
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Hujambo! A Standards-Based Approach to Introductory Kiswahili
Brenda Wawire · Open Language Resource Center at the University of Kansas · 2022
Hujambo! provides a complete curriculum for introductory Kiswahili that chronicles the adventures of two American students studying abroad in Tanzania for an academic year. It is designed for an introductory Kiswahili course at the college level with approximately 150 contact hours of instruction (5 hours a week for two 15-week semesters, or 5 hours a week for three 10-week quarters). It provides a foundational understanding of Kiswahili and the cultures of those who share it as a common language. Students will acquire the basics of Kiswahili grammar and build a core vocabulary of approximately 1,000 words, including the most common words for everyday interactions and the individual vocabulary they need to speak about their own academic and personal lives.
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Elementary Chinese II
Wenying Zhou · Michigan State University · 2022
Elementary Chinese II is aimed at those who have learned Chinese as a second/foreign language for one semester, using the OER textbook “Elementary Chinese I“. This open textbook contains six main lessons, including topics such as school life, shopping, transportation, weather, eating out, and asking and giving directions. They are organized in a straightforward and well-structured manner that are easy to follow. Within each lesson, there are a set of two dialogues or a set of one dialogue plus one narration. The texts of the dialogues or narrations are created to provide real-life Chinese language to beginning learners. After the texts, vocabulary words are listed for them to study and review. Grammatical points are explained in English and example sentences are provided for students to understand. Each dialogue or narration ends with culture notes where learners can read and better understand the target text.
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Elementary Chinese I
Wenying Zhou · Michigan State University · 2022
This open textbook is designed for beginners learning Chinese as a second/foreign language. This book aims to introduce learners to standard Chinese pronunciation, character knowledge, basic conversational phrases, grammar and vocabulary use, and cultural knowledge. Throughout the eight chapters, learners will explore: greetings and self-introduction, hobbies, nationalities, family members and occupations, inviting friends to dinner, talking about food and beverage, making phone calls, and talking about classes and exams. Learning activities include audio recordings so students can listen to the pronunciation of vocabulary words and observe dialogue between speakers. The book also includes videos with captions, allowing learners to listen, watch, and read. Original interactive activities have been created by the author to facilitate the practice of target vocabulary and dialogues.
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Elementary Arabic I
Sadam Issa; Ayman Mohamed · Michigan State University · 2022
This open textbook is intended for beginning students of Arabic in their first semester. This OER is unique in its presentation of Arabic language content through theme-based modules. Each theme is addressed through vocabulary, grammar, reading, speaking, and writing components. Each chapter includes self-check embedded quizzes that help learners digest language concepts. The book is also designed with teachers in mind. Each chapter includes pair work and group tasks that the teacher can implement in class and other parts that can be assigned as homework. The focus of the book is to build literacy in Standard Arabic structure in a simplified and sequenced approach while emphasizing speaking skills. By the end of this course, students will be well prepared for building their competence in a sequenced and organized manner in the following parts of this series.
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Basic Urdu
Rajiv Ranjan · Michigan State University · 2022
Basic Urdu is a theme-based, interactive open-source online textbook for the true novice learners of the Urdu language. The book uses mixed pedagogical approaches to language teaching to match diverse teaching and learning styles. It aims to help learners achieve intermediate low to mid-proficiency levels set by the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL).
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Basic Khmer
Vathanak Sok · Michigan State University · 2022
This online interactive theme-based open textbook is for beginner learners of the Khmer language. This book aims to provide a practical introduction to speaking, listening, and reading. By the end of this course, students will be at the B1 level of the Common Framework for Language and at the low intermediate level on the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) proficiency scales. Basic Khmer is funded by the Open Educational Resources Program at Michigan State University.
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Elementary New Testament Greek
Owen Ewald · Seattle Pacific University Library · 2022
This open-access textbook helps students learn to read New Testament Greek at the elementary level. It includes clear, concise explanations of grammar and syntax, helpful examples, and essential vocabulary, with no assumption of previous language study, and it does not require accents for most forms. At the end of each of its twenty chapters, students will find short Greek-language episodes from the life of a fictional early Christian family of Jewish ancestry, short readings from the Greek New Testament and Septuagint, and review/homework exercises that can help reinforce new concepts and vocabulary. This book can help students prepare to read Nijay Gupta and Jonah Sandford’s Intermediate Greek Reader: Galatians and Related Texts, also available as an open-access textbook.
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Beginning Spanish ¡Empecemos por aquí!
Jenny Ceciliano; Lisa Notman · Portland State University Library · 2021
Beginning Spanish ¡Empecemos por aquí! focuses on the development of communication skills in interpretive, interpersonal, and presentational modes while centering student voices. Activities engage learners in real exchanges of information on topics that are relevant to adult students. In addition to language-acquisition learning outcomes, this text supports learning outcomes in diversity, equity, inclusion, cultural sustainability, and social justice.
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Reflexiones sobre nuestra lengua
Yanina Hernández; José Esteban Hernández · The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley · 2020
Reflexiones sobre nuestra lengua se compone de ocho unidades temáticas pertinentes a la realidad social de los hablantes de español como lengua de herencia en los Estados Unidos. Además de enfocarse en la escritura como un proceso, se enfatiza el desarrollo de una conciencia sociolingüística y crítica del lenguaje en esta población estudiantil.
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It’s All Greek to Me! Using Authentic Readings to Improve Knowledge of the English Language and Western Culture
Charity Davenport · The University of Tennessee Libraries · 2019
“It’s All Greek to Me!” has everything—entertaining stories, academic articles in a variety of disciplines, vocabulary crossover in literary and academic readings, connections to local, American, and Western culture, and plenty of chances for critical thinking for advanced students of English as a Second Language (ESL). All readings are authentic with minimal adaptation from a variety of sources. This textbook also gives help for advanced level grammar and writing issues, using outside sources, and reading and vocabulary strategies.
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Elementary Mandarin
Carl Polley · LibreTexts · 2019
This course is designed for learners with no background in Chinese. It introduces basic structures of the Mandarin Chinese language with emphasis on listening, speaking, reading and writing skills. Students will gain these four skills in standard Mandarin Chinese, attaining approximately the Novice-High level on the ACTFL-ETS (American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages) proficiency scale. Topics of conversation include basic greetings, names, family, work, study, and hobbies. Upon successful completion of this course, the student should be able to: Exchange information about familiar topics using phrases and simple sentences, sometimes supported by memorized language, and ask and answer simple questions about everyday situations in short social interactions. (Interpersonal Communication) Verbally convey basic information on familiar topics using phrases and simple sentences. (Presentational Speaking) Write short messages and notes on familiar topics related to everyday life. (Presentational Writing) Interpret spoken words, phrases, and simple sentences related to everyday life by recognizing pieces of information and by identifying the main topic. (Interpretive Listening) Interpret familiar words, phrases, and sentences within short and simple texts related to everyday life and identify the main idea of written materials. (Interpretive Reading)
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Ancient Greek I: A 21st Century Approach
Philip Peek · Open Book Publishers · 2021
In this elementary textbook, Philip S. Peek draws on his twenty-five years of teaching experience to present the ancient Greek language in an imaginative and accessible way that promotes creativity, deep learning, and diversity. The course is built on three pillars: memory, analysis, and logic. Readers memorize the top 250 most frequently occurring ancient Greek words, the essential word endings, the eight parts of speech, and the grammatical concepts they will most frequently encounter when reading authentic ancient texts. Analysis and logic exercises enable the translation and parsing of genuine ancient Greek sentences, with compelling reading selections in English and in Greek offering starting points for contemplation, debate, and reflection. A series of embedded Learning Tips help teachers and students to think in practical and imaginative ways about how they learn. This combination of memory-based learning and concept- and skill-based learning gradually builds the confidence of the reader, teaching them how to learn by guiding them from a familiarity with the basics to proficiency in reading this beautiful language. Ancient Greek I: A 21st-Century Approach is written for high-school and university students, but is an instructive and rewarding text for anyone who wishes to learn ancient Greek.
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Malayalam: A University Course and Reference Grammar .
Rodney Moag · The Center for Asian Studies at The University of Texas at Austin · 2002
This textbook was developed to meet two distinct yet related needs. The more basic goal was to respond to the paucity of teaching materials suited to the needs of U.S. learners of Malayalam, particularly at the university level. Though some materials had previously been produced both in India and in the US, including three sets of materials co-written by the author, none were at all suited to the needs and purposes of American university students. Some of the author is earlier materials were ad hoc in nature, while the 510-page course written for Peace Corps volunteers concentrated on language for daily social interactions only. Both the Peace Corps materials and most of the materials written in India were written in Romantranscription, thus making no serious attempt to teach the Malayalam script or the skills of reading or writing. The Malayalam ·materials produced in India by various scholars or teach~rs were not readily available in the West, and were moreqver designed for Indian learners for whom formal explanations of the grammar and culture are largely unnecessary, since many of the grammar and discourse conventions are similar or identical to those found in their own mother tongues. Thus the texts available at that time lacked much of what was essential to the Western learner of the language. A couple more sets of teaching materials have come out in: the intervening 20 years, and some may now be ordered via the Internet. A partial list of these materials appears in the prologue following lesson Twenty-five in this text. These books are, ingeneral, designed to prepare the learner to handle everyday living situations in Malayalam, and as such can be useful adjuncts once the present volume has been thoroughly studied. This text was conceived and designed to go beyond social conversation to prepare the Western learner to use the language as a research tool. To meet this goal the skills pf literacy in Malayalam are essential, but this is only a beginning. It is al
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Tutt* a tavola!
Stacy Giủe; Melina Masterson · UMass Amherst · 2021
This book has all of the same features as the first volume: an opening song for each chapter (Ascoltiamo!); vocabulary and grammar sections; exercises based on a film clip (Guardiamo!); and more in-depth explorations of cultural topics (Punto culturale). It also introduces a new section, Leggiamo!, in which we begin reading short literary texts in Italian.
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Tutt* a tavola!
Stacy Giufre; Melina Masterson · UMass Amherst · 2021
This new open educational resource is for Elementary Italian. Our goal is for this book to be comprehensive, user-friendly, inclusive, and cost-effective. Tutt* a tavola has two parts, one for each course, with six chapters in each. Generally speaking, each chapter addresses three to four grammatical topics and includes a vocabulary section related to a cultural theme. The vocabulary is also incorporated into the grammatical presentations and exercises. There is also a short reading in each chapter regarding different aspects of culture and language, to address those questions of diversity and inclusion that are often missing from the textbooks we have used in the past. To include more culture, we have also included multimedia: each chapter begins with a song that is used as a starting point for the inductive presentation of the chapter’s content, and ends with a video (a film clip, an interview, social media) that summarizes the ideas covered.
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CITOYEN.NE.S: Conversation en Français
Annabelle Dolidon · Portland State University Library · 2021
CITOYEN.NE.S is a French language method for the conversation class at the intermediate/ advanced level. Content and activities are built around the concepts of diversity, inclusivity and equity, and engage students to practice French while questioning and participating in the world they live in – to be full citizens whatever their background, their race or their gender identity. As the French spelling of the title indicates, the book embraces écriture inclusive and uses it for instructions and general information for all students. The book is composed of five chapters covering various themes. None of them provides again basic vocabulary from first- and second-year French courses, like food and body parts. Instead, each chapter builds on students’ previous knowledge and takes them further to develop language and cultural skills. Each chapter presents a mix of vocabulary lists and activities, authentic documents and others that have been written for the book, based on research. Chapters end with creative activities and one overarching assignment that help students go deeper in topics of interest. Early chapters have two grammar reviews, later chapters only one.
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Advanced Academic Grammar for ESL Students
Rebecca Haider · Rebecca Al Haider · 2021
This textbook was created for an advanced academic grammar course for ESL students. By the end of the course, students will recognize and demonstrate the appropriate use of advanced grammar structures. To meet these outcomes, students will listen to aural language that includes the target structures, identify and edit grammar errors in written language, read and analyze texts that include the target grammar structures, and demonstrate the correct and appropriate use of target structures in written and spoken language.